What happened on May 19? There are more than 255 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 May 19
May 19 is the 140th day of the year 2024. There are 226 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday. This day falls under the 20th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Boulder, Colorado 80314 sunrise will occur at 05:40 AM and sunset will occur at 08:15 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Taurus. The modern birthstone for this month is Emerald while the mystical birthstone is Sapphire.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 255 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 22 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For May 19
- 1499Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.
- 1535French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona’s two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage).
- 1536Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
- 1568Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.
- 1643Thirty Years’ War: French forces under the duc d'Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.
- 1649An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
- 1749King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
- 1776American Revolutionary War: A Continental Army garrison surrenders in the Battle of The Cedars.
- 1780New England’s Dark Day: A combination of thick smoke and heavy cloud cover causes complete darkness to fall on Eastern Canada and the New England area of the United States at 10:30 A.M.
- 1802Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour.
- 1828U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.
- 1845Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition depart from Greenhithe, England.
- 1848Mexican-American War: Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for US$15 million.
- 1864American Civil War: the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ends.
- 1897Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol Prison.
- 1911Parks Canada, the world’s first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.
- 1919Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.
- 1921The U.S. Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.
- 1922The Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union is established.
- 1934Zveno and the Bulgarian Army engineer a coup d'état and install Kimon Georgiev as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
- 1943World War II: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set Monday, May 1, 1944 as the date for the Normandy landings (“D-Day”). It would later be delayed over a month due to bad weather.
- 1950A barge containing munitions destined for Pakistan explodes in the harbor at South Amboy, New Jersey, devastating the city.
- 1959The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
- 1961Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
- 1962A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Happy Birthday”.
- 1971Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
- 1986The Firearm Owners Protection Act is signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
- 1991Croatians vote for independence in a referendum.
- 1997The Sierra Gorda Biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts.
- 2007President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension.
- 2010The Royal Thai Armed Forces concludes its crackdown on protests by forcing the surrender of United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship leaders.
Who Were Born On May 19?
- 1593Jacob Jordaens, Flemish painter (d. 1678)
- 1700José de Escandón, Spanish colonial governor (d. 1770)
- 1724Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, British admiral and politician (d. 1779)
- 1744Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German-born wife of King George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1818)
- 1762Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher (d. 1814)
- 1773Arthur Aikin, English mineralogist (d. 1854)
- 1795Johns Hopkins, American philanthropist (d. 1873)
- 1797Maria Isabel of Portugal, Queen of Spain (d. 1818)
- 1827Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French statesman (d. 1896)
- 1861Dame Nellie Melba, Australian opera singer (d. 1931)
- 1870Albert Fish, American serial killer (d. 1936)
- 1871Walter Russell, American polymath (d. 1963)
- 1874Gilbert Laird Jessop, English cricketer (d. 1955)
- 1879Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-born British politician (d. 1964)
- 1880Sir Albert Richardson, English architect (d. 1964)
- 1881Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1st President of Turkey (d. 1938)
- 1882Mohammad Mosaddegh, Prime Minister of Iran (d. 1967)
- 1890Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnamese leader (d. 1969)
- 1891Oswald Boelcke, German World War I pilot (d. 1916)
- 1897Frank Luke, American World War I pilot (d. 1918)
- 1898Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and esotericist (d. 1974)
- 1906Bruce Bennett, American athlete and actor (d. 2007)
- 1908Merriam Modell, American author (d. 1994)
- 1908Percy Williams, Canadian athlete (d. 1982)
- 1909Sir Nicholas Winton, British wartime humanitarian
- 1910Alan Melville, South African cricketer, Wisden COY 1948, (d. 1983)
- 1910Nathuram Godse, Indian assassin of Mahatma Gandhi (d. 1949)
- 1914Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
- 1914Go Seigen, Japanese Go player
- 1914Max Perutz, Austrian-born British molecular biologist, Nobel laureate (d. 2002)
- 1918Abraham Pais, Dutch-born American physicist (d. 2000)
- 1919Mitja Ribičič, Slovenian Communist politician, Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
- 1921Daniel Gélin, French actor (d. 2002)
- 1921Karel van het Reve, Dutch writer (d. 1999)
- 1921Yuri Kochiyama, American civil rights activist
- 1922Joe Gilmore, Irish barkeep
- 1924Sandy Wilson, British composer
- 1925Guy Provost, French Canadian actor (d. 2004)
- 1925Malcolm X, American civil rights activist (d. 1965)
- 1925Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator (d. 1998)
- 1926Peter Zadek, German theatre director (d. 2009)
- 1926Swami Kriyananda, Indian teacher and author
- 1928Colin Chapman, British car designer (d. 1982)
- 1928Dolph Schayes, American basketball player and coach
- 1928Gil McDougald, American baseball player (d. 2010)
- 1929John Stroger, American politician (d. 2008)
- 1930Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright (d. 1965)
- 1931Bob Anderson, British racing driver (d. 1967)
- 1931Eric Tappy, Swiss tenor
- 1932Alma Cogan, English singer (d. 1966)
- 1932Claude Blanchard, French Canadian comedian and actor (d. 2006)
- 1932Paul Erdman, American economist and author (d. 2007)
- 1934Bill Fitch, American basketball head coach
- 1934Jim Lehrer, American television journalist
- 1934Ruskin Bond, Indian author
- 1935David Hartman, American actor and television personality
- 1937Pat Roach, English actor and wrestler (d. 2004)
- 1938Madge Hindle, English actress
- 1938Moisés da Costa Amaral, East Timorese politician (d. 1989)
- 1939Francis Richard ‘Dick’Scobee, American astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1939James Fox, English actor
- 1939Livio Berruti, Italian athlete
- 1939Nancy Kwan, Hong Kong actress
- 1940Jan Janssen, Dutch cyclist
- 1940Mickey Newbury, American musician (d. 2002)
- 1941Bobby Burgess, American dancer and singer
- 1941Nora Ephron, American screenwriter
- 1942Gary Kildall, American computer programmer (d. 1994)
- 1942Robert Kilroy-Silk, British politician and television presenter
- 1944Peter Mayhew, British-American actor
- 1945Pete Townshend, English guitarist (The Who)
- 1946André the Giant, French professional wrestler (d. 1993)
- 1946Claude Lelièvre, Belgian commissioner for children’s rights
- 1947David Helfgott, Australian pianist
- 1947Michele Placido, Italian actor and director
- 1947Paul Brady, Northern Ireland singer/songwriter
- 1948Grace Jones, Jamaican singer and actress
- 1949Archie Manning, American football player
- 1949Dusty Hill, American singer and bassist (ZZ Top)
- 1951Dick Slater, American professional wrestler
- 1951Joey Ramone, American vocalist and songwriter (The Ramones) (d. 2001)
- 1952Bert van Marwijk, Dutch footballer
- 1953Dawud M. Mu'Min, American convicted murderer (d. 1997)
- 1953Shavarsh Karapetyan, Armenian finswimmer
- 1953Victoria Wood, English comedian and actress
- 1954Phil Rudd, Australian drummer (AC/DC)
- 1954Rick Cerone, American baseball player
- 1955James Gosling, Canadian computer programmer
- 1956Martyn Ware, British musician and music producer
- 1956Steven Ford, American actor
- 1957Bill Laimbeer, American basketball player and coach
- 1959Nicole Brown Simpson, American murder victim (d. 1994)
- 1961Gregory Poirier, American screenwriter and director
- 1963Filippo Galli, Italian footballer
- 1963Yazz, English singer
- 1964Lawrence Ng, Hong Kong actor
- 1964Miloslav Mečíř, Slovakian tennis player
- 1964Sean Whalen, American actor
- 1965Boris, French singer
- 1965Cecilia Bolocco, Chilean television presenter and 1987 Miss Universe
- 1965Maile Flanagan, American actress
- 1966Jodi Picoult, American writer
- 1966Marc Bureau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966Polly Walker, English actress
- 1966Sophia Crawford, English actress and martial artist
- 1967Massimo Taccon, Italian painter and sculptor
- 1968Kyle Eastwood, American jazz musician
- 1970Choi Kyung-Ju, South Korean golfer
- 1970Jason Gray-Stanford, Canadian actor
- 1970Mario Dumont, Canadian politician
- 1971Psicosis, Mexican professional wrestler
- 1971Ross Katz, American film producer
- 1972Claudia Karvan, Australian actress
- 1972Jenny Berggren, Swedish singer (Ace of Base)
- 1973Dario Franchitti, Scottish race car driver
- 1974Andrew Johns, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1975Delma Gonçalves, Brazilian footballer
- 1975Jonas Renkse, Swedish musician
- 1975Josh Paul, American baseball player
- 1975London Fletcher, American football player
- 1975Masanobu Ando, Japanese actor
- 1976Ed Cota, American basketball player
- 1976Kevin Garnett, American basketball player
- 1977Brandon Inge, American baseball player
- 1977Kelly Sheridan, Canadian voice actress
- 1977Manuel Almunia, Spanish footballer
- 1977Natalia Oreiro, Uruguayan singer and actress
- 1978Kim Zolciak, American reality show star and singer
- 1978Marcus Bent, English footballer
- 1979Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
- 1979Barbara Nedeljáková, Slovak actress
- 1979Diego Forlán, Uruguayan footballer
- 1980Drew Fuller, American actor and model
- 1980Tony Hackworth, English footballer
- 1981Bong Tae-gyu, South Korean actor
- 1981Georges St. Pierre, Canadian mixed martial artist
- 1981Luciano Figueroa, Argentine footballer
- 1981Michael Leighton, Canadian hockey player
- 1982Kevin Amankwaah, English footballer
- 1982Pål Steffen Andresen, Norwegian footballer
- 1983Eve Angel, Hungarian pornographic actress
- 1983Jessica Fox, English actress
- 1984Carla Lynch, British comedienne and model
- 1984Marcedes Lewis, American football player
- 1985Chris Loudon, Scottish darts player
- 1986Eric Lloyd, American actor
- 1986Mario Chalmers, American basketball player
- 1987David Edgar, Canadian footballer
- 1987Mariano Torres, Argentine footballer
- 1988Lily Cole, English model and actress
- 1989Jasmine, Japanese singer
- 1991Jordan Pruitt, American singer
- 1992Michele Camporese, Italian footballer
Who Died On May 19?
- 804Alcuin, English monk and scholar (b. c.735)
- 988Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 909)
- 1102Stephen II, Count of Blois (b. c.1045)
- 1125Vladimir Monomakh, Russian prince (b. 1053)
- 1296Pope Celestine V (b. 1215)
- 1319Louis d'Évreux, son of Philip III of France (b. 1276)
- 1389Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1350)
- 1526Emperor Go-Kashiwabara of Japan (b. 1464)
- 1531Jan Łaski, Polish statesman and diplomat (b. 1456)
- 1536Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII of England (b. 1501 or 1507)
- 1601Costanzo Porta, Italian composer (b. 1528 or 1529)
- 1610Thomas Sanchez, Spanish theologian (b. 1550)
- 1637Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (b. 1588)
- 1715Charles Montagu, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1661)
- 1786John Stanley, English composer (b. 1712)
- 1795James Boswell, Scottish biographer (b. 1740)
- 1795Josiah Bartlett, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1729)
- 1798William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English nobleman, and duelist (b. 1722)
- 1821Camille Jordan, French politician (b. 1771)
- 1825Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon, French political philosopher (b. 1760)
- 1864Nathaniel Hawthorne, American author (b. 1804)
- 1865Sengge Rinchen, Mongol Qing Dynasty field marshal (b. 1811)
- 1876Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch politician (b. 1801)
- 1885Peter W. Barlow, English engineer (b. 1809)
- 1895José Martí, Cuban independence leader (b. 1853)
- 1898William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1809)
- 1901Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, first President of the South African Republic (b. 1819)
- 1903Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer (b. 1856)
- 1904Auguste Molinier, French historian (b. 1851)
- 1907Benjamin Baker, English engineer (b. 1840)
- 1912Bolesław Prus, Polish writer (b. 1847)
- 1915John Simpson Kirkpatrick, stretcher bearer with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli during World War I (b. 1892)
- 1918Raoul Lufbery, French-American World War I fighter pilot and flying ace (b. 1885)
- 1935T. E. Lawrence, English soldier, known as Lawrence of Arabia (b. 1888)
- 1940Diego Mazquiarán, Spanish matador (b. 1895)
- 1943Kristjan Raud, Estonian painter (b. 1865)
- 1945Philipp Bouhler, German Nazi leader (b. 1889)
- 1946Booth Tarkington, American novelist (b. 1869)
- 1954Charles Ives, American composer (b. 1874)
- 1958Archie Scott-Brown, English race car driver (b. 1927)
- 1958Ronald Colman, English actor (b. 1891)
- 1963Walter Russell, American polymath (b. 1871)
- 1965Tu'i Malila, the world’s oldest tortoise (b. circa 1777)
- 1969Coleman Hawkins, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1901)
- 1971Ogden Nash, American poet (b. 1902)
- 1975Li Tobler, Swiss actress (b. 1948)
- 1983Jean Rey, President of the European Commission (b. 1902)
- 1984John Betjeman, English poet and Poet Laureate (b. 1906)
- 1986Jimmy Lyons, American musician (b. 1931)
- 1987James Tiptree, Jr, American author (b. 1915)
- 1989C. L. R. James, West Indian writer and journalist (b. 1901)
- 1994Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, First Lady of the United States 1961-1963 (b. 1929)
- 1994Luis Ocaña, Spanish cyclist (b. 1945)
- 1998Sōsuke Uno, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1922)
- 1999Candy Candido, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1999James Blades, English percussionist (b. 1901)
- 2000Yevgeny Khrunov, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1933)
- 2001Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
- 2002John Gorton, 19th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1911)
- 2002Walter Lord, American writer (b. 1917)
- 2003Camoflauge, American rapper (b. 1981)
- 2004Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch actress (b. 1907)
- 2005Henry Corden, American actor and voice artist (b. 1921)
- 2006Freddie Garrity, English vocalist (Freddie and the Dreamers) (b. 1940)
- 2007Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
- 2008Vijay Tendulkar, Indian playwright (b. 1928)
- 2009Herbert York, American physicist (b. 1921)
- 2009Nicholas Maw, British composer (b. 1935)
- 2009Robert F. Furchgott, American chemist, Nobel Laureate (b. 1916)
- 2009Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (b. 1954)
- 2011Garret FitzGerald, Irish politician and former Taoiseach (b. 1926)
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