Today on April 19 In History.
What Happened This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
April 19
| 1539 | Emperor Charles V reaches a truce with German Protestants at Frankfurt, Germany. | |
| 1689 | Residents of Boston oust their governor, Edmond Andros. | |
| 1764 | The English Parliament bans the American colonies from printing paper money. | |
| 1775 | The American Revolution begins as fighting breaks out at Lexington, Massachusetts. | |
| 1782 | The Netherlands recognizes the United States. | |
| 1794 | Tadeusz Kosciuszko forces the Russians out of Warsaw. | |
| 1802 | The Spanish reopen New Orleans port to American merchants. | |
| 1824 | English poet Lord Byron dies of malaria at age 36 while aiding Greek independence. | |
| 1861 | The Baltimore riots result in four Union soldiers and nine civilians killed. | |
| 1861 | President Lincoln orders a blockade of Confederate ports. | |
| 1880 | The Times war correspondent telephones a report of the Battle of Ahmed Khel, the first time news is sent from a field of battle in this manner. | |
| 1927 | In China, Hankow communists declare war on Chiang Kai-shek. | |
| 1934 | Shirley Temple appears in her first movie. | |
| 1938 | General Francisco Franco declares victory in the Spanish Civil War. | |
| 1939 | Connecticut finally approves the Bill of Rights. | |
| 1943 | The Warsaw Ghetto uprising against Nazi rule begins. | |
| 1960 | Baseball uniforms begin displaying player's names on their backs. | |
| 1971 | Russia launches its first Salyut space station. | |
| 1977 | Alex Haley receives a special Pulitzer Prize for his book Roots. | |
| 1982 | NASA names Sally Ride to be the first woman astronaut. | |
| 1989 | The battleship USS Iowa's number 2 turret explodes, killing sailors. | |
| 1993 | The FBI ends a 51-day siege by storming the Branch Dividian religious cult headquarters in Waco, Texas. | |
| 1995 | A truck bomb explodes in front of the federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. | |
Born on April 19 | ||
| 1666 | Sarah Kembel Knight, diarist. | |
| 1721 | Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration of Independence. | |
| 1832 | Lucretia Rudolph, President Garfield's first lady. | |
| 1877 | Ole Evinrude, inventor of the first successful outboard motor. | |
| 1900 | Richard Hughes, English novelist and playwright (A High Wind in Jamaica). | |
| 1903 | Eliot Ness, Treasury agent during Prohibition. | |
| 1905 | Tom Hopkinson, British writer. | |
| 1912 | Glenn T. Seaborg, physicist. | |
| 1933 | Etheridge Knight, poet. | |