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On this dayOctober 19

Through history57 events, 255 births and 113 deaths in Wikipedia's lists for the date

Today

A hundred years before

The front pages of October 19, 1926

What 29 American newspapers printed that day, as the Library of Congress keeps them.

MEDIA
The front page of The Montgomery advertiser, Montgomery, Ala., October 19, 1926The Montgomery advertiserMontgomery, Ala.Read it, zoom in, mark it →
20 more front pages that day

All 29 front pages at the Library of Congress ↗From Chronicling America. Public domain: in the Library's words, newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.

What happened

On October 19

The anniversaries Wikipedia's editors chose for the date, oldest first.

REFERENCE
  1. 1579447 years ago

    A ceremony was held in Edinburgh marking the coming of age of James VI of Scotland as an adult ruler. · Entry of James VI into Edinburgh · James VI and I

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  2. 1596430 years ago

    The Spanish ship San Felipe was shipwrecked on the Japanese island of Shikoku, and its cargo confiscated by the local daimyo. · San Felipe incident (1596)

    Photo: Eustaquio Maria de Nenclares (1862)Public domain
  3. 1752274 years ago

    The Pennsylvania Gazette published a statement by Benjamin Franklin describing a kite experiment (depicted) to determine the electrical nature of lightning.

    Photo: Beyond My KenCC BY-SA 4.0
  4. 1781245 years ago

    American Revolutionary War: British forces led by Lord Cornwallis officially surrendered to Franco-American forces under George Washington and the comte de Rochambeau, ending the Siege of Yorktown. · Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis · Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau

    Photo: John TrumbullPublic domain
  5. 1864162 years ago

    American Civil War: Despite incurring nearly twice as many casualties as the Confederates, the Union army emerged victorious at the Battle of Cedar Creek. · Confederate States Army

    Photo: Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt IvesPublic domain
  6. 1914112 years ago

    First World War: Allied forces began engaging German troops at the First Battle of Ypres. · World War I · Allies of World War I

    Photo: Collection DocAnciens/docpix.frPublic domain
  7. 194383 years ago

    World War II: Allied aircraft sank the German cargo ship Sinfra, killing mostly Italian POWs. · World War II · Allies of World War II

    Photo: Richard OpitzCC BY-SA 3.0 de
  8. 194482 years ago

    The Guatemalan Revolution began with a small group of army officers led by Francisco Javier Arana and Jacobo Árbenz launching a coup against dictator Jorge Ubico.

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  9. 195571 years ago

    At a meeting of its general assembly, the European Broadcasting Union approved the staging of the first Eurovision Song Contest. · History of the Eurovision Song Contest

  10. 196561 years ago

    A group of ethnic Hutu military officers failed in their attempt to overthrow the Burundian government. · 1965 Burundian coup attempt

  11. 196561 years ago

    Vietnam War: The Siege of Plei Me began with the first major confrontation between soldiers of the North Vietnamese Army and the U.S. Army. · People's Army of Vietnam

    Photo: U.S. Air Force (Operation Holly 1970 (Folder 13 of 15), sheet 182)Public domain
  12. 198739 years ago

    Iran–Iraq War: U.S. Navy forces destroyed two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf in response to an Iranian missile attack on a Kuwaiti oil tanker three days earlier. · United States Navy · Operation Nimble Archer

  13. 198739 years ago

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22.6 percent on Black Monday, the largest one-day percentage decline in the stock market index's history. · List of largest daily changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average

  14. 198838 years ago

    The British government restricted the broadcast of the voices of representatives from Sinn Féin and several Irish republican and loyalist paramilitary groups on television and radio. · 1988–1994 British broadcasting voice restrictions · Irish republicanism

    Photo: Flickr user Miss FitzCC BY 2.0
  15. 200521 years ago

    Hurricane Wilma (pictured) became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 882 mbar (26.05 inHg).

    Photo: NOAAPublic domain
  16. 201313 years ago

    British YouTube collective the Sidemen were formed as a Rockstar Games Social Club group in Grand Theft Auto Online.

  17. 20179 years ago

    Canadian astronomer Robert Weryk discovered ʻOumuamua (depicted), the first known interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System. · 1I/ʻOumuamua

    Photo: ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESO, M. KornmesserCC BY 4.0
All 57 events Wikipedia lists for October 19, by year

Reading the list…

Born

On October 19

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 1899Miguel Ángel AsturiasGuatemalan journalist, author, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1974)103 languagesPhoto: Dominique RogerCC BY-SA 3.0 igo
  2. 1910Subrahmanyan ChandrasekharIndian-American astrophysicist, astronomer, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1995)93 languages
  3. 1931John le CarréEnglish intelligence officer and author (died 2020)79 languagesPhoto: KrimidoedelCC BY 3.0
  1. 1946Philip Pullman, English author and academic75
  2. 1433Marsilio Ficino, Italian astrologer and philosopher (died 1499)72
  3. 1940Michael Gambon, Irish-British actor (died 2023)67
  4. 1945John Lithgow, American actor64
  5. 1966Jon Favreau, American actor, director, and screenwriter62
  6. 1969Pedro Castillo, Peruvian politician, President of Peru59
  7. 1983Rebecca Ferguson, Swedish actress59
  8. 1945Angus Deaton, Scottish-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate57
  9. 1605Thomas Browne, English physician and author (died 1682)56
  10. 1916Jean Dausset, French-Spanish immunologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2009)55
  11. 1882Umberto Boccioni, Italian painter and sculptor (died 1916)54
  12. 1969Trey Parker, American actor, animator, producer, and screenwriter54
  13. 1981Heikki Kovalainen, Finnish race car driver53
  14. 1958Hiromi Hara, Japanese footballer and manager49
  15. 1944Peter Tosh, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1987)47
  16. 1960Takeshi Koshida, Japanese footballer47
  17. 1895Lewis Mumford, American historian, sociologist, and philosopher (died 1990)46
  18. 1913Vinicius de Moraes, Brazilian poet, playwright, and composer (died 1980)46
  19. 1962Evander Holyfield, American boxer and actor46
  20. 1961Sunny Deol, Indian actor and producer45
  21. 1945Divine, American drag queen performer, and actor (died 1988)44
Everyone else born on October 19: 231 more, by year

Reading the list…

Died

On October 19

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 1937Ernest RutherfordNew Zealand-English physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1871)174 languagesPhoto: Bain News Service, publisher Restored by: BammeskPublic domain
  2. 1745Jonathan SwiftIrish satirist and essayist (born 1667)162 languagesPhoto: Charles JervasPublic domain
  3. 1936Lu XunChinese author and critic (born 1881)128 languagesPhoto: author on the file pagePublic domain
  1. 727Frithuswith, English saint (born 650)124
  2. 1216John, King of England (born 1166)93
  3. 2003Alija Izetbegović, Bosniak lawyer and politician, 1st President of Bosnia and Herzegovina (born 1925)77
  4. 1986Samora Machel, Mozambican commander and politician, 1st President of Mozambique (born 1933)66
  5. 1950Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet and playwright (born 1892)61
  6. 1970Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexican general and politician, 44th President of Mexico (born 1895)58
  7. 1682Thomas Browne, English physician and author (born 1605)56
  8. 1943Camille Claudel, French sculptor and illustrator (born 1864)53
  9. 1999Nathalie Sarraute, Russian-French lawyer and author (born 1900)52
  10. 1889Luís I of Portugal (born 1838)51
  11. 1851Marie Thérèse of France (born 1778)50
  12. 1945Plutarco Elías Calles, Mexican general and politician, 40th President of Mexico (born 1877)50
  13. 1984Jerzy Popiełuszko, Polish priest and activist (born 1947)49
  14. 1813Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (born 1763)48
  15. 1978Gig Young, American actor (born 1913)43
  16. 1723Godfrey Kneller, German-English painter (born 1646)42
  17. 1914Julio Argentino Roca, Argentine army general and statesman, 4th and 9th President of Argentina (born 1843)41
  18. 1987Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist and educator (born 1945)41
  19. 1587Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1541)39
  20. 1609Jacobus Arminius, Dutch Reformed theologian (born 1560)39
  21. 1842Aleksey Koltsov, Russian poet and author (born 1808)39
Everyone else died on October 19: 89 more, by year

Reading the list…

Observed

On October 19

Holidays, feast days and observances, as Wikipedia lists them for the date.

REFERENCE

Christian feast day

  • Constitution Day, in honor of the country's independence (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) in 1974. (Niue)
  • Oxfordshire Day

Events, births, deaths and observances are Wikipedia's On this day for October 19, in its editors' words (CC BY-SA 4.0); the counts of languages are Wikidata's (CC0). Dates are the UTC day, as Wikipedia keeps them. Discover brings one of these at a time.