April 19 is the 109th day of the year (110th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 256 days remaining until the end of the year.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: The war begins with an American victory in Concord during the battles of Lexington and Concord.
1927 – Mae West is sentenced to 10 days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.
1971 – Launch of Salyut 1, the first space station.
1971 – Charles Manson is sentenced to death for conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders.
1987 – The Simpsons premieres as a short cartoon on The Tracey Ullman Show
1993 – The 51-day siege of the Branch Davidian building outside Waco, Texas, USA, ends when a fire breaks out. Eighty-one people die.
1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, is bombed, killing 168.
Birthdays
1903 – Eliot Ness, American lawman (d. 1957)
1930 – Dick Sargent, American actor (d. 1994)
1935 – Dudley Moore, English actor, comedian and composer (d. 2002)
1946 – Tim Curry, British actor
1968 – Ashley Judd, American actress
1981 – Troy Polamalu, American football player
1983 – Joe Mauer, American baseball player