Historical Events on December 19

  • 1777: During the American Revolutionary War, George Washington and his Continental Army bunker down for the winter at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania.
  • 1796: During the French Revolutionary War, Commodore Horatio Nelson and his British frigates engage with Commodore Don Jacobo and his Spanish frigates off of the coast of Murcia.
  • 1907: Almost 300 coal miners die in the Darr Mine at Jacobs Creek in Pennsylvania.
  • 1912: After serving almost 4 years at the Sing Sing Prison, Captain William Van Schaick receives a pardon by United States President William Howard Taft.
  • 1924: In the city of London in England, the very last Rolls Royce Silver Ghost is sold to the public.
  • 1941: In Alexandria Harbor, Italian Limpet mines severely damage the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the HMS Valiant.
  • 1945: The British Government executes John Amery for treason.
  • 1946: The First Indochina War begins.
  • 1998: United States President Bill Clinton becomes only the second U.S President to be impeached by the U.S House of Representatives.
  • 2016: At a Christmas Market in Berlin, Germany, a vehicular attack kills many people.

Famous Birthdays on December 19

  • English actor Ralph Richardson is born in 1902.
  • French novelist and poet, Jean Genet is born in 1910.
  • American animator and screenwriter, Mel Shaw is born in 1914.
  • American historian and author, Robert V. Bruce is born in 1923.
  • American actor and director, Tim Reid is born in 1944.
  • Canadian ice hockey player Ken Brown is born in 1948.
  • American actress and model, Jennifer Beals is born in 1963.
  • French actress Béatrice Dalle is born in 1964.
  • Canadian golfer Lorie Kane is born in 1964.
  • American magician and illusionist, Criss Angel is born in 1967.
  • American songwriter and rapper, Ingrid Burley is born in 1986.
  • English footballer Calvin Andrew is born in 1986.
  • Japanese jockey Kousei Miura is born in 1989.