In a special edition of Life (maybe it was their last year-end edition) there was a one-page item that I just came across that says the following:
The story goes on to talk about how the Chandra X-Ray Observatory picked up x-ray transmissions from this event.
Is this a misprint? How could information about an event that occurred 190,000 light-years away reach us in only 1,000 years?
Must be a misprint.
Unless they mean the event has been observable for 100 years 
sorry, 1000 years of course
Maybe they meant the light from 190,000 reached us 1000 years ago, not that it happened 1000 years ago.
Enola is right. Event dates are based on when the light reaches Earth – and, if any records exist, when the observation was made. Here’s an example of how such events or objects are described:
Here’s a clear explanation of the event in the SMC in the OP.