What Happened on October 19
Historical Events
- 202 BC Battle of Zama: Hannibal Barca and the Carthaginian army are defeated by Roman legions under Scipio Africanus, ending 2nd Punic War
- 1781 British forces under General Charles Cornwallis sign terms of surrender to George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown at 2 pm, ending the US Revolutionary War
- 1926 Russian Politburo throws out Leon Trotsky and his followers
- 1943 Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, is isolated by researchers at Rutgers University in Pistcaway, New Jersey
- 1987 Black Monday: Stock markets around the world crash, including the Dow Jones stock index, which falls 508.32 points (22%), 4½ times the previous daily record
- 2015 US scientists from University of California find evidence life on earth may have begun 4.1 billion years ago, 300 million earlier than previously thought
- More Historical Events
Oct 19 in Film & TV
- 1988 US Senate passes bill curbing ads during children's TV shows
Oct 19 in Music
- 1975 "A Chorus Line", held record longest-running Broadway show (6,137 performances), premieres on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in New York
Oct 19 in Sport
- 1957 Montreal Canadien Maurice "Rocket" Richard, becomes the 1st NHLer to score 500 goals
Did You Know?
French C. Hopffer patents the automatic fire extinguisher in England
On October 19, 1722
Jaap Eden
Miguel Ángel Asturias
James Bevel
Peter Max
Evander Holyfield
Rebecca FergusonWould You Believe?
Santos-Dumont proves airship manoeuverable by circling Eiffel Tower
On October 19, 1901
Famous Weddings
- 1926 Pathologist Howard Florey (28) weds Ethel Reed at Holy Trinity Church in Paddington, New South Wales
- 1991 Filmmaker Michael Moore (37) weds movie producer Kathleen Glynn (32)
- 1996 "Rescue Me" actor-comedian Lenny Clarke (43) weds former TV producer Jennifer Miller (31) at Martha's Vineyard in Cambridge, Massachusetts
More Weddings
King John
Jonathan Swift
Ernest RutherfordArticles, Photos and Quiz
Sculptor’s Brainwave Produces Amazing Memorial
How do you commemorate Thomas Browne, one of the great thinkers of the 17th Century who was born on this day? Well, why not a giant sculpture of his brain?
October 19, 1605
Weekly Quiz for October 14 - 20
What island was Napoleon Bonaparte sent to in 1815? How much did America pay Russia to buy Alaska?
