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On This Day · The 170th day of the year

June 19

A look at June 19 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Lou Gehrig and Blaise Pascal, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♊ZodiacGemini ◈BirthstonePearl ❀Birth flowerRose
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2012

    WikiLeaks

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange requests asylum in London's Ecuadorian Embassy for fear of extradition to the US after publication of previously classified documents including footage of civilian killings by the US army; he will remain there until 2019.

    News leak publishing organisation
  2. 2009

    Shishou incident

    Mass riots involving over 10,000 people and 10,000 police officers break out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circumstances surrounding the death of a local chef.

    Mass protest and riot
  3. 1988

    Pope John Paul II

    Pope John Paul II canonizes 117 Vietnamese Martyrs.

    Head of the Catholic
  4. 1965

    Nguyễn Cao Kỳ

    Nguyễn Cao Kỳ becomes Prime Minister of South Vietnam at the head of a military junta; General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu becomes the figurehead chief of state.

    Vice President of South
  5. 1961

    Kuwait

    Kuwait declares independence from the United Kingdom.

    Country in West Asia
  6. 1953

    Cold War

    Cold War: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed at Sing Sing, in New York.

    1947–1991 geopolitical rivalry between
  7. 1903

    Benito Mussolini

    Benito Mussolini, at the time a radical Socialist, is arrested by Bern police for advocating a violent general strike.

    Dictator of Italy from
  8. 1862

    Abraham Lincoln

    President Abraham Lincoln signs the Territorial Slavery Act of 1862, which prohibits slavery in all current and future United States territories.

    President of the United
  9. 1785

    King's Chapel

    The Boston King's Chapel adopts James Freeman's revised prayer book, without the Nicene Creed, establishing it as the first Unitarian congregation in the United States.

    Unitarian chapel in Massachusetts,
  10. 1718

    1718 Tongwei–Gansu earthquake

    At least 73,000 people died in the 1718 Tongwei–Gansu earthquake due to landslides in the Qing dynasty.

    Earthquake in China
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Famous birthday twins

Born on June 19

Lou Gehrig

b. 1903

American baseball player

Blaise Pascal

b. 1623

French mathematician and physicist

José Rizal

b. 1861

Filipino journalist, author, and poet

Christian Wulff

b. 1959

German lawyer and politician, 10th President of Germany

Rahul Gandhi

b. 1970

Indian politician

Atticus Shaffer

b. 1998

American actor and YouTuber

Aung San Suu Kyi

b. 1945

Burmese politician, Nobel Prize laureate

Erna Schneider Hoover

b. 1926

American mathematician and inventor

Deaths

  • 2014Gerry Goffin, American songwriter
  • 1993William Golding, British novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1953Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, American spy
  • 1650Matthäus Merian the Elder, Swiss-German engraver and publisher
  • 1504Bernhard Walther, German astronomer and humanist
  • 404AD 404, Jin-dynasty warlord and emperor of Huan Chu

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Deodatus (or Didier) of Nevers (or of Jointures)
  • —Christian feast day: Gervasius and Protasius (Catholic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Hildegrim of Châlons
  • —Christian feast day: Juliana Falconieri
  • —Christian feast day: Romuald
  • —Christian feast day: Ursicinus of Ravenna
  • —Christian feast day: Zosimus
  • —Christian feast day: June 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

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