October 19 in History

2005

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s trial for crimes against humanity begins in Baghdad.

2003

Mother Teresa is beatified by Pope John Paul II for her work among “the poorest of the poor” in India.

1989

The 1975 conviction of the Guildford Four is overturned by British courts; the 4 men had been convicted in the 1974 Guildford pub bombings.

1988

British government bans TV and radio interviews with members of Irish political group Sinn Fein and 11 paramilitary groups.

1987

In retaliation for Iranian attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf, the U. S. navy disables three of Iran’s offshore oil platforms.

1973

President Richard Nixon rejects an Appeals Court demand to turn over the Watergate tapes.

1960

Canada and the United States agree to undertake a joint Columbia River project to provide hydroelectric power and flood control.

1954

Egypt and Britain conclude a pact on the Suez Canal, ending 72 years of British military occupation. Britain agrees to withdraw its 80,000-man force within 20 months, and Egypt agrees to maintain freedom of canal navigation.

1950

The North Korean capital of Pyongyang is captured by U.N. troops.

1949

The People’s Republic of China is formally proclaimed.

1942

The Japanese submarine I-36 launches a floatplane for a reconnaissance flight over Pearl Harbor. The pilot and crew report on the ships in the harbor, after which the aircraft is lost at sea.

1917

The first doughnut is fried by Salvation Army volunteer women for American troops in France during World War I.

1914

The German cruiser Emden captures her thirteenth Allied merchant ship in 24 days.

1873

Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Rutgers universities draft the first code of football rules.

1864

At the Battle of Cedar Creek, Va., a narrow victory helps the Union secure the Shenandoah Valley.

1848

John “The Pathfinder” Fremont moves out from near Westport, Missouri, on his fourth Western expedition–a failed attempt to open a trail across the Rocky Mountains along the 38th parallel.

1812

Napoleon Bonaparte begins his retreat from Moscow.

1781

Major General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrenders to George Washington and Count de Rochambeau at Yorktown, Va. Cornwallis surrenders 7,157 troops, including sick and wounded, and 840 sailors, along with 244 artillery pieces. Losses in this battle had been light on both sides. The Revolutionary War is effectively ended.

1739

England declares war on Spain over borderlines in Florida. The war is known as the War of Jenkins’ Ear because the Spanish coast guards cut off the ear of British seaman Robert Jenkins.

1466

The peace of Torun ends the war between the Teutonic knights and their own disaffected subjects in Prussia.

1448

The Ottoman Sultan Murat II defeats Hungarian General Janos Hunyadi at Kosovo, Serbia.

1216

King John of England dies at Newark and is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry.