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What happened on February 19 Please support our Sponsors - They help us keep this site Alive! 0197 Lucius Septimius Severus' army beats Clodius Albinus at Lyon 0356 Emperor Constantius II shuts all heathen temples 0607 Boniface III begins his reign as Catholic Pope 0842 Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ends as a council in Constantinople formally reinstated the veneration of icons in the churches 1537 Weavers of Leiden Netherlands strike 1574 Spanish troops plunder Krommenie, Wormerveer & Jisp Netherlands 1582 Francis of Valois becomes duke of Brabant 1594 Having already inherited the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through his mother Catherine Jagellonica of Poland, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, succeeding his father John III of Sweden. 1600 The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina exploded in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America. 1619 Trial against Johan van Oldenbarnevelt begins in The Hague 1634 Battle at Smolensk Polish king Wladyslaw IV beats Russians 1674 England and the Netherlands sign the Peace of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, which renamed it New York. 1674 Netherlands & England sign Peace of Westminster (NYC becomes English) 1700 Last day of the Julian calendar in Denmark 1803 Congress accepts Ohio's constitution, statehood not ratified till 1953 1807 British squadron under Admiral Duckworth forces passage of Dardanelles 1807 In Alabama, Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason and confined to Fort Stoddart. 1807 Vice President Aaron Burr arrested in Alabama for treason; later found innocent 1819 British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands, and claims them in the name of King George III. 1831 First practical US coal-burning locomotive makes it's trial run in Pennsylvania 1846 In Austin, Texas the newly-formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following Texas' annexation by the United States. 1846 Texas state government formally installed in Austin 1852 The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity is founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. 1856 Tin-type camera patented by Hamilton Smith, Gambier OH 1859 Dan Sickles is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity first time this defense is successfully used 1861 Russian Tsar Alexander II abolishes serfdom 1861 Serfdom is abolished in Russia. 1864 Knights of Pythias form first lodge in Washington DC (12 members) 1864 Knights of Pythias founded at Washington, DC by Justus H. Rathbone. 1869 US Assay Office in Boise ID authorized 1878 The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison. 1881 Kansas became the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages. 1881 Kansas becomes first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages 1884 Tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky & Indiana kill 800 people 1906 W K Kellogg & Charles D Bolin incorporate Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, Battle Creek MI 1913 Mexican General V Huerta takes power with US support 1913 Prizes are prize inserted into a Cracker Jack box 1913 Prizes are included in Cracker Jack candy boxes for the first time. 1915 British fleet fire on Dardanellen coast 1919 Pan-African Congress, organized by W E B Du Bois (Paris) 1920 Netherlands joins League of Nations 1924 Visitor posting - Arlo Paul Norris was born in Springfield Illinois - USA 1928 Canadian hockey team wins 3rd consecutive gold medal 1933 Prussian minister Göring bans all Catholic newspapers 1934 Bob & Dolores Hope marry 1934 US contract air mail service canceled, replaced by US army for 6 months 1936 Manuel Azańa becomes Spanish premier 1937 During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Eritrean nationalists attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades. 1941 Nazis raid Koco Amsterdam & round up 429 young Jews for deportation 1941 World War II: The Afrika Korps, the corps-level headquarters controlling the German Panzer divisions in North Africa, was formed. 1942 About 150 Japanese warplanes attacked the Australian city of Darwin 1942 Dutch actors protest obligatory membership of Culture Chamber 1942 First Japanese air raid on Darwin The city was bombed 64 times between feb 1942 and nov 1943 1942 Tommy Dorsey & his orchestra recorded "I'll Take Tallulah" 1942 World War II: nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin killing 243 people. 1943 German tanks under Brigadier General Buelowius attack Kasserine Pass Tunesia 1943 Parliament approves Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Bill introducing conscription for service in south-west Pacific war zone 1944 823 British bombers attack Berlin 1944 U-264 sinks off Ireland 1945 900 Japanese soldiers reportedly killed by crocodiles in 2 days 1945 A U.S. invasion force of 30,000 marines land at Iwo Jima, starting a month-long WWII battle against Japanese troops. 1947 Visitor posting - Barbara Breivik, Music Therapist, musician, vocalist, teacher and amateur historian, born today - USA 1949 Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University. 1949 Mass arrests of communists in India 1952 French offensive at Hanoi 1953 Censorship: Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the United States. 1953 Georgia approves US first literature censorship board 1953 Ted Williams safely crash-lands his damaged Panther jet 1955 Visitor posting - Joan Egan nae Richardson was born Bedlington England - United Kingdom 1955 South East Asia Collective Defense Treaty goes into effect 1959 Britain, Turkey & Greece sign agreement granting Cyprus independence 1959 Gabon adopts its constitution 1959 The United Kingdom grants Cyprus its independence, which is then on formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960. 1959 USAF rocket-powered rail sled attains Mach 4.1 (4970 kph), New Mexico 1960 Bil Keane's "Family Circus" cartoon strip debuts 1960 Protest strike in Poznan Poland 1961 Albania disavows Chinese "Revisionism" 1962 Visitor posting - Timothy DeWayne Condry is born at Elmondorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska weighing 10 lbs., 0 ozs. earning the nickname "Little Kruschev". - USA 1963 Robert Frost wins Bollingen Prize 1963 USSR informs JFK it's withdrawing several thousand troops from Cuba 1964 UK flies ˝ ton of Beatle wigs to US 1968 Egyptian commando forces attempt to intervene in a hijacking situation at Larnaca International Airport, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat. 1968 National Educational Television (the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States) debuts the children's television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood 1969 First Test flight of Boeing 747 jumbo jet 1970 USSR launches Sputnik 52 & Molniya 1-13 communications satellite 1971 Visitor posting - Peter Mark Morrison , was born to Ellis and Suzanne Morrison in Tyler Texas. Mark,grew up in Waco Texas and later graduated from Grapevine High School. Mark spent some time doing stunts in the movies for Third Coast stuntmans Assoc. and some time on the rodeo circut. Mark spent five years as a Texas Peace Officer, then moved to Va. where he continued his lawenforcement carrier. Mark currently works for an environmental company in Va. - USA 1972 Number one hit on UK music charts - Chicory Tip - Son Of My Father 1976 Frente Polisario forms Democratic Republic of Sahara 1977 Number one hit on UK music charts - Leo Sayer - When I Need You 1977 Shuttle Enterprise makes first test flight atop a 747 jetliner 1982 Maiden flight of Boeing 757 1982 UK hist DeLorean Car factory in Belfast goes into receivership 1983 Number one hit on UK music charts - Kajagoogoo - Too Shy 1984 14th winter Olympics games close at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia 1985 150 killed when a Spanish jetliner crashed approaching Bilbao, Spain 1985 ADM of Amsterdam declares bankruptcy 1985 Artificial heart patient William J. Schroeder becomes the first such patient to leave hospital. 1985 Canned & bottled Cherry Coke introduced by Coca-Cola 1985 EastEnders first airs on televisions across the United Kingdom, on the first night of a major identity change for BBC1. 1985 Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148. 1985 Mickey Mouse welcomed in China 1986 Jordanian King Hussein severs ties with PLO 1986 The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station. 1986 The U.S. Senate votes to outlaw genocide, an act that took 37 years to ratify. 1986 USSR launches Mir space station into Earth orbit 1987 Anti-smoking ad airs for first time on TV, featuring Yul Brynner 1987 Minnesota sheriff office arrest FBI most wanted, Thomas G Harrelson 1987 Reagan lifts trade boycott against Poland 1990 Police kill 8 demonstrators for multi party system in Nepal 1990 Soyuz TM-9 lands 1990 Visitor posting - Nick Currier's Birthday - USA 1991 Visitor posting - Callie Millson Neal is born 1993 Kenya Moore, 22, (Michigan), crowned 42nd Miss USA 1995 Linford Christie runs world record 200 meter indoor (20.25 seconds) 1995 Visitor posting - Michael Norton born on this date in Corpus Christi, TX - USA 1997 Chinese Communist revolutionary Deng Xiaoping dies. 1997 FCC makes available 311 for non-emergency calls & 711 for hearing or speech-impaired emergency calls 1998 Soyuz TM-26 lands 1998 US hockey team destroys their rooms at Olympics village in Japan 1999 Official dedication and unveiling of the cornerstone at Air Canada Centre. 2001 An Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. 2002 NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. 2004 Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal is awarded an honorary knighthood in recognition of a "lifetime of service to humanity." 2006 The Rolling Stones made the largest show open to the public of the world in Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1.3 million people went to the show. 2007 Three Salvadoran deputies to the Central American Parliament and their driver are murdered in Guatemala. 2007 UK hist Extension of Congestion Charge zone for London, westwards 2009 Visitor posting - My Heart's Birhday - Aira O. - Philippines More historical events added daily - keep checking back Add your own Personal Historic listing FREE! - Click Here Return to Daily Calendar Contact us at: info @ datesinhistory.com (remove the spaces) "This site contains links to other Internet sites. These links are not endorsements of any products or services in such sites, and no information in such site has been endorsed or approved by this site. We are not responsible for the content of external sites. We do not vouch for accuracy of the dates listed on this site." Privacy Policy . What happened on my birthday? Search other websites with Google If you added a Personal Historic listing - Find it on Google Get a HOUSE for $23,000 ?? Search for "Real Estate" in Las Vegas, Az, Detroit Enter your search terms Submit search form Need financing for that $23,000 House? Search for "Home Financing"