General events on July 19th

In 1899, the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (now IBEW) Local 39, an offspring of Local 38, is organized in Cleveland.
In 1900, The Paris Metro underground rail system opened.
In 1934, Disney signs a contract with the Lionel Corporation to produce a Mickey Mouse wind-up hand-car.
In 1935, the first parking meters are installed in the Oklahoma City business district.
In 1955, Yarkon Water Project opens to supply water to Negev desert in Israel.
In 1995, In the busiest trading day in history, the Dow Jones industrial average ends at 4,628.87, down 57.41 points, after plunging more than 130 points during the session.
In 1995, in the busiest trading day in history, the Dow Jones industrial average ended at 4,628.87, down 57.41, after plunging more than 130 points earlier in the session.
In 2781, B.C., Presumed start of Egyptian calendar.

Government and Politics on July 19th

In 1848, a pioneer women's rights convention called by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia C. Mott convened in Seneca Falls, New York, featuring the introduction of the first Bloomers, loose fitting trousers that were a radical departure in women's clothing, named after Amelia Jenks Bloomer.
In 1866, Tennessee is the first state to ratify the 14th Amendment which provides constitutional definitions of civil rights.
In 1867, Congress passes the third Reconstruction Act over President Johnson's veto.
In 1896, Cleveland celebrates its 100th Anniversary.
In 1944, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg first meets Eichmann.
In 1949, Laos gained independence from France as a conditional monarchy.
In 1949, President Truman says the Soviet Union will either destroy itself or abandon aggression.
In 1974, Generalissimo Francisco Franco resigned as Spain leader after 35 year rule.
In 1974, Spanish leader Generalissimo Francisco Franco temporarily handed over power to his designated successor, Prince Juan Carlos, because of illness, but was forced to assume power when to his dissapointment that he wasn't dead yet.
In 1976, COVER OF PEOPLE President candidate JIMMY CARTER & his daughter AMY
In 1979, the Nicaraguan capital of Managua fell to Sandinista guerrillas, two days after President Anastasio Somoza had fled the country.
In 1983, American schoolgirl Samantha Smith, continuing her tour of the Soviet Union, had lunch at the official Moscow residence of U.S. Ambassador Arthur Hartman.
In 1984, U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro, D-N.Y., won the Democratic nomination for vice president by acclamation at the party's convention in San Francisco; she was the first female V.P. candidate.
In 1986, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, married Edwin A. Schlossberg in Centerville, Mass.
In 1988, Jesse Jackson brought his 1988 presidential campaign to an emotionally charged close at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, telling the party faithful to unite because "the only time we win is when we come together."
In 1990, President Bush joined Republican predecessors Ronald Reagan, Gerald R. Ford and Richard M. Nixon at ceremonies dedicating the Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, Calif.
In 1990, the House Ethics Committee suggests Barney Frank be officially reprimanded by Congress for his acknowledged two year affair with male prostitute Steven Gobie. While fellow congressmen Newt Gingrich and William Dannemeyer push to have Frank expelled from Congress, the full House accepts the Ethics committees recommendation and Frank is let off with only a reprimand.
In 1991, The South African government acknowledged that it had been giving money to the Inkatha Freedom Party, the main rival of the African National Congress.
In 1992, 10 years ago, Secretary of State James A. Baker III opened a fresh round of Mideast diplomacy, meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and other officials.
In 1993, FBI director Williams Sessions was sacked by President Clinton for incompetence and lying.
In 1994, Congressman Dan Rostenkowski of Illinois, one of the most powerful members of the U.S. House of Representatives, is indicted on numerous federal charges, including fraud and misuse of government funds.
In 1994, funeral services were held for North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung, who had died July 8 at age 82.
In 1994, President Clinton said he could accept a health care compromise that would cover about 95 percent of the population. He'd previously said he'd accept nothing less than universal coverage. David Tanny really could use universal health insurance since he's too poor to afford the ridiculously high premiums the stupid corporate health maintence organizations are bleeding the poor dry with!
In 1994, Rock The Vote kicked off its campaign to help the MTV generation join the health-care debate.
In 1995, a pair of House subcommittees held a joint hearing on the federal government's raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas.
In 1996, a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended, with some conditions, that the abortion-inducing drug RU-486 be approved.
In 1996, Bosnian Serb official Radovan Karadzic yielded to international pressure to give up all political power.
In 1997, 5 years ago, Eleven armored carriers from NATO gathered in a show of force near the home of ousted Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, Bosnia's number-one war crimes suspect.
In 1997, 5 years ago, Liberia's first peaceful presidential election following a seven-year civil war was won by Charles Taylor, a rebel leader with a reputation for brutality.
In 1998, Seeking to break a 16-month deadlock, Israel and the Palestinians held their first high-level talks in months.
In 1999, Federal officials said radar data showed the plane piloted by John F. Kennedy Junior dropped 11,000 feet in just 14 seconds. Senator Edward Kennedy released a statement saying, "We are filled with unspeakable grief and sadness by the loss of John and Carolyn and of Lauren Bessette."
In 2000, 2 years ago, President Clinton shuttled between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his own experts during peace talks at Camp David after delaying his departure for an economic summit in Japan.

War, Crime and Disaster events on July 19th

In 1545, the pride of King Henry VIII's battle fleet, the Mary Rose, keeled over and sank in the Solent with the loss of over 700 lives.
In 1588, The Spanish Armada was first sighted off the Cornish coast of England.
In 1812, the British launch an unsuccessful attack on Sacketts Harbor, New York during the War of 1812.
In 1870, France declared war on Prussia heralding the start of the Franco-Prussian war.
In 1918, during World War I, German armies began a retreat across the Marne River in France following the failure of their last big offensive on French soil.
In 1940, Hitler advises Great Britain to surrenders.
In 1941, first US Army flying school for black cadets dedicated (Tuskegee Ala).
In 1941, the two-finger "V" for Victory had signal was introduced in Europe by British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. Today that stands for "peace," but in England, if you give the salute with your palm facing you, it means giving someone the double finger. No kidding!
In 1943, in World War II, 700 U.S. planes dropped hundreds of tons of bombs on marshalling yards of San Lorenzo and Littorio in Italy (spared for 4 years because of its religious significance).
In 1944, 1,200+ 8th Air Force bombers bomb targets in SW Germany.
In 1944, 500 15th Air Force Liberators/Flying Fortresses bomb Munich vicinity.
In 1944, Danish resistance fails on assault on Taarbaek Fort near Copenhagen.
In 1944, Japanese aircraft carriers Taiho/Shokaku sinks in Marianas.
In 1945, the "U.S.S. Cod" saves 51 sailors from the Dutch submarine O-19, (the only international submarine-to-submarine rescue).
In 1957, the first air-to-air missile with a nuclear warhead is fired at Yucca Flat, Nev.
In 1962, 40 years ago, an U.S. anti-missile missile makes the first successful interception of an I.C.B.M.
In 1979, 2 supertankers collide off Tobago-260,000 TONS of oil spill.
In 1982, 20 years ago, David S Dodge becomes the first American hostage in Lebanon.
In 1989, a crippled DC-10 jetliner crash-landed in a cornfield in Sioux City, Iowa. The jet had lost its tail engine in mid-flight between Chicago and Denver -- damaging the plane's hydraulic systems, which controlled the steering. Yet, the pilot did an amazing job of keeping the jet level. Only at the end, as the jet landed, did a wing clip the ground and cause the plane to flip over and break up. The drama was caught on videotape. Amazingly, 181 of the 293 people aboard survived -- including the pilot.
In 1990, BASF plant in Cincinnatti explodes in flames, 1 dies.
In 1991, Nine days of combat between Tamil rebels and Sri Lankan soldiers left 78 soldiers and 600 rebels dead in the fiercest fighting since 1983.
In 1993, President Clinton announces his "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy for gays in the military.
In 1994, A bomb ripped apart a Panama commuter plane, killing 21, including 12 Jews, a day after a car bomb destroyed a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 95 people.
In 1997, 5 years ago, the Irish Republican Army declared a new cease-fire and opened the way for supporters to join peace talks with Northern Ireland's pro-British Protestants.
In 1997, 5 years ago, the IRA declared a cease-fire in its long war to force Britain out of Northern Ireland.
In 1998, Twenty-three-foot tidal wave kills nearly 3,000 along coast of Papua New Guinea.
In 1999, Federal officials said radar data showed the plane piloted by John F. Kennedy Jr. dropped 1,100 feet in just 14 seconds. Sen. Edward Kennedy released a statement saying, "We are filled with unspeakable grief and sadness by the loss of John and Carolyn and of Lauren Bessette."
In 1999, hot weather settled in over the eastern United States, lasting through the end of the month and causing at least 200 deaths -- 80 in Illinois alone.

Royalty and Religious events on July 19th

In 1372, Treaty between Yann of Brittany and Edward III of England against Charles V of France
In 1551, Treaty of Karlsburg: arch duke Ferdinand of Austria recognized as king of Hungary/Transsylvania.
In 1553, fifteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey was deposed as Queen of England after claiming the crown for nine days. King Henry VIII's daughter Mary was proclaimed Queen.
In 1821, George IV of England was crowned king; he refused to allow his estranged queen, Caroline, to attend.

Human Achievement and Science events on July 19th

In 214, A.D., according to the Tonight Show, the Great Wall of China is completed, the next day, NATO forces accidentally blow it up (rimshot)
In 1843, Brunel's Great Britain, the first Atlantic liner built of iron, was launched from Bristol.
In 1939, the first use of fiberglass sutures is by Dr. R.P. Scholz in St. Louis, Mo.
In 1958, the first Atlas three-stage rocket launched explodes after 2 minutes in flight.
In 1963, NASA civilian test pilot Joe Walker in X-15 reaches 105 km.
In 1967, US launches Explorer 35 for lunar orbit (800/7400 km).
In 1969, on the cover of TV Guide: "First Live Telecast From The Moon". Other Articles: Paul Lynde
In 1969, Apollo 11 and its astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, went into orbit around the moon.
In 1975, the Apollo and Soyuz space capsules that were linked in orbit for two days separated. The frustrated capsules could not be reached for comment.
In 1979, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of man's landing on the moon, prolific science fiction writer Isaac Asimov writes about what it might be like living on the moon: "We would have to dig underground. A relatively short distance below the surface temperatures are mild and unvarying. It would be life in a cavern, to be sure, but it will grow and become more and more elaborate."
In 1984, first female to captain a 747 across the Atlantic (Lynn Rippelmeyer).
In 1985, Christa McAuliffe of New Hampshire, 36, a high-school teacher and mother of 2 from Concord, N.H., was chosen out of more than 11,000 applicants to be the first schoolteacher to ride aboard the space shuttle. (McAuliffe and six other crew members were killed when the Challenger exploded in mid-flight the following January.).

Arts and Prose events on July 19th

In 1942, 60 years ago, The first color comic strip of "Bambi" is published in Sunday editions of newspapers.