February 20 » The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
March 16 » King Gustav III of Sweden is shot; he dies on March 29.
April 21 » Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement for Brazil's independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
April 25 » Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.
May 11 » Robert Gray commands the first expedition to sail into the Columbia River.
October 12 » The first celebration of Columbus Day is held in New York City.
Day of death February 19, 1878
The temperature on February 19, 1878 was about 10.8 °C. The air pressure was 2 kgf/m2 and came mainly from the west-southwest. The airpressure was 77 cm mercury. The atmospheric humidity was 73%. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from November 3, 1877 to August 20, 1879 the cabinet Kappeijne van de Coppello, with Mr. J. Kappeijne van de Coppello (liberaal) as prime minister.
January 4 » Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule and designated the capital of Liberated Bulgaria.
February 21 » The first telephone directory is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.
June 10 » League of Prizren is established, to oppose the decisions of the Congress of Berlin and the Treaty of San Stefano, as a consequence of which the Albanian lands in the Balkans were being partitioned and given to the neighbor states of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece.
July 1 » Canada joins the Universal Postal Union.
July 13 » Treaty of Berlin: The European powers redraw the map of the Balkans. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania become completely independent of the Ottoman Empire.
December 18 » The Al-Thani family become the rulers of the state of Qatar.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I514707.php : accessed February 2, 2026), "Joseph Robbertse (1792-1878)".
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