On This Day in History for December 19
Events in History
- 324 Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor.
- 401 St Anastasius I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1055 Seldjuken under Toghril Beg occupy Baghdad
- 1154 King Henry II of England crowned King of England
- 1487 Opening ceremony of the sixth Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City) 4,000 prisoners of war are sacrificed to Aztec gods over four days [1]
- 1551 Dutch west coast hit by hurricane
- 1562 Battle at Dreux: Anne de Montmorency & huguenots under Condé captured
- 1642 4 of Abel Tasman's crew killed at Wharewharangi (Murderers) Bay by Māori; Tasman's ships depart without landing
- More Events in History
Edwin Stanton
Leonid Brezhnev
Jean GenetWeddings in History
- 1813 Future business magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt (19) marries his cousin Sophia Johnson
- 1895 Poet Robert Frost (21) weds Elinor Miriam White in Lawrence, Massachusetts
- 1912 Author Colette (39) weds "Le Matin" newspaper editor Henri de Jouvenel
Divorces in History
- 1995 Queen Elizabeth asks Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, to divorce
More Weddings & Divorces in History
Emily Brontë
J. M. W. Turner
Robert A. Millikan
John Van Druten
James BevelDecember in History
The Face that Launched a Thousand Quips...
The greatest and most famous clown of them all, and by whose name, Joey, all circus clowns became known, was born on this day, December 18, 1778.
December 18, 1778
Wuthering Heights Author Dies at 30
Emily Brontë, author of the classic novel Wuthering Heights, died on this day. Like her sisters Anne and Charlotte, she passed away at a tragically young age.
December 19, 1848
Slavery Divide Triggers America’s Civil War
South Carolina voted to secede from the United States on this day. The move was quickly followed by other Southern states and led to the American Civil War.
December 20, 1860
Rumpelstiltskin
Illustration from Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book (1889)
December 20, 1812