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There are many events that happened on this date in history. Here are just a few of them!

February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 315 days remain until the end of the year (316 in leap years).

EVENTS

1807 – Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama, and confined to Fort Stoddert.

1819 – British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands and claims them in the name of King George III.

1836 – King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia.

1846 – 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.

1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.

1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.

1884 – More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.

1942 – 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.

1953 – Book censorship in the United States: The Georgia Literature Commission is established.

1963 – 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.

1968 – Mister Roger's Neighborhood made its US national debut on NET, the predecessor of PBS.

1976 – Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford's Proclamation 4417.

1985 – William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.

BIRTHS

1594 – Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (d. 1612)

1717 – David Garrick, English actor, playwright, and producer (d. 1779)

1743 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1805)

1838 – Lydia Thompson, British burlesque performer (d. 1908)

1893 – Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (d. 1964)

1895 – Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)

1911 – Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress (d. 1979)

1912 – Saul Chaplin, American composer (d. 1997)

1912 – Dorothy Janis, American actress (d. 2010)

1924 – Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)

1943 – Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter

1960 – Prince Andrew, Duke of York

1963 – Seal, English singer-songwriter

DEATHS

1414 – Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1353)

1445 – Eleanor of Aragon, queen of Portugal (b. 1402)

1672 – Charles Chauncy, English-American minister, theologian, and academic (b. 1592)

1969 – Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899)

1998 – Grandpa Jones, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1913)

2001 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (b. 1913)

2003 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)

2007 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (b. 1921)

2016 – Harper Lee, American author (b. 1926)

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