A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 19th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On May 19, 1051, Anne of Kiev, also known as Anna Yaroslavna, married the King of France, Henry I.
On May 19, 1643, French Bourbon forces beat Spanish forces allied with the Habsburgs at the battle of Rocroi during the 30 Years War.
On May 19, 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Legion of Honor, the highest award France can bestow upon their heroes.
On May 19, 1845, Sir John Franklin set off from Greenhithe, England in command of two British Royal Navy ships, the HMS Erebus and the fatefully named HMS Terror, on a voyage of discovery searching for the final leg of what he hoped would be a Northwest Passage around Canada to the Pacific.
On May 19, 1921, the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921 became effective, a law also called The Emergency Quota Act, a law specifically designed to limit the immigration of certain people to the United States.
On May 19, 1935, the famous British World War I hero known as “Lawrence of Arabia,” Thomas E. Lawrence, died six days after crashing his motorcycle while avoiding boys bicycling in the street.
On May 19, 1959, the North Vietnamese Army formed Group 559 and gave the group the job of establishing a reliable supply route for NVA and Viet Cong forces in South Vietnam.
On May 19, 1962, an indelible part of the legends of two iconic Americans was inscribed in history when blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe sang the most famous sexy version of “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy.
On May 19, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law an act of Congress known as the Firearm Owners Protection Act.
On May 19, 2001, this site’s owner, Dr. Zar, then a student at the United Methodist Church affiliated Baldwin-Wallace College, departed from Ohio for France as part of a class trip.
On May 19, 2015, electronic book burners known as “deletionists” tried to rid Wikipedia of its coverage of the internet phenomenon known as “creepypastas”.
On May 19, 2017, the United States celebrated perhaps its most important holiday, National Pizza Party Day.
Question for students (and subscribers): Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
