September 19 in History

Azerbaijan launches a military offensive against the Republic of Artsakh in the Nagorno-Karabakh region; this leads to the flight of the Armenian population.

The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is held at Westminster Abbey, London.

A strong earthquake kills 2 and injures over 30 in Mexico's state of Michoacán.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano, on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, erupts. The eruption lasts for almost three months, ending on December 13.

The 2017 Puebla earthquake strikes Mexico, causing 370 deaths and over 6,000 injuries, as well as extensive damage.

In the wake of a manhunt, the suspect in a series of bombings in New York and New Jersey is apprehended after a shootout with police.

Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees surpasses Trevor Hoffman to become Major League Baseball's all-time career saves leader with 602.

The leaking oil well in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is sealed.

A Learjet 60 carrying musicians Travis Barker and Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein crashes during a rejected takeoff from Colombia Metropolitan Airport in West Columbia, South Carolina, killing four of the six people on board. Barker and Goldstein both survive.

The Thai army stages a coup. The Constitution is revoked and martial law is declared.

The Guelb El-Kebir massacre in Algeria kills 53 people.

The Washington Post and The New York Times publish the Unabomber Manifesto.

Ötzi the Iceman is discovered in the Alps on the border between Italy and Austria.

A bomb destroys UTA Flight 772 in mid-air above the Tùnùrù Desert, Niger, killing all 170 passengers and crew.

A strong earthquake kills thousands and destroys about 400 buildings in Mexico City.

Tipper Gore and other political wives form the Parents Music Resource Center as Frank Zappa, John Denver, and other musicians testify at U.S. Congressional hearings on obscenity in rock music.

Saint Kitts and Nevis gains its independence.

Scott Fahlman posts the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University bulletin board system.

The Solomon Islands join the United Nations.

Turkish Airlines Flight 452 hits the Taurus Mountains, outskirt of Karatepe, Turkey, killing all 154 passengers and crew.

Two Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom II jets fly out to investigate an unidentified flying object.

Michael Eavis hosts the first Glastonbury Festival.

Kostas Georgakis, a Greek student of geology, sets himself ablaze in Matteotti Square in Genoa, Italy, as a protest against the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos.

Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani President Ayub Khan sign the Indus Waters Treaty for the control and management of the Indus, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers.

Korean War: An attack by North Korean forces was repelled at the Battle of Nam River.

The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich.

World War II: The Battle of Hürtgen Forest begins. It will become the second-longest individual battle that the U.S. Army has ever fought.

World War II: The Moscow Armistice between Finland and the Soviet Union is signed, which officially ended the Continuation War.

World War II: Witold Pilecki is voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp to gather and smuggle out information for the resistance movement.

World War II: The Battle of Kępa Oksywska concludes, with Polish losses reaching roughly 14% of all the forces engaged.

World War I: During the East African Campaign, colonial forces of the Belgian Congo (Force Publique) under the command of Charles Tombeur capture the town of Tabora after heavy fighting.

A stampede at Shiloh Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, leads to the death of 115 attendees.

In New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor, giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote.

Franco-Prussian War: The siege of Paris begins. The city held out for over four months before surrendering.

La Gloriosa begins in Spain.

American Civil War: Union troops under Philip Sheridan defeat a Confederate force commanded by Jubal Early. With over 50,000 troops engaged, it was the largest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley.

American Civil War: The first day of the Battle of Chickamauga, in northwestern Georgia, the bloodiest two-day battle of the conflict, and the only significant Confederate victory in the war's Western Theater.

American Civil War: Union troops under William Rosecrans defeat a Confederate force commanded by Sterling Price.

Annibale de Gasparis discovers the asteroid Massalia from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte.

Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, experience a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near La Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette.

French Revolutionary Wars: French-Dutch victory against the Russians and British in the Battle of Bergen.

George Washington's Farewell Address is printed across America as an open letter to the public.

The Continental Congress passes the first United States federal budget.

American Revolutionary War: British forces win a tactically expensive victory over the Continental Army in the First Battle of Saratoga.

Jamestown is burned to the ground by the forces of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon's Rebellion.

End of the Siege of Marienburg: The State of the Teutonic Order repulses the joint Polish—Lithuanian forces.

Battle of Poitiers: An English army under the command of Edward the Black Prince defeats a French army and captures King John II.

Siege of Damascus: The Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid capture Damascus from the Byzantine Empire.

Nerva, suspected of complicity of the death of Domitian, is declared emperor by Senate. The Senate then annuls laws passed by Domitian and orders his statues to be destroyed.

Precious Achiuwa, Nigerian basketball player

Nolan Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player

Trae Young, American basketball player

Brandon Clarke, Canadian-American basketball player (died 2026)

Dejounte Murray, American basketball player

Chris Silva, Gabonese basketball player

Brent Faiyaz, American singer

Rachel Sennott, American actress

Pi'erre Bourne, American record producer and rapper

Jiro Kuroshio, Japanese wrestler

Palmer Luckey, American entrepreneur

Diego Antonio Reyes, Mexican footballer

CJ McCollum, American basketball player

Saki Fukuda, Japanese actress and singer

Savvas Gentsoglou, Greek footballer

Stephon Gilmore, American football player

Kieran Trippier, English footballer

George Springer, American baseball player

Carlos Quintero, Colombian footballer

Leon Best, English footballer

Sally Pearson, Australian athlete and hurdler

Alun Wyn Jones, Welsh rugby player

Song Joong-ki, South Korean actor

Nathanael Liminski, German politician

Renee Paquette, Canadian-American television personality

Eva Marie, American wrestler

Ángel Reyna, Mexican footballer

Katharina Kucharowits, Austrian politician

Carl Landry, American basketball player

Joni Pitkänen, Finnish ice hockey player

Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer

Eleni Daniilidou, Greek tennis player

Damiano Cunego, Italian cyclist

J. R. Bremer, American-Bosnian basketball player

James Ellison, English motorcycle racer

Dimitri Yachvili, French rugby player

Mikael Tellqvist, Swedish ice hockey player

Nick Johnson, American baseball player

Brett Keisel, American football player

Jorge López Montaña, Spanish footballer

Poon Yiu Cheuk, Hong Kong footballer and coach

Aakash Chopra, Indian cricketer

Ryan Dusick, American musician and record producer

Tommaso Rocchi, Italian footballer

Mike Smith, American baseball player

Emil Sutovsky, Israeli chess player

Raja Bell, American basketball player

Jan Hlaváč, Czech ice hockey player

Sergey Tsinkevich, Belarusian footballer and referee

Marcus Dunstan, American director and screenwriter

Hidetaka Miyazaki, Japanese video game designer and executive

Jacinta Allan, Australian politician, 49th Premier of Victoria

Nick Colgan, Irish footballer and coach

Cristiano da Matta, Brazilian racing driver

Javier Duarte, Mexican politician

David Zepeda, Mexican actor, model and singer

Ryan Girdler, Australian rugby league player

Ashot Nadanian, Armenian chess player and coach

Mike Sadlo, German footballer and manager

Gilbert Dionne, Canadian ice hockey player

Antoine Hey, German footballer and manager

Candy Dulfer, Dutch saxophonist

Jacek Frąckiewicz, Polish footballer

Alkinoos Ioannidis, Cypriot singer-songwriter and guitarist

Kostya Tszyu, Russian-Australian boxer

Tapio Wilska, Finnish singer-songwriter

Jim Abbott, American baseball player

Aleksandr Karelin, Russian wrestler and politician

Yoshihiro Takayama, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist

Andrew Leeds, Australian rugby player and coach

Patrick Marber, English actor, director, and screenwriter

Jarvis Cocker, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

David Seaman, English footballer

Urmas Tartes, Estonian biologist and photographer

Randy Myers, American baseball player

Ken Rosenthal, American sportscaster

Artur Ekert, Polish-British physicist and academic

Loïc Bigois, French aerodynamicist and engineer

Yolanda Saldívar, American convicted murderer

Dan Hampton, American football player

Chris Roupas, American basketball player

Richard Burmer, American composer and engineer (died 2006)

Adam Phillips, Welsh psychotherapist and author

Eleni Vitali, Greek singer-songwriter

Wayne Clark, Australian cricketer

Sarana VerLin, American singer-songwriter and violinist

Rhys Chatham, American trumpet player, guitarist, and composer

Henry Kaiser, American guitarist and composer

George Warrington, American businessman (died 2007)

Daniel Lanois, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Michael Proctor, English physicist, mathematician, and academic

Ringo Mendoza, Mexican wrestler

Barry Scheck, American lawyer, co-founded the Innocence Project

Sidney Wicks, American basketball player

Jim Ard, American basketball player

Mykhaylo Fomenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (died 2024)

Henry Bromell, American novelist and screenwriter (died 2013)

Tanith Lee, English author (died 2015)

Kate Adie, English journalist and author

Anders Björck, Swedish politician, 25th Swedish Minister of Defence

Edmund Joensen, Faroese politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands

İsmet Özel, Turkish poet and scholar

André Boudrias, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2019)

Joe Morgan, American baseball player (died 2020)

Umberto Bossi, Italian politician (died 2026)

Jim Fox, English pentathlete (died 2023)

Mariangela Melato, Italian actress (died 2013)

Zandra Rhodes, English fashion designer, founded the Fashion and Textile Museum

Carl Schultz, Hungarian-Australian director, producer, and screenwriter

Abner Haynes, American football player (died 2024)

Martin Fay, Irish fiddler (died 2012)

Milan Marcetta, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2014)

Al Oerter, American discus thrower (died 2007)

Benjamin Thurman Hacker, American admiral (died 2003)

Brian Epstein, English businessman, The Beatles manager (died 1967)

Austin Mitchell, English journalist, academic and politician (died 2021)

Gilles Archambault, Canadian journalist and author

Mike Royko, American journalist and author (died 1997)

Stefanie Zweig, German journalist and author (died 2014)

Brook Benton, American pop/R&B/rock & roll singer-songwriter (died 1988)

Derek Gardner, English engineer (died 2011)

Muhal Richard Abrams, American pianist, composer, and educator (died 2017)

Bettye Lane, American photographer and journalist (died 2012)

Antonio Margheriti, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2002)

Marge Roukema, American educator and politician (died 2014)

Helen Carter, American singer (died 1998)

William Hickey, American actor (died 1997)

Nick Massi, American singer and bass player (died 2000)

Victoria Barbă, Moldovan animated film director (died 2020)

Masatoshi Koshiba, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2020)

James Lipton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2020)

Duke Snider, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2011)

Margarita Andrey, Spanish actress (died 2026)

W. Reece Smith Jr., American lawyer and academic (died 2013)

Vern Benson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2014)

Don Harron, Canadian actor and screenwriter (died 2015)

Damon Knight, American author and critic (died 2002)

Willie Pep, American boxer and referee (died 2006)

Emil Zátopek, Czech runner (died 2000)

Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher, theorist, and academic (died 1997)

Billy Ward, American R&B singer-songwriter (died 2002)

Roger Angell, American journalist, author, and editor (died 2022)

Roger Grenier, French journalist and author (died 2017)

Amalia Hernández, Mexican choreographer and dancer (died 2000)

Earl R. Fox, U.S. Navy and Coast Guard veteran; last active U.S. servicemember to serve in World War II (died 2012)

Pablita Velarde, Santa Clara Pueblo (Native American) painter (died 2006)

Germán Valdés, Mexican actor, singer, and producer (died 1973)

Frances Farmer, American actress (died 1970)

Helen Ward, American singer (died 1998)

Reuben David, Indian veterinarian and zoo founder (died 1989)

Kurt Sanderling, Polish-German conductor (died 2011)

Margaret Lindsay, American actress (died 1981)

Arturo M. Tolentino, Filipino diplomat and politician (died 2004)

Paul Bénichou, French historian, author, and critic (died 2001)

Robert Lecourt, French lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord Chancellor of France (died 2004)

Tatsuo Shimabuku, Japanese martial artist, founded Isshin-ryū (died 1975)

Judith Auer, German World War II resistance fighter (died 1944)

Ricardo Cortez, American actor (died 1977)

Giuseppe Saragat, Italian lawyer and politician, 5th President of Italy (died 1988)

Rachel Field, American author and poet (died 1942)

Sarah Louise Delany, American physician and author (died 1999)

James Waddell Alexander II, American mathematician and topologist (died 1971)

Porter Hall, American actor (died 1953)

Lovie Austin, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (died 1972)

Lynne Overman, American actor and singer (died 1943)

Mabel Vernon, American educator and activist (died 1975)

Christopher Stone, English radio host (died 1965)

Frederick Ruple, Swiss-American painter (died 1938)

Ben Turpin, American comedian and actor (died 1940)

Arthur Rackham, English illustrator (died 1939)

Frank Eugene, American-German photographer (died 1936)

Arthur Morgan, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Queensland (died 1916)

Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss judge and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (died 1880)

William Sellers, American engineer, inventor, and businessperson (died 1905)

Orson Pratt, American mathematician and religious leader (died 1881)

Maria Anna of Savoy (died 1884)

Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian journalist, lawyer, and politician, Governor-President of Hungary (died 1894)

Hartley Coleridge, English poet and author (died 1849)

Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (died 1868)

William Kirby, English priest and entomologist (died 1850)

John Ross Key, American lieutenant, lawyer, and judge (died 1821)

Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, French mathematician and astronomer (died 1822)

William Robertson, Scottish historian (died 1793)

Jean-Paul Bignon, French priest and man of letters (died 1743)

Isaac Milles, English minister (died 1720)

Alfonso Litta, Roman Catholic cardinal and archbishop (died 1679)

Thomas Cavendish, English naval explorer, led the third expedition to circumnavigate the globe (died 1592)

Henry III of France (died 1589)

Ferrante d'Este, Ferrarese nobleman and condottiero (died 1540)

Marie of Cleves, Duchess of Orléans, French noble (died 1487)

Albert IV, Duke of Austria (died 1404)[citation needed]

Mu Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (died 969)

Leo VI the Wise, Byzantine emperor (died 912)

Antoninus Pius, Roman emperor (died 161)

John Challis, English actor (born 1942)

Jimmy Greaves, English footballer (born 1940)

Dinky Soliman, Filipino politician, 23rd Secretary of Social Welfare and Development (born 1953)

John Turner, Canadian politician, 17th Prime Minister of Canada (born 1929)

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisian soldier, politician, 2nd President of Tunisia (born 1936)

Arthur Mitchell, American ballet dancer & choreographer (born 1934)

Bernard "Bunny" Carr, Irish TV presenter (born 1927)

Leonid Kharitonov, Russian bass-baritone (born 1933)

Jackie Collins, English novelist (born 1937)

Todd Ewen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1966)

Masajuro Shiokawa, Japanese economist and politician, 63rd Japanese Minister of Finance (born 1921)

Audrey Long, American actress (born 1922)

Robert Barnard, English author and critic (born 1936)

John Reger, American football player (born 1931)

William Ungar, Polish-American author and philanthropist, founded the National Envelope Corporation (born 1913)

John D. Vanderhoof, American banker and politician, 37th Governor of Colorado (born 1922)

Hiroshi Yamauchi, Japanese businessman (born 1927)

Rino Ferrario, Italian footballer (born 1926)

Itamar Singer, Romanian-Israeli historian and author (born 1946)

Earl R. Fox, U.S. Navy and Coast Guard veteran; last active U.S. servicemember to serve in World War II (born 1919)

Thomas Capano, American lawyer and politician, and convicted murderer (born 1949)

Dolores Hope, American singer (born 1909)

George Cadle Price, 1st Prime Minister of Belize (born 1919)

Milton Meltzer, American historian and author (born 1915)

Eduard Zimmermann, German journalist (born 1929)

Earl Palmer, American rhythm and blues drummer (born 1924)

Elizabeth Allen, American actress (born 1929)

Danny Flores, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (born 1929)

Martha Holmes, American photographer and journalist (born 1923)

Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist and manager (born 1950)

Eddie Adams, American photographer and journalist (born 1933)

Skeeter Davis, American singer-songwriter (born 1931)

Damayanti Joshi, Indian dancer and choreographer (born 1928)

Ellis Marsalis Sr., American businessman and activist (born 1908)

Slim Dusty, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1927)

Robert Guéï, Ivorian politician, 3rd President of Côte d'Ivoire (born 1941)

Rhys Jones, Welsh-Australian archaeologist and academic (born 1941)

Ann Doran, American actress (born 1911)

Patricia Hayes, English actress (born 1909)

Orville Redenbacher, American businessman, founded his own eponymous brand (born 1907)

Jacques Pic, French chef (born 1932)

Hermes Pan, American dancer and choreographer (born 1910)

Willie Steele, American long jumper (born 1923)

Einar Gerhardsen, Norwegian civil servant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Norway (born 1897)

Italo Calvino, Italian novelist, short story writer, and journalist (born 1923)

Étienne Gilson, French historian and philosopher (born 1884)

Pamela Brown, English actress (born 1917)

Gram Parsons, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1946)

Robert Casadesus, French pianist and composer (born 1899)

Chester Carlson, American physicist and lawyer (born 1906)

Red Foley, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1910)

Zinaida Serebriakova, Russian-French painter (born 1884)

Lionel Terray, French mountaineer (born 1921)

John D. Dingell Sr., American journalist and politician (born 1894)

George Shiels, Irish-Canadian playwright (born 1886)

Nikos Skalkottas, Greek violinist and composer (born 1901)

Guy Gibson, British commander, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1918)

Condé Montrose Nast, American publisher, founded Condé Nast Publications (born 1873)

Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, Indian singer and musicologist (born 1860)

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian scientist and engineer (born 1857)

Michael Ancher, Danish painter (born 1849)

Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer and coach (born 1854)

Maria Georgina Grey, English educator, founded the Girls' Day School Trust (born 1816)

Thomas John Barnardo, Irish-English philanthropist (born 1845)

Masaoka Shiki, Japanese poet, author, and critic (born 1867)

Alexander Tilloch Galt, English-Canadian politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Finance (born 1817)

James A. Garfield, American general, lawyer, and politician, and the 20th President of the United States (born 1831)

Robert Mackenzie, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Queensland (born 1811)

William Sprague, American minister and politician (born 1809)

Hans Christian Heg, Norwegian-American colonel and politician (born 1829)

Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis, French mathematician, physicist, and engineer (born 1792)

Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German banker (born 1744)

Ole Rømer, Danish astronomer and instrument maker (born 1644)

Giles Corey, American farmer and accused wizard (born c. 1612)

William Waller, English general and politician (born 1597)

Edward Lewknor, English politician (born 1542)

Jean-Antoine de Baïf, French poet (born 1532)

Catherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, English noblewoman (born 1519)

Peter I, Duke of Bourbon (born 1311)

Walter VI, Count of Brienne (born 1304)

Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan (born 1288)

Igor II of Kiev

Emperor Taizu of Jin (born 1068)

Gotofredo I, archbishop of Milan

Helena Lekapene, Byzantine empress

Theodore of Tarsus, English archbishop and saint (born 602)

Goeric of Metz, Frankish bishop and saint