Did you know
Emerging as China's most influential figure after Mao Zedong's death in 1976, Deng consolidated political power and guided the country into an era of reform and opening up that transitioned the nation toward a socialist market economy.
Notable Deaths on February 19
1997 — Deng Xiaoping
Chinese politician, paramount leader and 1st Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (born 1904)
February 19 has 87 recorded notable deaths across history, from 197 to 2020. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
87 source records
197 – 2020
Today in history
Major events on February 19
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1948 The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta. Source
- 1960 China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket. Source
- 1674 England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England. Source
- 2021 Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, a 19-year-old protester, becomes the first known casualty of anti-coup protests that formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. Source
Did you know
Nelle Harper Lee was an American novelist whose 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature.
Did you know
Gopal Krishna Gokhale was an Indian political leader and a social reformer during the Indian independence movement, and political mentor of Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi.
Did you know
Trenet is also noted for his work with musicians Michel Emer and Léo Chauliac, with whom he recorded "Y'a d'la joie" (1938) for the first and "La Romance de Paris" (1941) and "Douce France" (1947) for the latter.
Did you know
Coryell was also a music teacher and a writer, penning a monthly column for Guitar Player magazine from 1977 to 1989.
More major people who died on February 19
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2016
Harper Lee
American author (born 1926)
Nelle Harper Lee was an American novelist whose 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature.
1915
Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Indian philosopher and politician (born 1866)
Gopal Krishna Gokhale was an Indian political leader and a social reformer during the Indian independence movement, and political mentor of Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi.
2001
Charles Trenet
French singer-songwriter (born 1913)
Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet was a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics for nearly 1,000 songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years.
2017
Larry Coryell
American jazz guitarist (born 1943)
Larry Coryell was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock music.
1977
Anthony Crosland
English author and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (born 1918)
Charles Anthony Raven Crosland was a British Labour Party politician and author. A social democrat on the right wing of the Labour Party, he was a prominent socialist intellectual.
1133
Irene Doukaina
Byzantine wife of Alexios I Komnenos (born 1066)
Irene Doukaina or Ducaena was a Byzantine empress by marriage to the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. She was the mother of Emperor John II Komnenos and the historian Anna Komnene.
2013
Eugene Whelan
Canadian farmer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (born 1924)
Eugene Francis "Gene" Whelan was a Canadian politician, sitting in the House of Commons from 1962 to 1984, and in the Senate from 1996 to 1999.
1970
Ralph Edward Flanders
US Senator from Vermont (born 1890)
Ralph Edward Flanders was an American mechanical engineer, industrialist and politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Vermont.
1953
Richard Rushall
British businessman (born 1864)
Captain Richard Boswell Rushall was a British sea captain and businessman who served as mayor of Rangoon, Burma, during the 1930s. He was the first Englishman to hold this position.
2012
Ruth Barcan Marcus
American philosopher and logician (born 1921)
Ruth Barcan Marcus was an American academic philosopher and logician best known for her work in modal and philosophical logic.
1806
Elizabeth Carter
English poet and translator (born 1717)
Elizabeth Carter was an English poet, classicist, writer, translator, and linguist.
2020
José Mojica Marins
Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host (born 1936)
José Mojica Marins was a Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host.
1951
André Gide
French novelist, essayist, and dramatist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1869)
André Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author whose writing spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature.
1916
Ernst Mach
Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (born 1838)
Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher who contributed to the understanding of the physics of shock waves.
2001
Stanley Kramer
American director and producer (born 1913)
Stanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer, responsible for making many of Hollywood's most famous "message films" and a liberal movie icon.
2016
Samuel Willenberg
Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (born 1923)
Samuel Willenberg, nom de guerre Igo, was a Polish-born Jewish Holocaust survivor, artist, and writer.
1980
Bon Scott
Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (born 1946)
Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott was an Australian singer who was the second lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980.
2014
Valeri Kubasov
Russian engineer and astronaut (born 1935)
Valery Nikolaevich Kubasov was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut who flew on two missions in the Soyuz programme as a flight engineer: Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 19, and commanded Soyuz 36 in the Intercosmos programme.
1969
Madge Blake
American actress (born 1899)
Madge Blake was an American character actress best remembered for her role as Larry Mondello's mother, Margaret Mondello, on the CBS/ABC sitcom Leave It to Beaver, as Flora MacMichael on the ABC/CBS sitcom The Real…