January 19th in History
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January 19 is the 19th day of the year. There are 346 days remaining (347 in leap years) until the end of the year.
On this day in history —
- The first electric lighting system begins operation (1883)
- Zeppelins conduct the first bombing raid on a civilian target (1915)
- Howard Hughes sets a coast-to-coast air speed record (1937)
- 72% of all TVs in the US watch Ricky’s birth on I Love Lucy (1953)
- The last German-made Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line (1978)
- Iran agrees to release US Embassy hostages after 14 months of captivity (1971)
- The Apple Lisa becomes the first personal computer to have a mouse (1983)
- The first PC virus is released into the wild (1986)
- The FBI shuts down Megaupload (2012)
It’s the birthday of —
- James Watt, electrical engineer (1736)
- Robert E. Lee, Confederate general (1807)
- Edgar Allen Poe, writer (1809)
- Paul Cézanne, painter (1839)
- Alexander Woollcott, actor and critic (1887)
- Patricia Highsmith, writer (1921)
- Jean Stapleton, actress (1923)
- Tippi Hedren, actress (1930)
- Richard Lester, filmmaker (1932)
- Phil Everly, singer-songwriter (1939)
- Janis Joplin, singer-songwriter (1943)
- Shelley Fabares, actress and singer (1944)
- Dolly Parton, singer-songwriter (1946)
- Paula Deen, chef (1947)
- Robert Palmer, singer-songwriter (1949)
- Desi Arnaz, Jr., actor and singer (1953)
- Katey Segal, actress (1954)
- Paul Rodriquez, comedian (1955)
- Thomas Kinkade, painter (1958)
Deaths —
- William Congreve, playwright (1729)
- William O. Douglas, Supreme Court justice (1980)
- Ham the Chimpanzee, first hominid in orbit (1983)
- Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, guru (1990)
- James Dickey, writer (1997)
- Carl Perkins, singer-songwriter (1998)
- Hedy Lamarr, actress and inventor (2000)
- Anthony Franciosa, actor (2006)
- Wilson Pickett, singer-songwriter (2006)
- Suzanne Pleshette, actress (2008)
- Stan Musial, baseball player (2013)
- Earl Weaver, baseball manager (2013)
Holidays and Celebrations —
- Confederate Heroes Day (Texas)
- Robert E. Lee Day (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi)
- Kokborok Day (Tripura, India)
- Theophany (Orthodox Christianity)
- World Day of Migrants and Refugees (international)
Informal and made-up holidays include Popcorn Day and Tin Can Day.
(*O.S., or Old Style, when used, refers to the fact that Russia did not convert from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar until 1918.)