March 19

March 19 is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 287 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1279 – A Mongolian victory at the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China.
• 1563 – The Edict of Amboise is signed, ending the first phase of the French Wars of Religion and granting certain freedoms to the Huguenots.
• 1649 – The House of Commons of England passes an act abolishing the House of Lords, declaring it "useless and dangerous to the people of England".
• 1687 – Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, is murdered by his own men.
• 1812 – The Cádiz Cortes promulgates the Spanish Constitution of 1812.
• 1853 – The Taiping reform movement occupies and makes Nanjing its capital until 1864.
• 1861 – The First Taranaki War ends in New Zealand.
• 1863 – The SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000.
• 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville begins. By the end of the battle two days later, Confederate forces had retreated from Four Oaks, North Carolina.
• 1885 – Louis Riel declares a Provisional Government in Saskatchewan, beginning the North-West Rebellion.
• 1895 – Auguste and Louis Lumière record their first footage using their newly patented cinematograph.
• 1918 – The U.S. Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.
• 1920 – The United States Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for the second time (the first time was on November 19, 1919).
• 1921 – Irish War of Independence: One of the biggest engagements of the war takes place at Crossbarry, County Cork. About 100 Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteers escape an attempt by over 1,300 British forces to encircle them.
• 1921 – Italian Fascists shoot from the Parenzana train at a group of children in Strunjan (Slovenia): two children are killed and five wounded.
• 1931 – Gambling is legalized in Nevada.
• 1932 – The Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened.
• 1941 – World War II: The 99th Pursuit Squadron also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the Army Air Corp, is activated.
• 1943 – Frank Nitti, the Chicago Outfit Boss after Al Capone, commits suicide at the Chicago Central Railyard.
• 1944 – World War II: Nazi forces occupy Hungary.
• 1945 – World War II: Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 724 of her crew. Badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under her own power.
• 1945 – World War II: Adolf Hitler issues his "Nero Decree" ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany to be destroyed.
• 1946 – French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France.
• 1954 – Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in colour.
• 1954 – Willie Mosconi sets a world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio. The record still stands today.
• 1958 – The Monarch Underwear Company fire leaves 24 dead and 15 injured.
• 1962 – Highly influential artist, Bob Dylan releases his first album, Bob Dylan, on Columbia Records label.
• 1965 – The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000 and said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is discovered by teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, exactly 102 years after its destruction.
• 1966 – Texas Western becomes the first college basketball team to win the Final Four with an all-black starting lineup.
• 1969 – The 385 metres (1,263 ft) tall TV-mast at Emley Moor, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build-up.
• 1979 – The United States House of Representatives begins broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN.
• 1982 – Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the United Kingdom.
• 1987 – Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as head of the PTL Club due to a brewing sex scandal; he hands over control to Jerry Falwell.
• 1989 – The Egyptian Flag is raised on Taba, Egypt announcing the end of the Israeli occupation after the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the peace negotiations in 1979.
• 1990 – The ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureş begin four days after the anniversary of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas.
• 2002 – Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth on charges of human rights abuses and of electoral fraud, following a turbulent presidential election.
• 2004 – Konginkangas bus disaster: A semi-trailer truck and a bus crash head-on in Äänekoski, Finland. 24 people are killed and 13 injured.
• 2004 – A Swedish DC-3 shot down by a Russian MiG-15 in 1952 over the Baltic Sea is finally recovered after years of work. The remains of the three crewmen are left in place, pending further investigations.
• 2004 – 3-19 Shooting Incident: Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian is shot just before the country's presidential election on March 20.
• 2008 – GRB 080319B: A cosmic burst that is the farthest object visible to the naked eye is briefly observed.
• 2011 – Libyan civil war: After the failure of Muammar Gaddafi's forces to take Benghazi, French Air Force launches Opération Harmattan, beginning foreign military intervention in Libya.

Births

• 1434 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (d. 1443)
• 1488 – Johannes Magnus, Swedish archbishop (d. 1544)
• 1534 – José de Anchieta, Spanish missionary (d. 1597)
• 1590 – William Bradford, English-American politician, 2nd Governor of Plymouth Colony (d. 1657)
• 1601 – Alonzo Cano, Spanish painter, architect and sculptor (d. 1667)
• 1603 – John IV of Portugal (d. 1656)
• 1629 – Alexis of Russia (d. 1676)
• 1641 – Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, Muslim scholar (d. 1731)
• 1661 – Francesco Gasparini, Italian composer and educator (d. 1727)
• 1684 – Jean Astruc, French physician and scholar (d. 1766)
• 1721 – Tobias Smollett, Scottish author (d. 1771)
• 1734 – Thomas McKean, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of Pennsylvania (d. 1817)
• 1739 – Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, French politician (d. 1824)
• 1742 – Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian rebel leader (d. 1781)
• 1748 – Elias Hicks, American preacher and activist (d. 1830)
• 1749 – Princess Louisa of Great Britain (d. 1768)
• 1778 – Edward Pakenham, Irish general and politician (d. 1815)
• 1813 – David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer (d. 1873)
• 1821 – Richard Francis Burton, English soldier, geographer, and diplomat (d. 1890)
• 1823 – Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria (d. 1914)
• 1824 – William Allingham, Irish author (d. 1889)
• 1829 – Carl Frederik Tietgen, Danish businessman (d. 1901)
• 1848 – Wyatt Earp, American police officer (d. 1929)
• 1849 – Alfred von Tirpitz, German admiral (d. 1930)
• 1851 – William Henry Stark, American businessman (d. 1936)
• 1860 – William Jennings Bryan, American politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (d. 1925)
• 1861 – Lomer Gouin, Canadian politician, 13th Premier of Quebec (d. 1929)
• 1864 – Charles Marion Russell, American painter (d. 1926)
• 1865 – William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist and educator (d. 1937)
• 1871 – Schofield Haigh, English cricketer (d. 1921)
• 1872 – Anna Held, Polish-American actress and singer (d. 1918)
• 1873 – Max Reger, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1916)
• 1878 – Henricus Tromp, Dutch rower (d. 1962)
• 1881 – Edith Nourse Rogers, American politician (d. 1960)
• 1883 – Norman Haworth, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
• 1883 – Joseph Stilwell, American general (d. 1946)
• 1888 – Josef Albers, German-American painter (d. 1976)
• 1888 – Léon Scieur, Belgian cyclist (d. 1969)
• 1891 – Earl Warren, American politician and jurist, 14th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1974)
• 1892 – James Van Fleet, American general (d. 1992)
• 1894 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and actress (d. 1975)
• 1898 – Karl Theodor Bleek, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 1969)
• 1900 – Frédéric Joliot-Curie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
• 1901 – Jo Mielziner, American set designer (d. 1976)
• 1902 – Louisa Ghijs, Belgian actress (d. 1985)
• 1904 – John Sirica, American judge (d. 1992)
• 1905 – Joe Rollino, American weightlifter and boxer (d. 2010)
• 1905 – Albert Speer, German architect (d. 1981)
• 1906 – Adolf Eichmann, German SS officer (d. 1962)
• 1909 – Attilio Demaría, Argentinian footballer (d. 1990)
• 1909 – Louis Hayward, South African-American actor (d. 1985)
• 1910 – Joseph Carroll, American general (d. 1991)
• 1911 – Simone Renant, French actress (d. 2004)
• 1911 – Arnold Viiding, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 2006)
• 1912 – Hugh Watt, New Zealand politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1980)
• 1914 – Leonidas Alaoglu, Greek-Canadian mathematician (d. 1981)
• 1914 – Jay Berwanger, American football player (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Fred Clark, American actor (d. 1968)
• 1915 – Robert G. Cole, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1944)
• 1915 – Patricia Morison, American soprano and actress
• 1916 – Eric Christmas, English-Canadian actor (d. 2000)
• 1916 – Irving Wallace, American author (d. 1990)
• 1917 – Peggy Ahern, American actress (d. 2012)
• 1917 – Laszlo Szabo, Hungarian chess player (d. 1998)
• 1919 – Lennie Tristano, American pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1978)
• 1920 – Tige Andrews, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Kjell Aukrust, Norwegian author (d. 2002)
• 1920 – Paul Hagen, Danish actor (d. 2003)
• 1920 – Laurent Noël, Canadian bishop
• 1921 – Martha Carson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedian and magician (d. 1984)
• 1922 – Hiroo Onoda, Japanese army intelligence officer and holdout (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Pamela Britton, American actress (d. 1974)
• 1923 – Betty Goodwin, Canadian sculptor and painter (d. 2008)
• 1923 – Benito Jacovitti, Italian illustrator (d. 1997)
• 1923 – Henry Morgentaler, Polish-Canadian physician
• 1923 – Giuseppe Rotunno, Italian cinematographer
• 1924 – Joe Gaetjens, Haitian footballer (d. 1964)
• 1924 – Mary Wimbush, English actress (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Brent Scowcroft, American general and diplomat, 9th United States National Security Advisor
• 1927 – Richie Ashburn, American baseball player (d. 1997)
• 1928 – Hans Küng, Swiss priest, theologian, and author
• 1928 – Patrick McGoohan, American-English actor (d. 2009)
• 1929 – Miquel Martí i Pol, Catalan poet (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Gualtiero Marchesi, Italian chef
• 1930 – Eugene Selznick, American volleyball player and coach (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (d. 2013)
• 1932 – Gay Brewer, American golfer (d. 2007)
• 1933 – Norman King, English admiral (d. 2013)
• 1933 – Phyllis Newman, American actress and singer
• 1933 – Philip Roth, American author
• 1933 – Renée Taylor, American actress and screenwriter
• 1933 – Richard Williams, Canadian-English animator
• 1935 – Nancy Malone, American actress and director
• 1935 – Burt Metcalfe, Canadian-American director, screenwriter, and producer
• 1936 – Ursula Andress, Swiss-American actress
• 1936 – Birthe Wilke, Danish singer
• 1937 – Clarence "Frogman" Henry, American singer and pianist
• 1937 – Egon Krenz, German politician
• 1938 – Herbie Flowers, English musician specialising in bass guitar, double-bass and tuba
• 1939 – Joe Kapp, American football player, coach, and actor
• 1942 – Richard Dobson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1943 – Mario J. Molina, Mexican chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1943 – Mario Monti, Italian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Italy
• 1943 – Vern Schuppan, Australian race car driver
• 1944 – Said Musa, Belizean lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Belize
• 1944 – Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian-Jordanian assassin of Robert F. Kennedy
• 1945 – Stefanos Kiriakidis, Greek actor
• 1945 – Modestas Paulauskas, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1946 – Paul Atkinson, English guitarist (The Zombies) (d. 2004)
• 1946 – Bigas Luna, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1946 – Ruth Pointer, American singer-songwriter and producer (Pointer Sisters)
• 1946 – Jack Schaeffer, American singer, saxophonist, and producer (Royale Monarchs)
• 1947 – Glenn Close, American actress and producer
• 1947 – Marinho Peres, Brazilian footballer and coach
• 1948 – Vintcent van der Bijl, South African cricketer
• 1948 – Peep Lassmann, Estonian pianist
• 1948 – David Schnitter, American saxophonist
• 1949 – Valery Leontiev, Russian singer and actor
• 1949 – Hirofumi Hirano, Japanese politician
• 1950 – Jose S. Palma, Filipino archbishop in Archdiocese of Cebu
• 1951 – PJ Torokvei, Canadian actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1952 – Wolfgang Ambros, Austrian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Austria3)
• 1952 – Chris Brubeck, American pianist and composer
• 1952 – Warren Lees, New Zealand cricketer and coach
• 1952 – Harvey Weinstein, American film producer, co-founded Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company
• 1953 – Billy Sheehan, American bass player and songwriter (Mr. Big and Niacin)
• 1953 – Ricky Wilson, American musician (The B-52's) (d. 1985)
• 1954 – Jill Abramson, American journalist
• 1954 – Cho Kwang-Rae, South Korean footballer, coach, and manager
• 1955 – Bruce Willis, German-American actor, singer, and producer
• 1955 – Simon Yam, Hong Kong actor and producer
• 1956 – Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
• 1958 – Andy Reid, American football coach
• 1959 – Terry Hall, English singer-songwriter (The Specials, Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, and Vegas)
• 1960 – Simo Aalto, Finnish magician
• 1960 – Eliane Elias, Brazilian singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1960 – Lanny Kean, American wrestler (d. 2009)
• 1961 – Jos Lansink, Dutch-Belgian horse rider
• 1962 – Iván Calderón, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2003)
• 1962 – Jim Korderas, Canadian wrestling referee
• 1963 – Neil LaBute, American director and screenwriter
• 1963 – José Alvarado Nieves, Mexican wrestler
• 1963 – Mary Scheer, American actress
• 1964 – Yoko Kanno, Japanese pianist and composer
• 1964 – Jake Weber, English actor
• 1965 – Kevin F. Harris, American composer
• 1965 – Fred Stoller, American comedian and actor
• 1966 – Andy Sinton, English footballer and manager
• 1966 – Debbie Rush, English actress
• 1967 – Michael Bletsas, Greek engineer
• 1967 – Sergei Bragin, Estonian footballer
• 1967 – Vladimir Konstantinov, Russian-American ice hockey player
• 1967 – Katia Tiutiunnik, Australian violist and composer
• 1968 – Tyrone Hill, American basketball player and coach
• 1968 – Mots'eoa Senyane, Mosotho diplomat
• 1969 – Gary Jules, American singer-songwriter
• 1969 – Tuulikki Laesson, Estonian chess player
• 1969 – Tom McRae, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1969 – Connor Trinneer, American actor
• 1970 – Gert Bettens, Belgian guitarist and songwriter (K's Choice)
• 1970 – Michael Krumm, German race car driver
• 1971 – Nadja Auermann, German model and actress
• 1971 – Sébastien Godefroid, Belgian sailor
• 1972 – Nate Quarry, American mixed martial artist
• 1973 – Bun B, American rapper and producer (UGK)
• 1973 – Brant Bjork, American drummer (Kyuss, Vista Chino, and Fu Manchu)
• 1973 – Simmone Jade Mackinnon, Australian actress
• 1974 – Vida Guerra, Cuban-American model
• 1974 – Marcel Tiemann, German race car driver
• 1975 – Brann Dailor, American drummer and songwriter (Mastodon, Lethargy, and Today is the Day)
• 1975 – Antonio Daniels, American basketball player
• 1975 – Vivian Hsu, Taiwanese singer and actress
• 1975 – Mason Jennings, American singer-songwriter
• 1975 – Lucie Laurier, Canadian actress
• 1975 – Matthew Richardson, Australian footballer
• 1976 – Rachel Blanchard, Canadian actress
• 1976 – Andre Miller, American basketball player
• 1976 – Alessandro Nesta, Italian footballer
• 1976 – Stelios Sfakianakis, Greek footballer
• 1977 – Fayez Banihammad, Emirati terrorist, hijacker of United Airlines Flight 175 (d. 2001)
• 1977 – Jorma Taccone, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1979 – Abby Brammell, American actress
• 1979 – Sheldon Brown, American football player
• 1979 – Hee-seop Choi, South Korean-American baseball player
• 1979 – Ivan Ljubičić, Croatian tennis player
• 1979 – Christos Patsatzoglou, Greek footballer
• 1979 – Hedo Türkoğlu, Turkish basketball player
• 1980 – Luca Ferri, Italian footballer
• 1980 – Taichi Ishikari, Japanese wrestler
• 1980 – Mikuni Shimokawa, Japanese singer-songwriter (NapsaQ and Checkicco)
• 1981 – Kim Rae-won, South Korean actor
• 1981 – Kolo Touré, Ivorian footballer
• 1982 – Jonathan Fanene, American football player
• 1982 – Brad Jones, Australian footballer
• 1982 – Matt Littler, English actor and director
• 1982 – Eduardo Saverin, Brazilian-American businessman, co-founded Facebook
• 1983 – Evan Bourne, American wrestler
• 1983 – Ana Rezende, Brazilian guitarist and director (CSS)
• 1984 – Tanushree Dutta, Indian model and actress, Femina Miss India 2004
• 1985 – E. J. Viso, Venezuelan race car driver
• 1985 – Michael Timlin, English-born Irish footballer
• 1986 – Tyler Bozak, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Lee Jooyeon, South Korean singer and actress (After School)
• 1987 – AJ Lee, American wrestler
• 1987 – Josie Loren, American actress
• 1987 – Alexander Metz, German rugby player
• 1987 – Michal Švec, Czech footballer
• 1987 – Miloš Teodosić, Serbian basketball player
• 1988 – Clayton Kershaw, American baseball player
• 1989 – Craig Lamar Traylor, American actor
• 1991 – Aleksandr Kokorin, Russian footballer
• 1991 – Garrett Clayton, Actor
• 1995 – Philip Daniel Bolden, American actor
• 1995 – Julia Montes, Filipino actress
• 1996 – Barbara Haas, Austrian tennis player
• 1997 – Rūta Meilutytė, Lithuanian swimmer

Deaths

• 1238 – Henry I the Bearded, Polish son of Bolesław I the Tall (b. 1163)
• 1263 – Hugh of Saint-Cher, French cardinal (b. 1200)
• 1279 – Emperor Bing of Song (b. 1271)
• 1286 – Alexander III of Scotland (b. 1241)
• 1330 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English son of Edward I of England (b. 1301)
• 1406 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian historian (b. 1332)
• 1612 – Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (b. 1585)
• 1637 – Péter Pázmány, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1570)
• 1649 – Gerhard Johann Vossius, German scholar and theologian (b. 1577)
• 1683 – Thomas Killigrew, English playwright (b. 1612)
• 1687 – René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, French explorer (b. 1643)
• 1697 – Nicolaus Bruhns, German organist and composer (b. 1665)
• 1711 – Thomas Ken, English bishop (b. 1637)
• 1717 – John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, Scottish soldier (b. 1636)
• 1721 – Pope Clement XI (b. 1649)
• 1746 – Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia (b. 1718)
• 1783 – Frederick Cornwallis, English archbishop (b. 1713)
• 1816 – Philip Mazzei, Italian physician (b. 1730)
• 1871 – Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist, geologist, and physicist (b. 1795)
• 1882 – Carl Robert Jakobson, Estonian politician, journalist and teacher (b. 1841)
• 1897 – Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, Irish-French geographer (b. 1810)
• 1900 – John Bingham, American lawyer and politician, 7th United States Ambassador to Japan (b. 1815)
• 1900 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (b. 1819)
• 1914 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian volcanologist (b. 1850)
• 1916 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (b. 1848)
• 1930 – Arthur Balfour, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1848)
• 1939 – Lloyd L. Gaines, American activist (b. 1911)
• 1942 – Clinton Hart Merriam, American zoologist, ornithologist, and entomologist (b. 1855)
• 1943 – Frank Nitti, Italian-American gangster (b. 1883)
• 1944 – William Hale Thompson, American politician, 41st Mayor of Chicago (b. 1869)
• 1949 – James Somerville, English admiral (b. 1882)
• 1950 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (b. 1875)
• 1950 – Norman Haworth, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
• 1958 – Hellmer Hermandsen, Norwegian target shooter (b. 1871)
• 1973 – Lauritz Melchior, Danish-American tenor (b. 1890)
• 1974 – Anne Klein, American fashion designer (b. 1923)
• 1974 – Edward Platt, American actor and producer (b. 1916)
• 1976 – Albert Dieudonné, French actor and author (b. 1889)
• 1976 – Paul Kossoff, English guitarist and songwriter (Free, Black Cat Bones, and Back Street Crawler) (b. 1950)
• 1977 – William L. Laurence, Lithuanian-American journalist (b. 1888)
• 1978 – Gaston Julia, French mathematician (b. 1893)
• 1979 – Richard Beckinsale, English actor (b. 1947)
• 1981 – Marcel Cadieux, Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States (b. 1915)
• 1982 – Alan Badel, English actor (b. 1923)
• 1982 – J. B. Kripalani, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1888)
• 1982 – Randy Rhoads, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Quiet Riot) (b. 1956)
• 1984 – Garry Winogrand, American photographer (b. 1928)
• 1987 – Louis de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
• 1988 – Bun Cook, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1904)
• 1989 – Alan Civil, English horn player (b. 1929)
• 1989 – Valérie Quennessen, French actress (b. 1957)
• 1990 – Andrew Wood, American singer-songwriter (Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone) (b. 1966)
• 1992 – Cesare Danova, Italian-American actor (b. 1926)
• 1995 – Yasuo Yamada, Japanese voice actor (b. 1932)
• 1997 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch-American painter (b. 1904)
• 1997 – Eugène Guillevic, French poet (b. 1907)
• 1998 – E. M. S. Namboodiripad, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Kerala (b. 1909)
• 1999 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, Samoan politician, 5th Prime Minister of Samoa (b. 1924)
• 1999 – Jaime Sabines, Mexican poet (b. 1926)
• 2000 – Joanne Weaver, American baseball player (b. 1935)
• 2000 – Shafiq-ur-Rahman, Pakistani physician and author (b. 1920)
• 2001 – Charles K. Johnson, American activist (b. 1924)
• 2003 – Émile Genest, Canadian actor (b. 1921)
• 2003 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator (b. 1926)
• 2004 – Mitchell Sharp, Canadian politician (b. 1911)
• 2005 – John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman, founded the DeLorean Motor Company (b. 1925)
• 2007 – Calvert DeForest, American actor (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Luther Ingram, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
• 2008 – Raghuvaran, Indian actor (b. 1958)
• 2008 – Arthur C. Clarke, English author (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Hugo Claus, Belgian author (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Paul Scofield, English actor (b. 1922)
• 2009 – Ion Dolănescu, Romanian singer and politician (b. 1944)
• 2011 – Kym Bonython, Australian radio host (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Clancy Lyall, American soldier (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Khalid Ahmad, Pakistani journalist and poet (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Ryan Birch, English martial artist (b. 1969)
• 2013 – Tom Clements, American civil servant (b. 1954)
• 2013 – Holger Juul Hansen, Danish actor (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Lester Lewis, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1966)
• 2013 – Fergus Montgomery, English politician (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Bud Palmer, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1921)
• 2013 – David Parland, Swedish guitarist (Dark Funeral, War, Necrophobic, and Infernal) (b. 1970)
• 2013 – Irina Petrescu, Romanian actress (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Harry Reems, American porn actor (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Joseph of Nazareth (Western Christianity)
  • March 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Minna Canth's Birthday (Finland)
• Earliest day on which Maundy Thursday can fall, while April 22 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before Easter. (Christianity)
• Saint Joseph's Day (Roman Catholicism and Church of England) related observances:
  • Father's Day (Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Honduras, and Bolivia)
  • Las Fallas, celebrated on the week leading to March 19. (Valencia)
  • "Return of the Swallow", annual observance of the swallows' return to Mission San Juan Capistrano in California.
• The Kashubians' Unity Day.
• The first day of Quinquatria, held in honor of Minerva. (Roman Empire)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to March 19.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada