February 19 in History

Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, a 19-year-old protester, becomes the first known casualty of anti-coup protests that formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.

Nine people are killed in two domestic terrorist shootings in Hanau, Hesse, Germany.

Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico.

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

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

An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.

NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.

Flying Tiger Line Flight 066 crashes into a hill near Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia, killing four.

A Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner operating as AVAir Flight 3378 crashes in Cary, North Carolina, killing 12.

Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.

William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.

A Boeing 727 operating as Iberia Flight 610 crashes Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148; it is the deadliest accident to occur in Iberia's history and the deadliest to occur in Basque County.

China Airlines Flight 006 experiences an aircraft upset over the Pacific Ocean, injuring 24.

Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat.

Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford's Proclamation 4417.

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.

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.

China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.

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

Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.

Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.

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

World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.

World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.

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

World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.

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.

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.

Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.

More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.

Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.

The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.

In Austin, Texas, the newly formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following the annexation of Texas by the United States.

King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the province of South Australia.

British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands.

Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama, and confined to Fort Stoddert.

The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.

Great Northern War: The battle of Napue between Sweden and Russia is fought in Isokyrö, Ostrobothnia.

England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England.

The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil.

The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.

Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592.

Pope Boniface III is consecrated in Rome.

The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan idols in the Roman Empire.

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

Millie Bobby Brown, English actress, model and producer

Lee Kang-in, South Korean footballer

David Mazouz, American actor

Katharina Gerlach, German tennis player

Chappell Roan, American singer and songwriter

Jungwoo, South Korean singer

Mabel, British-Swedish singer

D. J. Wilson, American basketball player

Nikola Jokić, Serbian basketball player

Tiina Trutsi, Estonian footballer

Mauro Icardi, Argentine footballer

Victoria Justice, American actress and singer

Camille Kostek, American model

Cody Parkey, American football player

Trevor Bayne, American race car driver

Christoph Kramer, German footballer

Adreian Payne, American basketball player (died 2022)

Sone Aluko, English-Nigerian footballer

Shawn Matthias, Canadian ice hockey player

Seth Morrison, American guitarist

Anna Cappellini, Italian ice dancer

Josh Reddick, American baseball player

Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player

Linus Klasen, Swedish ice hockey player

Marta, Brazilian footballer

Maria Mena, Norwegian singer-songwriter

Haylie Duff, American actress and singer

Arielle Kebbel, American actress and model

Kosta Perović, Serbian basketball player

Chris Richardson, American singer-songwriter

Kotoōshū Katsunori, Bulgarian sumo wrestler

Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress

Reynhard Sinaga, Indonesian sex offender

Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player

Jawad Williams, American basketball player

Beth Ditto, American singer

Shawn Spears, Canadian wrestler

Dwight Freeney, American football player

Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player

Mike Miller, American basketball player

Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player and manager

Ben Gummer, English scholar and politician

Immortal Technique, Peruvian-American rapper

Ola Salo, Swedish singer-songwriter and keyboard player

Andrew Ross Sorkin, American journalist and author

Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer and manager

Daniel Adair, Canadian drummer and producer

Daewon Song, South Korean-American skateboarder, co-founded Almost Skateboards

Eric Lange, American actor

Francine Fournier, American wrestler and manager

Sunset Thomas, American pornographic actress

Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player and poet

Richard Green, Australian golfer

Jeff Kinney, American author and illustrator

Joacim Cans, Swedish singer-songwriter

Verena Nussbaum, Austrian politician

Bellamy Young, American actress

Burton C. Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Helena Guergis, Canadian businesswoman and politician

Prince Markie Dee, American rapper and actor (died 2021)

Frank Watkins, American bass player (died 2015)

Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican actor, director, and producer

Justine Bateman, American actress and producer

Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player and coach

Eduardo Xol, American designer and author (died 2024)

Jon Fishman, American drummer

Clark Hunt, American businessman

Leroy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Doug Aldrich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Jennifer Doudna, American biochemist

Jonathan Lethem, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer

Seal, English singer-songwriter

Jessica Tuck, American actress

Hana Mandlíková, Czech-Australian tennis player and coach

Justin Fashanu, English footballer (died 1998)

Ernie Gonzalez, American golfer (died 2020)

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, second son of Elizabeth II

John Paul Jr., American race car driver (died 2020)

Roger Goodell, American businessman, 6th National Football League Commissioner

Leslie David Baker, American actor

Helen Fielding, English author and screenwriter

Steve Nieve, English keyboard player and composer

Falco, Austrian singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician (died 1998)

Dave Stewart, American baseball player, coach, and executive

Ray Winstone, English actor

Peter Holsapple, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Dave Wakeling, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Jeff Daniels, American actor and playwright

Francis Buchholz, German bass player (died 2026)

Michael Gira, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (died 2011)

Corrado Barazzutti, Italian tennis player

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentine lawyer and politician, President of Argentina and Vice President of Argentina

Massimo Troisi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1994)

Ryū Murakami, Japanese novelist and filmmaker

Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican engineer and astronaut

Amy Tan, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer

Danilo Türk, Slovene academic and politician, 3rd President of Slovenia

Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani scholar and politician, founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran

Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter (died 2006)

Andy Powell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (died 1998)

Eddie Hardin, English singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2015)

Barry Lloyd, English footballer and manager (died 2024)

William Messner-Loebs, American author and illustrator

Mark Andes, American singer-songwriter and bass player

Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (died 2002)

Raúl Grijalva, United States representative from Arizona (died 2025)

Tony Iommi, English guitarist and songwriter

Jackie Curtis, American actress and playwright (died 1985)

Tim Shadbolt, New Zealand businessman and politician, 42nd Mayor of Invercargill

Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist

Peter Hudson, Australian footballer and coach

Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (died 1974)

Yuri Antonov, Uzbek-Russian singer-songwriter

Les Hinton, English-American journalist and businessman

Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter (died 2025)

Homer Hickam, American author and engineer

Tim Hunt, English biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate

Cyrus Chothia, English biochemist and emeritus scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (died 2019)

Paul Krause, American football player and politician

Will Provine, American biologist, historian, and academic (died 2015)

Howard Stringer, Welsh businessman

David Gross, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, English politician

Saparmyrat Nyýazow, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (died 2006)

Smokey Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer

Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (died 2013)

Erin Pizzey, English activist and author, founded Refuge

Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (died 1989)

Terry Carr, American author and educator (died 1987)

Norm O'Neill, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (died 2008)

Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter (died 2006)

Frederick Seidel, American poet

Chung-Yun Hse, Taiwanese-American wood scientist (died 2021)

Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster (died 2010)

Russ Nixon, American MLB catcher and coach (died 2016)

Joseph P. Kerwin, American captain, physician, and astronaut

John Frankenheimer, American director and producer (died 2002)

K. Viswanath, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2023)

Jacques Deray, French director and screenwriter (died 2003)

Philippe Boiry, French journalist (died 2014)

György Kurtág, Hungarian composer and academic

David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player and theoretician (died 2006)

Lee Marvin, American actor (died 1987)

Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2015)

C. Z. Guest, American actress, fashion designer, and author (died 2003)

Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet (died 2007)

George Rose, English actor and singer (died 1988)

Fay McKenzie, American actress (died 2019)

Carson McCullers, American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist (died 1967)

Eddie Arcaro, American jockey and sportscaster (died 1997)

Dick Emery, English actor and comedian (died 1983)

John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (died 2014)

Thelma Kench, New Zealand Olympic sprinter (died 1985)

Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (died 2007)

Frank Tashlin, American animator and screenwriter (died 1972)

Saul Chaplin, American composer (died 1997)

Dorothy Janis, American actress (died 2010)

Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress (died 1979)

Havank, Dutch journalist and author (died 1964)

Kay Boyle, American novelist, short story writer, and educator (died 1992)

Lucio Fontana, Argentinian-Italian painter and sculptor (died 1968)

Alma Rubens, American actress (died 1931)

André Breton, French poet and author (died 1966)

Louis Calhern, American actor (died 1956)

Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (died 1964)

José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian lawyer and poet (died 1928)

José Abad Santos, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (died 1942)

Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico (died 1928)

Harriet Bosse, Swedish–Norwegian actress (died 1961)

Gabriele Münter, German painter (died 1962)

Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (died 1957)

Johan Pitka, Estonian admiral (died 1944)

Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian-Russian poet and author (died 1923)

Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer (died 1952)

Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1927)

Nishinoumi Kajirō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna (died 1908)

Elfrida Andrée, Swedish organist, composer, and conductor (died 1929)

Lydia Thompson, British burlesque performer (died 1908)

Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1906)

August Schleicher, German linguist and academic (died 1868)

Carl von Rokitansky, German physician, pathologist, and philosopher (died 1878)

Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun and social worker, founded the Sisters of Providence (died 1851)

Allan MacNab, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Premier of Canada West (died 1862)

Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (died 1805)

David Garrick, English actor, playwright, and producer (died 1779)

Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (died 1742)

Shivaji, Indian warrior-king and the founder of Maratha Empire (died 1680)

Andries de Graeff, Dutch politician (died 1678)

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (died 1612)

Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal (died 1630)

Jean-Antoine de Baïf, French poet (died 1589)

Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist and academic (died 1609)

Froben Christoph of Zimmern, German author of the Zimmern Chronicle (died 1566)

Matthäus Schwarz, German fashion writer (died 1574)

Nicolaus Copernicus, Prussian mathematician and astronomer (died 1543)

Domenico Grimani, Italian cardinal (died 1523)

José Mojica Marins, Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host (born 1936)

Pop Smoke, American rapper (born 1999)

Karl Lagerfeld, German fashion designer (born 1933)

Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (born 1943)

Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (born 1932)

Harper Lee, American author (born 1926)

Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (born 1959)

Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (born 1923)

Harold Johnson, American boxer (born 1928)

Nirad Mohapatra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1947)

Harris Wittels, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1984)

Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (born 1946)

Dale Gardner, American captain and astronaut (born 1948)

Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (born 1935)

Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (born 1914)

Park Chul-soo, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1948)

Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1937)

Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (born 1924)

Eugene Whelan, Canadian farmer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (born 1924)

Ruth Barcan Marcus, American philosopher and logician (born 1921)

Jaroslav Velinský, Czech author and songwriter (born 1932)

Vitaly Vorotnikov, Russian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Russia (born 1926)

Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (born 1930)

Kelly Groucutt, English singer and bass player (born 1945)

Yegor Letov, Russian singer-songwriter (born 1964)

Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress and singer (born 1945)

Janet Blair, American actress and singer (born 1921)

Celia Franca, English-Canadian dancer and director, founded the National Ballet of Canada (born 1921)

Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1938)

Sylvia Rivera, American transgender LGBT activist (born 1951)

Liza 'N' Eliaz, Belgian, transgender, hardcore DJ (born 1958)

Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (born 1913)

Charles Trenet, French singer-songwriter (born 1913)

Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and illustrator (born 1928)

Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric (born 1943)

Grandpa Jones, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (born 1913)

Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (born 1908)

Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician, paramount leader and 1st Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (born 1904)

Charlie Finley, American businessman (born 1918)

Derek Jarman, English director and set designer (born 1942)

Tojo Yamamoto, American wrestler and manager (born 1927)

André Frédéric Cournand, French-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1895)

Alice White, American actress (born 1904)

Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (born 1946)

Anthony Crosland, English author and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (born 1918)

Mike González, Cuban baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1890)

Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (born 1892)

John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (born 1898)

Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (born 1938)

Ralph Edward Flanders, US Senator from Vermont (born 1890)

Madge Blake, American actress (born 1899)

Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the Pap smear (born 1883)

Willard Miller, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1877)

Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (born 1871)

Richard Rushall, British businessman (born 1864)

Knut Hamsun, Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1859)

André Gide, French novelist, essayist, and dramatist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1869)

John Basilone, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1916)

Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (born 1879)

George Howard Earle Jr., American lawyer and businessman (born 1856)

Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (born 1847)

Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (born 1838)

Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian philosopher and politician (born 1866)

Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (born 1815)

Multatuli, Dutch-German author and civil servant (born 1820)

Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (born 1813)

Thomas Burgess, English bishop and philosopher (born 1756)

Elizabeth Carter, English poet and translator (born 1717)

Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (born 1733)

Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and politician, 7th Governor of Delaware (born 1738)

Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (born 1701)

Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (born 1634)

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (born 1646)

Charles Chauncy, English-American minister, theologian, and academic (born 1592)

Henry Savile, English scholar and politician (born 1549)

Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (born 1550)

Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (born 1558)

Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (born 1511)

Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (born 1460)

Eleanor of Aragon, queen of Portugal (born 1402)

Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (born 1353)

Thomas Bardolf, 5th Baron Bardolf, English rebel

Munio of Zamora, General of the Dominican Order

Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sufi philosopher and poet (born 1177)

Irene Doukaina, Byzantine wife of Alexios I Komnenos (born 1066)

Leontius of Trier, Bishop of Trier

Clodius Albinus, Roman usurper (born 150)