February 19 in Pop Culture History

February 19th History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

February 19th History Highlights

  • February 19, 19** Birthday (fictional) Bruce Wayne (Batman), DC Comics
  • 1963The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan was published.
  • 1987 – A controversial, anti-smoking public service announcement aired for the first time on television, featuring Yul Brynner shortly before he died of lung cancer.
  • If you were born on February 19th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… May 29th (prior year)

Internment Camps in the United States

1942 – US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal of any or all people from military areas “as deemed necessary or desirable.” This was the basis for the Japanese Internment camps, which held over 100,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans until January 2, 1945. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to repay every surviving internee with a tax-free payment of $20,000 and an apology from the US government.

February 19th is…

National Chocolate Mint Day
Prevent Plagiarism Day
Tug of War Day

February 19th Birthday Quotes

“I have two hands: one for me, one for other people.”
– Millie Bobby Brown

“Ah, stardom! They put your name on a star in the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard and you walk down and find a pile of dog manure on it. That tells the whole story, baby.”
– Lee Marvin

“I am not so enamored of my own opinions that I disregard what others may think of them. I am aware that a philosopher’s ideas are not subject to the judgment of ordinary persons, because it is his endeavor to seek the truth in all things, to the extent permitted to human reason by God. Yet I hold that completely erroneous views should be shunned.”
– Nicolaus Copernicus

“I don’t see the world completely in black and white. Sometimes I do.”
– Benicio Del Toro

“External success has to do with people who may see me as a model, or an example, or a representative. As much as I may dislike or want to reject that responsibility, this is something that comes with public success. It’s important to give others a sense of hope that it is possible and you can come from really different places in the world and find your own place in the world that’s unique for yourself.”
– Amy Tan

“In a world full of people, only some want to fly, Isn’t that crazy?”
– Seal

“One of the good things about getting older is you find you’re more interesting than most of the people you meet.”
– Lee Marvin

February 19th Birthdays

1473 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (died in 1543)
1717 – David Garrick, English actor and author (died in 1779)
1896 – André Breton, French poet and author (died in 1966)
1911 – Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress (died in 1979)
1917 – Carson McCullers, American author (died in 1967)
1920 – C.Z. Guest, American actress, fashion designer, and author (died in 2003)
1924 – Lee Marvin, American actor (died in 1987)
1940 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (died in 2013)
1943 – Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter
1948 – Tony Iommi, English guitarist and songwriter
1949 – William (Bill) Messner-Loebs, American comic book author and illustrator
1952 – Amy Tan, American novelist
1955 – Jeff Daniels, American actor
1957 – Falco, Austrian singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician (died in 1998)
1957 – Dave Stewart, American baseball player
1960 – Prince Andrew, Duke of York
1963 – Seal (Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel), English singer-songwriter
1963 – Jessica Tuck, American actress
1966 – Justine Bateman, American actress
1967 – Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican-American actor, director, and producer
1968 – Prince Markie Dee, American rapper and actor
1981 – Beth Ditto, American singer
1985 – Haylie Duff, American actress
1986 – Maria Mena, Norwegian singer-songwriter
2004 – Millie Bobby Brown, English actress

February 19th History

1600 (Volcano Eruption) Huaynaputina

1847 – Of the 89 original members of the Donner Party, only 45 reached California. They had been trapped, with no provisions and little survival skills since late October of 1848, about 13 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe.

1864 – The Knights of Pythias was established in Washington, DC.

1884 – More than sixty tornadoes struck the Southern United States in one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.

1878 – The patent (#200,521) for Thomas Edison’s phonograph was granted.

1881 – Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.

1963 – The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan was published.

1966 – #1 Hit February 19, 1966 – February 25, 1966: Lou Christie – Lightnin’ Strikes

1967 – #1 Hit February 18, 1967 – March 3, 1967: The Buckinghams – Kind of a Drag

1968 – Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, created by Fred Rogers (1928-2003), premiered on NET (later PBS).

1972 – #1 Hit February 19, 1972 – March 17, 1972: Nilsson – Without You

1977 – #1 Hit February 19, 1977 – February 25, 1977: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Blinded by the Light

1980 – AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott died from alcohol poisoning.

February 19, 19** Birthday (fictional) Bruce Wayne (Batman), DC Comics

1982 – Rock legend Ozzy Ozbourne was arrested for urinating on the Alamo.

1983 – #1 Hit February 19, 1983 – March 4, 1983: Patti Austin and James Ingram – Baby, Come to Me

1985 – Cherry Coke was introduced by Coca-Cola.

1985 – William J. Schroeder became the first artificial heart patient to leave the hospital alive.

1985 – The Eastenders premiered in the UK.

1986 – The US Senate approved a treaty that outlawed genocide.

1992 – Broadway Show – Crazy for You (Musical) February 19, 1992

1994 – Martin Lawrence made a sexually explicit joke during his opening monologue during his appearance on Saturday Night Live. The joke was in reference to female genitalia and feminine hygiene. He ended up being banned from the NBC network for a year and from SNL for life. During the re-broadcast of the episode the joke is replaced by a title card read off-screen and the joke nearly cost everyone at SNL their jobs.

2000 – #1 Hit February 19, 2000 – March 3, 2000: Mariah Carey featuring Joe and 98 Degrees – Thank God I Found You

2006 – The Rolling Stones performed in front of the largest open show for the public in Copacabana Beach in Brazil,1.3 Million people attended

2010 – Golfer Tiger Woods admitted to having several affairs, which were brought to light after an incident in Windermere, Florida, an Orlando suburb, around 2:30 a.m. on November 27, 2009. His car crashed, reportedly, but several eyewitness accounts said it looked like it was attacked by someone with a golf club. Ironically, his wife, Elin Nordegren, was reportedly informed about his infidelities shortly before the ‘crash.’

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

“It’s very beautiful over there.” – Thomas Edison #LastWords

Five Card Poker Odds, nothing wild: One Pair – One set of the same numbered or “face” cards, 1 in 2 1 balls picked out of 3

Criticism is not nearly as effective as sabotage.

Biggest film of 1978: Grease (Musical) earned ~ $182,000,000

Eye problems caused by computer use fall under the heading computer vision syndrome (CVS).

Before McDonald’s, “Don’t buy cheeseburgers from a clown” was probably a pretty hard and fast rule. #thingsinmyhead

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette is one of eight people to have been granted “Honorary Citizenship” by the United States.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle only wrote four Sherlock Holmes novels (but 56 short stories).

Isn’t it weird how we don’t collectively care about anything the news doesn’t care about?

When a cat is no longer puzzled by his reflection in the mirror, is it because he’s figured out that it’s only a reflection, or because he thinks that the “other cat” is not interesting anymore?

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.” – Andy Dufresne #moviequotes

Mentioning food on your dating profile gets more matches, and Guacamole is the best food to mention.

Star Wars is my favorite period drama.

Singer Peter Gabriel’s great-great-great-uncle, Thomas Gabriel was the Lord Mayor of London in the 1860s.

“I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers.” – Jimmy Two Times in Goodfellas #moviequotes

Its weird that I know that any YouTube URL ending in dQw4w9WgXcQ is Never Gonna Give You Up.

New word: anticippointment

“If you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?” #songlyrics

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