October 19

202 BC – Second Punic War: At the Battle of Zama, Roman legions under Scipio Africanus defeat Hannibal Barca, leader of the army defending Carthage. 439 – The Vandals, led by King Gaiseric, take Carthage in North Africa. 1216 – King John of England dies at Newark-on-Trent and is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry. 1386 – The Universität Heidelberg holds its first lecture, making it the oldest German university. 1453 – Hundred Years' War: Three months after the Battle of Castillon, England loses its last possessions in southern France. 1466 – The Thirteen Years' War between Poland and the Teutonic Order ends with the Second Treaty of Thorn. 1469 – Ferdinand II of Aragon marries Isabella I of Castile, a marriage that paves the way to the unification of Aragon and Castile into a single country, Spain. 1512 – Martin Luther becomes a doctor of theology. 1579 – James VI of Scotland is celebrated as an adult ruler by a festival in Edinburgh. 1596 – The Spanish ship San Felipe runs aground on the coast of Japan and its cargo is confiscated by local authorities 1649 – New Ross town in Ireland surrenders to Oliver Cromwell. 1781 – American Revolutionary War: The siege of Yorktown comes to an end. 1789 – John Jay is sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States. 1805 – War of the Third Coalition: Austrian General Mack surrenders his army to Napoleon at the Battle of Ulm. 1812 – The French invasion of Russia fails when Napoleon begins his retreat from Moscow. 1813 – War of the Sixth Coalition: Napoleon is forced to retreat from Germany after the Battle of Leipzig. 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Cedar Creek ends the last Confederate threat to Washington, DC. 1864 – American Civil War: Confederate agents based in Canada rob three banks in Saint Albans, Vermont. 1866 – In accordance with the Treaty of Vienna, Austria cedes Veneto and Mantua to France, which immediately awards them to Italy in exchange for the earlier Italian acquiescence to the French annexation of Savoy and Nice.