December 25

February 19

1473 Mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in the Polish city of Toruń, His father Nikolas, was a wealthy businessman and copper trader. Copernicus encountered astronomy for the first time at the University of Kraków, thanks to his teacher Albert Brudzewski. This science soon fascinated him, as his books show. Copernicus is best known for his heliocentric theory of the solar system, which postulated that the sun, rather than the Earth, was at the center of the universe.

Nicolaus Copernicus portrait from Town Hall in Toruń - 1580)

1600 The stratovolcano Huaynaputina in Southern Peru's Moquegua Region exploded on February 19, 1600 in the most violent volcanic eruption in the recorded history of South America.  The explosion had effects on climate around the Northern Hemisphere (Southern Hemispheric records are less complete), where 1601 was the coldest year in six centuries, leading to a famine in Russia. Regional agricultural economies took 150 years to recover fully.

1768 Thomas Paine was appointed on February 19, 1768 as an excise officer in Lewes in East Sussex. In 1772 Paine wrote a pamphlet, The Case of the Officers of Excise, asking parliament for a pay rise and working conditions as the way to end corruption in the service. It was his first political work. Two years later Paine was fired from his job with the excise service for being absent from his post without permission, after distributing his pamphlet in London.

1878 The phonograph was accidentally invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison while trying to record telegraph signals. His device was the first machine that was able to both capture and reproduce analog sound. He patented the device on February 19, 1878. Edison's first phonograph recorded onto tinfoil cylinders had low sound quality and destroyed the track during replay so that one could listen only once.

Thomas Edison with his second phonograph, photographed April 1878

1906 In 1896, William Keith Kellogg invented corn flakes by chance, after some boiled corn was left alone, one of his cooks found it had broken into crispy flakes. He founded the Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company on February 19, 1906 to market the cereal. The Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company prospered and in 1922 they adopted the shortened name of Kellogg's as by this stage, they were manufacturing cereals other than corn flakes.

1910 The Old Trafford football stadium hosted its first Manchester United match on February 19, 1910. The game was against Liverpool FC and Manchester United lost by one goal, with the final score standing at 3-4 to Liverpool.

1929 World War II fighter pilot Douglas Bader took his first flight with his instructor Flying Officer W. J. "Pissy" Pearson in an Avro 504. After just 11 hours and 15 minutes of flight time, he flew his first solo, on February 19, 1929.

1937 During the economic crisis of the 1930s, the old Prince's Flag with the colour orange gained some popularity among some people. To end the confusion, a Royal Decree issued by Queen Wilhelmina on February 19, 1937 laid down the heraldic colors of bright vermilion, white and cobalt blue as the Netherlands' national flag.

Netherlands flag

1939 The birthday of Batman’s civilian alter ego, billionaire Bruce Wayne is February 19th, the date that Batman's creator Bob Kane first drew him back in 1939. Bruce Wayne, was named after two historical figures — Robert the Bruce and U.S. War of Independence General ‘Mad Anthony’ Wayne.

1942 The largest ever attacks mounted by a foreign power against Australia took place on February 19, 1942. More than 240 bombers and fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people and causing immense damage to the town, the airfields and aircraft. It was the same fleet that had bombed Pearl Harbor, though a considerably larger number of bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor.

1942 Gunner (born c. August 1941) was a stray Australian male kelpie who was found under a destroyed mess hut at Darwin Air Force base on February 19, 1942, His hearing was so acute that he could warn air force personnel of incoming Japanese planes 20 minutes before they came and before they showed up on radar. Gunner could also differentiate the sounds between allied and enemy planes.

Gunner and his handler Percy Leslie Westcott

1943 Several major operations during World War II took place in Tunisia. On February 19, 1943, General Rommel launched a successful attack against the U.S. Forces, but the massive supply and numerical superiority of the Allies held sway and General Bernard Montgomery led the British Eighth Army to a victory in North Africa over the Germans in Tunisia three months later.

1946 British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing worked at the National Physical Laboratory after World War II, where he designed the ACE (Automatic Computing Engine). Turing's paper which he presented on February 19, 1946 has been claimed to be the first detailed design of a stored-program computer.


1953 Georgia approved the first literature censorship board in the United States on February 19, 1953, when the General Assembly unanimously voted to establish the Georgia Literature Commission. The Georgia Literature Commission was in operation for 13 years, and during that time, it reviewed hundreds of books and other publications. The commission was eventually disbanded in 1966, following a legal challenge to its constitutionality. 

1961 Prince Andrew was born at Buckingham Palace in London on February 19, 1960, the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was the first child born to a reigning UK monarch since Queen Victoria gave birth to Princess Beatrice in 1857, 103 years earlier. Andrew also named his eldest daughter Beatrice.


1963 Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique was first published on February 19, 1963. The book reawakened the Feminist Movement in the United States as women's organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.

1996 On February 19, 1996, two days before her 121st birthday, Jeanne Calment of France became the world's oldest pop star by releasing her first CD entitled Mistress of Time, on which she spoke over rap, techno, and dance music. The album was made she said to earn money for a minibus for the retirement home where she lived.

2010 Daddy (1994 ‒ February 19, 2010) was an American Pit Bull Terrier integral to dog trainer Cesar Millan's work and his television series, Dog Whisperer. The chestnut-coated pooch was an example of a calm, submissive pit bull that was always around to help Millan with his training. Sensitive to emotion, Daddy would try to comfort humans or dogs that were feeling sad or upset.


2014 Facebook announced its acquisition of WhatsApp on February 19, 2014. The total value of the deal was $19 billion ($4 billion in cash, $12 billion in stock, and $3 billion in restricted stock units granted to Acton and Koum). There was a $1 Billion Break-up fee should the deal not go through. It was Facebook's largest acquisition to date.

2016 To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee died in her sleep on February 19, 2016.  passed away in her sleep on February 19, 2016, at the age of 89. Lee's funeral was held the following day, on February 20, at the First United Methodist Church in Monroeville, the town that served as the model for the fictional setting of Maycomb in To Kill a Mockingbird. The funeral was a private ceremony, attended by Lee's family and close friends.

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