What Happened on April 19?

April 19 is Patriots' Day in Massachusetts and Maine — marking the 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord — and the date of the first Boston Marathon in 1897 and the Oklahoma City bombing memorial in 1995.

• 1775 — Battles of Lexington and Concord begin the American Revolutionary War

  On April 19, 1775, British redcoats clashed with colonial militia at Lexington Green and Concord — the 'shot heard round the world' that started open war for independence. Read the full story →

• 1775 — Colonial militia besiege British troops in Boston after Lexington and Concord

  After the April 19 battles, thousands of militiamen surrounded Boston — trapping British soldiers inside the city and beginning an eleven-month siege. Read the full story →

• 1897 — The first Boston Marathon is run on Patriots' Day

  Fifteen runners started the inaugural Boston Marathon on April 19, 1897 — inspired by the 1896 Olympics and timed to Patriots' Day celebrations in Massachusetts. Read the full story →

• 1943 — The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins against Nazi forces

  On April 19, 1943, Jewish fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto resisted German troops sent to deport remaining residents to death camps — the largest armed revolt by Jews during the Holocaust. Read the full story →

• 1989 — An explosion aboard the USS Iowa kills 47 sailors

  During gunnery exercises on April 19, 1989, a blast in the battleship USS Iowa's number-two turret killed 47 crew members — one of the U.S. Navy's deadliest peacetime accidents. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Tim Curry (1946) · Ashley Judd (1968) · James Hamilton Jr. (1786–1857) · Kate Hudson (1979)

Days & observances

Patriots' Day · National Garlic Day · National Hanging Out Day · Bicycle Day