February 19 in History: Events

Explore this date

The published February 19 chronology runs from 197 to 2025, a span of 1,828 years. It contains 129 sourced records across 47 countries and 9 event categories. These figures describe the current collection, not all events that occurred on this date.

Start at the earliest published record or jump to the latest. The counts below show where this collection is concentrated.

Most represented topics

Politics & society · 54 records
War & conflict · 40 records
Arts & culture · 10 records
Disasters · 8 records

Most represented countries

United States · 19 records
India · 14 records
United Kingdom · 8 records
Mexico · 5 records
Germany · 4 records

Compare events across time

These pairs share a category and calendar date; the pairing does not imply a historical connection.

War & conflict: Battle of Lugdunum (197) and Putin claims Russian troops crossed into Ukraine’s Sumy region (2025) appear 1,828 years apart in this collection.
Politics & society: Boniface III begins his pontificate (607) and Ireland's Dáil elects John McGuinness as deputy chair (2025) appear 1,418 years apart in this collection.
Disasters: Huaynaputina eruption begins (1600) and Pasta de Conchos mine disaster (2006) appear 406 years apart in this collection.

Some events have more than one location, so country counts can overlap. Read about our sources and editorial approach.

February 19 historical events

197 — Battle of Lugdunum

The Battle of Lugdunum, also called the Battle of Lyon, was fought on 19 February 197 at Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France), between the armies of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus and of the Roman usurper Clodius Albinus. Severus' victory finally established him as the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. This battle is said to be the largest, most hard fought and bloodiest of all clashes between Roman forces. The historian Cassius Dio places the number involved as 300,000, or 150,000 on either side of the battle. This figure has been disputed, as this is approximately three-quarters of the total number of soldiers present throughout the Roman Empire at that time.

France · War & conflict · Checked 2026-09-23

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February 19 historical events

197 — Battle of Lugdunum

607 — Boniface III begins his pontificate

1184 — Battle of Uji (1184)

1314 — Capture of Roxburgh (1314)

1408 — Battle of Bramham Moor

1590 — Siege of Narva (1590)

1594 — Sigismund III crowned king of Sweden at Uppsala

1598 — Siege of Ulsan

1600 — Huaynaputina eruption begins

1619 — Action of 19 February 1619

1649 — Second Battle of Guararapes

1656 — Battle of Gołąb

1674 — Treaty of Westminster (1674)

1695 — Battle of the Oinousses Islands

1714 — Battle of Napue fought in Finland (Old Style date)

1726 — The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia

1756 — Sandy Creek Expedition

1794 — Battle of the Acul

1801 — Action of 19 February 1801

1801 — United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 1801

1811 — Battle of the Gebora

1819 — William Smith sights the South Shetland Islands

1822 — Independence of Bahia

1822 — Invasion of the Convent of Lapa

1831 — Battle of Nowa Wieś (1831)

1835 — 1835 Speaker of the British House of Commons election

1836 — William IV issues Letters Patent establishing South Australia

1847 — The first rescue party reaches the Donner Party’s cabins

1863 — Battle of Krzywosądz

1868 — Passage of Humaitá

1872 — Wairau by-election, 1872

1878 — Thomas Edison receives his first phonograph patent

1884 — Enigma tornado outbreak

1897 — Hanseong Bank is founded in Seoul

1901 — Birth of Yu Dafu

1913 — Ten Tragic Days

1914 — 1914 Poplar by-election

1914 — 1914 Bethnal Green South West by-election

1915 — Gallipoli campaign

1915 — Allied warships bombard the Dardanelles outer defenses

1924 — Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1924

1931 — Islington East by-election, 1931

1936 — Battle of Amba Aradam

1937 — Battle of Gogetti

1942 — Japanese air raids strike Darwin

1942 — Battle of Timor

1942 — Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066

1943 — Battle of Kasserine Pass

1945 — Battle of Iwo Jima

1947 — Birth of Betty Ting

1948 — Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence

1949 — Northern Ireland general election, 1949

1952 — Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1952

1955 — 1955 Tasmanian state election

1956 — Greek legislative election, 1956

1960 — China launches its first T-7M sounding rocket

1962 — Maltese general election, 1962

1962 — 1962 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election

1962 — 1962 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election

1962 — 1962 Bihar Legislative Assembly election

1962 — 1962 Punjab Legislative Assembly election

1962 — 1962 Assam Legislative Assembly election

1962 — 1962 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election

1962 — 1962 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election

1962 — 1962 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election

1963 — 1963 Mississippi House of Representatives special election in Lauderdale County

1963 — Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is published

1965 — 1965 South Vietnamese coup

1967 — Haryana holds its first general assembly election as a separate state

1968 — 1968 South African presidential election

1969 — Battle of Hat Dich

1972 — Asama-Sansō incident

1977 — 1977 Western Australian state election

1978 — Egyptian raid on Larnaca International Airport

1979 — Battle of Cao Ba Lanh