On this day: March 19

Events on March 19

• 1277 The Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Venice signed a treaty that renegotiated and extended by two years a previous treaty between them. Wikipedia
• 1277 The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. Wikipedia
• 1279 A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen ends the Song dynasty in China. Wikipedia
• 1687 Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, is murdered by his own men. Wikipedia
• 1824 American explorer Benjamin Morrell departs Antarctica after a voyage later plagued by claims of fraud. Wikipedia
• 1865 American Civil War: The last battle of the Carolinas Campaign, the Battle of Bentonville, began, which contributed to the ultimate Union victory in the war. Wikipedia
• 1865 American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville begins. By the end of the battle two days later, Confederate forces had retreated from Four Oaks, North Carolina. Wikipedia
• 1885 Louis Riel declares a provisional government in Saskatchewan, beginning the North-West Rebellion. Wikipedia
• 1911 Established by Clara Zetkin, Käte Duncker, and others, International Women's Day was first observed. Wikipedia
• 1918 The US Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time. Wikipedia
• 1920 The United States Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for the second time (the first time was on November 19, 1919). Wikipedia
• 1943 Frank Nitti, the Chicago Outfit Boss after Al Capone, commits suicide at the Chicago Central Railyard. Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: The German army occupies Hungary. Wikipedia
• 1945 World War II: Adolf Hitler issues his "Nero Decree" ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities, and communications facilities in Germany to be destroyed. Wikipedia
• 1946 French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion become overseas départements of France. Wikipedia
• 1962 Influential American musician Bob Dylan released his eponymous debut album, mainly comprising traditional folk, blues and gospel songs. Wikipedia
• 1964 Between 300,000 and 500,000 Brazilians attended the March of the Family with God for Liberty, in protest against the government of João Goulart and against communism. Wikipedia
• 1982 Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the United Kingdom. Wikipedia
• 1989 The Egyptian flag is raised at Taba, marking the end of Israeli occupation since the Six Days War in 1967 and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in 1979. Wikipedia
• 2003 United States President George W. Bush addresses the nation, announcing the invasion of Iraq. Wikipedia
• 2004 March 19 Shooting Incident: The Republic of China (Taiwan) president Chen Shui-bian is shot just before the country's presidential election on March 20. Wikipedia
• 2011 Libyan Civil War: After the failure of Muammar Gaddafi's forces to take Benghazi, the French Air Force launches Opération Harmattan, beginning foreign military intervention in Libya. Wikipedia
• 2013 A series of bombings and shootings kills at least 98 people and injures 240 others across Iraq. Wikipedia
• 2016 An explosion occurs in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, killing five people and injuring 36. Wikipedia
• 2016 Flydubai Flight 981 crashes while attempting to land at Rostov-on-Don international airport, killing all 62 on board. Wikipedia
• 2019 The first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, resigns from office after nearly three decades, leaving Senate Chairman Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as the acting President and successor. Wikipedia

Born on March 19

• 1206 Güyük Khan, Mongol ruler, 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (died 1248) Wikipedia
• 1534 José de Anchieta, Spanish missionary and saint (died 1597) Wikipedia
• 1604 John IV of Portugal (died 1656) Wikipedia
• 1813 David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer (died 1873) Wikipedia
• 1821 Richard Francis Burton, English soldier, geographer, and diplomat (died 1890) Wikipedia
• 1860 William Jennings Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (died 1925) Wikipedia
• 1883 Norman Haworth, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1950) Wikipedia
• 1900 Frédéric Joliot-Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1958) Wikipedia
• 1905 Albert Speer, German architect and politician, convicted Nuremberg war criminal (died 1981) Wikipedia
• 1906 Adolf Eichmann, German SS officer, one of the main organizers of the Holocaust (died 1962) Wikipedia
• 1915 Robert G. Cole, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1944) Wikipedia
• 1922 Hiroo Onoda, Japanese lieutenant (died 2014) Wikipedia
• 1928 Hans Küng, Swiss theologian and author (died 2021) Wikipedia
• 1937 Egon Krenz, German politician, briefly leader of East Germany Wikipedia
• 1943 Mario J. Molina, Mexican chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2020) Wikipedia
• 1943 Mario Monti, Italian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Italy Wikipedia
• 1944 Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian-Jordanian assassin of Robert F. Kennedy Wikipedia
• 1956 Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (died 2009) Wikipedia
• 1976 Alessandro Nesta, Italian footballer and manager Wikipedia
• 1981 Kolo Touré, Ivorian footballer Wikipedia
• 1993 Hakim Ziyech, Moroccan footballer Wikipedia
• 1995 Héctor Bellerín, Spanish footballer Wikipedia

Died on March 19

• 235 Severus Alexander, Roman emperor (born 208) Wikipedia
• 1286 Alexander III, king of Scotland (born 1241) Wikipedia
• 1687 René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, French-American explorer (born 1643) Wikipedia
• 1721 Pope Clement XI (born 1649) Wikipedia
• 1884 Elias Lönnrot, Finnish physician and philologist (born 1802) Wikipedia
• 1930 Arthur Balfour, Scottish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1848) Wikipedia
• 1950 Norman Haworth, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1883) Wikipedia
• 1950 Edgar Rice Burroughs, American soldier and author (born 1875) Wikipedia
• 1987 Louis de Broglie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1892) Wikipedia
• 1997 Willem de Kooning, Dutch-American painter and educator (born 1904) Wikipedia
• 2008 Arthur C. Clarke, English science fiction writer (born 1917) Wikipedia
• 2008 Paul Scofield, English actor (born 1922) Wikipedia
• 2008 Hugo Claus, Belgian author, poet, and playwright (born 1929) Wikipedia
• 2026 Chuck Norris, American martial artist and actor (born 1940) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian Observances: Alkmund of Derby Wikipedia
• Christian Observances: Blessed Andrea Gallerani Wikipedia
• Christian Observances: Saint Joseph (Western Christianity; if this date falls on Sunday, the feast is moved to Monday March 20) Saint Joseph's Day (Roman Catholicism and Anglican Communion) related observances: Falles, celebrated on the week leading to March 19 (Valencia) Wikipedia
• Christian Observances: Saint Joseph (Western Christianity; if this date falls on Sunday, the feast is moved to Monday March 20) Saint Joseph's Day (Roman Catholicism and Anglican Communion) related observances: Father's Day (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Honduras, and Bolivia) Wikipedia
• Christian Observances: Saint Joseph (Western Christianity; if this date falls on Sunday, the feast is moved to Monday March 20) Saint Joseph's Day (Roman Catholicism and Anglican Communion) related observances: "Return of the Swallow", annual observance of the swallows' return to Mission San Juan Capistrano in California Wikipedia
• Christian Observances: Blessed Marcel Callo Wikipedia
• Christian Observances: Blessed Sibyllina Biscossi Wikipedia
• Christian Observances: March 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Christian Observances: Earliest day on which Maundy Thursday can fall, while April 22 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before Easter (Christianity) Wikipedia
• Minna Canth's Birthday and the Day of Equality (Finland) Wikipedia
• Kashubian Unity Day (Poland) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “March 19” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.