Today in History – October 19th

Published October 19, 2012 |

202 BC, 2nd Punic War: At Battle of Zama, Romans under Scipio Africanus defeat Hannibal Barca, leader of army defending Carthage.
439, The Vandals, led by King Gaiseric, take Carthage in North Africa.
1216, King John of England dies at Newark-on-Trent and is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry.
1466, The Thirteen Years’ War ends with the Second Treaty of Thorn.
1512, Martin Luther becomes a doctor of theology (Doctor in Biblia).
1649, New Ross town, Co. Wexford, Ireland, surrenders to Oliver Cromwell.
1745, Jonathan Swift, Irish author (b. 1667) died.
1789, Chief Justice John Jay is sworn in as 1st Chief Justice of the US.
1810, Cassius Clay, American abolitionist (d. 1903) was born.
1812, Napoleon I of France retreats from Moscow.
1813, The Battle of Leipzig concludes, giving Napoleon Bonaparte one of his worst defeats.
1862, Auguste Lumiere, French inventor (d. 1954) was born.
1864, Battle of Cedar Creek, Union Army under Philip Sheridan destroys a Confederate Army under Jubal Early.
1864, St. Albans Raid, Confederate raiders launch an attack on Saint Albans, Vermont from Canada.
1882, Umberto Boccioni, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1916) was born.
1885, Charles Merrill, American investment banker (d. 1956) was born.
1897, George Pullman, American inventor and industrialist (b. 1831) died.
1900, Max Planck, in his house at Grunewald, on the outskirts of Berlin, discovers the law of black body emission (Planck’s law).
1904, Polytechnic University of the Philippines founded as Manila Business School by superintendence of American C.A. O’Reilley.
1912, Italy takes possession of Tripoli, Libya from the Ottoman Empire.
1914, 1st Battle of Ypres begins.
1917, The Love Field in Dallas, Texas is opened.
1932, Robert Reed, American actor (d. 1992) was born.
1935, The League of Nations places economic sanctions on fascist Italy for its invasion of Ethiopia.
1943, Streptomycin, 1st antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, is isolated by researchers at Rutgers University.
1944, Peter Tosh, Jamaican reggae singer (The Wailers) (d. 1987) was born.
1944, US forces land in the Philippines.
1950, Iran becomes 1st country to accept technical assistance from the US under the Point Four Program.
1956, The Soviet Union and Japan sign a Joint Declaration, officially ending state of war b/w 2 countries since August 1945.
1959, 1st discotheque opens, the Scotch-Club in Aachen, Germany.
1973, President Richard Nixon rejects an Appeals Court decision that he turn over the Watergate tapes.
1974, Niue becomes a self-governing colony of New Zealand.
1987, Black Monday – the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 22%, 508 points.
2003, Mother Teresa is beatified by Pope John Paul II.
2008, Mr. Blackwell, American fashion critic (b. 1922) died.
2010, Tom Bosley, American actor (b. 1927) died.

Chris Rivait

Chris loves history and hopes that Yesteeyear becomes a place where everyone can share their history knowledge. Chris owns an Internet Marketing company, Arrivait Marketing. He has a wonderful wife and four great children.