- LIVE | The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria leaves more than 41,000 dead
- National strike and marches in Colombia today, LIVE: How is it going, what is the opposition asking for and more?
On February 19, but in 1992, South Korea and North Korea ratify the historic non-aggression and denuclearization agreement between the two countries, officially at war since 1953.
LOOK HERE: Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu found dead after earthquake in Turkey
OTHER EVENTS
- 1600.- The Huaynaputina volcano erupts, launching millions of tons of particles into the atmosphere, in Peru and becomes the largest volcanic explosion on record in South America.
- 1649.- The Kingdom of Portugal and its allies defeat the army of the Netherlands for domination of the northeastern region of Brazil in the second battle of the Guararapes.
- 1803.- The Act of Mediation, proclaimed by Napoleon Bonaparte, creates the Swiss Confederation.
- 1818.- The politician and soldier Bernardo O'Higgins officially proclaims the independence of Chile from the Spanish Empire.
- 1819.- The British captain of the merchant marine William Smith casually sights the South Shetland Islands, an archipelago in the Antarctic Ocean.
- 1862.- France, Spain and the United Kingdom and Mexico sign the "Treaty of La Soledad" in Veracruz, which suspends the military action of the tripartite alliance.
- 1868.- The President of Uruguay, Venancio Flores, is assassinated in Montevideo a few days after leaving the Government.
- 1878.- Thomas Edison patented the phonograph, the first device capable of reproducing sound that was invented by him two years earlier.
- 1881.- Kansas becomes the first US state to amend its constitution to ban all alcoholic beverages.
- 1910.- Old Trafford, the football stadium of the British club Manchester United, nicknamed “The Theater of Dreams” by Bobby Charlton, is inaugurated.
- 1919.- Georges Clemenceau, French Prime Minister and one of the negotiators for the Paris Peace Conference, is wounded in an anarchist attack.
- 1926.- A copy of Gutenberg's Bible, the first printed book, is auctioned in New York for $106,000.
- 1936.- Manuel Azaña assumes the presidency of the Spanish Council of Ministers after the electoral triumph of the Popular Front.
- [1945.- US troops land on the island of Iwo Jima, a strategic base to attack Japanese territory.
- 1948.- Belgium approves the granting of the vote to women.
- 1955.- The Southeast Asia Defense Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established at a meeting of its members in Bangkok (Thailand).
- 1964.- “Black heads” by the Baroque painter Pieter Paul Rubens, which had been stolen from the Brussels museum, is recovered.
- 1981.- Formerbeatle George Harrison is sentenced to pay half a million dollars to Ronnie Mack for plagiarizing the melody of “He's so fine” in his song “My Sweet Lord”.
- 1986.- The USSR launches the Mir research space station, the first to be permanently inhabited.
- 1987.- The US lifts the economic sanctions against Poland as a result of the martial law imposed in 1981 by the communist regime of General Jaruzelski.
- 1990.- The first version of the photo editing program Photoshop is launched.
- 2003.- An Iranian military plane, with members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, crashes in Kerman (Iran) and causes the death of the 302 occupants on board.
- 2006.- A gas explosion in a coal mine in the Mexican town of San Juan de Sabinas causes the death of 65 miners.
- 2014.- The social network Facebook announces the acquisition of the instant messaging company WhatsApp for more than 19,000 million euros.
- 2015.- The opposition leader and mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, is arrested by the Venezuelan justice that accuses him of attempted coup.
- 2021.- The Dukes of Sussex, Enrique and Meghan, confirm to Queen Elizabeth II of England that they will no longer work as members of the British royal family.
CHECK HERE: Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu found dead after earthquake in Turkey
BIRTHS
- 1473.- Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer.
- 1842.- Rafael Calvo y Revilla, Spanish actor.
- 1896.- André Breton, French poet and writer, founder of surrealism.
- 1906.- Ernst Boris Chain, collaborator of Dr. Fleming, with whom he shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945.
- 1911.- Merle Oberon, British actress.
- 1911.- Jesús Delgado Valhondo, Spanish poet.
- 1924.- Lee Marvin, American actor.
- 1936.- Paloma O'Shea, Spanish pianist.
- 1938.- Rafael Nájera Morrondo, Spanish doctor, virologist and researcher.
- 1939.- Alfredo Bryce Echenique, Peruvian writer.
- 1948.- Tony Iommi, British guitarist, from the band Black Sabbath.
- 1954.- Victoria Vera, Spanish actress.
- 1960.- Prince Andrew, son of Queen Elizabeth II of England.
- 1967.- Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican actor.
- 1977.- Dani Martín, Spanish singer.
- 1987.- Beñat Etxebarria, Spanish soccer player.
- 1993.- Mauro Icardi, Argentine soccer player.
- 2004.- Millie Bobby Brown, British actress and model.
LOOK HERE: Honduras captures a citizen wanted in the United States for drug trafficking
DEATHS
- 1865.- Francisco Bilbao, Chilean writer.
- 1927.- Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer.
- 1936.- Billy Mitchell, American soldier and aviator of French origin.
- 1940.- Smokey Robinson, American singer, songwriter and record producer.
- 1951.- André Gide, French writer.
- 1952.- Knut Hamsun, Norwegian writer.
- 1963.- Benny Moré, Cuban musician.
- 1972.- John Grierson, British filmmaker and documentary maker.
- 1980.- Bon Scott, British singer, lead singer of the band AC/DC.
- 1985.- Gregorio López-Bravo, Spanish politician.
- 1988.- René Char, French poet.
- 1990.- Michael Powell, British film director.
- 1997.- Deng Xiaoping, Chinese leader.
- 1999.- Carlos Acuña, Argentine tango singer.
- 2001.- Stanley Kramer, American director.
- 2004.- Jean Rouch, French film director.
- 2011.- Florinda Chico, Spanish actress.
- 2016.- Umberto Eco, Italian writer.
- .- Harper Lee, American writer.
- 2018.- Sergey Litvinov, Russian athlete.
- 2019.- Karl Lagerfeld, German designer.
- 2020.- Fernando Morán, Spanish diplomat and politician.
