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Today in History, April 19th

On April 19, 1775, the American Revolution began at Lexington and Concord. Plus the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Oklahoma City bombing.

By Today in History Updated November 10, 2026 3 min read Sources checked

Published April 19, 2026 · Last updated November 10, 2026

April 19 is best known as the day in 1775 when the American Revolution began with gunfire at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The date also saw the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begin in 1943 and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

The big story: The Shots at Lexington and Concord (1775)

On April 18, 1775, General Thomas Gage sent about 700 British troops out of Boston toward the town of Concord. Riders spread the alarm ahead of them. At dawn on April 19 the column reached Lexington, where Captain John Parker stood on the green with 77 armed minutemen. Major John Pitcairn ordered them to break up. A shot rang out, and who fired it first is still debated. When the smoke cleared, eight Americans were dead or dying and 10 were wounded, against one injured British soldier. The redcoats pushed on and reached Concord around 7 a.m., only to find hundreds of armed colonists gathering around them. The 16-mile march back to Boston turned into a running fight, with militiamen firing from behind trees, rocks and stone walls. By the end of the day, nearly 300 British soldiers were dead, wounded or missing, while the Americans had fewer than 100 casualties. A dispute over taxes and rights had become a war.

More events on April 19

Year	What happened
1824	The poet Lord Byron died in Greece, where he had gone to support the Greek fight for independence.
1861	A pro-secession mob in Baltimore attacked Massachusetts troops heading to Washington. Four soldiers and 12 rioters died, the first bloodshed of the Civil War.
1897	The first Boston Marathon was run. John J. McDermott of New York won in 2:55:10.
1943	Jewish fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto opened fire on Nazi forces sent to clear it, starting an uprising that lasted about four weeks.
1947	President Harry Truman opened a two-lane bowling alley in the White House West Wing, a gift paid for by fellow Missourians.
1987	The Simpsons made their TV debut in a short segment on The Tracey Ullman Show.
1993	A 51-day standoff between federal agents and the Branch Davidians near Waco, Texas, ended when their compound burned. About 80 members died.
1995	A truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killed 168 people, then the worst act of terrorism in U.S. history.
2005	Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope and took the name Benedict XVI.
2018	King Mswati III announced that Swaziland would be renamed the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Born on April 19

1935: Dudley Moore, British comedian, musician and actor, star of 10 and Arthur.
1957: Mukesh Ambani, Indian business magnate and chairman of Reliance Industries.
1987: Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis star who completed a career Grand Slam.