October 19

202 BC – At the Battle of Zama, in modern northern Tunisia, Roman legions under Scipio Africanus inflict an overwhelming defeat of the forces under Hannibal Barca, leader of the army defending Carthage.

439 – The Vandals, led by King Gaiseric, defeat the roman garrison and occupy Carthage in North Africa. (bad date for Carthaginians)

1386 – The Universität Heidelberg holds its first lecture, making it the oldest German university.

1469 – Ferdinand II of Aragon marries Isabella I of Castile, a marriage that paves the way to the unification of Aragon and Castile into a single country; Spain. (and 23 years later at the completion of the Reconquista, provide the financial capability to permit the Spanish crown to fund the first voyage of Columbus)

1512 – Martin Luther receives his doctorate of theology at the University of Wittenberg

1789 – John Jay is sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States.

1864 – While Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early are preliminarily successful in a surprise attack against Union forces under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan at Cedar Creek near Strasburg, Virginia, they are ultimately defeated near Middletown, ending the campaign through the Shenandoah valley against Washington D.C.

1900 – Max Planck formulates his scientific law of black body radiation

1935 – The League of Nations places economic sanctions on Italy for its invasion of Ethiopia and deposing Ras Täfäri Mäkonnän Emperor Haile Selassie into exile.

1943 – Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, is isolated by researchers at Rutgers University.

1944 – U.S. forces land on Leyte island to begin the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation

1950 – Chinese People’s Liberation Army forces defeat the Tibetan Army at Chambo, resulting in China annexing and occupying Tibet.

1956 – The Soviet Union and Japan sign a Joint Declaration, officially ending the state of war between the countries that had existed since August 1945.

1987 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 22%, 508 points, the highest one day percentage drop at that time.
The U.S. Navy conducts Operation Nimble Archer, attacking 2 Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf in response to Iran’s missile attack 3 days earlier on Kuwaiti flagged MV Sea Isle City.

2004 –  Corporate Airlines Flight 5966, a British Aerospace Jetstream 32, crashes on approach to Kirksville Regional Airport, in Adair County, Missouri, killing both pilots and 11 of the 13 passengers aboard.

2005 – Saddam Hussein goes on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity.