March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). There are 287 days remaining.
- 1687 - The men under explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle murder him while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River.
- 1831 - City Bank of New York[?] is the site of the first bank robbery in United States history ($245,000 taken).
- 1861 - Maori War[?] ends in New Zealand
- 1865 - American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville[?] begins. By the end of the battle on the 21st the Confederate forces had retreated from Greenville, North Carolina.
- 1915 - Pluto is photographed for the first time but was not recognized as a planet.
- 1916 - First United States air combat mission in history as eight American planes take off in pursuit of Pancho Villa
- 1918 - The United States Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.
- 1920 - The United States Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for the second time (first time was on November 19, 1919).
- 1932 - Sydney Harbour Bridge opens
- 1942 - The Thoroughbred Racing Association[?] is establish in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1945 - World War II: Off the coast of Japan, kamikazes hit the aircraft carrier USS Franklin killing 800 of her crew.
- 1945 - World War II: Adolf Hitler issues his "Nero Decree" ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany be destroyed.
- 1946 - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France
- 1954 - Joey Giardello[?] knocks out Willie Tory[?] in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color.
- 1972 - India and Bangladesh sing a friendship treaty.
- 1981 - Three workers are killed and five injured during a test of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
- 1982 - Falklands War: Argentines lands on South Georgia Island, precipitating war.
- 1987 - Following a scandal involving Jessica Hahn[?], televangelist Jim Bakker resigns from the PTL.
- 2002 - US Attack on Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 2) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities.
- 1813 - David Livingstone, missionary and explorer (+ 1873)
- 1848 - Wyatt Earp[?], policeman, gunfighter (+ 1929)
- 1849 - Alfred von Tirpitz, German soldier (+ 1930)
- 1864 - Charles Russell[?], artist (+ 1926)
- 1873 - Max Reger[?], composer (+1916)
- 1883 - Joseph Stilwell, American soldier (+ 1946)
- 1890 - Ho Chi Minh, President of North Vietnam (+ 1969)
- 1891 - Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States (+ 1974)
- 1894 - Joe Venuti[?], jazz musician and violinist (+ 1978)
- 1894 - Moms Mabley[?], comedienne (+ 1975)
- 1900 - Frédéric Joliot, physicist and winner of 1935 Nobel Prize in chemistry (+ 1958)
- 1905 - Albert Speer, Nazi official (+ 1981)
- 1906 - Adolf Eichmann, Nazi official (+ 1962)
- 1909 - Louis Hayward[?], actor (+ 1985)
- 1914 - Jay Berwanger, American football star, winner of the first Heisman Trophy[?] (+ 2002)
- 1916 - Irving Wallace[?], novelist (+ 1990)
- 1928 - Hans Küng[?], theologian
- 1928 - Patrick McGoohan[?], actor
- 1930 - Ornette Coleman, musician
- 1933 - Philip Roth, author
- 1936 - Ursula Andress[?], actress
- 1939 - Joe Kapp[?], American football star
- 1944 - Sirhan Sirhan, assassin
- 1947 - Glenn Close, actress
- 1955 - Bruce Willis, actor
Holidays and observances
See Also: March 18
- March 20
- February 19
- April 19
-- listing of all days
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