February 19 in history — What Happened Today in History

A Boeing 727 operating as Iberia Flight 610 crashes Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148; it is the deadliest accident to occur in Iberia's history and the deadliest to occur in Basque County.

China Airlines Flight 006 experiences an aircraft upset over the Pacific Ocean, injuring 24.

Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat.

Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford's Proclamation 4417.

Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh.

The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique reawakens the feminist movement in the United States as women's organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.

China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.

The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.

Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.

Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.

The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.

World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.

World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.

World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people.

World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.

Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.

World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.

Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.

More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.

Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.

The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.

In Austin, Texas, the newly formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following the annexation of Texas by the United States.

King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the province of South Australia.

British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands.

Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama, and confined to Fort Stoddert.

The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.

Great Northern War: The battle of Napue between Sweden and Russia is fought in Isokyrö, Ostrobothnia.

England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England.

Camille Kostek, American model

Cody Parkey, American football player

Trevor Bayne, American race car driver

Christoph Kramer, German footballer

Adreian Payne, American basketball player (died 2022)

Sone Aluko, English-Nigerian footballer

Shawn Matthias, Canadian ice hockey player

Seth Morrison, American guitarist

Anna Cappellini, Italian ice dancer

Josh Reddick, American baseball player

Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player

Linus Klasen, Swedish ice hockey player

Marta, Brazilian footballer

Dale Gardner, American captain and astronaut (born 1948)

Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (born 1935)

Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (born 1914)

Park Chul-soo, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1948)

Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1937)

Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (born 1924)

Eugene Whelan, Canadian farmer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (born 1924)

Ruth Barcan Marcus, American philosopher and logician (born 1921)

Jaroslav Velinský, Czech author and songwriter (born 1932)

Vitaly Vorotnikov, Russian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Russia (born 1926)

Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (born 1930)

Kelly Groucutt, English singer and bass player (born 1945)

Yegor Letov, Russian singer-songwriter (born 1964)