Discover what happened on June 19 in history, featuring pivotal moments in civil rights, broadcasting, sports, entertainment, technology, and important events tied to Michigan history.
What Happened on June 19 in History?
Important events on this day include enslaved people in Texas finally learning of their freedom in what became known as Juneteenth, Congress establishing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the first-ever NASCAR race, and the debut of the comic strip “Garfield”.
JUNE 19 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1778 – General George Washington’s troops finally left Valley Forge after a winter of training.
1846 – The New York Knickerbocker Club played the New York Base Ball Club in the first baseball game at the Elysian Field, Hoboken, NJ. It was the first organized baseball game. The Base Ball Club defeated the Knickerbocker 23-1.
1862 – President Abraham Lincoln outlined his Emancipation Proclamation, which outlawed slavery in U.S. territories.
1865 – Over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Galveston, TX, were finally informed of their freedom. The anniversary is still officially celebrated in Texas and 41 other contiguous states as Juneteenth.
1867 – In New York, NY, the Belmont Stakes was run for the first time.
1873 – Eadweard Muybridge successfully photographed a horse named “Sallie Gardner” in fast motion using a series of 24 stereoscopic cameras. This is considered the first step toward motion pictures.
1875 – A fire broke out in a blacksmith shop at Bridge Street and Mt. Vernon Avenue in Grand Rapids, MI. The blaze burned most of the west side and burned out of control for hours. Property damage was estimated at a $250,000.
1910 – The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, WA.
1911 – In Pennsylvania, the first motion-picture censorship board was established.
1912 – The 8 hour workday was established by the U.S. government.
1934 – The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration was established.
1934 – Congress established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The commission was created to regulate radio and TV broadcasting.
1939 – In Atlanta, GA, legislation was enacted that prohibit pinball machines in the city.
1941 – General Mills in Minneapolis created a new dry breakfast cereal called Cheerie Oats. The name was later shortened to Cheerios.
1942 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington, DC, to discuss the invasion of North Africa with President Theodore Roosevelt.
1943 – German refugee Henry Kissinger became a naturalized United States citizen.
1943 – The National Football League approved the merger of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers for one season due to a shortage of players due to World War II.
1949 – The first ever NASCAR race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
1951 – President Harry S. Truman signed the Universal Military Training and Service Act, which extended Selective Service until July 1, 1955 and lowered the draft age to 18.
1952 – The television show “I’ve Got a Secret” debuted on CBS.
1953 – The U.S. executed Julius and Ethel Rosenberg as spies, orphaning their two young sons.
1964 – The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved after surviving an 83-day filibuster in the Senate.
1973 – Pete Rose, of the Cincinnati Reds, got his 2,000th career hit.
1973 – Gordie Howe left the NHL to join his sons Mark and Marty in the WHA’s (World Hockey League) Houston Aeros.
1978 – The comic strip “Garfield” appeared in newspapers for the first time. “Garfield” holds the Guinness World Record for the most widely syndicated comic strip.
1981 – The movie “Superman II” set the all-time, one-day record for theater box-office receipts when it took in $5.5 million. Thirty years later, the one-day record, held by a “Harry Potter” sequel, was more than $90 million.
1987 – The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Louisiana law that required that schools teach creationism.
1988 – Over 3,000 East Germans gather at the Berlin Wall to hear Michael Jackson perform a concert on the other side of the wall.
1989 – The movie “Batman” premiered in theaters.
1992 – The movie “Batman Returns, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as Batman, premiered in theaters.
1998 – Gateway was fined more than $400,000 for illegally shipping personal computers to 16 countries subject to U.S. export controls.
1998 – The grown-up Rick Schroder, who was a child star on TV’s “Silver Spoons”, joined the cast of “NYPD Blue”, replacing Jimmy Smits.
1998 – A study released said that smoking more than doubled risks of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s.
1998 – “The Simpsons” received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1998 – The Disney animated movie “Mulan” premiered in theaters.
1998 – The “X-Files” movie, “The X-Files: Fight the Future”, premiered in theaters.
1999 – Author Stephen King was seriously injured when he was struck from behind by a mini-van while walking along a road in Maine.
2000 – The Supreme Court ruled that a group prayer led by students at public-school football games violated the 1st Amendment’s principle that called for the separation of church and state.
2005 – At the London premiere of movie “War of the Worlds”, a man pretending to be a reporter squirts water from a fake microphone into Tom Cruise’s face. Cruise challenges the man and calls him a “jerk.”
2008 – The iTunes Music Store reached 5 billion songs sold.
2009 – The movie, “The Proposal”, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, premiered in theaters.
2009 – The game “FarmVille” launched on Facebook.
2012 – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange requested asylum in London’s Ecuatorian Embassy for fear of extradition to the U.S. after publication of previously classified documents which included footage of civilian killings by the U.S. Army.
2015 – The Pixar movie “Inside Out” was released.
2018 – The 10,000,000th United States Patent was issued
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JUNE 19:
Erna Schneider Hoover – 100 years old (1926) – Mathematician and inventor
Marisa Galvany – 90 years old (1936) – Soprano and actress
Tobias Wolff – 81 years old (1945) – Short story writer, memoirist, and novelist
Phylicia Rashad – 78 years old (1948) – Actress
Neil Asher Silberman – 76 years old (1950) – Archaeologist and historian
Ann Wilson – 76 years old (1950) – Singer-songwriter and musician
Kathleen Turner – 72 years old (1954) – Actress
Mary Schapiro – 71 years old (1955) – Lawyer and politician
Jean Rabe – 69 years old (1957) – Journalist and author
Sergei Makarov – 68 years old (1958) – Russian-American ice hockey player and coach
Mark DeBarge – 67 years old (1959) – Singer-songwriter and trumpet player
Johnny Gray – 66 years old (1960) – Runner and coach
Patti Rizzo – 66 years old (1960) – Golfer
Paula Abdul – 64 years old (1962) – Singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, and presenter
Laura Ingraham – 63 years old (1963) – Radio host and author
Brent Goulet – 62 years old (1964) – Soccer player and manager
Brian Vander Ark – 62 years old (1964) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Timothy Morton – 58 years old (1968) – Philosopher and academic
Quincy Watts – 56 years old (1970) – Sprinter and football player
Brian Welch – 56 years old (1970) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Brian McBride – 54 years old (1972) – Soccer player and coach
Robin Tunney – 54 years old (1972) – Actress
Jahine Arnold – 53 years old (1973) – Football player
Doug Mientkiewicz – 52 years old (1974) – Baseball player, coach, and manager
Anthony Parker – 51 years old (1975) – Basketball player
Dennis Crowley – 50 years old (1976) – Businessman, co-founded Foursquare
Anita Wilson – 50 years old (1976) – Singer-songwriter and producer
Zoe Saldaña – 48 years old (1978) – Actress
Michael Yarmush – 44 years old (1982) – Actor
Macklemore – 43 years old (1983) – Rapper
Paul Dano – 42 years old (1984) – Actor
Marvin Williams – 40 years old (1986) – Basketball player
Rashard Mendenhall – 39 years old (1987) – Football player
Jacob deGrom – 38 years old (1988) – Baseball player
Ashly Burch – 36 years old (1990) – Actress, writer, and director
Xavier Rhodes – 36 years old (1990) – Football player
C. J. Mosley – 34 years old (1992) – Football player
Atticus Shaffer – 28 years old (1998) – Actor and YouTuber
Jordan Poole – 27 years old (1999) – Basketball player
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JUNE 19:
No events found for this date.
For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
