19 October 1691

A Friday in history

Weekday

Friday

Season

Autumn (N. Hemisphere)

Century

17th century

Records

422

  1. 2017

    Canadian astronomer Robert Weryk discovered ʻOumuamua (depicted), the first known interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System.

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  2. 2013

    British YouTube collective the Sidemen were formed as a Rockstar Games Social Club group in Grand Theft Auto Online.

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  3. 2005

    Hurricane Wilma (pictured) became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 882 mbar (26.05 inHg).

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  4. 1988

    The British government restricted the broadcast of the voices of representatives from Sinn Féin and several Irish republican and loyalist paramilitary groups on television and radio.

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  5. 1987

    Iran–Iraq War: U.S. Navy forces destroyed two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf in response to an Iranian missile attack on a Kuwaiti oil tanker three days earlier.

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  6. 1987

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22.6 percent on Black Monday, the largest one-day percentage decline in the stock market index's history.

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  7. 1965

    A group of ethnic Hutu military officers failed in their attempt to overthrow the Burundian government.

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  8. 1965

    Vietnam War: The Siege of Plei Me began with the first major confrontation between soldiers of the North Vietnamese Army and the U.S. Army.

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  9. 1955

    At a meeting of its general assembly, the European Broadcasting Union approved the staging of the first Eurovision Song Contest.

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  10. 1944

    The Guatemalan Revolution began with a small group of army officers led by Francisco Javier Arana and Jacobo Árbenz launching a coup against dictator Jorge Ubico.

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  11. 1943

    World War II: Allied aircraft sank the German cargo ship Sinfra, killing mostly Italian POWs.

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  12. 1914

    First World War: Allied forces began engaging German troops at the First Battle of Ypres.

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  13. 1864

    American Civil War: Despite incurring nearly twice as many casualties as the Confederates, the Union army emerged victorious at the Battle of Cedar Creek.

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  14. 1781

    American Revolutionary War: British forces led by Lord Cornwallis officially surrendered to Franco-American forces under George Washington and the comte de Rochambeau, ending the Siege of Yorktown.

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  15. 1752

    The Pennsylvania Gazette published a statement by Benjamin Franklin describing a kite experiment (depicted) to determine the electrical nature of lightning.

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  16. 1596

    The Spanish ship San Felipe was shipwrecked on the Japanese island of Shikoku, and its cargo confiscated by the local daimyo.

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  17. 1579

    A ceremony was held in Edinburgh marking the coming of age of James VI of Scotland as an adult ruler.

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Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.