site.btaObservances: November 19

The world:

- World Toilet Day;

- National Day of Monaco: Saint Rainier's Day (1857).

Bulgaria:

- Ground Forces Day.

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1869: The first issue of the "Svoboda" ("Freedom") newspaper is published in Bucharest (old style date: November 7). It is the newspaper of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee and is edited by Lyuben Karavelov.

1903: The first specialized maternity hospital is inaugurated in Sofia.

1910: Printing workers go on general strike. The action continues until January 23, 1911.

1962: The National Assembly elects Todor Zhivkov as Prime Minister.

2001: A monument to Dimitar Peshev is unveiled in Kyustendil, Southwestern Bulgaria. As Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly between 1938 and 1944, Peshev contributed to the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

2004: Contracts are signed at the Council of Ministers, under which Czech energy company CEZ acquires a 67% stake in three electricity distribution companies in Western Bulgaria. This is one of the biggest privatization deals in Bulgaria.

2007: A ferry service is launched across the Danube River between Silistra in Bulgaria and Calarasi in Romania.