Britannica On This Day October 19 2023

This Day in History: October 19

Featured Event

1781







Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
On this day in 1781, Britain's Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, handing a huge victory to American General George Washington and effectively ending the American Revolution and assuring America's independence.

American Revolution
United States history




American Revolution, also called United States War of Independence or American Revolutionary War, (1775–83), insurrection by which 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies won political independence and went on to form the United States of America. The war followed more than a decade of growing estrangement between the British crown and a large and influential segment of its North American colonies that was caused by British attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs after having long adhered to a policy of salutary neglect. Until early in 1778 the conflict was a civil war within the British Empire, but ...(100 of 5767 words)


see all related content

Featured Biography

Peter Tosh
Jamaican singer and songwriter




Peter Tosh, original name Winston Hubert McIntosh, (born October 19, 1944, Grange Hill, Jamaica—died September 11, 1987, Kingston), Jamaican singer-songwriter and a founding member of the Wailers, a popular reggae band of the 1960s and early 1970s.


Tosh, Bob Marley, and Bunny Wailer formed the Wailers in 1963 in the Kingston ghetto of Trench Town. In addition to his rich baritone, Tosh brought to the Wailers his versatile musicianship and songs such as “Get Up, Stand Up” (written with Marley) and “Stop That Train.” An aggressive defender of the principals of Rastafari (Rastafarianism) and a militant opponent of the political establishment, Tosh carried himself with bravado and was long associated with the dignity-demanding song “Stepping Razor.” By 1974, jealous of the attention focused on Marley as the Wailers’ popularity grew, Tosh, like Wailer before him, left the group to pursue a solo career. His albums—most notably Legalize It (1976), Equal Rights (1977), and No Nuclear War (1987)—featured uncompromising political messages about subjects ranging from the legalization of marijuana to the abuse of power. His work earned the respect of fans and fellow musicians—he was a favourite of the Rolling Stones and recorded a duet with Mick Jagger, “(You Gotta Walk) Don’t Look Back” (1978)—but incurred the enmity of the authorities he criticized. He was badly beaten by police during his arrest for possession of marijuana in 1978. Nine years later Tosh was murdered in his home. He posthumously received the Jamaican Order of Merit in 2012.


see all related content