January 19 facts for kids

January 19th is a special day in history, filled with many important events and the birthdays of famous people! From ancient empires to modern space exploration, this date has seen a lot happen. Let's explore some of the exciting and interesting moments from January 19th throughout the years.

Historical Events

Early Times (Before 1600)

• 379 – A powerful Roman Emperor named Gratian gave a leader named Flavius Theodosius control over the eastern part of the Roman Empire.
• 649 – After a long siege (a military blockade), the city of Kucha gave up to the Tang dynasty army. This helped the Tang dynasty control an important area in Xinjiang.
• 1419 – During the Hundred Years' War, the city of Rouen surrendered to Henry V of England. This meant he had taken back all of Normandy.
• 1511 – The Italian area of Mirandola gave up to the Pope's forces.
• 1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, who was leading Sweden at the time, was badly hurt in a battle and passed away a few days later.

From 1600 to 1900

• 1607 – The San Agustin Church in Manila, Philippines, was finished. It's the oldest church still standing there today!
• 1639 – The city of Hämeenlinna in Finland was given special rights, becoming its own city.
• 1764 – John Wilkes was removed from the British Parliament because he wrote things that were seen as rebellious against the government.
• 1764 – A Danish colonel was seriously hurt by a package that exploded. This might have been the world's first "mail bomb."
• 1788 – More ships from the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay in Australia, bringing more people to settle there.
• 1795 – The Batavian Republic was created in the Netherlands, replacing the old Dutch Republic.
• 1817 – General José de San Martín led an army of over 5,000 soldiers across the huge Andes mountains from Argentina. Their goal was to free Chile and then Peru from Spanish rule.
• 1829 – The famous play Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was performed for the very first time.
• 1839 – The British East India Company took control of Aden, an important port city.
• 1853 – The opera Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi had its first performance in Rome.
• 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Georgia decided to leave the United States, joining other states like South Carolina and Florida. This was a big step towards the Civil War.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The Confederacy (the Southern states that had left the Union) had their first major defeat in the Battle of Mill Springs.
• 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: During the Siege of Paris, Prussia won the Battle of St. Quentin. French attempts to break the siege were not successful.
• 1883 – The very first electric lighting system that used overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, started working in Roselle, New Jersey.
• 1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was formed, a territory controlled by both Britain and Egypt.

The 1900s and Beyond

• 1901 – Queen Victoria, the Queen of the United Kingdom, became very ill. She passed away three days later at 81 years old.
• 1915 – Georges Claude received a patent for the neon discharge tube, which is what we use for bright neon signs in advertising.
• 1915 – During World War I, German zeppelins (large airships) bombed towns in the United Kingdom, killing at least 20 people. This was one of the first major air attacks on regular citizens.
• 1917 – A huge explosion happened at a munitions (weapons) factory in London, killing 73 people and injuring over 400.
• 1920 – The United States Senate voted against joining the League of Nations, an international group created to promote peace after World War I.
• 1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an organization that protects people's rights, was founded.
• 1937 – The famous pilot Howard Hughes set a new air speed record, flying from Los Angeles to New York City in just over seven and a half hours.
• 1941 – World War II: A British warship and its escorts sank an Italian submarine off the coast of Greece.
• 1942 – World War II: The Japanese army began its conquest of Burma.
• 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces freed the Łódź Ghetto in Poland. Out of over 200,000 people living there in 1940, fewer than 900 had survived the terrible Nazi occupation.
• 1946 – General Douglas MacArthur created a special court in Tokyo to try Japanese leaders for war crimes committed during World War II.
• 1953 – Almost three-quarters of all TV sets in the United States were tuned in to watch I Love Lucy as Lucy gave birth on the show!
• 1960 – Japan and the United States signed a very important agreement called the US–Japan Mutual Security Treaty.
• 1969 – A student named Jan Palach died after setting himself on fire in Prague. He did this to protest the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral became a huge protest.
• 1977 – President Gerald Ford gave a pardon to Iva Toguri D'Aquino, also known as "Tokyo Rose."
• 1978 – The very last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany rolled off the production line. Beetle production continued in other countries until 2003.
• 1981 – Iran hostage crisis: The United States and Iran signed an agreement to release 52 American hostages who had been held captive for 14 months.
• 1983 – The Apple Lisa was announced. It was the first commercial personal computer from Apple to have a graphical user interface (where you click on icons) and a computer mouse.
• 1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus was released. It was called (c)Brain and was made in Pakistan.
• 1990 – Many Kashmiri Pandits left the Kashmir valley in Indian-administered Kashmir because of unrest in the area.
• 1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fired a second Scud missile into Israel, injuring 15 people.
• 1993 – The Czech Republic and Slovakia officially joined the United Nations.
• 1995 – A helicopter crew was forced to land in the water after being hit by lightning. All 18 people on board were safely rescued.
• 1996 – An oil spill happened off the coast of Rhode Island when a barge carrying oil ran aground after its tugboat caught fire.
• 1997 – Yasser Arafat returned to Hebron after more than 30 years. People celebrated the handover of the last Israeli-controlled city in the West Bank.
• 1999 – British Aerospace bought the defense part of the General Electric Company, which led to the creation of BAE Systems later that year.
• 2007 – A four-person team completed a 1,093-mile trek to the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility using only skis and kites. It was the first time this had been done without any mechanical help.
• 2012 – The file-sharing website Megaupload, based in Hong Kong, was shut down by the FBI.
• 2014 – A bomb attack on an army convoy in Pakistan killed at least 26 soldiers and injured 38 others.
• 2024 – The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's probe successfully landed on the Moon. This made Japan the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon!

Famous Birthdays

Many interesting people were born on January 19th! Here are just a few:

Historical Figures (Before 1900)

• 399 – Pulcheria, a powerful Byzantine empress and a saint.
• 1200 – Dōgen Zenji, who founded an important type of Zen Buddhism.
• 1544 – Francis II of France, a king of France.
• 1736 – James Watt, a Scottish engineer who made important improvements to the steam engine.
• 1798 – Auguste Comte, a French thinker who is considered one of the founders of sociology.
• 1807 – Robert E. Lee, a famous American general who led the Confederate army during the Civil War.
• 1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, a well-known American writer of spooky short stories, poems, and mysteries.
• 1813 – Henry Bessemer, an English engineer who created a new way to make steel, which was very important for industry.
• 1839 – Paul Cézanne, a famous French painter who influenced many modern art styles.
• 1848 – Matthew Webb, an English swimmer who was the first person to swim across the English Channel without help.
• 1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, a Dutch astronomer who made important discoveries about the Milky Way galaxy.
• 1878 – Herbert Chapman, an English footballer and manager who was very successful.

Modern Personalities (1901-Present)

• 1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, a Russian mathematician and economist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1918 – John H. Johnson, an American publisher who founded the Johnson Publishing Company, creating magazines for African American audiences.
• 1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, a Peruvian politician and diplomat who served as the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
• 1921 – Patricia Highsmith, an American novelist known for her psychological thrillers.
• 1923 – Jean Stapleton, an American actress famous for her role as Edith Bunker in All in the Family.
• 1930 – Tippi Hedren, an American actress and animal rights activist.
• 1936 – Ziaur Rahman, a Bangladeshi general and politician who became the seventh President of Bangladesh.
• 1939 – Phil Everly, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, part of the famous Everly Brothers duo.
• 1943 – Janis Joplin, an American singer-songwriter known for her powerful voice.
• 1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands.
• 1946 – Dolly Parton, a legendary American singer-songwriter and actress, known for her country music and acting.
• 1949 – Robert Palmer, an English singer-songwriter known for his unique blend of rock, pop, and soul music.
• 1954 – Katey Sagal, an American actress and singer, famous for her roles in Married... with Children and Sons of Anarchy.
• 1955 – Simon Rattle, a world-renowned English-German orchestral conductor.
• 1959 – Danese Cooper, an American computer scientist and programmer who has worked on many important software projects.
• 1966 – Stefan Edberg, a Swedish tennis player who was once ranked number one in the world.
• 1969 – Junior Seau, an American football player who was a very talented linebacker.
• 1971 – Shawn Wayans, an American actor, producer, and screenwriter, part of the famous Wayans family.
• 1980 – Jenson Button, an English race car driver who won the Formula One World Championship.
• 1982 – Pete Buttigieg, an American politician who has served as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
• 1983 – Hikaru Utada, a popular American-Japanese singer-songwriter and producer.
• 1992 – Shawn Johnson East, an American gymnast who won an Olympic gold medal.
• 1992 – Logan Lerman, an American actor known for his roles in movies like Percy Jackson & the Olympians.
• 1992 – Mac Miller, an American rapper and record producer.

Notable Deaths

January 19th also marks the passing of many influential people throughout history:

Historical Figures (Before 1900)

• 639 – Dagobert I, a Frankish king.
• 1526 – Isabella of Austria, a Danish queen.
• 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, an English poet.
• 1576 – Hans Sachs, a German poet and playwright.
• 1597 – Maharana Pratap, a brave Hindu king from India.
• 1729 – William Congreve, an English playwright and poet.
• 1809 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, a French philosopher.
• 1847 – Charles Bent, the first governor of New Mexico.
• 1878 – Henri Victor Regnault, a French physicist and chemist.

Modern Personalities (1901-Present)

• 1906 – Bartolomé Mitre, an Argentinian historian and politician who was the sixth President of Argentina.
• 1930 – Frank P. Ramsey, a British mathematician, philosopher, and economist.
• 1948 – Tony Garnier, a French architect and urban planner.
• 1975 – Thomas Hart Benton, an American painter known for his murals.
• 1982 – Elis Regina, a famous Brazilian singer.
• 1983 – Ham, a chimpanzee who was the first hominid (human-like creature) in space!
• 1998 – Carl Perkins, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for his rock and roll music.
• 2000 – Hedy Lamarr, an Austrian-American actress and inventor who helped develop early wireless technology.
• 2007 – Denny Doherty, a Canadian singer-songwriter, part of the group The Mamas & the Papas.
• 2012 – Sarah Burke, a Canadian skier who was a pioneer in freestyle skiing.
• 2013 – Stan Musial, an American baseball player who was one of the greatest hitters of all time.
• 2017 – Miguel Ferrer, an American actor.

Holidays and Observances

January 19th is also a day for various celebrations and observances around the world:

• Christian feast day: This day honors several Christian saints like Bassianus of Lodi and Henry of Uppsala.
• Confederate Heroes Day in Texas, and Robert E. Lee Day in some Southern U.S. states.
• Husband's Day in Iceland, a day to celebrate husbands.
• Kokborok Day in Tripura, India, celebrating the Kokborok language.
• Theophany / Epiphany in Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, which celebrates the baptism of Jesus. This includes:
  • Timkat in Ethiopian Orthodox churches.
  • Vodici or Baptism of Jesus in North Macedonia.

See also

In Spanish: 19 de enero para niños