Historical Events on January 19.

1.   1839, 19th Jan: The British East India Company annexed Aden.

2.  1927, 19th Jan: The British Government decided to send its army to China.

3.  1938, 19th Jan: General Motors began mass production of diesel engines.

4.  1942, 19th Jan: Japan’s army invaded Burma.

5.  1949, 19th Jan: Caribbean country Cuba recognized Israel.

6.  1956, 19th Jan: Presidential Ordinance promulgated the nationalization of all insurance companies in India.

7.  1966, 19th Jan: Indira Gandhi had elected as the fourth Prime Minister of India.

8.  1968, 19th Jan: First successful heart transplant surgery

9.   Performed by Christopher Bernard.

10.  1986, 19th Jan: The first computer virus called the (c) brain began to spread.

11.  1990, 19th Jan: Turning point in the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Hindus from Indian-administrated Kashmir due to violence from Muslim militants. (19 January 1990 is widely known by Kashmiri Hindus as “Exodus Day”, in memory of the Kashmiri Hindus who were either killed or forced out of Kashmir.)

12.  2005, 19th Jan: Sania Mirza became the first Indian woman to reach the third round of lawn tennis in the Australia Open.

13.  2006, 19th Jan: NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft launched to Pluto.

Famous Birthdays & Birth Anniversaries on January 19.

1.   1736: James Watt, a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist.

2.  1798: Auguste Comte, a French philosopher, and writer.

3.  1809: Edgar Allan Poe, an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic.

4.  1834: Shrimant Jayajirao Scindia, King of the Scindia dynasty of the Marathas.

5.  1853: Madhusudan Rao, an Odia poet, and writer from India. 

6.  1855: G. Subramania Iyer, a leading Indian journalist, social reformer, and freedom fighter who founded ‘The Hindu’ English newspaper.

7.  1882: Brij Narayan Chakbast, an Indian Urdu poet.

8.  1886: Pandit Sawai Gandharva, a popular Hindustani Classical vocalist from Karnataka.

9.  1935: Soumitra Chatterjee, an Indian film actor, director, playwright, writer and poet.

Death Anniversaries of famous people on January 19.

1. 1597: Maharana Pratap, the 13th king of Mewar.

2.  1905: Debendranath Tagore, a Hindu philosopher and religious reformer, active in the Brahmo Samaj. 

3.  1990: Osho, an Indian godman, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement.

4.  2000: M. A. Chidambaram, an Indian industrialist and cricket administrator.

5.  2000: Hedy Lamarr, an Austrian-American actress, inventor, and film producer.