19th March

[chenrezig]

1649 – The House of Commons of England passes an act abolishing the House of Lords, declaring it "useless and dangerous to the people of England".
1895 – Auguste and Louis Lumière record their first footage using their newly patented cinematograph.
1931 – Gambling is legalized in Nevada.
1932 – The Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened.
1941 – World War II: The 99th Pursuit Squadron also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the US Army Air Corps, is activated.
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.
1962 – Highly influential artist, Bob Dylan releases his first album, Bob Dylan, on Columbia Records label.
1965 – The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000 and said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is discovered by teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, exactly 102 years after its destruction.
1966 – Texas Western becomes the first college basketball team to win the Final Four with an all-black starting lineup.
1969 – The 385 metres (1,263 ft) tall TV-mast at Emley Moor, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build-up.
1982 – Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the United Kingdom.
1987 – Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as head of the PTL Club due to a brewing sex scandal; he hands over control to Jerry Falwell.
2002 – Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth on charges of human rights abuses and of electoral fraud, following a turbulent presidential election.
2011 – Libyan Civil War: After the failure of Muammar Gaddafi's forces to take Benghazi, French Air Force launches Opération Harmattan, beginning foreign military intervention in Libya.

Births
1813 – David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer (d. 1873)
1848 – Wyatt Earp, American police officer (d. 1929)
1905 – Albert Speer, German architect (d. 1981)
1909 – Louis Hayward, South African-American actor (d. 1985)
1921 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedian and magician (d. 1984)
1924 – Mary Wimbush, English actress (d. 2005)
1928 – Patrick McGoohan, American-English actor (d. 2009)
1936 – Ursula Andress, Swiss actress
1947 – Glenn Close, American actress and producer
1955 – Bruce Willis, German-American actor, singer, and producer

Deaths
1950 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (b. 1875)
1976 – Paul Kossoff, English guitarist and songwriter (Free, Black Cat Bones, and Back Street Crawler) (b. 1950)
1979 – Richard Beckinsale, English actor (b. 1947)
1982 – Alan Badel, English actor (b. 1923)
2005 – John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman, founded the DeLorean Motor Company (b. 1925)
2008 – Arthur C. Clarke, English author (b. 1917)
2008 – Paul Scofield, English actor (b. 1922)