October 19 in History

On October 19:

In 1453, the Hundred Years War ends when France defeats England.

In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress, meeting in New York, draws up a declaration of rights and liberties.

In 1781, British troops under General Lord Cornwallis surrender at Yorktown, Virgina, as the American Revolution nears its end.

In 1812, French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte begin their retreat from Moscow.

In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first female MD in the United States.

In 1864, Confederate General Jubal A. Early attacks Union forces at Cedar Creek, Virgina; the Union troops rally and defeat the Confederates.

In 1879, Thomas Edison demonstrates the electric light.

In 1914, the United States Post Office uses a car for the first time to collect and deliver mail.

In 1917, Love Field opens in Dallas, Texas.

In 1919, the Chicago White Sox throw the World Series.

In 1936, H.R. Ekins of the New York World-Telegram beats out Dorothy Kilgallen of the New York Journal and Leo Kieran of The New York Times in a round-the-world race on commercial flights that lasts 18 1/2 days.

In 1944, the Navy announces that black women will  be allowed into the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES).

In 1944, the play I Remember Mama, by John van Druten, opens at the Music Box Theater on Broadway.

In 1950, United Nations forces enter the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

In 1951, President Truman signs an act formally ending the state of war with Germany.

In 1960, President Eisenhower imposes an embargo on exports to Cuba covering all commodities except medical supplies and certain food products.

In 1967, the U.S. space probe Mariner 5 flies past Venus.

In 1969, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew refers to anti-Vietnam War protesters “an effete corps of impudent snobs.”

In 1977, the supersonic Concorde makes its first landing in New York City.

In 1983, the Senate establishes Martin Luther King Day as a national holiday.

In 1987, the stock market crashes as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value.

In 1998, Mike Tyson gets his boxing license back after pleading with the Nevada Athletic Commission not to “torture” him anymore for biting Evander Holyfield’s ears in the ring 15 months earlier.

In 2001, two Army Rangers are killed in a helicopter crash in Pakistan in the first combat-related American deaths of the military campaign in Afghanistan.

In 2002, a 37-year-old man is seriously wounded outside a steakhouse in Ashland, Virgina, in the latest attack by the Washington-area sniper.

In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatifies Mother Teresa during a ceremony in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square.

In 2005, the Houston Astros win their first National League pennant on their way to their first World Series; and, a defiant Saddam Hussein pleads innocent to charges of premeditated murder and torture at his trial in Baghdad.

In 2006, the Dow Jones industrial average closes above 12,000 for the first time, ending at 12,011.73.

October 19 Birthdays include:

• Historian Lewis Mumford
• Singer Edith Piaf
• Former ambassador to Russia Robert S. Strauss
• Journalist Jack Anderson
• Humanitarian B. Lander 
• Author John le Carre
• Psychic Slyvia Browne
• Artist Peter Max
• Actor John Lithgow
• Former National Organization for Women President Patricia Ireland
• Singer Jennifer Holliday
• Boxer Evander Holyfield 
• TV host Ty Pennington (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition)
• Presidential daughter Amy Carter
• Comedian Chris Kattan (Saturday Night Live)

Happy Birthday, October 19!

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