19 September It Happened Today
1356 English forces defeat the French at the Battle of Poitiers.
1876 The carpet sweeper is patented by American inventor Melville Bissell.
1881 Death of US president James Abram Garfield, who had been shot on 2 July.
1905 Death of Thomas Barnardo, Irish founder of the homes for destitute children.
1911 Birth of English novelist Sir William Golding.
1943 Birth of American singer “Mama Cass” Elliot.
1948 Birth of English actor Jeremy Irons.
1968 Death of the American inventor of Xerox photocopying Chester Carlson.
