COUNTDOWN TO NOVEMBER 19TH

November 19th

Words that defined a nation — honoring Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, plus a Moon landing and global observances.

--Days
--Hours
--Minutes
--Seconds

Next: Thursday, November 19, 2026.

What Makes This Day Special

November 19th
Significance

📜

The Gettysburg Address (1863)

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the battle there. His remarks lasted about two minutes and run to roughly 270 words, depending on which of the five known manuscripts is used. Opening with "Four score and seven years ago," Lincoln tied the war to the Declaration of Independence's principle that "all men are created equal" and closed with the hope that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

🚽

World Toilet Day

November 19 is World Toilet Day, a United Nations observance that raises awareness of the billions of people living without safely managed sanitation. It was started in 2001 by the World Toilet Organization and became an official UN day in 2013. The day supports the UN goal of sanitation for all by 2030.

🙋‍♂️

International Men's Day

International Men's Day is observed on November 19 in many countries. It was revived in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago by Jerome Teelucksingh, who chose the date in part because it was his father's birthday. The day focuses on men's and boys' health, positive role models and gender equality.

Historical Events

This Day
in History

1863

Lincoln Delivers the Gettysburg Address

Lincoln was invited to give "a few appropriate remarks" after the main oration by Edward Everett, who spoke for about two hours. The Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 had been the bloodiest of the Civil War, with roughly 50,000 casualties. Everett later wrote to Lincoln: "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."

1969

Apollo 12 Lands on the Moon

Apollo 12 astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad and Alan Bean landed in the Ocean of Storms, becoming the third and fourth people to walk on the Moon. They touched down about 600 feet from the Surveyor 3 probe, which had landed in 1967, showing NASA could make precise landings. Over two moonwalks lasting nearly eight hours, they collected about 75 pounds of lunar samples. Conrad's first words were "Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me."

1959

Ford Ends the Edsel

Ford announced it would stop making the Edsel, which had been launched in 1957 for the 1958 model year after heavy promotion and an investment widely reported at around $250 million. Unpopular styling, quality problems and a recession kept sales far below expectations. The Edsel is still often cited as a classic example of a product failure.

1889

Brazil Adopts Its National Flag

Four days after the proclamation of the republic, Brazil adopted its current national flag on November 19, 1889, with the motto "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress). The stars on the blue globe show the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of November 15, 1889. November 19 is celebrated in Brazil as Flag Day (Dia da Bandeira).