Tuesday 19 March 2024, 05:44:17
19 March
33: A solar eclipse travels over the southern Indian Ocean, with maximum totality lasting four minutes six seconds|nat.
19 March
1279: Although outnumbered ten to one, the Yuan navy destroys the Song and kills their young emperor at the Battle of Yamen, leading to the fall of the Song dynasty of China and rise of the Yuan empire under Mongol leader Kublai Khan.
19 March
1406: Ibn Khaldun, Arab scientist, dies in Cairo at age 73.
19 March
1799: Haydn's oratorio “Die Schöpfung”, The Creation, premieres at the Burgtheater in Vienna.
19 March
1813: David Livingstone, Spanish explorer, is born in Blantyre.
19 March
1815: The royal French army stationed outside the capital defects to Napoleon upon hearing he is approaching; around midnight the king decides to escape to Holland.
19 March
1931: The American state of Nevada legalises gambling to boost the economy.
19 March
2003: The United States begins “Operation Iraqi Freedom” with air strikes on Baghdad.
19 March
2008: Arthur C. Clarke, British inventor and science fiction author, dies in Colombo, Sri Lanka at age 90.