On this day: March 19
Executions at Salem Increase Amid 1692 Witchcraft Panic
On March 19, 1692, prosecutions and executions in the Salem witch trials intensified as additional accused were held and some condemned, reflecting escalating fear, legal changes, and social tensions in colonial Massachusetts.
Death warrants signed in the Salem witch trials
On March 19, 1692, authorities in colonial Massachusetts signed death warrants for five accused witches, marking a grim escalation in the Salem witch trials that led to executions later that year.
The 1927 Mass Methanol Poisonings in Poland
On March 19, 1927, Polish authorities recorded a large outbreak of methanol poisoning tied to adulterated industrial alcohol sold as beverage spirit, marking one of the first documented mass alcohol-poisoning incidents in the interwar period.
How the 1884 London milk scandal exposed the first major case of mass food adulteration
On March 19, 1884, investigations into contaminated milk in London revealed widespread adulteration practices—dilution, chemical preservatives and dangerous additives—prompting public outcry and spurring early food safety reforms in Britain.