What happened on December 19? There are more than 273 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About December 19
December 19 is the 354th day of the year 2024. There are 12 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday. This day falls under the 51st week of the year 2024.
On this day in Winchester, Kentucky 40392 sunrise will occur at 07:46 AM and sunset will occur at 05:21 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Sagittarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Turquoise while the mystical birthstone is Onyx.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 41 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 21 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For December 19
- 211Publius Septimius Geta, co-emperor of Rome, is lured to come without his bodyguards to meet his brother Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Caracalla), to discuss a possible reconciliation. When he arrives the Praetorian Guard murders him and he dies in the arms of his mother Julia Domna.
- 324Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor.
- 1154Henry II of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey.
- 1490Anne, Duchess of Brittany, is married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor by proxy.
- 1606The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery depart England carrying settlers who found, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States.
- 1776Thomas Paine publishes one of a series of pamphlets in the Pennsylvania Journal titled The American Crisis.
- 1777American Revolutionary War: George Washington’s Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
- 1796French Revolutionary Wars: Two British frigates under Commodore Horatio Nelson and two Spanish frigates under Commodore Don Jacobo Stuart engage in battle off the coast of Murcia.
- 1828Nullification Crisis: Vice President of the United States John C. Calhoun pens the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, protesting the Tariff of 1828.
- 1843Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol goes on sale.
- 1900Hopetoun Blunder: The first Governor-General of Australia John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, appointed Sir William Lyne as premier of the new state New South Wales, but he is unable to persuade other colonial politicians to join his government and is forced to resign.
- 1907A group of 239 coal miners die during a mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania.
- 1912William H. Van Schaick, captain of the steamship General Slocum which caught fire and killed over 1,000 people, is pardoned by U.S. President William Howard Taft after three-and-a-half-years in Sing Sing prison.
- 1916World War I: Battle of Verdun – On the Western Front, the French Army successfully holds off the German Army and drives it back to its starting position.
- 1920King Constantine I is restored as King of the Hellenes after the death of his son Alexander I of Greece and a plebiscite.
- 1924The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is sold in London, England.
- 1927Three Indian revolutionaries viz. Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh and Ashfaqulla Khan were executed by the British government.
- 1932BBC World Service begins broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service
- 1941World War II: Adolf Hitler becomes Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the German Army.
- 1941World War II: Limpet mines placed by Italian divers sink the HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour.
- 1946Start of the First Indochina War.
- 1956Irish-born physician John Bodkin Adams is arrested in connection with the suspicious deaths of more than 160 patients. Eventually he is convicted only of minor charges.
- 1961India annexes Daman and Diu, part of Portuguese India.
- 1963Zanzibar gains independence from the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy, under Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah.
- 1964The South Vietnamese military junta of Nguyen Khanh dissolved the High National Council and arrested some of the members.
- 1967Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt is officially presumed dead.
- 1972Apollo program: The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, crewed by Eugene Cernan, Ron Evans and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth.
- 1975John Paul Stevens is appointed a justice of The United States Supreme Court.
- 1981Sixteen lives are lost when the Penlee lifeboat goes to the aid of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas.
- 1983The original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro.
- 1984The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that the People’s Republic of China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and the United Kingdom would restore Hong Kong to China with effect from July 1, 1997 is signed in Beijing by Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher.
- 1986Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from exile in Gorky.
- 1995The United States Government restores federal recognition to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indian tribe.
- 1997SilkAir Flight 185 crashes into the Musi River, near Palembang in Indonesia, killing 104.
- 1998Lewinsky scandal: The United States House of Representatives forwards articles I and III of impeachment against President Bill Clinton to the Senate.
- 2000The Leninist Guerrilla Units wing of the Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist attack a Nationalist Movement Party office in Istanbul, killing one person and injuring three.
- 2001A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.
- 2001Argentine economic crisis: December 2001 riots – Riots erupt in Buenos Aires.
Who Were Born On December 19?
- 1554Philip William, Prince of Orange (d. 1618)
- 1587Dorothea Sophia, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg (d. 1645)
- 1683Philip V of Spain (d. 1746)
- 1699William Bowyer, English printer (d. 1777)
- 1714John Winthrop, American astronomer (d. 1779)
- 1778Princess Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, daughter of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI (d. 1851)
- 1784Marcus Morton, 16th and 18th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1864)
- 1796Breton de los Herreros, Spanish playwright (d. 1873)
- 1817James J. Archer, Confederate general (d. 1864)
- 1820Mary Livermore, American journalist and women’s rights advocate (d. 1905)
- 1831Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Hawaiian philanthropist (d. 1884)
- 1849Henry Clay Frick, American industrialist and financier (d. 1919)
- 1852Albert Abraham Michelson, Prussian-born American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1931)
- 1853Charles Fitzpatrick, Canadian politician, lieutenant-governor of Quebec (d. 1942)
- 1861Italo Svevo, Italian author (d. 1928)
- 1865Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress (d. 1932)
- 1875Carter Woodson, American historian and author, founder of Black History Month (d. 1950)
- 1888Fritz Reiner, Hungarian-born American conductor (d. 1963)
- 1894Ford Frick, American baseball commissioner (d. 1978)
- 1895Ingeborg Refling Hagen, Norwegian author and teacher (d. 1989)
- 1895Werner Dankwort, German diplomat (d. 1986)
- 1899Martin Luther King, Sr., American Baptist minister and father of Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr. (d. 1984)
- 1901Fritz Mauruschat, German footballer (d. 1974)
- 1901Rudolf Hell, German inventor (d. 2002)
- 1902Sir Ralph Richardson, English actor (d. 1983)
- 1903George Davis Snell, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996)
- 1905Irving Kahn, American financial analyst and investor
- 1906Leonid Brezhnev, leader of the Soviet Union (d. 1982)
- 1907Jimmy McLarnin, former Welterweight Champion (d. 2004)
- 1909W. A. Criswell, American (Baptist) preacher (d. 2002)
- 1910Jean Genet, French writer (d. 1986)
- 1915Édith Piaf, French singer and actress (d. 1963)
- 1916Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, German political scientist (d. 2010)
- 1916Roy Ward Baker, English film director (d. 2010)
- 1918Professor Longhair, American blues musician (d. 1980)
- 1920David Susskind, American TV talk show host (d. 1987)
- 1920Little Jimmy Dickens, American country singer
- 1922Eamonn Andrews, Irish-born television presenter (d. 1987)
- 1923Gordon Jackson, Scottish actor (d. 1990)
- 1924Carlo Chiti, Italian race car engineer (d. 1994)
- 1924Doug Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1989)
- 1924Edmund Purdom, English actor (d. 2009)
- 1924Gary Morton, American comic; widower of Lucille Ball (d. 1999)
- 1925Robert B. Sherman, American songwriter
- 1925Tankred Dorst, German dramatist
- 1925William Schutz, American psychologist (d. 2002)
- 1926Bobby Layne, American football player (d. 1986)
- 1926Herb Stempel, American game show contestant
- 1927James Booth, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1928Nathan Oliveira, American artist (d. 2010)
- 1929Bob Brookmeyer, American jazz musician
- 1929Howard Sackler, American screenwriter (d. 1982)
- 1932Salvador Elizondo, Mexican writer
- 1933Cicely Tyson, American actress
- 1933Kevan Gosper, Australian athlete
- 1934Al Kaline, American baseball player
- 1934Casper R. Taylor, Jr., American politician
- 1934Pratibha Patil, 12th President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office
- 1934Rudi Carrell, Dutch entertainer (d. 2006)
- 1935Barbara Bostock, American actress
- 1935Bobby Timmons, American jazz pianist (d. 1974)
- 1935Joanne Weaver, American baseball player (d. 2000)
- 1936Marian McKnight, American beauty pageant contestant (Miss America 1957)
- 1940Phil Ochs, American folk singer (d. 1976)
- 1941Lee Myung-bak, South Korean politician
- 1941Maurice White, American singer and songwriter (Earth, Wind & Fire)
- 1942Cornell Dupree, American session guitarist
- 1942Rufus, French actor
- 1943General James L. Jones, American military figure
- 1943Ross M. Lence, American political scientist (d. 2006)
- 1944Alvin Lee, English singer and musician (Ten Years After)
- 1944Mitchell Feigenbaum, American mathematical physicist
- 1944Richard Leakey, Kenyan paleontologist, conservationist and politician
- 1944Tim Reid, American actor
- 1944William Christie, American-born French musician (Les Arts Florissants)
- 1944Zal Yanovsky, Canadian guitarist (The Lovin' Spoonful) (d. 2002)
- 1945Elaine Joyce, American actress
- 1946Robert Urich, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1946Rosemary Conley, English businesswoman, author and broadcaster
- 1947Charlie Van Dyke, American actor and radio disc jockey
- 1947Jimmy Bain, Scottish musician
- 1948Ken Brown, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1949Nancy Kyes, American actress
- 1949Sebastian, Danish musician
- 1951Alan Rouse, British mountaineer (d. 1986)
- 1952Walter Murphy, American composer, pianist and arranger
- 1955Lincoln Hall, Australian mountaineer
- 1955Rob Portman, American politician, senator from Ohio
- 1956Phil Harris, American fisherman (Deadliest Catch) (d. 2010)
- 1956Tom Lawless, American baseball player
- 1957Cyril Collard, French film director (d. 1993)
- 1957John Gulager, American film director
- 1957Kevin McHale, American basketball player
- 1958Limahl, English singer (Kajagoogoo)
- 1958Steven Isserlis, English cellist
- 1959Ivan Vallejo, Ecuadorian mountaineer
- 1960Derrick Jensen, American author and activist
- 1960Michelangelo Signorile, American writer
- 1960Mike Lookinland, American actor
- 1961Eric Allin Cornell, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1961Matthew Waterhouse, English actor
- 1961Reggie White, American football player (d. 2004)
- 1962Gary Fleder, American film director
- 1962Jill Talley, American actress
- 1963Jennifer Beals, American actress
- 1963Til Schweiger, German actor
- 1964Arvydas Sabonis, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1964Béatrice Dalle, French actress
- 1965Chito Martínez, Belizean baseball player
- 1965Jessica Steen, American actress
- 1966Alberto Tomba, Italian alpine skier
- 1966Chuckii Booker, American singer, musician and producer
- 1966Eric Weinrich, American ice hockey player
- 1966Robert MacNaughton, American stage and screen actor
- 1967Criss Angel, American illusionist
- 1967Frankie Lam, Hong Kong actor
- 1968Ken Marino, American actor and comedian
- 1969Kristy Swanson, American actress
- 1969Richard Hammond, English television presenter
- 1969Tom Gugliotta, American basketball player
- 1969Villano IV, Mexican professional wrestler
- 1970Tyson Beckford, American model
- 1971Amy Locane, American actress
- 1971Liz Cho, American television reporter
- 1972Alyssa Milano, American actress
- 1972Rosa Blasi, American actress
- 1972Warren Sapp, American football player
- 1973Michalis Grigoriou, Greek footballer and coach
- 1973Takashi Sorimachi, Japanese actor
- 1973Zulfiya Zabirova, Russian cyclist
- 1974Felipe Lopez, Dominican basketball player
- 1974Jake Plummer, American football player
- 1974Joe Jurevicius, American football player
- 1974Mikko Paananen, Finnish bassist (HIM)
- 1974Ricky Ponting, Australian cricketer
- 1975Jon Smith, British writer
- 1975Makis Belevonis, Greek footballer
- 1975Michiel van den Bos, Dutch composer
- 1975Olivier Tebily, Ivorian footballer
- 1975Russell Branyan, American baseball player
- 1977Jorge Garbajosa, Spanish basketball player
- 1978Patrick Casey, American screenwriter and actor
- 1979Kevin Devine, American musician
- 1979Paola Rey, Colombian actress
- 1980Chris Haslam, Canadian skateboarder and bassist (Kobra Triangle)
- 1980Iman Ali, Pakistani model and actress
- 1980Jake Gyllenhaal, American actor
- 1980Marla Sokoloff, American actress
- 1982Maurice Williams, American basketball player
- 1982Tero Pitkämäki, Finnish javelin thrower
- 1983Casey Crescenzo, American Rock Artist
- 1983Matt Stajan, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983Nektarios Alexandrou, Greek-Cypriot footballer
- 1984Ian Kennedy, American baseball player
- 1985Gary Cahill, English footballer
- 1985Lady Sovereign, English musician
- 1985Neil Kilkenny, English-born Australian soccer player
- 1986Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1986Ryan Babel, Dutch footballer
- 1987Cédric Baseya, DR Congolese footballer
- 1987Karim Benzema, French footballer
- 1988Alexis Sánchez, Chilean footballer
- 1988Paulina Gretzky, American singer and model
- 1988Peter Winn, English footballer
- 1989Hamza Riazuddin, English cricketer
- 1989Valdimar Bergstað, Icelandic horse rider
- 1990Greg Bretz, American snowboarder
- 1991Declan Galbraith, English singer
- 1992Iker Muniain, Spanish/Basque footballer
Who Died On December 19?
- 211Publius Septimius Geta, Roman Emperor (b. 189)
- 401Pope Anastasius I
- 1075Edith of Wessex, wife of Edward the Confessor
- 1111Al-Ghazali, Islamic philosopher (b. 1058)
- 1327Agnes of France, Duchess of Burgundy
- 1370Pope Urban V (b. 1310)
- 1737James Louis Sobieski, son of John III Sobieski, and pretender to the throne of Poland (b. 1667)
- 1741Vitus Bering, Danish-born explorer (b. 1681)
- 1745Jean-Baptiste van Loo, French painter (b. 1684)
- 1749Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (b. 1672)
- 1751Louise of Great Britain, wife of Frederick V of Denmark (b. 1724)
- 1807Friedrich Melchior, baron von Grimm, German writer (b. 1723)
- 1813James McGill, Scottish-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1744)
- 1814Joseph Bramah, British inventor and locksmith (b. 1748)
- 1819Sir Thomas Fremantle, British naval officer and politician (b. 1765)
- 1848Emily Brontë, English author (b. 1818)
- 1878Bayard Taylor, American author and poet (b. 1825)
- 1915Alois Alzheimer, German neuroscientist (b. 1864)
- 1916Thibaw Min, King of Burma (b. 1859)
- 1927Ashfaqulla Khan, Indian independence movement figure (b. 1900)
- 1932Yoon Bong-Gil, Korean activist (b. 1908)
- 1933George Jackson Churchward, British locomotive engineer (b. 1857)
- 1938Stephen Warfield Gambrill, American politician (b. 1873)
- 1939Hans Langsdorff, German naval officer (b. 1894)
- 1944Abbas II of Egypt (b. 1874)
- 1944Rudolph Karstadt, German entrepreneur (b. 1856)
- 1946Paul Langevin, French physicist (b. 1872)
- 1953Robert Millikan, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1868)
- 1968Norman Thomas, American socialist (b. 1884)
- 1982Dwight Macdonald, American social critic (b. 1906)
- 1984Joy Ridderhof, American missionary (b. 1903)
- 1986V. C. Andrews, American author (b. 1923)
- 1988Robert Bernstein, American comic book writer (b. 1919)
- 1989Stella Gibbons, English author (b. 1902)
- 1991Joe Cole, American rock music roadie (b. 1961)
- 1993Michael Clarke, American drummer (The Byrds) (b. 1946)
- 1996Marcello Mastroianni, Italian actor (b. 1924)
- 1997Jimmy Rogers, American blues guitarist (b. 1924)
- 1997Masaru Ibuka, Japanese industrialist (Sony) (b. 1908)
- 1998Antonio Ordóñez, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1932)
- 1998Mel Fisher, American treasure hunter (b. 1922)
- 1999Desmond Llewelyn, Welsh actor (b. 1914)
- 2000David Dewayne Johnson, American convicted murderer (b. 1963)
- 2000John Lindsay, American politician (b. 1921)
- 2000Milt Hinton, American jazz double bassist (b. 1910)
- 2000Pops Staples, American singer (The Staple Singers) (b. 1915)
- 2000Rob Buck, American guitarist (10,000 Maniacs) (b. 1958)
- 2001Marcel Mule, French saxophonist (b. 1901)
- 2002Arthur Rowley, English footballer (b. 1926)
- 2003Hope Lange, American actress (b. 1933)
- 2003Les Tremayne, English-born American actor (b. 1913)
- 2003Peter Carter-Ruck, English lawyer (b. 1914)
- 2004Herbert C. Brown, English-born American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1912)
- 2004Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano (b. 1922)
- 2005Keith Duckworth, English mechanical engineer (Cosworth) (b. 1933)
- 2005Vincent Gigante, American mafioso (b. 1927)
- 2008Carol Chomsky, American linguist (b. 1930)
- 2008Dock Ellis, American baseball pitcher (b. 1945)
- 2008James Bevel, American civil rights activist (b. 1936)
- 2008Kenny Cox, American jazz musician (b. 1940)
- 2008Michael Connell, American political consultant (b. 1963)
- 2009Giridharilal Kedia, Indian entrepreneur (b. 1936)
- 2009Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Iranian dissident cleric (b. 1922)
- 2009Kim Peek, American savant (b. 1951)
- 2010Anthony Howard, English journalist (b. 1934)
- 2010Trudy Pitts, American jazz organist, pianist, and vocalist (b. 1932)
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