12 History Lessons + 5 Births & 6 Deaths for May 19, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, is executed for treason, adultery, and incest.
- 1568 – Queen Elizabeth I of England has Mary, Queen of Scots, arrested.
- 1643 – Thirty Years’ War: French forces under the Duc d’Enghien defeat the Spanish at the Battle of Rocroi.
- 1780 – “Dark Day”: A mysterious daytime darkness spreads over New England and parts of Canada, later attributed to wildfires.
- 1848 – Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, officially ending the Mexican-American War.
- 1921 – The U.S. Congress enacts emergency immigration limits through the Emergency Quota Act.
- 1935 – T.E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) dies from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash.
- 1962 – Marilyn Monroe sings “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden.
- 1964 – U.S. diplomats and military advisors are ordered to leave Laos as the country descends further into civil war.
- 1991 – Croatians vote overwhelmingly for independence from Yugoslavia in a national referendum.
- 2007 – The Cavern of Lost Souls, containing thousands of ancient human remains, is discovered in central Mexico.
- 2018 – Meghan Markle marries Prince Harry at Windsor Castle, becoming Duchess of Sussex.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1945 – Pete Townshend, guitarist and songwriter for The Who (80)
- 1951 – Joey Ramone, lead singer of the Ramones (Would be 74; died in 2001)
- 1970 – Stuart Cable, Welsh drummer (Stereophonics) (Would be 55; died in 2010)
- 1975 – Jonas Kaufmann, German operatic tenor (50)
- 1979 – Nora Zehetner, American actress (Brick, Grey’s Anatomy) (46)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England and second wife of Henry VIII (Age 35)
- 1895 – José Martí, Cuban national hero and writer (Age 42)
- 1935 – T.E. Lawrence, British archaeologist, soldier, and writer (Age 46)
- 1994 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former First Lady of the United States (Age 64)
- 2004 – Tony Randall, American actor (The Odd Couple) (Age 84)
- 2016 – Morley Safer, veteran 60 Minutes journalist (Age 84)
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