Date·Lore

On This Day · The 50th day of the year

February 19

February 19 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 197 and 2011. Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.

♓ZodiacPisces ◈BirthstoneAmethyst ❀Birth flowerViolet

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on February 19?

February 19 is the 50th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 197 and 2011. Famous people born on February 19 include Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Nicolaus Copernicus and Danielle Bunten Berry.

The shape of the day

Few dates reach as far back as February 19: its recorded history runs unusually deep, stretching to 197. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

Pisces is the sign for February 19 — read more on the Pisces page, or see February's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on February 19

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Game Love Eternal
  • Game Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse
  • Game Dead In Antares
  • Game Styx: Blades of Greed
  • Game Kletka

2023

  • TV Seetha Raman

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 197

    Septimius Severus

    Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.

  2. 1915

    World War I

    World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.

  3. 1937

    Yekatit 12

    Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.

  4. 1942

    World War II

    World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people.

  5. 1948

    Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence

    The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.

  6. 1959

    Cyprus

    The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.

  7. 1963

    Betty Friedan

    The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique reawakens the feminist movement in the United States as women's organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.

  8. 1965

    Phạm Ngọc Thảo

    Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh.

  9. 2006

    Methane

    A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners.

  10. 2011

    Belitung shipwreck

    The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.

Famous birthday twins

Born on February 19

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

b. 1960

second son of Elizabeth II

Nicolaus Copernicus

b. 1473

Prussian mathematician and astronomer

Danielle Bunten Berry

b. 1949

American game designer and programmer

Beth Ditto

b. 1981

American singer

Eddie Arcaro

b. 1916

American jockey and sportscaster

Paul Haarhuis

b. 1966

Dutch tennis player and coach

David Gross

b. 1941

American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

b. 1953

Argentine lawyer and politician, President of Argentina and Vice President of Argentina

Deaths

  • 2016Umberto Eco
  • 2001Stanley Kramer
  • 1997Deng Xiaoping
  • 1952Knut Hamsun
  • 1951André Gide
  • 1897Karl Weierstrass

Holidays & observances

  • —Army Day (Mexico)
  • —Brâncuși Day (Romania)
  • —Christian feast day: Barbatus of Benevento
  • —Christian feast day: Boniface of Brussels
  • —Christian feast day: Conrad of Piacenza
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Elisabetta Picenardi
  • —Christian feast day: Lucy Yi Zhenmei (one of Martyrs of Guizhou)
  • —Christian feast day: February 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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