A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on October 19th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
October 19 marks the feast of Saint Frithuswith, also spelled Frideswide, who passed away on that date in 727 A.D., and for whom a king had died as he tried to force her into marriage!
On October 19, 1864, military forces of the Confederate States of America invaded Vermont from a staging area in Quebec, Canada.
On October 19, 1943, a French cargo ship that had been seized by Germany in 1942, was sunk by USAAF North American B-25 Mitchell and RAF Bristol Beaufighter bombers near Crete, taking 2,098 Italian soldiers being held as POWs to a watery grave.
On October 19, 1943, the antibiotic drug, Streptomycin, was isolated by researchers at the esteemed Rutgers University.
On October 19, 1950, the worst fears of President Truman came true, when despite General Douglas MacArthur’s confident assessment that the Chinese would not cross the Yalu River and interfere with the Korean War, 200,000 Chinese soldiers streamed across the river and attacked UN/South Korean forces.
On October 19, 1969, the fickle winds of fate must have been blowing awful hard, because the almost supernatural coincidence of cartoonist Trey Parker and self proclaimed psychic John Edward were both born on this day.
On October 19, 2011, Zanesville in Muskingum County, Ohio became hunting grounds for lions, tigers, bears, leopards, mountain lions, and even monkeys when the owner of an exotic animal farm released his private zoo into the open and then shot himself.
On October 19, 2016, the Cleveland Indians won the American League Pennant (Championship) and earned a ticket to the World Series against either the LA Dodgers or the Chicago Cubs, starting Tuesday, October 25, 2016.
On October 19, 2017, we asked, “What the heck is pig iron?”
On October 19, 2019, we celebrated another Saturday geared toward honoring our sweetest of our sweeties, another one of those “holidays” allegedly created by greeting card companies to sell greeting cards, but fun for the rest of us nonetheless!
Superhero fans had their chance to be among the first in Cleveland, Ohio to see Black Adam on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 7:00PM at Cinemark At Valley View and XD on 6001 Canal Rd. in Valley View, Ohio!
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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.