September 19

1356 English forces led by Edward the Black Prince decisively won the Battle of Poitiers during the Hundred Years War on September 19, 1356. After capturing King John II of France, the Peace of Brétigny was signed to liberate him, by which France lost many territories and paid a huge ransom.

The Battle of Poitiers Eugène Delacroix

1648 On September 19, 1648, Florin Périer, husband of Blaise Pascal's sister Gilberte, carried out a famous demonstration of atmospheric pressure at the top of Puy-de-dome, the highest mountain in the vicinity of Clermont-Ferrand. Périer measured the height of the mercury column at the lowest elevation in town, where a reading of 711 mm was taken. The other instrument was carried about 1000 metre higher to the top of the mountain, where the height of the column had dropped to 627 mm. The mission was vital to Pascal's theory concerning the cause of barometrical variations and paved the way for further studies in hydrodynamics and hydrostatics.

1738 The first volunteer fire department was established in New York by Peter Stuyvesant in 1648. Ninety years later, on September 19, 1738, the Common Council appointed thirty "Strong, Able, Discreet, Honest and Sober" volunteers to be the 'Firemen of the City of New York."

1783 The first passengers in the history of aviation were a cockerel, a sheep and a duck, transported by a hot-air balloon developed by Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier. The flight on September 19, 1783 at Versailles lasted approximately eight minutes, covering two miles. All emerged unscathed, except for the cockerel which was kicked by the sheep shortly before lift-off.

A 1786 depiction of the Montgolfier brothers' historic balloon with engineering data. 

1796 George Washington resigned after his second presidency term. Alexander Hamilton has been credited with writing his famous farewell address, which he gave on September 19, 1796. Washington's Farewell Speech warned against the dangers of political parties growing too powerful. It was printed across America as an open letter to the public.

1870 The Siege of Paris began on September 19, 1870. It lasted until January 1871 when the capture of the city led to French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. French President Adolphe Thiers ordered the evacuation of Paris two months later, after an uprising broke out as the result of France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. It lead to the establishment of the Paris Commune government. 

The Siege of Paris by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier

1881 U.S. President James A. Garfield died of wounds from a gunshot on September 19, 1881. Garfield was originally shot at the Baltimore and Potomac train depot in Washington DC, by Charles J Guiteau on July 2, 1881, Surgeons used a metal detecting machine, which Alexander Graham Bell invented to look for the bullet lodged inside him. However interference from the bed springs created havoc with the appliance and the President died from his wounds two and a half months later.

1905 Irish philanthropist and founder of homes for poor children Thomas Barnardo died on September 19, 1905. In 1870 he opened the first of the "Dr Barnardo’s Homes" at 18 Stepney Causeway, London while still a student. The work steadily increased until, at the time of Barnardo's death, there were established 112 district "Homes," besides mission branches, throughout the United Kingdom.

1945 Shirley Temple married her first husband, John Agar on September 19, 1945. They'd met through Agar's sister, who was a schoolmate of the child actress. The bride wore a traditionally styled satin wedding gown, while John Agar was in military uniform. The ceremony took place in front of 500 guests.

1960 The first traffic wardens in the UK hit the London streets on September 19, 1960 and had the power to issue £2 fines. The first ticket issued was slapped on a Ford Popular belonging to Dr Thomas Creighton, who was answering an emergency call at a West End hotel and had illegally parked. The ticket was subsequently cancelled.

1967 Aleksandr Karelin was born September 19, 1967. The greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time, he won three Olympic golds, twelve European Championships and nine World Championships. His PhD was devoted to countermeasures against suplex throws. Karelin suffered two losses, one of which was against a Wyomingite farmer who wrestled cows.

1970 The Glastonbury Festival is a three-day contemporary music festival hosted and organized by English farmer Michael Eavis. He hosted the first festival, then called Pilton Festival on September 19, 1970 after seeing an open-air Led Zeppelin concert at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music.

1982 Scott Fahlman, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, was the first to suggest using emoticons in messages sent on computer networks. On September 19, 1982, he posted the first documented emoticons :-) and :-.

1985 On September 19, 1985 various musicians, including Frank Zappa and John Denver, testified at congressional hearings regarding warning labels on albums deemed to contain explicit lyrics. The Parents Music Resource Center testified in favor of the labels, while the musicians argued that it was censorship. The result of the hearing was warning stickers on albums with offensive lyrics.

1987 The first criminal to be caught as a result of mass DNA screening was Colin Pitchfork who raped and murdered two girls. He was arrested on September 19, 1987, and sentenced to life imprisonment four months later after admitting both murders.

2011 The singer Dolores Hope, the wife of Bob Hope, passed away eight years after her husband's death aged 102 on September 19, 2011. They had been married since 1934 and lived at 10342 Moorpark Street in Toluca Lake, California from 1937 until the comedian's passing.

2014 Egyptian scuba diver Ahmed Gabr set a new record on September 18- 19, 2014 for the deepest salt water scuba dive, at  332.35 meters (1,090 feet 4.5 inches). The 14-hour feat took Gabr down into the abyss near the Egyptian town of Dahab in the Red Sea, where he works as a diving instructor.

2022 A state funeral was held in honor of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022. It was the first state funeral held in Britain since Winston Churchill's in 1965. The funeral was attended by world leaders, members of the royal family, and other dignitaries. More than a million people lined the streets of central London to pay their respects, The service was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle.

2023 Azerbaijan launched a devastating military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, 2023. This swift and decisive attack forced the region's de facto government to surrender, effectively reintegrating Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan. The invasion displaced nearly the entire Armenian population—over 120,000 people—leaving them hungry and traumatized. This historic land, rich with ancient churches and a vibrant Christian heritage, had been their home for generations. As they fled, they were forced to abandon almost everything they owned.