What Happened On December 19 - On This Day

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  • 1776 Thomas Paine publishes his first "The American Crisis" essay, beginning "These are the times that try men's souls" [date disputed]
  • 1783 William Pitt the Younger becomes the youngest ever British Prime Minister at age 24
  • 1932 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) begins overseas transmissions
  • 1958 First radio broadcast from space, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends a Christmas message "to all mankind, America's wish for peace on Earth and goodwill to men everywhere" [1]
  • The Sino-British Joint Declaration is signed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (left) and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang (right)

    Sino-British Joint Declaration

    1984 Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to transfer sovereignty over Hong Kong to China in 1997 and to establish the "one country, two systems" framework
More December 19 Events
  • Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange"

    A Clockwork Orange

    1971 Stanley Kubrick's cult classic film "A Clockwork Orange" premieres, based on the novel by Anthony Burgess and starring Malcolm McDowell
  • 1960 Frank Sinatra's first recording session with Reprise Records, recording "Ring-a-Ding-Ding" and "Let's Fall in Love"
  • 2010 "Miracle at the New Meadowlands", the Philadelphia Eagles trail the NY Giants by 21 points with eight minutes to play before scoring four touchdowns in the final seven minutes, including a dramatic walk-off punt return for a touchdown by DeSean Jackson

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is published, 6,000 copies sold

December 19, 1843

  • Edwin Stanton

    1814 - 1869
  • Leonid Brezhnev

    1906 - 1982
  • Jean Genet

    1910 - 1986
  • Brandon Sanderson

    50 Years Old
More Birthdays on December 19
  • Ralph Richardson

    1902 - 1983
  • Cicely Tyson

    1924 - 2021
  • Richard Hammond

    56 Years Old
  • Alyssa Milano

    53 Years Old
  • Jake Gyllenhaal

    45 Years Old
  • Edith Piaf

    1915 - 1963
  • Beals Wright

    1879 - 1961
  • Al Kaline

    1934 - 2020
  • Reggie White

    1961 - 2004
  • Ricky Ponting

    51 Years Old
  • Karim Benzema

    38 Years Old
  • Alexis Sánchez

    37 Years Old

Theresa Vaughn, 24, confesses in a court in Sheffield, England, that she has been married 61 times over five years in 50 cities across three countries

December 19, 1922

  • 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
  • 1995 Queen Elizabeth asks Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, to divorce
More December 19 Weddings
  • Emily Brontë

    1818 - 1848
  • J. M. W. Turner

    1775 - 1851
  • Alois Alzheimer

    1864 - 1915
  • Frederick Terman

    1900 - 1982
  • Masaru Ibuka

    1908 - 1997
  • James Bevel

    1936 - 2008
More December 19 Deaths
  • The damaged painting of the Brontë Sisters (L-R) Anne, Emily, Charlotte, by their brother Branwell, around 1834. See note below*

    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
  • Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Weekly Quiz for December 16 - 22

    What is the world's most performed ballet? Who discovered radium in 1898? Which new currency launched in 1995?
  • 18 Dec
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  • Dec 20
  • William and Harry on parade in their bowlers. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/AP

    Bowled Over by William and Harry

    December 17, 1849
  • Joseph Grimaldi as Clown

    The Face that Launched a Thousand Quips...

    December 18, 1778
  • A lithograph of the Battle of Gettysburg published by Currier & Ives in 1863

    Slavery Divide Triggers America’s Civil War

    December 20, 1860
  • Lieutenant Raymond Asquith – a man 'who knew no fear'

    'Good Sport' in The Trenches

    December 21, 1915
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Tag » What Day Is December 19th