February 19
Events
Pre-1600
- 197 - Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
- 356 - The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan idols in the Roman Empire.
- 1594 - Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592.
- 1600 - The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.
1601–1900
- 1649 - The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil.
- 1674 - England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England.
- 1714 - Great Northern War: The battle of Napue between Sweden and Russia is fought in Isokyrö, Ostrobothnia.
- 1726 - The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
- 1807 - Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama, and confined to Fort Stoddert.
- 1819 - British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands.
- 1836 - King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the province of South Australia.
- 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 the annexation of Texas by the United States.
- 1847 - The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
- 1878 - Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
- 1884 - More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.
1901–present
- 1913 - Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.
- 1915 - World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.
- 1937 - Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.
- 1942 - World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people.
- 1942 - World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.
- 1945 - World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.
- 1948 - The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.
- 1949 - Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.
- 1953 - Book censorship in the United States: The Georgia Literature Commission is established.
- 1954 - Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
- 1959 - The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
- 1960 - China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.
- 1963 - The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique reawakens the feminist movement in the United States as women's organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.
- 1965 - Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh.
- 1976 - Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford's Proclamation 4417.
- 1978 - Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, 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.
- 1985 - William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.
- 1985 - A Boeing 727 operating as Iberia Flight 610 crashes Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148; it is the deadliest accident to occur in Iberia's history and the deadliest in Basque County to occur.
- 1986 - Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.
- 1988 - A Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner operating as AVAir Flight 3378 crashes in Cary, North Carolina, killing 12.
- 1989 - Flying Tiger Line Flight 066 crashes into a hill near Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia, killing four.
- 2002 - NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
- 2003 - An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.
- 2006 - A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners.
- 2011 - The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.
- 2012 - Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico.
- 2020 - Nine people are killed in two domestic terrorist shootings in Hanau, Hesse, Germany.
- 2021 - Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, a 19-year-old protester, becomes the first known casualty of anti-coup protests that formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1461 - Domenico Grimani, Italian cardinal
- 1473 - Nicolaus Copernicus, Prussian mathematician and astronomer
- 1497 - Matthäus Schwarz, German fashion writer
- 1519 - Froben Christoph of Zimmern, German author of the Zimmern Chronicle
- 1526 - Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist and academic
- 1532 - Jean-Antoine de Baïf, French poet
- 1552 - Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal
- 1594 - Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
1601–1900
- 1611 - Andries de Graeff, Dutch politician
- 1630 - Shivaji, Indian warrior-king and the founder of Maratha Empire
- 1660 - Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist
- 1717 - David Garrick, English actor, playwright, and producer
- 1743 - Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer
- 1798 - Allan MacNab, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Premier of Canada West
- 1800 - Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun and social worker, founded the Sisters of Providence
- 1804 - Carl von Rokitansky, German physician, pathologist, and philosopher
- 1821 - August Schleicher, German linguist and academic
- 1833 - Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1838 - Lydia Thompson, British burlesque performer
- 1841 - Elfrida Andrée, Swedish organist, composer, and conductor
- 1855 - Nishinoumi Kajirō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna
- 1859 - Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1865 - Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer
- 1869 - Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian-Russian poet and author
- 1872 - Johan Pitka, Estonian admiral
- 1876 - Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer
- 1877 - Gabriele Münter, German painter
- 1878 - Harriet Bosse, Swedish–Norwegian actress
- 1880 - Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico
- 1886 - José Abad Santos, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
- 1888 - José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian lawyer and poet
- 1893 - Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director
- 1895 - Louis Calhern, American actor
- 1896 - André Breton, French poet and author
- 1897 - Alma Rubens, American actress
- 1899 - Lucio Fontana, Argentinian-Italian painter and sculptor
1901–present
- 1902 - Kay Boyle, American novelist, short story writer, and educator
- 1904 - Havank, Dutch journalist and author
- 1911 - Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress
- 1912 - Saul Chaplin, American composer
- 1912 - Dorothy Janis, American actress
- 1913 - Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza
- 1913 - Frank Tashlin, American animator and screenwriter
- 1914 - Thelma Kench, New Zealand Olympic sprinter
- 1915 - Dick Emery, English actor and comedian
- 1915 - John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States
- 1916 - Eddie Arcaro, American jockey and sportscaster
- 1917 - Carson McCullers, American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist
- 1918 - Fay McKenzie, American actress
- 1920 - C. Z. Guest, American actress, fashion designer, and author
- 1920 - Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet
- 1920 - George Rose, English actor and singer
- 1922 - Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1924 - David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player and theoretician
- 1924 - Lee Marvin, American actor
- 1926 - György Kurtág, Hungarian composer and academic
- 1927 - Philippe Boiry, French journalist
- 1929 - Jacques Deray, French director and screenwriter
- 1930 - John Frankenheimer, American director and producer
- 1930 - K. Viswanath, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1932 - Joseph P. Kerwin, American captain, physician, and astronaut
- 1935 - Chung-Yun Hse, Wood scientist
- 1935 - Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster
- 1935 - Russ Nixon, American MLB catcher and coach
- 1936 - Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter
- 1936 - Frederick Seidel, American poet
- 1937 - Terry Carr, American author and educator
- 1937 - Norm O'Neill, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1938 - Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama
- 1939 - Erin Pizzey, English activist and author, founded Refuge
- 1940 - Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan
- 1940 - Smokey Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1940 - Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter
- 1941 - David Gross, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 - Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, English politician
- 1942 - Cyrus Chothia, English biochemist and emeritus scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology
- 1942 - Paul Krause, American football player and politician
- 1942 - Will Provine, American biologist, historian, and academic
- 1942 - Howard Stringer, Welsh businessman
- 1943 - Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter
- 1943 - Homer Hickam, American author and engineer
- 1943 - Tim Hunt, English biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate
- 1944 - Les Hinton, English-American journalist and businessman
- 1945 - Yuri Antonov, Uzbek-Russian singer-songwriter
- 1946 - Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist
- 1946 - Peter Hudson, Australian footballer and coach
- 1946 - Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist
- 1947 - Jackie Curtis, American actress and playwright
- 1947 - Tim Shadbolt, New Zealand businessman and politician, 42nd Mayor of Invercargill
- 1948 - Mark Andes, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1948 - Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician
- 1948 - Raúl Grijalva, United States representative from Arizona
- 1948 - Tony Iommi, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1949 - Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer
- 1949 - Eddie Hardin, English singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1949 - Barry Lloyd, English footballer and manager
- 1949 - William Messner-Loebs, American author and illustrator
- 1950 - Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter
- 1950 - Andy Powell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 - Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani scholar and politician, founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran
- 1952 - Ryū Murakami, Japanese novelist and filmmaker
- 1952 - Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican engineer and astronaut
- 1952 - Amy Tan, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
- 1952 - Danilo Türk, Slovene academic and politician, 3rd President of Slovenia
- 1953 - Corrado Barazzutti, Italian tennis player
- 1953 - Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentine lawyer and politician, President of Argentina and Vice President of Argentina
- 1953 - Massimo Troisi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1954 - Francis Buchholz, German bass player
- 1954 - Michael Gira, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1954 - Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1955 - Jeff Daniels, American actor and playwright
- 1956 - Peter Holsapple, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 - Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1956 - Dave Wakeling, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 - Falco, Austrian singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician
- 1957 - Dave Stewart, American baseball player, coach, and executive
- 1957 - Ray Winstone, English actor
- 1958 - Leslie David Baker, American actor
- 1958 - Helen Fielding, English author and screenwriter
- 1958 - Steve Nieve, English keyboard player and composer
- 1959 - Roger Goodell, American businessman, 6th National Football League Commissioner
- 1960 - Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, second son of Elizabeth II
- 1960 - John Paul Jr., American race car driver
- 1961 - Justin Fashanu, English footballer
- 1961 - Ernie Gonzalez, American golfer
- 1962 - Hana Mandlíková, Czech-Australian tennis player and coach
- 1963 - Seal, English singer-songwriter
- 1963 - Jessica Tuck, American actress
- 1964 - Doug Aldrich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 - Jennifer Doudna, American biochemist
- 1964 - Jonathan Lethem, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
- 1965 - Jon Fishman, American drummer
- 1965 - Clark Hunt, American businessman
- 1965 - Leroy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1966 - Justine Bateman, American actress and producer
- 1966 - Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player and coach
- 1966 - Eduardo Xol, American designer and author
- 1967 - Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican actor, director, and producer
- 1968 - Prince Markie Dee, American rapper and actor
- 1968 - Frank Watkins, American bass player
- 1969 - Burton C. Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1969 - Helena Guergis, Canadian businesswoman and politician
- 1970 - Joacim Cans, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1970 - Verena Nussbaum, Austrian politician
- 1970 - Bellamy Young, American actress
- 1971 - Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player and poet
- 1971 - Richard Green, Australian golfer
- 1971 - Jeff Kinney, American author and illustrator
- 1972 - Francine Fournier, American wrestler and manager
- 1972 - Sunset Thomas, American pornographic actress
- 1973 - Eric Lange, American actor
- 1975 - Daniel Adair, Canadian drummer and producer
- 1975 - Daewon Song, South Korean-American skateboarder, co-founded Almost Skateboards
- 1977 - Ola Salo, Swedish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1977 - Andrew Ross Sorkin, American journalist and author
- 1977 - Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer and manager
- 1978 - Ben Gummer, English scholar and politician
- 1978 - Immortal Technique, Peruvian-American rapper
- 1979 - Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player and manager
- 1980 - Dwight Freeney, American football player
- 1980 - Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player
- 1980 - Mike Miller, American basketball player
- 1981 - Beth Ditto, American singer
- 1981 - Shawn Spears, Canadian wrestler
- 1983 - Kotoōshū Katsunori, Bulgarian sumo wrestler
- 1983 - Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
- 1983 - Reynhard Sinaga, Indonesian sex offender
- 1983 - Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player
- 1983 - Jawad Williams, American basketball player
- 1984 - Chris Richardson, American singer-songwriter
- 1985 - Haylie Duff, American actress and singer
- 1985 - Arielle Kebbel, American actress and model
- 1985 - Kosta Perović, Serbian basketball player
- 1986 - Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 - Linus Klasen, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1986 - Marta, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 - Maria Mena, Norwegian singer-songwriter
- 1987 - Anna Cappellini, Italian ice dancer
- 1987 - Josh Reddick, American baseball player
- 1988 - Shawn Matthias, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 - Seth Morrison, American guitarist
- 1989 - Sone Aluko, English-Nigerian footballer
- 1991 - Trevor Bayne, American race car driver
- 1991 - Christoph Kramer, German footballer
- 1991 - Adreian Payne, American basketball player
- 1992 - Camille Kostek, American model
- 1992 - Cody Parkey, American football player
- 1993 - Mauro Icardi, Argentine footballer
- 1993 - Victoria Justice, American actress and singer
- 1994 - Tiina Trutsi, Estonian footballer
- 1995 - Nikola Jokić, Serbian basketball player
- 1996 - Mabel, British-Swedish singer
- 1996 - D. J. Wilson, American basketball player
- 1998 - Katharina Gerlach, German tennis player
- 1998 - Chappell Roan, American singer and songwriter
- 1998 - Jungwoo, South Korean singer
- 2001 - Lee Kang-in, South Korean footballer
- 2001 - David Mazouz, American actor
- 2003 - Jakub Ojrzyński, Polish footballer
- 2004 - Millie Bobby Brown, English actress, model and producer