What Happened on May 19

Historical Events

1585 – Spain confiscates English ships
1892 – National Society of Colonial Dames of America founded
1953 – Nuclear explosion in Nevada (fall-out in St George, Utah)
1973 – “Daisy A Day” by Jud Strunk hits #14
1982 – Sophia Loren jailed in Naples, Italy for tax evasion
1999 – Lazio of Italy win 39th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Mallorca of Spain 2-1 in Birmingham

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Famous Birthdays

1927 – John Thompson, American football executive (GM Seattle Seahawks 1976-82; NFL Executive of the Year 1978), born in South Bend, Washington (d. 2022)
1934 – James Charles Lehrer, news anchor (McNeil-Lehrer Report), born in Wichita, Kansas
1953 – Dawud M. Mu’Min, American convicted murderer (d. 1997)
1953 – Shavarsh Karapetyan, Soviet Armenian finswimmer
1955 – Ed Whitson, pitcher (NY Yankees, San Diego Padres)
1992 – Sam Smith, British singer-songwriter (“Stay With Me”), born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1895 – Jose Marti y Perez, Cuban poet (Versos sencillos) essayist and politician (fought for independence from Spain), dies fighting the Battle of Dos Rios at 42
1998 – Dorothy Donegan, American boogie-woogie, swing jazz, and classical pianist, and vocalist, dies of cancer at 76
1999 – Jonathan “Candy” Candido, American actor and radio performer (Peter Pan; The Great Mouse Detective), dies at 85
2007 – Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
2021 – Joey Cathcart, American rock guitarist (Nelson – “Love and Affection”), dies of brain cancer at 53
2021 – Alix Dobkin, American folk and feminist singer-songwriter (Lavender Jane Loves Women), dies of a brain aneurysm and stroke at 80

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