History of the Day for:
December 19
- 1732: Benjamin Franklin, under the name of Richard Saunders, began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac" in Philadelphia.
- 1776: Thomas Paine published his first "American Crisis" essay, in which he wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls."
- 1777: Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.
- 1823: The first state birth registration law was enacted, in Georgia.
- 1828: South Carolina declared the right of states to nullify federal laws.
- 1842: United States recognized the independence of Hawaii.
- 1871: Corrugated paper was patented by Albert L. Jones of New York City.
- 1891: Charles Uncles of Baltimore became the first Negro Catholic priest to be ordained in the U.S.
- 1910: Rayon was first commercially produced.
- 1918: Robert Ripley began his "Believe It or Not" column in The New York Globe.
- 1941: Hitler took complete command of German Army; The U.S. Office of Censorship was created to control information pertaining to the war.
- 1950: General Dwight D. Eisenhower was named commander of the military forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
- 1955: Carl Perkins recorded "Blue Suede Shoes."
- 1958: The first known radio broadcast from outer space was transmitted. President Eisenhower's recorded voice issued a Christmas greeting aboard an orbiting space satellite Atlas for the whole world. The message said, "To all mankind, America's wish for Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men Everywhere."
- 1959: Walter Williams, 117, said to be the last surviving veteran of the Civil War, died in Houston.
- 1960: Frank Sinatra recorded his first session with Reprise Records, singing "Ring-A-Ding-Ding" and "Let's Fall in Love."
- 1971: CBS aired "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story," a TV movie that introduced the Waltons.
- 1971: Stanley Kubrick's X-rated "A Clockwork Orange" premiered in New York, Toronto, San Francisco and Hollywood.
- 1974: Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States.
- 1975: Ron Wood joined the Rolling Stones.
- 1984: Britain and China signed an accord returning the British colony of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997.
- 1984: At 23, Wayne Gretzky became the youngest and the 18th NHLer to score a career 1,000th point on an assist in Edmonton's 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings, his 632nd game.
- 1985: Mary Lund became the first woman to receive a Jarvik VII artificial heart. Lund received a human heart transplant 45 days later and died in October 1986.
- 1986: Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from internal exile in Gorky.
- 1994: Rolls-Royce announces its future cars will feature V12 engine which will be produced by BMW.
- 1995: The United States Government restores federal recognition to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indian tribe.
- 1997: SilkAir Flight 185 crashes into the Musi River, near Palembang in Indonesia, killing 104.
- 1997: Titanic (starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet) is released in theaters. This movie would become the most financially successful movie in history, grossing approximately $600 million domestically and $1.8 billion worldwide.
- 1998: Lewinsky scandal: The United States House of Representatives forwards articles I and III of impeachment against President Bill Clinton to the Senate.
- 2000: The Leninist Guerrilla Units wing of the Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist attack a Nationalist Movement Party office in Istanbul, killing one person and injuring three.
- 2001: A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.
- 2001: Argentine economic crisis: December 2001 riots – Riots erupt in Buenos Aires after Domingo Cavallo's corralito measures restrict the withdrawal of cash from bank deposits.