Major 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
- 1983 US Senate establishes Martin Luther King Jr. Day as federal holiday, observed on the 3rd Monday in January (on or near his 1/15 birthday)
- 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 October 19 Events
Oct 19 in Film & TV
- 1988 US Senate passes bill curbing ads during children's TV shows
Oct 19 in Music
- 1999 Cher releases the single "Believe" (Billboard Song of the Year, 1999; Grammy Award Best Dance Recording, 2000)
Oct 19 in Sport
- 1957 Montreal Canadien Maurice "Rocket" Richard, becomes the 1st NHLer to score 500 goals
Did You Know?
Miguel Ángel Asturias
James Bevel
Yakubu Gowon
Peter Max
Michael Gambon
John Lithgow
Jon Favreau
Trey Parker
Rebecca Ferguson
Lil Durk
Jaap Eden
Bill Ponsford
Evander Holyfield
Louis Oosthuizen
Fun Fact About October 19
Alberto Santos-Dumont proves airships are maneuverable by circling the Eiffel Tower in his airship No. 6, winning the Deutsch Prize and 100,000 francs
Famous Weddings
- 1874 First known balloon wedding between Mary Elizabeth Walsh and Charles M. Colton who rode with their employer P.T. Barnum over Cincinnati, Ohio [1]
- 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)
More October 19 Weddings
King John
Jonathan Swift
Ernest Rutherford
