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Today March 19th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1279 – A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China.
1687 – Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, is murdered by his own men.
1853 – The Taiping reform movement occupied and raised capital Nanjing till 1864.
1861 – The First Taranaki War ends in New Zealand.
1863 – The SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000. The wreck was discovered on the same day and month, exactly 102 years later by then teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence.
1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville begins. By the end of the battle two days later, Confederate forces had retreated from Four Oaks, North Carolina.
1915 – Pluto is photographed for the first time but is not recognized as a planet.
1916 – Eight American planes take off in pursuit of Pancho Villa, the first United States air-combat mission in history.
1918 – The U.S. Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.
1920 – The United States Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for the second time (first time was on November 19, 1919).
1921 – Italian Fascists shoot from the Parenzana train at a group of children in Strunjan (Slovenia): two children are killed, two mangled and three wounded.
1931 – Gambling is legalized in Nevada.
1931 – The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra plays its first concert in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
1932 – The Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened.
1941 – World War II: The 99th Pursuit Squadron also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the Army Air Corp, is activated.
1943 – Frank Nitti, the Chicago Outfit Boss after Al Capone, commits suicide at the Chicago Central Railyard.
1944 – World War II: Nazi forces occupy Hungary.
1945 – World War II: Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 724 of her crew. Badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under her own power.
1945 – World War II: Adolf Hitler issues his Nero Decree ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany to be destroyed.
1946 – French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France.
1954 – Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color.
1962 – Algerian War of Independence: A ceasefire takes effect.
1965 – The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000 and said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, was discovered by then teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence exactly 102 years after its destruction.
1966 – Texas Western becomes the first college basketball team to win the Final Four, to start five black players.
1969 – The 385 metre tall TV-mast at Emley Moor, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build- up.
1972 – India and Bangladesh sign a friendship treaty.
1978 – UN Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 are passed, calling upon Israel immediately to cease its military action and withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory (Operation Litani), and establishing the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
1979 – The United States House of Representatives begins broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN.
1982 – Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the U.K..
1987 – Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as head of the PTL Club due to a brewing sex scandal; he hands over control to Jerry Falwell.
2001 – The Bank of Japan issued a monetary policy known as quantitative easing, which stimulated the Japanese economy after the burst of the dot-com bubble.
2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 2) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities.
2004 – Äänekoski bus disaster: A semi-trailer truck and a bus crash head-on in Äänekoski, Finland. 24 people are killed and 13 injured.
2004 – A Swedish DC-3 shot down by a Russian MiG-15 in the 1950s is finally recovered after years of work. The remains of the crew are left in place, pending further investigations.
2004 – 3-19 Shooting Incident: Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian is shot just before the country s presidential election on March 20.
2008 – GRB 080319B: A cosmic burst that is the farthest object visible to the naked eye was briefly observed on this day.
Births
1434 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (d. 1443)
1488 – Johannes Magnus, last Catholic Archbishop of Sweden (d. 1544)
1534 – José de Anchieta, Spanish Jesuit missionary to Brazil (d. 1597)
1590 – William Bradford, Pilgrim and First Governor of the Plymouth Colony (d. 1657)
1684 – Jean Astruc, French physician and scholar (d. 1766)
1721 – Tobias Smollett, Scottish novelist (d. 1771)
1734 – Thomas McKean, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1817)
1739 – Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, Third Consul of France (d. 1824)
1742 – Tupac Amaru II, Incan revolutionary (d. 1781)
1749 – Princess Louisa of Great Britain (d. 1768)
1778 – Edward Pakenham, British general (d. 1815)
1813 – David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer (d. 1873)
1821 – Richard Francis Burton, British explorer, diplomat and author (d. 1890)
1823 – Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria (d. 1914)
1824 or 1828 – William Allingham, Irish author (d. 1889)
1829 – Carl Frederik Tietgen, Danish financier and industrialist (d. 1901)
1848 – Wyatt Earp, American policeman and gunfighter (d. 1929)
1849 – Alfred von Tirpitz, German World War I Admiral (d. 1930)
1851 – William Henry Stark, American business leader (d. 1936)
1860 – William Jennings Bryan, 41st United States Secretary of State (d. 1925)
1861 – Lomer Gouin, Quebec politician (d. 1929)
1864 – Charles Marion Russell, American artist (d. 1926)
1865 – William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist, myrmecologist, pioneer in ethology (d. 1937)
1871 – Schofield Haigh, British cricketer (d. 1921)
1873 – Max Reger, German composer (d. 1916)
1883 – Walter Haworth, British chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1950)
1883 – Joseph Stilwell, U.S. general (d. 1946)
1888 – Josef Albers, German artist (d. 1976)
1888 – Léon Scieur, Belgian cyclist (d. 1969)
1891 – Earl Warren, 14th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1974)
1892 – James Van Fleet, American general (d. 1992)
1894 – Moms Mabley, American comedian (d. 1975)
1900 – Frédéric Joliot, French physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1958)
1904 – John Sirica, American judge (d. 1992)
1905 – Albert Speer, Nazi official (d. 1981)
1906 – Adolf Eichmann, Nazi official (d. 1962)
1909 – Louis Hayward, British actor (d. 1985)
1909 – Attilio Demaria, Argentinian footballer (d. 1990)
1910 – Joseph F. Carroll, US Air Force Lt. Gen. and Founding Director, Defense Intelligence Agency (d. 1991)
1914 – Leonidas Alaoglu, Greek-Canadian mathematician (d. 1981)
1914 – Jay Berwanger, American football player (d. 2002)
1914 – Fred Clark, American film actor (d. 1968)
1915 – Robert G. Cole, American Paratrooper of the 101st, 502nd division (d. 1944)
1916 – Eric Christmas, British actor (d. 2000)
1916 – Irving Wallace, American novelist (d. 1990)
1917 – Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist (d. 1950)
1917 – Laszlo Szabo, Hungarian chess player (d. 1998)
1920 – Tige Andrews, American actor (d. 2007)
1920 – Kjell Aukrust, Norwegian author (d. 2002)
1921 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedy magician (d. 1984)
1923 – Pamela Britton, American actress (d. 1974)
1923 – Henry Morgentaler, Canadian gynecologist
1924 – Mary Wimbush, British actress (d. 2005)
1925 – Brent Scowcroft, US National Security Advisor
1927 – Richie Ashburn, American baseball player (d. 1997)
1928 – Hans Küng, Swiss theologian
1928 – Patrick McGoohan, American-born actor
1930 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist
1932 – Gay Brewer, American golfer (d. 2007)
1933 – Philip Roth, American author
1933 – Renée Taylor, American actress
1936 – Ursula Andress, Swiss actress
1936 – Birthe Wilke, Danish singer
1937 – Clarence Frogman Henry, American musician
1937 – Egon Krenz, President of East Germany
1939 – Joe Kapp, American football player
1942 – Richard Dobson, American singer and songwriter
1943 – Mario J. Molina, Mexican chemist, Nobel laureate
1943 – Mario Monti, Italian politician
1943 – Vern Schuppan, Australian racing driver
1944 – Said Musa, Prime Minister of Belize
1944 – Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian-born assassin
1945 – Stefanos Kiriakidis, Greek actor
1946 – Paul Atkinson, British musician (The Zombies) (d. 2004)
1946 – Bigas Luna, Spanish film director
1946 – Ruth Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters)
1947 – Glenn Close, American actress
1947 – Marinho Peres, Brazilian football player
1948 – Vincent van der Bijl, former South African cricketer
1952 – Harvey Weinstein, American film producer
1952 – Warren Lees, New Zealand Test wicket-keeper
1953 – Billy Sheehan, American musician (Mr. Big)
1953 – Ricky Wilson, American musician (The B-52 s) (d. 1985)
1954 – Indu Shahani, Indian educationist and Sheriff of Mumbai
1955 – Bruce Willis, American actor
1955 – Simon Yam, Hong Kong actor
1956 – Yegor Gaidar, Russian politician and economist.
1958 – Andy Reid, NFL Head Coach (Philadelphia Eagles)
1959 – Terry Hall, British singer (Specials, Funboy Three, Colourfield).
1961 – Jos Lansink, Dutch-Belgian equestrian
1962 – Ivan Calderón, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2003)
1962 – Jim Korderas, American professional wrestling referee
1964 – Yoko Kanno, Japanese composer
1964 – Jake Weber, British actor
1966 – Andy Sinton, English footballer
1966 – James Big Jim Wright, American record producer
1967 – Vladimir Konstantinov, Russian ice hockey player
1968 – Mots eoa Senyane, Lesotho diplomat
1969 – Gary Jules, American singer and songwriter
1969 – Connor Trinneer, American actor
1969 – Tom McRae, British singer and songwriter
1971 – Nadja Auermann, German supermodel
1971 – Sébastien Godefroid, Belgian sailor
1973 – Simmone Jade Mackinnon, Australian actress
1973 – Bun B, American Rapper (UGK)
1974 – Vida Guerra, Cuban-American swimsuit model
1975 – Vivian Hsu, Taiwanese singer, actress and model
1975 – Brann Dailor, American drummer
1975 – Matthew Richardson, Australian rules footballer
1976 – Zach Lind – American drummer (Jimmy Eat World)
1976 – Andre Miller, American basketball player
1976 – Rachel Blanchard, Canadian actress
1976 – Alessandro Nesta, Italian footballer
1977 – Jorma Taccone, American writer and comedian
1979 – Hee-Seop Choi, Korean baseball player
1979 – Ivan Ljubicic, Croatian tennis player
1979 – Christos Patsatzoglou, Greek footballer
1979 – Hedo Türkoglu, Turkish basketball player
1980 – Mikuni Shimokawa, Japanese singer
1980 – Don Sparrow, Canadian illustrator
1981 – Kim Rae Won, South Korean actor and model
1981 – Kolo Touré, Ivorian footballer
1982 – Brad Jones, Australian footballer
1982 – Matt Littler, British actor
1982 – Jonathan Fanene, American football player
1983 – Ana Rezende, Brazilian film director and musician (CSS)
1983 – Matt Sydal, American professional wrestler
1984 – Tanushree Dutta, Indian actress
1985 – Ernesto Viso, Venezuelan racing driver
1987 – Michal Švec, Czech footballer
1988 – Clayton Kershaw, American baseball player
1993 – Munro Chambers, Canadian actor
1999 – Tatum McCann, American actress
2007 – Prince Abdullah bin Ali, Prince of Jordan
Deaths
1238 – Duke Henry I of Poland (b. 1163)
1263 – Hugh of St Cher, French cardinal
1279 – Emperor Bing of Song China (b. 1271)
1286 – King Alexander III of Scotland (b. 1241)
1330 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician (b. 1301)
1406 – Ibn Khaldun, Arab historian (b. 1332)
1623 – Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1556)
1637 – Péter Pázmány, Hungarian cardinal and statesman (b. 1570)
1649 – Gerhard Johann Vossius, German classical scholar and theologian (b. 1577)
1683 – Thomas Killigrew, English dramatist (b. 1612)
1687 – Robert Cavelier de La Salle, French explorer (b. 1643)
1697 – Nicolaus Bruhns, German organist and composer (b. 1665)
1711 – Thomas Ken, English bishop and hymn-writer (b. 1637)
1717 – John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, Scottish royalist
1721 – Pope Clement XI (b. 1649)
1783 – Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1713)
1796 – Hugh Palliser, British naval officer and administrator (b. 1722)
1816 – Philip Mazzei, Italian physician (b. 1730)
1871 – Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist (b. 1795)
1897 – Antoine Thomson d Abbadie, French geographer (b. 1810)
1900 – John Bingham, American politician and lawyer (b. 1815)
1900 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French composer (b. 1819)
1914 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian volcanologist (b. 1850)
1916 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (b. 1848)
1930 – Arthur Balfour, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1848)
1939 – Lloyd L. Gaines, American civil rights activist
1942 – Clinton Hart Merriam, American zoologist (b. 1855)
1943 – Frank Nitti, American gangster (b. 1883)
1944 – William Hale Thompson, American mayor of Chicago (b. 1869)
1945 – Friedrich Fromm, German Nazi official (b. 1888)
1950 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (b. 1875)
1950 – Walter Haworth, British chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1883)
1974 – Anne Klein, American fashion designer (b. 1923)
1974 – Edward Platt, American actor (b. 1916)
1976 – Albert Dieudonné, French actor and novelist (b. 1889)
1976 – Paul Kossoff, English guitarist (Free) (b. 1950)
1978 – Gaston Julia, French mathematician (b. 1893)
1979 – Richard Beckinsale, English actor (b. 1947)
1982 – Randy Rhoads, American guitarist (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne) (b. 1956)
1984 – Garry Winogrand, American photographer (b. 1928)
1987 – Louis, 7th duc de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1892)
1989 – Alan Civil, English French horn player (b. 1929)
1990 – Andrew Wood, American singer (Mother Love Bone) (b. 1966)
1992 – Cesare Danova, American television and film actor (b. 1926)
1995 – Yasuo Yamada, Japanese voice actor (b. 1932)
1997 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch-born painter (b. 1904)
1999 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, former Prime Minister of Samoa (b. 1924)
1999 – Jaime Sabines, Mexican poet (b. 1926)
2001 – Charles K. Johnson, President of the Flat Earth Society (b. 1924)
2003 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator (b. 1926)
2003 – Émile Genest, Canadian actor (b. 1921)
2004 – Mitchell Sharp, Canadian politician (b. 1911)
2005 – John De Lorean, American automobile engineer (b. 1925)
2007 – Calvert DeForest, American actor (b. 1921)
2007 – Luther Ingram, American soul singer and songwriter (b. 1937)
2008 – Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English science fiction author and inventor (b. 1917)
2008 – Raghuvaran, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam actor (b. 1948)
2008 – Hugo Claus, Belgian writer (b. 1929)
Holidays and observances
The first day of Quinquatria in ancient Rome, held in honor of Minerva.
The swallows return to Mission San Juan Capistrano in California.
Roman Catholicism and Church of England – Saint Joseph s Day
Alternative Father s Day in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy
Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain.
Mojoday (Discordianism)
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