History of 19 April
- 1993 – The Branch-Davidian’s compound in Waco, TX, burned to the ground. It was the end of a 51-day standoff between the cult and U.S. federal agents. 86 people were killed including 17 children. Nine of the Branch Davidians escaped the fire.
- 1994 – A Los Angeles jury awarded $3.8 million to Rodney King for violation of his civil rights.
- 1995 – The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK, was destroyed by a bomb. It was the worst bombing on U.S. territory. 168 people were killed including 19 children, and 500 were injured. Timothy McVeigh was found guilty of the bombing on June 2, 1997.
- 1998 – Wang Dan, a leader of 1989 Tienanmen Square pro democracy protests, was freed by the Chinese government.
- 2000 – The Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the bombing in Oklahoma that killed 168 people.
- 2000 – Letters written by Greta Garbo were put on exhibit. The letters were made public ten years after Garbo’s death.
- 2000 – In the Philippines, Air Philippines GAP 541 crashed while preparing to land. 131 people were killed.
- 2002 – The USS Cole was relaunched. In Yemen, 17 sailors were killed when the ship was attacked by terrorists on October 12, 2000. The attack was blamed on Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.
- 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected to the papacy and becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
- 2011 – Fidel Castro resigns as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba after holding the title since July 1961.
- 2013 – Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is killed in a shootout with police. His brother Dzhokhar is later captured hiding in a boat inside a backyard in the suburb of Watertown.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Ryuta Hara, Japanese footballer
- 1981 – Martin Havlát, Czech ice hockey player
- 1981 – James Hibberd, English cricketer
- 1981 – Troy Polamalu, American football player
- 1981 – Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
- 1982 – Joseph Hagerty, American gymnast
- 1982 – Filip Jícha, Czech handball player
- 1982 – Samuel C. Morrison, Jr., Liberian-American journalist, producer, and screenwriter
- 1982 – Rocco Sabato, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Ignacio Serricchio, Argentinian-American actor
- 1982 – Sitiveni Sivivatu, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Alberto Callaspo, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1983 – Zach Duke, American baseball player
- 1983 – Joe Mauer, American baseball player
- 1983 – Patrick Platins, German footballer
- 1983 – Curtis Thigpen, American baseball player
- 1984 – Christopher Pearce, English cricketer
- 1985 – Valon Behrami, Swiss footballer
- 1985 – David Cavazos, Mexican singer-songwriter
- 1985 – Sabrina Jalees, Canadian comedian, dancer, actress, presenter, and writer
- 1985 – Jan Zimmermann, German footballer
- 1986 – Pascal Angan, Beninese footballer
- 1986 – Candace Parker, American basketball player
- 1986 – Gabe Pruitt, American basketball player
- 1986 – Will Thursfield, English-Australian footballer
- 1987 – Luigi Giorgi, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Joe Hart, English footballer
- 1987 – Daniel Schuhmacher, German singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
- 1987 – Lauren Wilson, Canadian figure skater
- 1988 – Enrique Esqueda, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Dominik Mader, German footballer
- 1989 – Daisuke Watabe, Japanese footballer
- 1989 – Genoveva Añonma, Equatoguinean footballer
- 1990 – Jackie Bradley, Jr., American baseball player
- 1990 – Kim Chiu, Filipino actress, singer, and dancer
- 1990 – Héctor Herrera, Mexican footballer
- 1990 – Ayaka Takahashi, Japanese badminton player
- 1991 – Steve Cook, English footballer