Summary of the Day ✨ 19 December (19/12)
On this day, Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov was assassinated in Ankara while Turkish authorities dealt with a deadly vehicular attack at a Berlin Christmas market that killed 12 people, while simultaneously the European Space Agency launched the Gaia spacecraft and Park Geun-hye made history as South Korea’s first female president.
Historical Events 📜
- 2016: Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov is assassinated while at an art exhibition in Ankara. The assassin, Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, is shot and killed by a Turkish guard.
- 2016: A vehicular attack in Berlin, Germany, kills 12 and injures 56 people at a Christmas market.
- 2013: Spacecraft Gaia is launched by the European Space Agency.
- 2012: Park Geun-hye is elected the first female president of South Korea.
- 2005: Chalk’s Ocean Airways Flight 101 crashes into the Government Cut channel immediately after takeoff from Miami Seaplane Base, killing 20.
- 2005: A passenger train from Sucha Beskidzka to Żywiec in Poland loses its brakes while on a steep downhill part of the route. It is stopped in a controlled collision in Świnna by a train travelling in opposite direction. 2 drivers and 6 passengers are injured.
- 2001: Argentine economic crisis: December riots: Riots erupt in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 1999: Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-103, the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
- 1998: President Bill Clinton is impeached by the United States House of Representatives, becoming the second president of the United States to be impeached.
- 1997: SilkAir Flight 185 crashes into the Musi River, near Palembang in Indonesia, killing 104.
- 1995: The United States Government restores federal recognition to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Native American tribe.
- 1986: Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from exile in Gorky.
- 1985: Aeroflot Flight 101/435 is hijacked to China by its first officer.
- 1984: The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and the United Kingdom would restore Hong Kong to China with effect from July 1, 1997, is signed in Beijing by Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher.
- 1983: The original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Famous Births 👶
- 1998: King Princess, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1997: Gabriel Magalhães, Brazilian footballer
- 1997: Fikayo Tomori, English footballer
- 1996: Franck Kessié, Ivorian footballer
- 1994: Maudy Ayunda, Indonesian actress and singer-songwriter
- 1994: M’Baye Niang, French footballer
- 1993: Young K, South Korean singer-songwriter
- 1993: Isiah Koech, Kenyan runner
- 1992: Iker Muniain, Spanish footballer
- 1992: Raphael Spiegel, Swiss footballer
- 1991: Steven Berghuis, Dutch footballer
- 1991: Declan Galbraith, English singer-songwriter
- 1991: Josh Huestis, American basketball player
- 1991: Keiynan Lonsdale, Australian actor, singer-songwriter, and dancer
- 1991: Sumire Uesaka, Japanese voice actress and singer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist (born 1945)
- 2024: Wincey Willis, British broadcaster (born 1948)
- 2021: Sally Ann Howes, English-American singer and actress (born 1930)
- 2021: Johnny Isakson, American politician (born 1944)
- 2020: Rosalind Knight, English actress (born 1933)
- 2016: Andrei Karlov, Russian diplomat, Ambassador to Turkey (born 1954)
- 2015: Jimmy Hill, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster (born 1928)
- 2015: Greville Janner, Baron Janner of Braunstone, Welsh-English lawyer and politician (born 1928)
- 2015: Karin Söder, Swedish educator and politician, 33rd Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (born 1928)
- 2014: S. Balasubramanian, Indian journalist and director (born 1936)
- 2014: Philip Bradbourn, English lawyer and politician (born 1951)
- 2014: Arthur Gardner, American actor and producer (born 1910)
- 2014: Igor Rodionov, Russian general and politician, 3rd Russian Minister of Defence (born 1936)
- 2014: Dick Thornton, American-Canadian football player and coach (born 1939)
- 2014: Roberta Leigh (Rita Shulman Lewin), British writer, artist and TV producer (born 1926).
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Lillian Trasher (Episcopal Church) - Christian feast day:
O Radix - Christian feast day:
Pope Anastasius I - Christian feast day:
Pope Urban V - Christian feast day:
December 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Christian feast day:
Saint Nicholas Day - Goa Liberation Day (Goa, India)
- National Heroes and Heroines Day (Anguilla)