February 19 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

356 Emperor Constantius II shuts all heathen temples

1600 Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in South American recorded history

1878 Thomas Edison is granted a patent for his gramophone (phonograph)

1942 About 150 Japanese warplanes attack the Australian city of Darwin
1945 US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines

Today’s Historical Events

197 Battle of Lugdunum [Battle of Lyon]: Lucius Septimius Severus‘ army beats Clodius Albinus at Lyon

356 Emperor Constantius II shuts all heathen temples

607 Boniface III begins his reign as Catholic Pope

842 Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ends as a council in Constantinople formally reinstates the veneration of icons in churches

1512 French troops under Gaston de Foix occupy Brescia

1516 Consecration of the Lady Chapel, part of Westminster Abbey, by Henry VII, called “one of the most perfect buildings ever erected in England” [1]

1539 Jews of Tyrnau Hungary (then Trnava Czech), expelled

1574 Spanish troops plunder Krommenie, Wormerveer & Jisp, Netherlands

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1922 Ed Wynn becomes 1st talent to sign as a radio entertainer

1942 Dutch actors protest obligatory membership of Culture Chamber

1947 CBS radio premiere of Villa-Lobos’ “Bachianas Brasilieras No 3”

1960 Bil Keane’s “Family Circus” cartoon strip debuts

1968 Children’s educational TV program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” debuts on NET (now PBS)

1971 British TV chat show “Parkinson” debuts on BBC1 presented by Michael Parkinson

1978 Cy Coleman, Betty Comden & Adolph Green‘s musical “On The Twentieth Century”, starring John Cullum and Madeline Kahn, and Kevin Kline, and directed by Hal Prince, opens at the St. James Theatre, NYC; runs for 449 performances, wins 5 Tony and 4 Drama Desk Awards

1985 British soap opera “Eastenders” premieres on the BBC

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1736 George Frideric Handel‘s opera “Alexander’s Feast” premieres at the Covent Garden Theatre, London

1910 English premiere of Richard Strauss‘ opera “Elektra”

1914 Riccardo Zandonai’s opera “Francesco da Rimini” premieres in Turin

1923 Jean Sibelius‘ 6th Symphony premieres

1942 Tommy Dorsey & his orchestra record “I’ll Take Tallulah”

1949 “Inside USA” closes at Century Theater, NYC, after 339 performances

1958 Carl Perkins leaves Sun Records for Columbia Records

1964 UK flies ½ ton of Beatles wigs to the US

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1928 Canada retains the Olympic ice hockey title when they rout Switzerland, 13-0 in the final round in St. Moritz; Canadian left-wing Dave Trottier top scores with 15 points

1928 Gillis Grafström of Sweden wins his 3rd consecutive Olympic men’s figure skating gold medal at St. Moritz; one of only 2 athletes to win gold at both Winter & Summer Games (won figure skating Antwerp 1920)

1928 II Winter Olympic Games close at St Moritz, Switzerland

1928 World champion French team Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet win the Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games; the couple marry in 1929 and take 2nd straight gold in 1932

1942 NY Yankees announce 5,000 uniformed soldiers admitted free at each of their upcoming home games

1946 Giants outfielder Danny Gardella is 1st major leaguer to announce he is jumping to the “outlaw” Mexican League

1952 American defending champion Dick Button becomes first figure-skater to land a triple jump in competition; performs a triple loop in the Olympic free skate in Oslo; wins gold medal ahead of Austria’s Helmut Seibt

1960 Swedish cross country skier Sixten Jernberg follows his 50k gold medal in Cortina d’Ampezzo (1956) with victory in 30k event at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics

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