January 6
January 6
Theodore Roosevelt dies
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, dies at Sagamore Hill, his estate overlooking New York’s Long Island Sound. A dynamic and energetic politician, Theodore Roosevelt is credited…
A Year In History: 1919
This Year in History:
1919
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
January 12
January 12
Leaders of the Big Four nations meet for the first time in Paris
The day after British Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s arrival in Paris, he meets with representatives from the other Big Four nations—Prime Ministers Georges Clemenceau of France and Vittorio Orlando…
January 15
January 15
Great Boston Molasses Flood
Fiery hot molasses floods the streets of Boston on January 15, 1919, killing 21 people and injuring scores of others. The molasses burst from a huge tank at the United…
January 15
January 15
Rebel leaders are murdered in failed coup in Berlin
A coup launched in Berlin by a group of radical socialist revolutionaries is brutally suppressed by right‑wing paramilitary units from January 10 to January 15, 1919; the group’s leaders, Karl…
January 16
January 16
Prohibition is ratified by the states
The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes,” is ratified by the requisite number of states on January 16,…
January 18
January 18
Post‑World War I peace conference begins in Paris
On January 18, 1919, in Paris, France, some of the most powerful people in the world meet to begin the long, complicated negotiations that would officially mark the end of…
January 25
January 25
Formal commission is established on the League of Nations
On January 25, 1919, in Paris, delegates to the peace conference formally approve the establishment of a commission on the League of Nations. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson insisted on chairing…
February 5
February 5
United Artists created
On February 5, 1919, Hollywood heavyweights Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith joined forces to create their own film studio, which they called the United Artists Corporation. United Artists…
February 20
February 20
Amir of Afghanistan is assassinated
Habibullah Khan, the leader of Afghanistan who struggled to keep his country neutral in World War I in the face of strong internal support for Turkey and the Central Powers,…
February 26
February 26
Two national parks preserved, 10 years apart
On this day in history, two national parks were established in the United States 10 years apart—the Grand Canyon in 1919 and the Grand Tetons in 1929. Located in northwestern…
March 23
March 23
Mussolini founds the Fascist party
Benito Mussolini, an Italian World War I veteran and publisher of Socialist newspapers, breaks with the Italian Socialists and establishes the nationalist Fasci di Combattimento, named after the Italian peasant…
April 10
April 10
Revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata assassinated in Mexico
Emiliano Zapata, a leader of peasants and Indigenous people during the Mexican Revolution, is ambushed and shot to death in Morelos by government forces. Born a peasant in 1879, Zapata…
April 13
April 13
British and Gurkha troops massacre hundreds of unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar Massacre
In Amritsar, India’s holy city of the Sikh religion, British and Gurkha troops massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators meeting at the Jallianwala Bagh, a city park. Most of those…
April 19
April 19
Discussion of Italian claims begins at Paris peace conference
On April 19, 1919, the Saturday before Easter, tense and complicated negotiations begin at the Paris peace conference over Italy’s claims to territory in the former Austro‑Hungarian Empire. The Italians…
May 5
May 5
Italian delegates return to Paris peace conference
On May 5, 1919, the delegation from Italy—led by Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando and Foreign Minister Sidney Sonnino—returns to the Versailles Peace Conference in Paris, France, after leaving abruptly 11…
May 8
May 8
New celebration of Armistice Day proposed
On May 8, 1919, Edward George Honey, a journalist from Melbourne, Australia, living in London at the time, writes a letter to the London Evening News proposing that the first…
May 11
May 11
Germans prepare to protest Versailles Treaty terms
During the second week of May 1919, the recently arrived German delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference, convened in Paris after the end of the First World War, pore over…
June 4
June 4
Congress passes the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. The women’s suffrage movement was founded…
June 20
June 20
German cabinet resigns over Versailles deadlock
On June 20, 1919, during the final days of the Versailles Peace Conference held in Paris, France, the German cabinet deadlocks over whether to accept the peace terms presented to…
June 28
June 28
John Maynard Keynes predicts economic chaos
At the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles with the Allies, officially ending World War I. The English economist John Maynard Keynes, who had attended…
