Title: March 19 Content: March 19 is usually the last day of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere, and the last day of the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere. == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 1279 – A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the rule of the Song Dynasty in China. * 1452 - Frederick, Holy Roman Emperor is crowned in Rome. * 1563 - The Edict of Amboise is signed, granting some freedoms to Huguenots in France. * 1616 - Walter Raleigh is released from the Tower of London after 13 years. * 1649 - The English House of Commons passes an act banning the House of Lords. * 1808 - Charles IV of Spain abdicates the throne, but soon becomes King again because of the Napoleonic Wars. * 1812 - The Cadiz Cortes declare the Spanish Constitution of 1812. * 1848 – March Revolution in Berlin. * 1853 - The Taiping reform movement occupies and makes Nanjing in China its capital city until 1864. * 1861 – The First Taranaki War ends in New Zealand. * 1863 - American Civil War: The Confederate cruiser SS Georgiana is destroyed on its first voyage. It is re-discovered 102 years later. * 1865 - American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville begins in North Carolina. * 1882 - The first stone of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona is laid. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi, and is, as of 2014, not finished yet. * 1885 - Louis Riel declares a provisional government in Saskatchewan, Canada, starting the Northwest Rebellion. * 1895 - The Lumière brothers record their first cinematograph footage. === 1901 2000 === * 1915 – Pluto is photographed for the first time, but is not considered as a planet. * 1918 – US Congress establishes Time Zones and Daylight Saving Time. * 1920 - The United States Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for a second time. * 1921 - Irish War of Independence: In Crossbarry, County Cork, Ireland, over 100 IRA volunteers escape an attempt by over 1,300 British forces to encircle them. * 1931 – Gambling is legalised in Nevada. * 1932 – Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened. * 1941 - World War II: 99th Pursuit Squadron, Tuskegee Airmen, the first black unit of the United States Army Corps, is activated. * 1944 - World War II: Nazi forces occupy Hungary. * 1945 - World War II: Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 724 crew members. * 1946 – French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion becomes overseas Departements of France. * 1954 - Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in New York City in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color. * 1954 - Willie Mosconi sets world record by running 526 balls in a row without a miss. during a straight pool competition at the East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio. * 1958 - The Monarch Underwear Company fire in Manhattan kills 24 people. * 1962 – Algerian War of Independence: A ceasefire enters effect. * 1970 – Chancellor of Germany Willy Brandt meets East Germany's Prime Minister Willi Stoph in Erfurt in an attempt at closer relations. * 1979 - The United States House of Representatives begins broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN. * 1982 – Argentine forces land on the island of South Georgia, two weeks before the invasion of the Falkland Islands. * 1988 - The rock band Nirvana holds its first concert. * 1996 – Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela divorce. === From 2001 === * 2002 – Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations over human rights abuses and electoral fraud. * 2003 - George W. Bush orders the Invasion of Iraq. * 2004 - President of Taiwan Chen Shui-bian is shot and injured a day before the Presidential election. * 2004 – A bus crash kills 21 people near Konginkangas, Finland. It is the deadliest road accident in Finnish history. * 2006 - The Winter Paralympics in Turin end. * 2006 – In a controversial election, Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko wins 80% of the vote, leading to demonstrations in Minsk. * 2008 - GRB 080319B: A cosmic burst that is the farthest object visible to the eye (without using a telescope) is briefly observed. * 2011 – By 3,000 miles, the Moon makes its closest approach to Earth in 18 years. * 2011 – 2011 Libyan protests: UN-authorised military intervention begins against Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi in Libya. * 2012 – Four people are killed in a shooting at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France. It is believed to be linked with three murders over the previous week. The attacker, Mohammed Merah, is killed after a stand-off with police three days later. * 2013 - Over 50 people are killed in bomb attacks in Baghdad, to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. * 2013 - Inauguration of Pope Francis. * 2016 - Flydubai Flight 981 crashes shortly before landing at Rostov on Don, Southern Russia, killing all 62 people on board. == Births == === Up to 1900 === * 968 – Ethelred the Unready, Saxon king of England (d. 1016) * 1434 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shogun (d. 1443) * 1488 – Johannes Magnus, Swedish bishop (d. 1544) * 1534 - Jose de Anchieta, Spanish missionary (d. 1597) * 1601 - Alonzo Cano, Spanish painter, sculptor and architect (d. 1667) * 1603 - King John IV of Portugal (d. 1656) * 1629 – Tsar Alexis of Russia (d. 1676) * 1661 - Francesco Gasparini, Italian composer and teacher (d. 1727) * 1721 - Tobias Smollett, Scottish poet and author (d. 1771) * 1734 - Thomas McKean, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1817) * 1742 – Tupac Amaru II, Inca revolutionary (d. 1781) * 1749 – Princess Louisa of Great Britain (d. 1768) * 1778 – Edward Pakenham, British general (d. 1815) * 1813 – David Livingstone, Scottish missionary, doctor and explorer (d. 1873) * 1821 – Richard Francis Burton, English explorer, diplomat and writer (d. 1890) * 1823 - Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria (d. 1914) * 1824 – William Allingham, Irish writer (d. 1889) * 1829 - Carl Frederik Tietgen, Danish financier and industrialist (d. 1901) * 1844 - Minna Canth, Finnish writer and women's rights activist (d. 1897) * 1848 – Wyatt Earp, American Western figure (d. 1929) * 1849 – Alfred von Tirpitz, German admiral (d. 1930) * 1860 – William Jennings Bryan, United States Secretary of State (d. 1925) * 1861 - Lomer Gouin, 13th Premier of Quebec (d. 1929) * 1864 - Charles M. Russell, American painter, sculptor, illustrator and writer (d. 1926) * 1866 - Emilio De Bono, Italian general and politician (d. 1944) * 1871 – Baroness Mary Vetsera, member of the Austrian nobility (d. 1889) * 1872 - Anna Held, Polish- born stage performer (d. 1918) * 1873 - Mex Reger, German pianist, composer and conductor (d. 1916) * 1876 – Felix Jacoby, German classical philologist (d. 1959) * 1883 – Walter Haworth, British chemist (d. 1950) * 1883 - Joseph Stilwell, American general (d. 1946) * 1888 – Josef Albers, German artist (d. 1976) * 1889 - King Manuel II of Portugal (d. 1932) * 1891 – Earl Warren, American politician and jurist (d. 1974) * 1892 - James Van Fleet, American general (d. 1992) * 1893 - Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra, President of Ecuador (d. 1979) * 1894 - Moms Mabley, American comedienne, actress and singer (d. 1975) * 1895 - Ion Barbu, Romanian writer and mathematician (d. 1961) * 1897 - Betty Compson, American actress (d. 1974) * 1898 - Karl Theodor Bleek, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 1969) * 1900 – Frédéric Joliot, French physicist (d. 1958) === 1901 1950 === * 1902 – Louisa Ghijs, Belgian stage actress (d. 1985) * 1905 – Albert Speer, Nazi official (d. 1981) * 1906 – Adolf Eichmann, Nazi official (d. 1962) * 1909 - Attilio Demaria, Argentine footballer (d. 1990) * 1909 - Louis Hayward, British actor (d. 1985) * 1912 - William Frankland, British immunologist * 1912 - Hugh Watt, Interim Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1980) * 1913 - Alexander Pokryshkin, Russian pilot (d. 1985) * 1914 - Jay Berwanger, American football player (d. 2002) * 1915 - Patricia Morison, American soprano and actress * 1916 - Eric Christmas, English-Canadian actor (d. 2000) * 1916 - Irving Wallace, American writer and screenwriter (d. 1990) * 1917 - Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist and composer (d. 1950) * 1917 – Laszlo Szabo, Hungarian chess player (d. 1998) * 1919 - Lennie Tristano, American jazz pianist, composer and educator (d. 1978) * 1920 – Kjell Aukrust, Norwegian writer (d. 2002) * 1921 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedy magician (d. 1984) * 1921 - Emile Bongiorni, French footballer (d. 1949) * 1922 - Hiroo Onoda, Japanese soldier (d. 2014) * 1922 - Guy Lewis, American basketball player (d. 2015) * 1923 - Giuseppe Rotunno, Italian cinematographer * 1924 – Joe Gaetjens, Haitian-American soccer player (d. 1964) * 1924 - Mary Wimbush, British actress (d. 2005) * 1925 - Brent Scowcroft, American general and diplomat * 1927 - Allen Newell, American computer scientist (d. 1992) * 1928 - Hans Küng, Swiss theologian, priest and author * 1928 – Patrick McGoohan, American actor (d. 2009) * 1930 - Giuseppe Rotunno, Italian chef * 1932 - Gail Kobe, American actress (d. 2013) * 1932 - Peter Hall, English town planner and geographer (d. 2014) * 1933 - Philip Roth, American author * 1935 - Nancy Malone, American actress (d. 2014) * 1936 – Ursula Andress, Swiss actress * 1937 – Egon Krenz, East German political leader * 1942 - Richard Dobson, American singer and songwriter * 1942 - Heather Robertson, Canadian journalist and writer (d. 2014) * 1943 – Mario Monti, Italian economist and former Prime Minister of Italy * 1943 – Mario J. Molina, Mexican chemist * 1944 – Said Musa, former Prime Minister of Belize * 1944 - Tom Constanten, American musician (Grateful Dead) * 1944 – Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian-born assassin * 1946 - Ruth Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters) * 1947 – Glenn Close, American actress * 1947 – Marinho Peres, Brazilian footballer * 1949 - Hirofumi Hirano, Japanese politician * 1949 – Valery Leontiev, Russian singer === 1951 1975 === * 1952 – Harvey Weinstein, American movie producer * 1952 - Chris Brubeck, American jazz musician * 1953 – Ricky Wilson, American musician * 1953 - Ian Blair, English police officer, London Metropolitan Police * 1954 - Cho Kwang-Rae, South Korean football manager * 1954 – Jill Abramson, American journalist * 1954 - Rashid Nugmanov, Kazakhstani director and activist * 1955 – Bruce Willis, American actor * 1955 - Pino Daniele, Italian musician (d. 2015) * 1956 – Yegor Gaidar, Soviet politician (d. 2009) * 1958 - Fred Stoller, American comedian, actor and voice artist * 1959 - Terry Hall, British singer * 1961 – Jos Lansink, Dutch-Belgian equestrian * 1961 – Rune Bratseth, Norwegian footballer * 1961 – Dana Reeve, American actress (d. 2006) * 1966 - Michael Crockart, Scottish politician * 1966 – Olaf Marschall, German footballer * 1967 - Vladimir Konstantinov, Russian ice hockey player * 1967 - Katia Tiutiunnik, Australian violist and composer * 1968 - Tyrone Hill, American basketball player * 1969 - Gary Jules, American singer * 1973 - Ashley Giles, English cricketer * 1973 - Sergey Makarov, Russian javelin thrower === From 1976 === * 1976 – Alessandro Nesta, Italian footballer * 1976 - Rachel Blanchard, Canadian actress * 1977 - Jorma Taccone, American director, actor and screenwriter * 1977 - Fayez Banihammad, 9-11 terrorist (d. 2001) * 1979 - Franco Brienza, Italian footballer * 1979 – Christos Patsatzoglou, Greek footballer * 1979 – Hedo Turkoglu, Turkish basketball player * 1979 – Ivan Ljubicic, Croatian tennis player * 1979 – Abby Brammell, American actress * 1981 – Kolo Touré, Ivorian footballer * 1982 – Brad Jones, Australian footballer * 1982 - Eduardo Saverin, Brazilian entrepreneur * 1983 - Evan Bourne, American professional wrestler * 1984 - Tanushree Dutta, Indian model and actress * 1986 – Tyler Bozak, Canadian ice hockey player * 1987 - AJ Lee, American professional wrestler * 1987 – Milos Teodosic, Serbian basketball player * 1988 - Clayton Kershaw, American baseball player * 1991 - Aleksandr Kokorin, Russian footballer * 1991 - Keacy Carty, West Indian cricketer * 1997 - Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuanian swimmer * 1999 – Tatum McCann, American actress * 2007 – Prince Abdullah bin Ali of Jordan == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 1238 – Duke Henry I of Poland (b. 1163) * 1279 - Emperor Bing of Song of China (b. 1271) * 1286 – Alexander III of Scotland (b. 1241) * 1330 - Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician (b. 1301) * 1406 – Ibn Khaldun, Arab historian (b. 1332) * 1612 - Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarussian saint (b. 1585) * 1623 - Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1556) * 1637 - Peter Pazmany, Hungarian cardinal and statesman (b. 1570) * 1649 - Gerardus Vossius, Dutch classical scholar and theologian (b. 1577) * 1687 - Robert Cavalier de La Salle, French explorer (b. 1643) * 1721 – Pope Clement XI (b. 1649) * 1746 - Grand Duchess Anna Leopolodovna of Russia (b. 1718) * 1783 – Charles Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1713) * 1806 - James Jackson, English-born American politician, Governor of Georgia (b. 1757) * 1816 - Philip Mazzai, Italian physician (b. 1730) * 1866 – John Dunn, Australian bushranger hanged in Sydney (b. c. 1840) * 1871 – Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist (b. 1795) * 1882 - Karl Robert Jakobson, Estonian politician, journalist and teacher (b. 1841) * 1884 – Elias Lönnrot, Finnish physician and writer (b. 1802) * 1900 - John Bingham, American politician and lawyer (b. 1815) === 1901 2000 === * 1908 – Eduard Zeller, German theologian and philosopher (b. 1814) * 1914 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian volcanologist (b. 1850) * 1915 - Antonio Agliardi, Italian cardinal (b. 1832) * 1916 - Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (b. 1848) * 1930 – Arthur Balfour, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1848) * 1939 - Lloyd L. Gaines, American activist (b. 1911) * 1942 - Clinton Hart Merriam, American zoologist, ornithologist and entomologist (b. 1855) * 1943 - Frank Nitti, Italian-American gangster (b. 1883) * 1944 - William Hale Thompson, mayor of Chicago (b. 1869) * 1950 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American writer (b. 1875) * 1950 – Walter Haworth, British chemist (b. 1883) * 1950 - Alexandru Vaida- Voevod, Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1872) * 1974 – Edward Platt, American actor (b. 1916) * 1976 - Albert Dieudonné, French actor and novelist (b. 1889) * 1978 - Gaston Julia, French mathematician (b. 1893) * 1982 - Randy Rhoads, American musician (b. 1956) * 1986 - Sabino Barinaga, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1922) * 1987 – Louis de Broglie, French physicist (b. 1892) * 1988 - Bun Cook, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1904) * 1989 - Valérie Quennessen, French actress (b. 1957) * 1995 - Yasuo Yamada, Japanese voice actor (b. 1932) * 1997 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch artist (b. 1904) * 1998 - E. M. S. Namboodiripad, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Kerala (b. 1909) * 1999 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, Prime Minister of Samoa (b. 1924) === From 2001 === * 2005 - John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman (b. 1925) * 2007 – Luther Ingram, American soul singer and songwriter (b. 1937) * 2008 – Arthur C. Clarke, British writer (b. 1917) * 2008 – Hugo Claus, Belgian writer (b. 1929) * 2008 – Paul Scofield, British actor (b. 1921) * 2009 - Paul Angelis, English actor (b. 1943) * 2011 – Knut, famous polar bear (b. 2006) * 2011 - Gustav Lantschner, Austrian-German skier (b. 1910) * 2013 - Holger Juul Hansen, Danish actor (b. 1924) * 2013 - Irina Petrescu, Romanian actress (b. 1941) * 2014 - Robert Schwarz Strauss, American politician and diplomat (b. 1918) * 2014 - Heather Robertson, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1942) * 2014 - Lawrence Walsh, American lawyer and judge (b. 1912) * 2014 - Patrick Joseph McGovern, American technology executive (b. 1937) * 2014 - Ernest Mühlen, Luxembourg politician (b. 1926) * 2014 - Fred Phelps, American pastor (Westboro Baptist Church) (b. 1929) * 2015 - Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs, Dutch athlete (b. 1923) * 2015 - Gus Douglass, American politician (b. 1927) * 2015 - Danny Schechter, American journalist and moviemaker (b. 1942) * 2016 - Roger Agnelli, Brazilian businessman (b. 1959) * 2016 - José Artetxe, Spanish footballer (b. 1930) * 2016 - Jack Mansell, English footballer (b. 1927) * 2017 - Jimmy Breslin, American journalist and author (b. 1928) * 2017 - Li Li- Hua, Chinese actress (b. 1924) * 2017 - Len Mitzel, Canadian politician (b. 1946) * 2017 - Chinu Modi, Indian poet and critic (b. 1939) * 2017 - Roger Pingeon, French cyclist (b. 1940) == Observances == * Saint Joseph's Day (Roman Catholicism, Church of England) and related observances: **Las Fallas (Valencia, Spain) **Father's Day (Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Honduras, Bolivia) * Unity Day (Kashubia, northern Poland) Category:Days of the year