September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 103 days remaining until the end of the year.
Holidays
- Christian feast day:
- Armed Forces Day (Chile)
- Day of the First Public Appearance of the Slovak National Council
- Second day of Fiestas Patrias (Chile)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Saint Kitts and Nevis from the United Kingdom in 1983.
- International Talk Like a Pirate Day
History
General events on September 19th
In1812, Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German banker (b. 1744) dies in Frankfurt am Main. He was a German Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Referred to as a “founding father of international finance,” Rothschild was ranked seventh on the Forbes magazine list of “The Twenty Most Influential Businessmen of All Time” in 2005. He was buried at the old Jewish cemetery in Frankfurt, located next to the Judengasse. His grave still exists. A park was named after him, and also a street (Rothschildallee). In 1817 he was posthumously ennobled by the emperor Francis I of Austria. His descendants furthered the family fortune across Europe—the “five arrows” of banking. Eldest son Amschel Mayer took over the Frankfurt bank and Salomon moved to Vienna. Nathan turned the London branch into one of Europe’s most powerful banking institutions (N. M. Rothschild & Sons), Calmann (gentrified to “Carl”) set up a branch in Naples and Jacob (“James”) opened de Rothschild Frères, becoming a giant of finance in Paris.
In 1879, The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time.
In 1970, The first Glastonbury Festival is held at Michael Eavis‘s farm in Glastonbury, United Kingdom.
In 1976, Two Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom II jets fly out to investigate an unidentified flying object when both independently lose instrumentation and communications as they approach, only to have them restored upon withdrawal.
In 1995, The Washington Post and The New York Times publish the Unabomber‘s manifesto.
In 2010, The leaking oil well in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is sealed.
In 2011, Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees surpasses Trevor Hoffman to become Major League Baseball’s all time saves leader with 602.
Government and Politics on September 19th
In 335, Flavius Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle, emperor Constantine I.
In 1778, The Continental Congress passes the first United States federal budget.
In 1796, George Washington’s Farewell Address is printed across America as an open letter to the public.
In 1893, Women’s suffrage: in New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote.
In 1946, The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich.
In 1952, The United States bars Charlie Chaplin from re-entering the country after a trip to England.
In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev is barred from visiting Disneyland due to security concerns.
In 1978, The Solomon Islands join the United Nations.
In 1983, Saint Kitts and Nevis gains its independence.
In 1985, Tipper Gore and other political wives form the Parents Music Resource Center as Frank Zappa and other musicians testify at U.S. Congressional hearings on obscenity in rock music.
War, Crime and Disaster events on September 19th
In 634, Siege of Damascus: The Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid capture Damascus from the Byzantine Empire.
In 1356, Battle of Poitiers: An English army under the command of Edward, the Black Prince defeats a French army and captures the French king, John II.
In 1676, Jamestown is burned to the ground by the forces of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon’s Rebellion.
In 1692, Giles Corey is pressed to death after refusing to plead in the Salem witch trials.
In 1777, American Revolutionary War: British forces win a tactically expensive victory over the Continental Army in the First Battle of Saratoga.
In 1799, French Revolutionary Wars: French-Dutch victory against the Russians and British in the Battle of Bergen.
In 1862, American Civil War: Battle of Iuka – Union troops under General William Rosecrans defeat a Confederate force commanded by General Sterling Price.
In 1863, American Civil War: Battle of Chickamauga.
In 1870, Franco-Prussian War: the Siege of Paris begins, which will result on January 28, 1871 in the surrender of Paris and a decisive Prussian victory.
In 1870, Having invaded the Papal States a week earlier, the Italian Army lays siege to Rome, entering the city the next day, after which the Pope described himself as a Prisoner in the Vatican.
In 1881, U.S. President James A. Garfield dies of wounds suffered in a July 2 shooting. He was the 20th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881, until his assassination later that year. Garfield had served nine terms in the House of Representatives, and had been elected to the Senate before his candidacy for the White House, though he declined the senatorship once he was president-elect. He is the only sitting House member to be elected president. At the 1880 Republican National Convention, Senator-elect Garfield attended as campaign manager for Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman, and gave the presidential nomination speech for him. When neither Sherman nor his rivals – Ulysses S. Grant and James G. Blaine – could get enough votes to secure the nomination, delegates chose Garfield as a compromise on the 36th ballot. In the 1880 presidential election, Garfield conducted a low-key front porch campaign, and narrowly defeated Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock.
Garfield’s accomplishments as president included a resurgence of presidential authority against senatorial courtesy in executive appointments, energizingAmerican naval power, and purging corruption in the Post Office, all during his extremely short time in office. Garfield made notable diplomatic and judiciary appointments, including a U.S. Supreme Court justice. He enhanced the powers of the presidency when he defied the powerful New York senator Roscoe Conkling by appointing William H. Robertson to the lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York, starting a fracas that ended with Robertson’s confirmation and Conkling’s resignation from the Senate. Garfield advocated agricultural technology, an educated electorate, and civil rights for African Americans. He also proposed substantial civil service reform, eventually passed by Congress in 1883 and signed into law by his successor, Chester A. Arthur, as the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. With his term cut short by his death after only 200 days, and much of it spent in ill health trying to recover from the attack, Garfield is little-remembered in the American cultural memory other than for his assassination; historians often forgo listing him in rankings of U.S. presidents due to the short length of his presidency.
In 1934, Bruno Hauptmann is arrested for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr..
In 1939, World War II: The Battle of Kępa Oksywska concludes, with Polish losses reaching roughly 14% of all the forces engaged.
In 1940, Witold Pilecki is voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz in order to smuggle out information and start a resistance.
In 1944, Armistice between Finland and Soviet Union is signed. (End of the Continuation War).
In 1944, Battle of Hürtgen Forest between United States and Nazi Germany begins.
In 1945, Lord Haw-Haw (William Joyce) is sentenced to death in London.
In 1970, Kostas Georgakis, a Greek student of geology, sets himself ablaze in Matteotti Square in Genoa, Italy, as a protest against the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos.
In 1971, Montagnard troops of South Vietnam revolt against the rule of Nguyen Khanh, killing 70 ethnic Vietnamese soldiers.
In 1972, A parcel bomb sent to Israeli Embassy in London kills one diplomat.
In 1976, Turkish Airlines Boeing 727 hits the Taurus Mountains, outskirt of Karatepe, Osmaniye, Turkey, killing all 155 passengers and crew.
In 1985, A strong earthquake kills thousands and destroys about 400 buildings in Mexico City.
In 1989, A terrorist bomb explodes UTA Flight 772 in mid-air above the Tùnùrù Desert, Niger, killing 171.
In 1997, Guelb El-Kebir massacre in Algeria; 53 killed.
In 2006, The Thai military stages a coup in Bangkok. The Constitution is revoked and martial law is declared.
In 2016, In the wake of a manhunt, the suspect in a series of bombings in New York and New Jersey is apprehended after a shootout with police.
In 2017, The 2017 Puebla earthquake strikes Mexico, causing 370 deaths and over 6,000 injuries, as well as extensive damage.
Royalty and Religious events on September 19th
In 1846, Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, experience a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near La Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette.
In 1973, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has his investiture.
Human Achievement and Science events on September 19th
In 1957, First American underground nuclear bomb test (part of Operation Plumbbob).
In 1991, Ötzi the Iceman is discovered by German tourists.
Arts and Prose events on September 19th
In 1946, The first Cannes Film Festival is held, having been delayed seven years due to World War II.
In 1981, Simon & Garfunkel reunite for a free concert in New York’s Central Park.
In 1982, Scott Fahlman posts the first documented emoticons 🙂 and 🙁 on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System.