February 19
1674 - The Netherlands and England signed the Peace of Westminster, by which New Amsterdam passed to the English (and was later renamed New York).
1807 - Aaron Burr, vice president of the United States under Thomas Jefferson, was arrested for treason. (He was later acquitted.)
1846 - The Texas state government was formally installed in Austin, with J. Pinckney Henderson taking the oath of office as governor.
1878 - Thomas Edison patented the gramophone (phonograph).
1881 - Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
1942 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order that resulted in the internment of thousands of Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast.
1945 - During World War II, some 30,000 United States Marines landed on the Western Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where they encountered ferocious resistance from Japanese forces. The Americans took control of the strategically important island after a month-long battle.
1959 - Britain, Turkey and Greece signed the agreement granting independence to Cyprus.
1968 - The first nationwide broadcast of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" aired on PBS.
1976 - President Gerald R. Ford, calling the issuing of the internment order for people of Japanese ancestry in 1942 “a sad day in American history,” signed a proclamation formally confirming its termination.
1986 - The U.S. Senate approved, 83-11, the Genocide Convention, an international treaty outlawing “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,” nearly 37 years after the pact was first submitted for ratification.
1997 - Deng Xiaoping, the last of China's major Communist revolutionaries, died in Beijing at age 92.
2004 - Former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was charged with fraud, insider trading and other crimes in connection with the energy trader's collapse.
2007 - New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions to gay couples.
2008 - Fidel Castro resigned as president of Cuba after 49 years in power; his brother, Raul, succeeded him as president.
2010 - The FBI concluded that Army scientist Bruce Ivins acted alone in the 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people, and formally closed the case.
2019 - President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to develop plans for a new Space Force within the Air Force, accepting less than the full-fledged department he had wanted.
2020 - About 500 passengers left the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan at the end of a two-week quarantine that failed to stop the spread of the coronavirus among passengers and crew; the number of confirmed cases aboard the ship topped 600.
2020 - President Donald Trump announced that Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, would become acting director of national intelligence.
Birthdays
20 - David Mazouz (actor)
22 - Sonia Ben Ammar (model)
25 - Mabel McVey (singer)
28 - Victoria Justice (actress)
31 - Luke Pasqualino (actor)
36 - Arielle Kebbel (actress)
36 - Haylie Duff (actress/singer)
54 - Cynthia Bailey (reality star)
54 - Benicio Del Toro (actor)
55 - Justine Bateman (actress)
58 - Jessica Tuck (actress)
58 - Seal (singer)
59 - Hana Mandlikova (tennis player)
61 - Prince Andrew (member of British royal family)
62 - Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner)
63 - Leslie David Baker (actor)
64 - Ray Winstone (actor)
66 - Jeff Daniels (actor)
70 - Stephen Nichols (actor)
76 - Michael Nader (actor)
78 - Lou Christie (singer)
81 - Smokey Robinson (singer)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - February 19
1946 - Danny Gardella became the first major league player to go to the Mexican League.
1965 - The NFL approved a sixth official, the line judge.
1996 - Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns) got his 10,000th career rebound. He became only the 10th NBA player to reach 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in a career.
1996 - Patrick Roy (Colorado Avalanche) became the second youngest NHL goaltender and 12th overall to reach 300 career victories.
2019 - Four-time MLB All-Star at third base, Manny Machado agrees to the biggest free-agent contract in American sports history, a 10 year deal worth $300 million with the San Diego Padres.
1674 - The Netherlands and England signed the Peace of Westminster, by which New Amsterdam passed to the English (and was later renamed New York).
1807 - Aaron Burr, vice president of the United States under Thomas Jefferson, was arrested for treason. (He was later acquitted.)
1846 - The Texas state government was formally installed in Austin, with J. Pinckney Henderson taking the oath of office as governor.
1878 - Thomas Edison patented the gramophone (phonograph).
1881 - Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
1942 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order that resulted in the internment of thousands of Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast.
1945 - During World War II, some 30,000 United States Marines landed on the Western Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where they encountered ferocious resistance from Japanese forces. The Americans took control of the strategically important island after a month-long battle.
1959 - Britain, Turkey and Greece signed the agreement granting independence to Cyprus.
1968 - The first nationwide broadcast of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" aired on PBS.
1976 - President Gerald R. Ford, calling the issuing of the internment order for people of Japanese ancestry in 1942 “a sad day in American history,” signed a proclamation formally confirming its termination.
1986 - The U.S. Senate approved, 83-11, the Genocide Convention, an international treaty outlawing “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,” nearly 37 years after the pact was first submitted for ratification.
1997 - Deng Xiaoping, the last of China's major Communist revolutionaries, died in Beijing at age 92.
2004 - Former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was charged with fraud, insider trading and other crimes in connection with the energy trader's collapse.
2007 - New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions to gay couples.
2008 - Fidel Castro resigned as president of Cuba after 49 years in power; his brother, Raul, succeeded him as president.
2010 - The FBI concluded that Army scientist Bruce Ivins acted alone in the 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people, and formally closed the case.
2019 - President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to develop plans for a new Space Force within the Air Force, accepting less than the full-fledged department he had wanted.
2020 - About 500 passengers left the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan at the end of a two-week quarantine that failed to stop the spread of the coronavirus among passengers and crew; the number of confirmed cases aboard the ship topped 600.
2020 - President Donald Trump announced that Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, would become acting director of national intelligence.
Birthdays
20 - David Mazouz (actor)
22 - Sonia Ben Ammar (model)
25 - Mabel McVey (singer)
28 - Victoria Justice (actress)
31 - Luke Pasqualino (actor)
36 - Arielle Kebbel (actress)
36 - Haylie Duff (actress/singer)
54 - Cynthia Bailey (reality star)
54 - Benicio Del Toro (actor)
55 - Justine Bateman (actress)
58 - Jessica Tuck (actress)
58 - Seal (singer)
59 - Hana Mandlikova (tennis player)
61 - Prince Andrew (member of British royal family)
62 - Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner)
63 - Leslie David Baker (actor)
64 - Ray Winstone (actor)
66 - Jeff Daniels (actor)
70 - Stephen Nichols (actor)
76 - Michael Nader (actor)
78 - Lou Christie (singer)
81 - Smokey Robinson (singer)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - February 19
1946 - Danny Gardella became the first major league player to go to the Mexican League.
1965 - The NFL approved a sixth official, the line judge.
1996 - Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns) got his 10,000th career rebound. He became only the 10th NBA player to reach 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in a career.
1996 - Patrick Roy (Colorado Avalanche) became the second youngest NHL goaltender and 12th overall to reach 300 career victories.
2019 - Four-time MLB All-Star at third base, Manny Machado agrees to the biggest free-agent contract in American sports history, a 10 year deal worth $300 million with the San Diego Padres.
