April 19

April 19 is the 109th day of the year (110th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 256 days remain until the end of the year. It is a date marked by significant historical events, including the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War and the Oklahoma City bombing, as well as the births and deaths of numerous notable figures across various fields.

Events

• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Battles of Lexington and Concord take place, marking the outbreak of armed conflict between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies.
• 1839 – The Treaty of London is signed, recognizing the independence and neutrality of Belgium and establishing the modern borders of the country.
• 1897 – The first Boston Marathon is held, making it the world's oldest annual marathon and one of its most prestigious road racing events.
• 1943 – Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann intentionally ingests 250 micrograms of LSD, discovering its profound psychedelic effects in what is now commemorated as Bicycle Day.
• 1971 – Sierra Leone becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Siaka Stevens as its first executive president.
• 1995 – The Oklahoma City bombing occurs when a truck bomb destroys the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and remaining the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
• 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected as Pope Benedict XVI, succeeding Pope John Paul II as the head of the Catholic Church.
• 2018 – The Cuban National Assembly elects Miguel Díaz-Canel as the President of the Council of State, succeeding Raúl Castro and marking the first time since the Cuban Revolution that the country is led by someone outside the Castro family.

Births

• 1721 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father (d. 1793)
• 1849 – Lord Dufferin, British diplomat and politician, 22nd Governor General of Canada (d. 1902)
• 1882 – Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 14th and 17th President of Brazil (d. 1954)
• 1912 – Glenn Seaborg, American chemist and Nobel laureate (d. 1999)
• 1936 – Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (d. 1999)
• 1949 – Jessica Lange, American actress
• 1961 – Robert Downey Jr., American actor and producer
• 1972 – Rivaldo, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 – Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver
• 1989 – Zoë Kravitz, American actress and singer

Deaths

• 1578 – James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, Scottish nobleman (b. 1534)
• 1768 – Canaletto, Italian painter (b. 1697)
• 1881 – Benjamin Disraeli, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1804)
• 1882 – Charles Darwin, English biologist, geologist, and author (b. 1809)
• 1914 – Charles Sanders Peirce, American philosopher, logician, and mathematician (b. 1839)
• 1967 – Konrad Adenauer, German lawyer and politician, first Chancellor of West Germany (b. 1876)
• 1989 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (b. 1907)
• 2014 – Nadine Gordimer, South African writer and Nobel laureate (b. 1923)
• 2020 – Shirley Knight, American actress (b. 1936)

Holidays and observances

• Bicycle Day (International) – Commemorates the day in 1943 when Albert Hofmann intentionally ingested LSD and rode his bicycle home, experiencing its psychedelic effects.
• National Garlic Day (United States) – A food holiday celebrating the culinary and medicinal uses of garlic.
• Patriot's Day (Massachusetts, Maine, and Wisconsin, United States) – Although observed on the third Monday of April, it commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which occurred on April 19, 1775.
• Christian feast day:

* Expeditus
* Pope Leo IX
* Alphege (Translation of relics)