Summary of the Day ✨ 19 July (19/07)
Israel’s Knesset passed legislation defining the country as the Jewish nation-state while Egypt faced deadly attacks on its military and Syria’s YPG captured Kobanî, sparking the Rojava conflict. In Guinea, President Alpha Condé survived an assassination attempt as the Provisional IRA resumed a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign in Northern Ireland.
Historical Events 📜
- 2018: The Knesset passes the controversial Nationality Bill, which defines the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
- 2014: Gunmen in Egypt’s western desert province of New Valley Governorate attack a military checkpoint, killing at least 21 soldiers. Egypt reportedly declares a state of emergency on its border with Sudan.
- 2012: Syrian civil war: The People’s Protection Units (YPG) capture the city of Kobanî without resistance, starting the Rojava conflict in Northeast Syria.
- 2011: Guinean President Alpha Condé survives an attempted assassination and coup d’état at his residence in Conakry.
- 1997: The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland.
- 1992: A car bomb kills Judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort.
- 1989: United Airlines Flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 111.
- 1985: The Val di Stava dam collapses killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.
- 1983: The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.
- 1982: In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, is kidnapped.
- 1981: In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French President François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing the Soviet Union had been stealing American technological research and development.
- 1980: Opening of the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
- 1979: The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.
- 1979: The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill.
- 1977: The world’s first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern time (ET).
Famous Births 👶
- 2006: Dani Muñoz, Spanish footballer
- 2003: Tyler Downs, American Olympic diver
- 1999: Kim So-hye, South Korean actress and singer
- 1998: Erin Cuthbert, footballer
- 1998: Karl Jacobs, American YouTuber and streamer
- 1998: Ronaldo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean footballer
- 1996: Paul Momirovski, Australian rugby league player
- 1994: Christian Welch, Australian rugby league player
- 1992: Jake Nicholson, English footballer
- 1991: Eray İşcan, Turkish footballer
- 1989: Patrick Corbin, American baseball player
- 1989: Sam McKendry, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
- 1988: Shane Dawson, American comedian and actor
- 1988: Kevin Großkreutz, German footballer
- 1988: Jakub Kovář, Czech ice hockey player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Toumani Diabaté, Malian musician (born 1965)
- 2024: Iryna Farion, Ukrainian linguist and politician (born 1964)
- 2024: Kevan Gosper, Australian athlete and administrator (born 1933)
- 2024: Sheila Jackson Lee, American lawyer and politician (born 1950)
- 2024: Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Vietnamese politician, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (born 1944)
- 2024: Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player and police officer (born 1932)
- 2024: James C. Scott, American political scientist and anthropologist (born 1936)
- 2024: Esta TerBlanche, South African actress (born 1973)
- 2019: Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (born 1944)
- 2018: Jon Schnepp, American producer, director, voice actor, editor, writer, cartoonist, animator, and cinematographer (born 1967)
- 2018: Denis Ten, Kazakhstani figure skater (born 1993)
- 2016: Garry Marshall, American actor, director, and producer (born 1934)
- 2015: Van Alexander, American composer and conductor (born 1915)
- 2015: Galina Prozumenshchikova, Ukrainian-Russian swimmer and journalist (born 1948)
- 2015: Carmino Ravosa, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (born 1930)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Palace Day
- Christian feast day:
Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht - Christian feast day:
Justa and Rufina - Christian feast day:
Kirdjun (or Abakerazum) - Christian feast day:
Macrina the Younger, Sister of St. Basil the Great - Christian feast day:
Symmachus - Christian feast day:
July 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Martyrs’ Day (Myanmar)
- Sandinista Day or Liberation Day (Nicaragua)