Wednesday 19th of April 1054

152nd Pope Leo IX dies of unknown causes at the age of 52 in Vatican City, Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Tuesday 19th of April 1689

Queen of Sweden Kristina Augusta dies of a lung bleeding at the age of 63 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Monday 19th of April 1824

Poet George Gordon Byron aka Lord Byron dies of violent fever due to sepsis at the age of 36 in Missolonghi, Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece.

Friday 19th of April 1878

Murderer Samu Steenburgh is executed by hanging at the age of 45 in Fonda, New York, United States.

Wednesday 19th of April 1882

Naturalist, geologist and evolutionary theorist Charles Robert Darwin dies of coronary thrombosis at the age of 73 in Down House, Downe, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Darwin's last words were "I am not the least afraid of death".

Sunday 19th of April 1903

American Prohibition agent Eliot Ness known for his legendary team of law enforcement agents nicknamed The Untouchables is born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Thursday 19th of April 1906

Magnetism, piezoelectricity and radioactivity pioneer Pierre Curie has his skull crushed by a horse drawn cart as he slipped in the street at the age of 47 in Rue Dauphine, Paris, VIe, Île-de-France, France.

Tuesday 19th of April 1927

34-year-old Actress, singer and sex symbol Mae Mary Jane West is sentenced to 10 days imprisonment for obscenity during her play 'Sex' in New York City, New York, United States.

West got out of jail two days early due to good behaviour.

Thursday 19th of April 1928

Bootlegger and murderer Charles Charlie Birger is executed by hanging at the age of 47 in Benton, Illinois, United States.

Birger shook hands with the 'humane hangman' Philip Hanna and his final words were "It's a beautiful world."

Wednesday 19th of April 1933

Actress Jayne Mansfield aka The Working Man's Monroe is born as Vera Jayne Palmer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States.

Sunday 19th of April 1942

Artist Bas Jan Bastiaan Johan Christiaan Ader is born in Winschoten, Groningen, Netherlands.

Tuesday 19th of April 1949

Fashion designer Paloma Picasso is born as Anne Paloma Ruiz-Picasso y Gilot in Vallauris, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.

Tuesday 19th of April 1949

Truck driver Larry Lawrence Richard Walters aka Lawnchair Larry aka The Lawn Chair Pilot is born in Los Angeles, California, United States.

Friday 19th of April 1963

38-year-old Satan worshipper and serial rapist Edward John Louis Paisnel aka The Beast of Jersey assaults an unidentified 9-year-old boy in Saint Saviour, Jersey, United Kingdom.

Tuesday 19th of April 1966

Start of the trial against Serial killers the Moors Murderers aka Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in Chester Crown Court, Chester, Cheshire, United Kingdom.

Wednesday 19th of April 1967

42-year-old Wiener Aktionist Otto Muehl performs 'Aktion nr. 42 / Aktion für das Österreichische Fernsehen' in Perinetkeller, Perinetgasse 1, Wien, Wien, Austria.

Wednesday 19th of April 1967

First Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer dies of pneumonia at the age of 91 in Rhöndorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Adenauer's last words were "Da jitt et nix zo kriesche!" (Cologne dialect for "There's nothin' to weep about!")

Sunday 19th of April 1970

Designer Robert Salem is killed mutilated by an unidentified Zodiac copycat-killer at the age of 40 in 745 Stevenson Street, San Francisco, California, United States.

"The 40 year old designer of lamps had been repeatedly stabbed with a long-bladed knife. The killer had apparently tried to decapitate his victim and when that failed he cut off Salem's left ear, carrying it away with him when he fled. There was also this bizarre touch: scrawled on the wall in Salem's blood, were the words "Satan Saves."  The killer then in larger letters wrote "Zodiac" and drew a strange symbol resembling a crucified man. The same symbol had been drawn on Salem's stomach".

Monday 19th of April 1971

37-year-old Family leader Charles Milles Manson known for conspiracy to murder Sharon Tate is sentenced to death for the Tate/LaBianca murders in Los Angeles, California, United States.

Along with Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten were also sentenced to death.

Tuesday 19th of April 1977

24-year-old Serial killer David Richard Berkowitz aka Son of Sam mails a second threatening letter to his neighbour Sam Carr to shut up his dog Harvey in 35 Pine Street, Yonkers, New York, United States.

Saturday 19th of April 1986

Noise music band Club Moral perform the 19 Keys as 53rd concert in Leguit 19, Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium.

Wednesday 19th of April 1989

Writer and playwright Daphne du Maurier dies of natural causes at the age of 82 in Fowey, Cornwall, United Kingdom.

Sunday 19th of April 1992

16-year-old Kristen Dawn French is abducted, sexually assaulted and asphyxiated by serial killer Paul Bernardo aka The Scarborough Rapist aka The Schoolgirl Killer in Holy Cross Secondary School, 460 Linwell Road, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

French was held in captivity for three days during which Bernardo and Homolka videotaped themselves torturing and subjecting the 15-year-old to sexual humiliation and degradation while forcing her to drink large amounts of alcohol. French's naked body was found in a ditch along No. 1 Sideroad in north Burlington on 30 April 1992.

Monday 19th of April 1993

Leader of the Branch Davidians religious sect David Koresh dies of a gunshot wound to the head during the course of the final FBI advance in which the Branch Davidians were to be removed from their compound by force at the age of 34 in Mount Carmel Center, Waco, Texas, United States.

The siege began on 28 February when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided Mount Carmel Center and ended when the FBI set the building on fire. Koresh and 79 others were found dead after the conflagration.

Wednesday 19th of April 1995

27-year-old Terrorist Timothy James 'Tim' McVeigh aka The Oklahoma City Bomber drives a rented Ryder truck with an ANNM explosive device mounted in the back in front of the building in Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, 200 Northwest 5th Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States.

The explosion killed 186 people and injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third of the building. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 other buildings within a 16-block radius, shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, and destroyed or burned 86 cars, causing an estimated 652 million dollars worth of damage. The bomb consisted of about 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of ammonium nitrate and nitromethane.

Monday 19th of April 1999

Multiple murderer Yuhui Li is executed by the firing squad at the age of 47 in Shantou, Guangdong, China.

Wednesday 19th of April 2000

Child killer Robert Glen Coe is executed by lethal injection at the age of 44 in Tennessee State Prison, Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

Coe's last meal request was for fried catfish, white beans, hush puppies, coleslaw, french fries, pecan pie and sweet tea.

Sunday 19th of April 2009

Writer James Graham Ballard dies of prostate cancer at the age of 79 in Goldhawk Road, London, Shepherd's Bush, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Monday 19th of April 2010

The Hole I was 'Diggin' for Gordon' seen from the bottom up in Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium.

Sunday 19th of April 2020

Spree killer Gabriel Wortman is shot dead by police at the age of 51 in Irving Oil Big Stop, Enfield, Nova Scotia, Canada.

In about 12 hours Wortman killed at least 18 people including a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer and injured at least two.

Friday 19th of April 2024

Philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Clement Dennett dies of interstitial lung disease at the age of 82 in Maine Medical Center, 22 Bramhall Street, Portland, Maine, United States.