January 19: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

January 19th is officially Tin Can Day and Popcorn Day.

We’re on day nineteen of the year, and we have 346 days left in 2025.

This day saw major advances in sports, science, transportation and technology throughout the years, and we can’t wait to share them all with you.

Did you know that on this day in 1785, Richard Crosbie became the first Irish man to fly a hot air balloon in Ireland? He was the brother of United Irishman, Sir Edward Crosbie.

Keep reading for more fun & interesting facts about January 19^th in history!

Events

What memorable events happened on January 19 in history? Keep reading to find out!

Jacinda Arden resigned as the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

The Labour Party leader served from 2017 to 2023, during which time she became one of New Zealand’s most influential leaders since World War II.

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Earth-like calcium-rich deposits were found on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity Rover.

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Seven-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, admitted doping during all wins on Oprah Winfrey.

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1993

Production of the Pixar film Toy Story began.

The film was Pixar Animation Studios’ first full-length feature film, as well as the first Pixar-Disney collaboration.

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1983

Apple released the first computer with a graphical user interface (GUI) called the Lisa.

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1977

Miami, Florida, received snow for the first and last time ever.

The temperature dipped below 30°F on this day. A temperature that is rarely seen by the area.

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1971

The Beatles song “Helter Skelter” was played in court as evidence for Charles Manson’s trial.

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1966

Indira Gandhi was elected as India’s fourth Prime Minister.

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1955

The popular board game Scrabble went on sale in the UK.

The word-finding board game was created 17 years prior and initially only for sale in the US.

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1935

Coopers Inc. started selling the world’s first men’s briefs in Chicago.

All 600 pairs of Jockey shorts, as they were known at the time, sold out on the first day. They were so popular that 30,000 pairs were sold across the US over the following three months.

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1883

Thomas Edison’s first overhead electric lighting system began service in Roselle, New Jersey.

The system was part of an experiment to prove that an entire community could be lit up by electricity from a central generating station.

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1861

The state of Georgia seceded from the United States of America.

Georgia was the fifth state to secede, following South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Shortly afterward, Georgia became one of the founding states of the Confederate States of America.

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1795

The Batavian Republic was proclaimed, replacing the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.

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1785

Richard Crosbie became the first Irish man to fly a hot air balloon in Ireland.

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1607

The construction for the San Agustin Church in Manila was officially completed.

It is the oldest stone church still standing in the Philippines.

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Famous Births

Are you celebrating your birthday today? If so, did you know that you share the same birthday as Dolly Parton? See what other famous people were born on this day.

1992

Mac Miller

American

Rapper

Died On:

Sep 7, 2018 (Age 26)

Born In:

Pennsylvania, USA

1946

Dolly Parton

American

Singer

Age:

78 years old

Born In:

Tennessee, USA

1809

Edgar Allan Poe

American

Writer

Died On:

Oct 7, 1849 (Age 40)

Born In:

Massachusetts, USA

1954

Katey Sagal

American

Actress

Age:

70 years old

Born In:

California, USA

Special Holidays

If you can spare some time today, here are some unique holidays you could get involved with.

United States

Tin Can Day

Little thought is given to the importance of the tin can, even though they are responsible for keeping your cupboard food fresh. Tin Can Day is all about appreciating the history behind tin cans. Did you know they previously helped to prevent starvation?

United States

National Popcorn Day

One of the best things about going to the cinema is getting a giant tub of popcorn, but we’re going to let you in on a little secret. You can have popcorn whenever you feel like it – but you should especially eat some popcorn today on Popcorn Day!

THe Fact Site’s

Fun Fact Of The Day

Bi-weekly has two different definitions: Twice a week, or once every two weeks.

Birthday & Zodiac

People who were born on January 19 all share the Capricorn star sign.

Capricorns are ambitious, determined and will consistently apply efforts to any task at hand to get the job done. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, or indeed, how many times they might fail.

Those of you that were born in January have the Garnet birthstone. The garnet is said to bring love, luck, health, loyalty, and friendship to people who are born this month.

If your birthday falls on January 19th, you would’ve likely been conceived around April 28th in the previous year.

Babies conceived on this day will be due around October 12, 2025.