Today In History. What Happened This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
February 19
1408 | The revolt of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, against King Henry IV, ends with his defeat and death at Bramham Moor. | |
1701 | Philip V of Spain makes his ceremonial entry into Madrid. | |
1807 | Vice President Aaron Burr is arrested in Alabama for treason. He is later found innocent. | |
1847 | Rescuers finally reach the ill-fated Donnor Party in the Sierras. | |
1861 | Russian Tsar Alexander II abolishes serfdom. | |
1902 | Smallpox vaccination becomes obligatory in France. | |
1903 | The Austria-Hungary government decrees a mandatory two year military service. | |
1915 | British and French warships begin their attacks on the Turkish forts at the mouth of the Dardenelles, in an abortive expedition to force the straits of Gallipoli. | |
1917 | American troops are recalled from the Mexican border. | |
1919 | The First Pan African Congress meets in Paris, France. | |
1925 | President Calvin Coolidge proposes the phasing out of inheritance tax. | |
1926 | Dr. Lane of Princeton estimates the earth’s age at one billion years. | |
1942 | Port Darwin, on the northern coast of Australia, is bombed by the Japanese. | |
1944 | The U.S. Eighth Air Force and Royal Air Force begin “Big Week,” a series of heavy bomber attacks against German aircraft production facilities. | |
1965 | Fourteen Vietnam War protesters are arrested for blocking the United Nations’ doors in New York. | |
1966 | Robert F. Kennedy suggests the United States offer the Vietcong a role in governing South Vietnam. | |
1976 | Britain slashes welfare spending. | |
1981 | The U.S. State Department calls El Salvador a “textbook case” of a Communist plot. | |
1987 | New York Governor Mario Cuomo declares that he will not run for president in the next election. | |
Born on February 19 | ||
1473 | Nicholas Copernicus, Polish astronomer who introduced the idea that the earth revolved around the sun. | |
1683 | Philip V, King of Spain. | |
1817 | William III, King of the Netherlands. | |
1859 | Svante Arrhenius, Swedish chemist, founder of physical chemistry. | |
1902 | Kay Boyle, short story writer (“The White Horses of Vienna”). | |
1911 | Merle Oberon, film actress. | |
1917 | Carson McCuller, writer (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter). | |
1940 | Smokey Robinson, American singer and songwriter. | |
1952 | Amy Tan, novelist (The Joy Luck CLub, The Kitchen God’s Wife). |
– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history#sthash.oUU56rIE.dpuf