12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for October 19, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1781 – British Gen. Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, effectively ending major fighting in the American Revolution.
- 1789 – John Jay is sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States.
- 1812 – Napoleon begins his disastrous retreat from Moscow during the French invasion of Russia.
- 1864 – Battle of Cedar Creek: Union forces rally under Philip Sheridan to a decisive victory in the Shenandoah Valley.
- 1914 – First Battle of Ypres begins on the Western Front in World War I.
- 1943 – Streptomycin, the first effective antibiotic against tuberculosis, is isolated in a lab at Rutgers.
- 1950 – China enters the Korean War as troops cross the Yalu River into North Korea.
- 1960 – United States imposes a near-total trade embargo on Cuba.
- 1982 – Automaker John DeLorean is arrested in a high-profile FBI drug sting.
- 1987 – “Black Monday”: Global stock markets crash; the Dow plunges 22.6% in a single day.
- 1989 – The Guildford Four have their wrongful convictions quashed and are released from prison in the UK.
- 2003 – Mother Teresa is beatified in Rome by Pope John Paul II.
- 2005 – Trial of Saddam Hussein opens in Baghdad.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1945 – John Lithgow, award-winning actor (“The Crown,” “3rd Rock from the Sun”) (80)
- 1962 – Evander Holyfield, undisputed boxing champion (63)
- 1964 – Ty Pennington, TV host/designer (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) (61)
- 1966 – Jon Favreau, filmmaker/actor (“Iron Man,” “The Mandalorian”) (59)
- 1969 – Trey Parker, co-creator of “South Park” (56)
- 1982 – Gillian Jacobs, actor (“Community,” “Love”) (43)
- 1983 – Rebecca Ferguson, actor (“Mission: Impossible,” “Dune”) (42)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1216 – King John of England, signer of the Magna Carta (49)
- 1937 – Ernest Rutherford, pioneering nuclear physicist and Nobel laureate (66)
- 1986 – Samora Machel, president of Mozambique (53)
- 1987 – Jacqueline du Pré, renowned British cellist (42)
- 1994 – Martha Raye, comedian/singer/USO entertainer (78)
- 2010 – Tom Bosley, actor (“Happy Days”) (83)
- 2020 – Spencer Davis, musician (The Spencer Davis Group) (81)
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