What Happened On
Garfield
June 19, 1978
Jim Davis' comic strip about a lazy, overweight, coffee drinking cat named Garfield debuts in 40 newspapers. It was eventually syndicated in over 2,500 newspapers and journals, earning the Guinness World Record for being the world's most widely syndicated comic strip.
Monterey Pop Festival
June 19, 1967
Thousands came to hear the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas and the Papas, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding at the three-day Monterey International Pop Festival, held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California.
The song San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) was written by John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas, and sung by Scott McKenzie, released in May 1967, to promote the event.
This festival is generally regarded as marking the beginning of the 1967 "Summer of Love" and the beginning of the hippie, flower power, and flower children movements.
Ethel and Julius after being found guilty
Ethel and Julius after being found guilty
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Executed
June 19, 1953
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed, making them the first U.S. citizens executed for treason during peace time and the first married couple executed together in the U.S. They were convicted in a controversial trial for selling top secret information to the Soviets.
First Televised Heavyweight Boxing Championship Fight
June 19, 1946
Joe Louis successfully defends his title against Billy Conn, broadcast by WNBT of New York City.
Pinhibition
June 19, 1939
Atlanta, Georgia becomes the first major U.S. city to ban pinball, stating that pinball led to gambling, moral decay, and crime. The law imposed a fine of $20 and 30 days of public work. Similar laws soon followed in other cities in what became known as "Pinhibition."
Civil War - Juneteenth - Slaves in Texas are Freed
June 19, 1865
News of the end of the Civil War reaches Galveston, Texas with Union army general Gordon Granger's reading of federal orders. Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered two months earlier.
Along with the Emancipation Proclamation, this freed the slaves. This event has been celebrated in the Texas area as Juneteenth since 1866 and as an official Texas state holiday since 1938 and became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021.
First Modern Baseball Game
June 19, 1846
The first officially recorded baseball game using modern rules is played in Hoboken, New Jersey. The game was played using the Knickerbocker rules, which were the basis for modern baseball.
The "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23-1, in four innings.
Baseball style games date back to the 1700s in England, including a game in Surrey of "bass-ball" in 1749 with the Prince of Wales as a player. These games were brought to Canada by English immigrants with numerous variations played in Canada and the U.S.
The first recorded game of baseball in North America was played in Canada in 1838, but the rules were different from modern baseball, including the use of five bases.
Largest One-Time Gift to Private Education in American History
June 19, 1993
Walter Annenberg - who made his fortune from TV Guide - announces his donation of $365 million in cash to four private schools.
Founder of the Guardian Angels Shot in Stolen Cab
June 19, 1992
Curtis Sliwa is ambushed and shot five times while in a taxi. The taxi had been stolen two days later and had been apparently waiting for him. Sliwa was on his way to his morning radio talk show.
World Record for Shaving
June 19, 1988
Denny Rowe shaves 1,994 men in 1 hour. Source: Guinness Book of World Records
First FBI Agent Convicted of Espionage
June 19, 1986
Richard W. Miller for passing a classified document to the Soviets. He was given a life sentence.
First American Male Saint
June 19, 1977
Roman Catholic Bishop John Neumann (1811-60) is canonized.
Neumann was a Bohemian-born American Roman Catholic who came to the United States in 1836, where he was ordained, joined the Redemptorist order, and became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. He also founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the U.S.
FCC commissioners inspect the latest in television, 1939
FCC commissioners inspect the latest in television, 1939
FCC Created
June 19, 1934
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is created. Its functions include regulating radio and television.
First Running of the Belmont Stakes
June 19, 1867
Ruthless, ridden by J. Gilpatrick, wins.
Birthdays
Lou Gehrig (Henry Louis Gehrig)
Born June 19, 1903 d. 1941
American Baseball Hall of Famer (1939). Record holder for the most consecutive games played (2,130 from 1925-39) and for the most major-league grand slams (23). He died of the disease which now bears his name.
Left to right: Curly, Moe, Larry
Left to right: Curly, Moe, Larry
Moe Howard (Moses Harry Horwitz)
Born June 19, 1897 d. 1975
American comic actor. Leader of the original Three-Stooges.
Blaise Pascal
Born June 19, 1623 d. 1662
French mathematician, philosopher, physicist, one of the founders of the theory of probability, and designed a mechanical computer, although it was never built. He was one of the first inventors of mechanical calculators (1642), created Pascal's Triangle (1653), and made important contributions to the study of fluids and the concepts of pressure and vacuums.
Paula Abdul
Born June 19, 1962
American singer, dancer. TV: American Idol (judge).
Kathleen Turner
Born June 19, 1954
American actress. Film: Body Heat (1981), Romancing the Stone (1984), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and War of the Roses (1989). TV: The Doctors (Nola Aldrich).
Larry Dunn
Born June 19, 1953
American keyboardist, with Earth, Wind & Fire. Music: Shining Star (1975, #1, Grammy), Best of My Love (1977, #1), and After the Love has Gone (1979, #2, Grammy).
Ann Wilson
Born June 19, 1950
American singer, with Heart. Music: Barracuda (1978) and Dog & Butterfly (1978).
Phylicia Rashad
Born June 19, 1948
American actress, Clair Huxtable of The Cosby Show.
Salman Rushdie
Born June 19, 1947
British author. His book The Satanic Verses prompted the Ayatollah Khomeini to place a $1,000,000 bounty on his life in 1989.
Gena Rowlands (Virginia Cathryn Rowlands)
Born June 19, 1930
American Emmy-winning actress. Film: A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and Opening Night (1978, Berlin Film Festival Best Actress).
Pat Buttram (Maxwell Emmett Buttram)
Born June 19, 1915 d. 1994
American actor. He described his distinctive voice as having, "never quite made it through puberty".
TV: The Gene Autry Show (1950-55, Gene's sidekick Pat and also in over 40 films) and Green Acres (1965-71, Mr. Haney).
Buttram also wrote political quips for U.S. President Ronald Reagan's speeches.
Lester Flatt
Born June 19, 1914 d. 1979
American bluegrass singer, with Earl Scruggs. Music: Foggy Mountain Breakdown (1948), and the theme for TV show The Beverly Hillbillies.
Mildred Natwick
Born June 19, 1905 d. 1994
American Emmy-winning actress. TV: The Snoop Sisters (1973-74, Gwendolyn Snoop). Film: Barefoot in the Park (1967, Ethel Banks).
Anna M. Rosenberg
Born June 19, 1902 d. 1983
Hungarian-born American government official. She was the first woman awarded the Medal of Freedom (1945).
Wallis Warfield Simpson
Born June 19, 1896 d. 1986
Duchess of Windsor, American divorcee, for whom King Edward VIII in 1936 abdicated his throne to marry. Famous quote: "A woman can't be too rich or too thin."
Jimmy Walker
Born June 19, 1881 d. 1946
American politician, New York Mayor (1925-32), nicknamed Beau James. He hosted the first regularly-scheduled daily TV broadcasts (1931). He resigned as mayor after corruption in his administration was exposed.
Charles Coburn
Born June 19, 1877 d. 1961
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and The More the Merrier (1943, Oscar).
Elbert Hubbard
Born June 19, 1856 d. 1915
American author, artist, philosopher. Founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, an influential exponent of the Arts and Crafts Movement. He and his wife died in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.
Quote: "Every man is a damned fool for at least five minutes every day. Wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit."
Quote: "A woman will doubt everything you say except it be compliments to herself."
Father of Hypnotism
James Braid
Born June 19, 1795 d. 1860
Scottish surgeon. He coined the term "hypnotism" and is regarded as the first genuine hypnotherapist and the "Father of Modern Hypnotism." He was also a significant innovator in the treatment of club-foot and other deformities.
James I
Born June 19, 1566 d. 1625
King of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1603-25). In 1604 he commissioned the creation of the King James Bible (completed in 1611).
Deaths
Creator of Peter Pan
J. M. Barrie (James Matthew Barrie)
Died June 19, 1937 b. 1860
Scottish author. Writings: Peter Pan (1904).
Before his death, he gave the rights to the Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, which continues to benefit from them.
Jingle Bell Rock
Bobby Helms
Died June 19, 1997 b. 1933
American country singer. Music: Jingle Bell Rock (1957), Fraulein (1956, #1), and My Special Angel (1957, #1).
Sir William Golding
Died June 19, 1993 b. 1911
British Nobel-winning author. Writings: Lord of the Flies (1954) and Rights of Passage (1980).
Jean Arthur (Gladys Greene)
Died June 19, 1991 b. 1900
American actress. Film: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). TV: The Jean Arthur Show.
Geraldine Brooks (Geraldine Stroock)
Died June 19, 1977 b. 1925
American actress. TV: Bonanza (Adam's mother Elizabeth).
Ed Wynn (Isaiah Edwin Leopold)
Died June 19, 1966 b. 1886
American comedian. He starred in the Ziegfeld Follies (1914), was the Texaco Fire Chief (1932-39), and won the first Most Outstanding Live Personality Emmy (1949).
Thomas John Watson Sr.
Died June 19, 1956 b. 1874
American businessman. He took control of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. (1914) and turned it into the international-giant IBM.
Ethel and Julius after being found guilty
Ethel and Julius after being found guilty
Julius Rosenberg
Died June 19, 1953 b. 1918
American traitor. He and his wife Ethel Rosenberg became the first U.S. citizens executed for treason during peace time. They had been convicted of selling top secret information to the Soviets.
Ethel and Julius after being found guilty
Ethel and Julius after being found guilty
Ethel Rosenberg
Died June 19, 1953 b. 1915
American traitor. She and her husband Julius Rosenberg became the first U.S. citizens executed for treason during peace time. They had been convicted of selling top secret information to the Soviets.
Samuel Chase
Died June 19, 1811 b. 1741
American Revolutionary leader. Signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Richard Henry Lee
Died June 19, 1794 b. 1732
12th president of the Continental Congress (1784-85) and signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.