February 19


February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are
315 days remaining, 316 in leap years.

Events

   * 607 - Boniface III becomes Pope
   * 1674 - England and the Netherlands sign the Peace of Westminster. A
     provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam
     to England, which renamed it New York
   * 1807 - In Alabama, Former Vice President of the United States Aaron
     Burr is arrested for treason.
   * 1846 - In Austin, Texas the newly-formed Texas state government is
     officially installed.
   * 1847 - The Donner Party is rescued. It is noted that some of the
     survivors seem to be remarkably well-fed considering their ordeal.
   * 1861 - Serfdom is abolished in Russia.
   * 1878 - The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison
   * 1881 - Kansas became the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic
     beverages.
   * 1913 - Prizes are included in Cracker Jack candy boxes for the first
     time
   * 1942 - World War II: About 150 Japanese warplanes attack Darwin,
     Australia
   * 1942 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an executive
     order allowing the United States military to relocate
     Japanese-Americans to Japanese internment camps.
   * 1945 - World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima - about 30,000 United States
     Marines landed on Iwo Jima starting the battle.
   * 1949 - Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the
     Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.
   * 1953 - Censorship: Georgia approves the first literature censorship
     board in the United States.
   * 1959 - The United Kingdom grants Cyprus its independence.
   * 1985 - Artificial-heart patient William Schroeder becomes the first
     such patient to leave hospital.
   * 1986 - The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station
   * 1986 - After waiting 37 years, the United States Senate approves a
     treaty outlawing genocide.
   * 1997 - The last of the Republic of China's major revolutionaries, Deng
     Xiaoping dies at 92.
   * 1999 - Dennis Franz receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
   * 2001 - A Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City
     National Memorial Center.
   * 2002 - NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of
     using its thermal emission imaging system.

Births

   * 1473 - Nicolaus Copernicus, astronomer (+ 1543)
   * 1660 - Friedrich Hoffmann, physician and chemist (+ 1742)
   * 1717 - David Garrick, actor (+ 1779)
   * 1743 - Luigi Boccherini, italian classical music preformer
   * 1804 - David Wark, Canadian politician and Senator (+ 1905)
   * 1865 - Sven Hedin, scientist (+ 1952)
   * 1876 - Constantin Brancusi, sculptor (+ 1957)
   * 1877 - Gabriele MŸnter, painter, member of Blaue Reiter (+ 1962)
   * 1911 - Merle Oberon, actress (+ 1979)
   * 1912 - Stan Kenton, musician (+ 1979)
   * 1917 - Carson McCullers, author (+ 1967)
   * 1924 - Lee Marvin, actor (+ 1987)
   * 1940 - Smokey Robinson, musician
   * 1943 - Mama Cass Elliot, singer
   * 1949 - Dan Bunten, software developer (+ 1998)
   * 1952 - Amy Tan, novelist
   * 1954 - Socrates, football player
   * 1955 - Jeff Daniels, actor
   * 1957 - Falco, singer (+ 1998)
   * 1960 - Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II
   * 1963 - Seal, singer
   * 1967 - Benicio Del Toro, actor

Deaths

   * 1670 - King Frederick III of Denmark
   * 1799 - Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist,
     political scientist, and sailor
   * 1936 - Billy Mitchell, military aviation pioneer
   * 1942 - Frank Abbandando, Mafia hitman, executed
   * 1951 - AndrŽ Gide, author
   * 1952 - Knut Hamsun, author
   * 1980 - Bon Scott, musician ("AC/DC")
   * 1997 - Deng Xiaoping, Chinese political leader
   * 2000 - Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian artist
   * 2001 - Stanley Kramer, director
   * 2003 - Johnny Paycheck, 64 yrs., country music singer