19 Adar

March 8, 1722- Peter the Great of Russia ends tax on "men with beards," a category of people which certainly included Jews.

March 8, 1874- HaRav Dovid (ben Tzvi Elimelech) of Dinov (1804-1874). Rav Dovid was the author of Tzemach Dovid and the son of the Bnei Yissoschar. He succeeded his father as Rebbe in Dinov following the latter's petira in 1841.

February 28,1940- The Arab restriction of the MacDonald White Paper went into effect. The prohibition of sale of land in Eretz Yisrael to Jews was included in this British government policy paper.

March 20, 1949- Following the War of Independance, Israel needed to secure its borders against the hostile Arab nations which surrounded it. The Jewish army captured Ein Gedi, which brought to an end the military engagements of the War of Independence.

Feb. 21, 1973- Israeli fighter planes shot down Libyan Airlines Flight 114 over the Sinai desert, killing more than 100 people.