Historical Events on September 19

  • 1676: During Bacon’s Rebellion, Nathaniel Bacon leads his forces to burn Jamestown to the ground.
  • 1777: At the First Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army loses to British forces.
  • 1778: The first federal U.S budget is passed by the Continental Congress.
  • 1796: The farewell address of George Washington is printed in newspapers across the U.S as an open letter to the public.
  • 1846: Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud – two French shepherd children – claim to have experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary on a mountaintop near La Salette in France. This location is now known as Our Lady of La Salette.
  • 1862: Confederate Forces led by General Sterling Price are defeated by Union troops led by General William Rosecrans at the Battle of Iuka during the American Civil War.
  • 1939: During WWII, the Battle of Kepa Oksywska ends. Polish losses account for approximately fourteen percent of all the forces which took part in the battle.
  • 1944: The Continuation War ends when Finland and the Soviet Union sign an armistice.
  • 1944: During WWII, the Battle of Hurtgen Forest begins between the U.S and Germany.
  • 1946: After a speech given by Winston Churchill, the Council of Europe is founded.
  • 1952: Charlie Chaplin is banned from re-entering the United States after a trip to England.
  • 1985: Political wives – including the wife of Senator Al Gore, Tipper Gore – forms the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) as musicians begin testifying at U.S Congressional hearings on rock music obscenity.
  • 2010: Deep Water Horizon, a leaking oil well, is finally sealed off on this day.

Famous Birthdays on September 19

  • British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize laureate William Golding is born in 1911.
  • American singer Helen Ward is born in 1913.
  • American author Damon Knight is born in 1922.
  • English actor Jeremy Irons is born in 1948.
  • English model, actress and singer Twiggy is born in 1949.