On This Day

What Happened on January 19 in History

8 events that happened on January 19, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.

The Young Republic and the Civil War Era

1807
Robert E. Lee, later the commanding general of the Confederate army, was born in Virginia.
The son of Revolutionary War officer Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, he graduated from West Point and served in the United States Army before siding with Virginia in 1861. He surrendered to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox in April 1865.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
1809
Edgar Allan Poe, master of the macabre tale and father of the modern detective story, was born in Boston.
Orphaned young and raised by the merchant John Allan, Poe went on to write The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart and The Murders in the Rue Morgue. His poem The Raven made him famous in 1845.
Source: history.com
1861
A state convention passed an ordinance of secession taking Georgia out of the Union.
The ordinance repealed Georgia's 1788 ratification of the Constitution and declared the union with the other states dissolved. Georgia claimed all the rights of a free and independent state.
Source: battlefields.org; digitalhistory.uh.edu
1862
Union troops under George H. Thomas defeated a Confederate attack at the Battle of Mill Springs in Kentucky.
Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer was killed, and after a Union attack on their right flank his men fled to their fortifications at Beech Grove. The fight ended in a Union victory in Kentucky.
Source: battlefields.org

1960
The United States and Japan signed a revised security treaty in Washington, D.C.
Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi came to the capital to sign the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security and met President Eisenhower at the White House the same day.
Source: afe.easia.columbia.edu; history.state.gov
1981
American and Iranian negotiators signed the Algiers Accords, the deal to end the Iran hostage crisis.
President Jimmy Carter announced the agreement after an all-night vigil. The 52 American hostages were freed the next day, minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in.
Source: archives.gov; presidency.ucsb.edu
1983
Apple unveiled the Lisa, a business computer with a graphical interface and a mouse.
The machine took five years and about $50 million to develop. It let users point and click on icons instead of typing commands, but it sold poorly.
Source: history.com

2012
Federal authorities shut down the file-sharing site Megaupload in a major criminal copyright case.
The Justice Department accused the site of helping millions of people get pirated movies, music and TV shows, and a judge allowed the seizure of 18 domain names. Seven executives were charged, including founder Kim Dotcom.
Source: npr.org