On this day in history - Aug. 19

• 293 BC - Oldest known Roman temple to Venus Libitina founded on the Esquiline Hill; institution of Vinalia Rustica begins.
• 43 BC - Octavian, later Augustus, compels the senate to elect him Consul
• 0014 - Octavian, later Augustus dies. Roman emperor
• 1186 - Geoffrey Plantagenet dies stamped by a horse in atournment. Duke of Brittany,
• 1245 - Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence dies (b. 1195)
• 1284 - Alphonso, Earl of Chester dies (b. 1273). Son of Edward I of England.
  
• 1297 - Saint Louis of Toulouse dies (b. 1274). French Catholic bishop.
• 1398 - Marqués de Santillana was born (d. 1458). Spanish poet.
• 1458 - Início do pontificado do Papa Pio II.
• 1493 - Frederick III, Holly Roman Emperor dies (b. 1415).
• 1504 - Battle of Knockdoe.
• 1557 - Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg was born (d. 1608).
• 1561 - Queen Mary Stuart returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.
• 1580 - Andrea Palladio dies (b. 1508). Italian architect.
• 1590 - Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland was born (d. 1649). English soldier.
• 1596 - Elizabeth Stuart was born (d. 1662).
• 1612 – The "Samlesbury witches", three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England, are put on trial, accused for practising witchcraft, one of the most famous witch trials in English history.
• 1621 - Gerbrand van den Eeckhout was born (d. 1674). Dutch painter.
• 1631 - John Dryden was born (d. 1700). English poet.
• 1646 - John Flamsteed was born (d. 1719). English astronomer who established the Greenwich Observatory, as one of a group of scientists who convinced King Charles II to build a national observatory.
• 1646 - Alexander Henderson dies. Scottish theologian.
• 1662 - Blaise Pascal dies (b. 19 Jun 1623). French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher He laid the foundation for the modern theory of probabilities.
• 1666 - Second Anglo-Dutch War: Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 150 merchant ships, an act later known as "Holmes's Bonfire".
• 1680 - Jean Eudes dies (b. 1601). French catholic priest, founder of the Eudists.
• 1686 - Eustace Budgell was born (d. 1737). English writer.
• 1686 - Nicola Porpora was born (d. 1768). Italian composer.
• 1689 - Samuel Richardson was born (d. 1761). English writer.
• 1692 - Salem witch trials: in Salem, Massachusetts, Province of Massachusetts Bay five people, one woman and four men, including a clergyman, are executed after being convicted of witchcraft.
• 1711 - Edward Boscawen was born (d. 1761). British admiral.
• 1743 - Madame du Barry was born (d. 1793). French courtesan.
• 1745 - Jacobite Rising, Prince Charles Edward Stuart lands from a French warship in Glenfinnan, raises his standard and marches on London - the start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion known as "the 45".
• 1753 - Balthasar Neumann dies (b. 1687). German architect.
• 1768 - Saint Isaac's Cathedral is founded in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
• 1772 - Gustavus III of Sweden stages a Coup d'état, in which he assumes power and enacts a new constitution that divides power between the Riksdag and the King.
• 1782 - Battle of Blue Licks: the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Lord Cornwallis following the Battle of Yorktown.
• 1812 - War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerrière off the coast of Nova Scotia. The British shot is said to have bounced off the Constitution's sides, earning her the nickname "Old Ironsides".
• 1813 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's second triumvirate.
• 1819 - James Watt dies (b. 1736). Scottish inventor.
• 1822 - Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre dies (b. 1749). French mathematician.
• 1839 - Presentation of Jacque Daguerre's new photographic process to the French Academy of Sciences.
• 1846 - Luis Martín was born (d. 1906). Spanish Superior-General of the Society of Jesus.
• 1848 - California Gold Rush: The New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States, that there is a gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).
• 1849 - Joaquim (Aurélio Barreto) Nabuco (de Araújo) was born (d. 17 Jan 1910). Brazilian jornalist, writer and monarchist politician, abolicionist and diplomat. He was one of the founders of Brazilian Academy of Letters (Academia Brasileira de Letras).
• 1853 - Aleksei Brusilov was born (d. 1926). Russian general.
• 1858 - Edith Nesbit was born (d. 1924). English writer (The Railway Children).
• 1861 - First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.
• 1862 - Indian Wars: During an uprising in Minnesota, Lakota warriors decide not to attack heavily-defended Fort Ridgely and instead turn to the settlement of New Ulm, killing white settlers along the way.
• 1870 - Bernard Baruch was born (d. 1965). American financier.
• 1871 - Orville Wright was born (d. 1948). American aviation pioneer.
• 1872 - King Charles XV / Carl IV of Sweden and Norway dies (b. 1826).
• 1875 - Stjepan Seljan was born (d. 1936). Croatian explorer.
• 1878 - Manuel Quezon was born (d. 1944). President of the Philippines.
• 1881 - Georges Enescu was born (d. 1955). Romanian composer.
• 1883 - Coco Chanel was born (d. 1971). French clothing designer.
• 1883 - Elsie Ferguson was born (d. 1961). American film actress.
• 1883 - José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior was born. Portuguese politician.
• 1883 - Jeremiah S. Black dies (b. 1810). American statesman.
• 1889 - Nasce (João Maria) Alves da Cunha (m. 23 Set 1956). Actor português ( Rosa de Alfama (1953) Duas Causas (1952) Feitiço do Império (1940) Tragédia Rústica (1931) Maria do Mar (1930) Lisboa (1930) ).
• 1889 - Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam dies (b. 1838). French writer.
• 1892 - Alfred Lunt was born (d. 1977). American actor.
• 1895 - American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas.
• 1895 - John Wesley Hardin dies (b. 1853). American gunfighter.
• 1896 - Olga Baclanova was born (d. 1974). Russian-born actress.
• 1896 - Início do mandato de Severo Fernández Alonso Caballero na presidência da Bolívia.
• 1898 - Nasce em Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, Francisco (de Moraes) Alves (m. 29 Set 1952). Cantor popular, tido como o "Rei da Voz" e conhecido como "Chico Alves" e "Chico Viola", ("Pé de Anjo"), "Aquarela do Brasil" "Ora Vejam Só". Gravou centenas de discos.
• 1899 - Charlie Hall was born (d. 1959). English comedian actor.
• 1900 - Gilbert Ryle was born (d. 1976). British philosopher.
• 1900 - Jean-Baptiste Accolay dies (b. 1833). Belgian composer.
• 1902 - Ogden Nash was born (d. 1971). American poet.
• 1903 - James Gould Cozzens was born (d. 1978). American novelist.
• 1906 - Philo T. Farnsworth was born (d. 1971). American inventor and television pioneer.
• 1907 - Thurston B. Morton was born (d. 1982). American politician.
• 1912 - Austin Dobson was born (d. 1963). British racing driver.
• 1913 - John Argyris was born (d. 2004). Greek aeronautical engineer, one of the creators of the Finite Element Method.
• 1913 - Richard Simmons was born (d. 2003). American actor.
• 1914 - Aracy de Almeida was born in Encarado, Rio de Janeiro (d. 20 Jun 1988). Brazilian popular singer, sambist.
• 1914 - Lajos Baróti was born (d. 2005). Hungarian footballer and coach.
• 1914 - Franz Xavier Wernz dies (b. 1844). German Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
• 1915 - World War I: The Battle of Van begins.
• 1915 - Ring Lardner, Jr. was born (d. 2000). American journalist and screenwriter.
• 1915 - Alfred Rouleau was born (d. 1985). French Canadian businessman and administrator (Desjardins Group).
• 1916 - Marie Wilson was born (d. 1972). Actress.
• 1918 - Shankar Dayal Sharma was born. President of India (1992-1997).
• 1919 - Afghanistan gains full independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1919 - Malcolm Forbes was born (d. 1990). American publisher.
• 1921 - Gene Roddenberry was born (d. 1991). American television producer.
• 1923 - Vilfredo Pareto dies (b. 1845). Italian economist.
• 1925 - Claude Gauvreau was born (d. 1971). Canadian playwright, poet, and polemicist.
• 1926 - Arthur Rock was born. Venture capitalist.
• 1927 - Metropolitan Sergius proclaimed the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet state.
• 1928 - Bernard Levin was born (d. 2004). English journalist, author, and broadcaster.
• 1928 - Norman Brooks was born (d. 2006). Canadian singer.
• 1929 - Haroldo (Eurico Browne) de Campos was born in São Paulo (d. 2003). Brazilian poet.
• 1929 - The radio comedy show Amos and Andy makes its NBC debut starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll.
• 1929 - Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev dies (b. 19 Mar 1872). Russian ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes.
• 1929 - Diego Rivera / Frida Kahlo wedding.
• 1930 - Frank McCourt was born. Irish-born author.
• 1931 - Willie Shoemaker was born (d. 2003). American jockey.
• 1934 - The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
• 1934 - The creation of the position Führer approved by the German electorate with 89.9% of the popular vote.
• 1934 - Renee Richards was born. American physician.
• 1935 - Bobby Richardson was born. American baseball player.
• 1936 - Federico Garcia Lorca was shot and killed by a Francoist squad on the outskirts of Grenada and buried in an unmarked grave along with 3 other prisoners (b. 1898). Spanish author. His dramatic works included "Blood Wedding," "Yerma," Dona Rosita the Spinster," and "The House of Bernarda Alba").
• 1938 - Diana Muldaur was born. American actress, dog breeder, and dog judge.
• 1939 - Ginger Baker was born. English musician.
• 1939 - Alan Baker was born in London. British mathematician, who was awarded the Fields Medal in 1970.
• 1940 - Johnny Nash was born. American singer.
• 1940 - Jill St. John was born. American actress.
• 1942 - World War II: Operation Jubilee - The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division leads an allied forces amphibious assault on Dieppe, France.
• 1942 - Fred Thompson was born. American politician, Senator from Tennessee.
• 1943 - Billy J. Kramer was born. British singer.
• 1944 - World War II: Liberation of Paris - Paris rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.
• 1944 - Bodil Malmsten was born. Swedish writer.
• 1944 - Charles B. Wang was born. Chinese-born philanthropist.
• 1944 - Günther von Kluge dies (b. 1882). German field marshal.
• 1945 - Vietnam War: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• 1945 - Ian Gillan was born. English singer (Deep Purple).
• 1945 - Tomas Burgos dies (b. 1875). Chilean philanthropist.
• 1946 - Bill Clinton was born. 42nd President of the United States.
• 1946 - Beat Raaflaub was born. Swiss conductor.
• 1946 - Dawn Steel was born (d. 1997). American film producer.
• 1947 - Terry Hoeppner was born (d. 2007). American football coach.
• 1947 - J. Arens and D. van Villages synthetised vitamin A.
• 1947 - Gerard Schwarz was born. American conductor.
• 1947 - James Hunt was born. Formula 1 car driver.
• 1948 - Tipper Gore was born. Former Second Lady of the United States.
• 1948 - Gerald McRaney was born. American actor.
• 1950 - Jennie Bond was born. British journalist.
• 1950 - Giovanni Giorgi dies (b. 1871). Italian physicist.
• 1951 - John Deacon was born. English musician (Queen).
• 1952 - Jonathan Frakes was born. American actor and director.
• 1953 - Cold War: The CIA helps to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
• 1953 - Nanni Moretti was born. Italian film actor, director and producer.
• 1954 - Oscar Larrauri was born. Argentine racing driver.
• 1954 - Alcide De Gasperi dies (b. 1881). Prime Minister of Italy.
• 1955 - In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.
• 1955 - Ned Yost was born. American baseball player and manager.
• 1955 - Peter Gallagher was born. American actor.
• 1956 - Adam Arkin was born. American actor.
• 1957 - Li-Young Lee was born. Indonesia-born American poet.
• 1956 - Adam Arkin was born. American actor.
• 1957 - David Bomberg dies (b. 1890). English painter.
• 1957 - Carl-Gustaf Rossby dies (b. 1898). Swedish meteorologist.
• 1958 - Anthony Muñoz was born. American football player.
• 1958 - Gary Gaetti was born. American baseball player.
• 1959 - Jacob Epstein dies (b. 1880). American-born sculptor.
• 1960 - Cold War: In Moscow, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
• 1960 - Sputnik program: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 5 with the dogs Belka and Strelka (Russian for "Squirrel" and "Little Arrow"), 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants. The spacecraft returned to earth the next day and all animals were recovered safely.
• 1960 - Morten Andersen was born. American football player.
• 1961 - The Australian public-affairs show Four Corners starts on the ABC.
• 1961 - Jonathan Coe was born. British author.
• 1962 - Tammy Bruce was born. American political commentator.
• 1962 - Valérie Kaprisky was born. French actress.
• 1963 - Yip Sai Wing was born. Hong Kong musician (Beyond).
• 1963 - Joey Tempest was born. Swedish singer (Europe).
• 1963 - John Stamos was born. American actor.
• 1963 - Marcos Palmeira (de Paula) was born in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian actor.
• 1964 - Whitney Prescott was born. American model.
• 1965 - Japanese prime minister Eisaku Sato becomes the first post-[[World War II] sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa.
• 1965 - Kevin Dillon was born. Actor.
• 1965 - Kyra Sedgwick was born.American actress.
• 1965 - Maria de Medeiros was born in Lisbon. Portuguese actress and director / Nasce, em Lisboa, Maria de Medeiros. Actriz e realizadora portuguesa. Estreia em "Silvestre", 1982; Volpi Cup de Actriz no Festival de Veneza por "Três Irmãos" (1994). Globo de Ouro em 1996 por Adão e Eva.
• 1966 - Heloísa Perissé was born. Brazilian actress.
• 1966 - Lee Ann Womack was born. Ccountry music musician.
• 1967 - Hugo Gernsback dies (b. 1884). Luxembourg-born editor and publisher.
• 1968 - Nikolaos Kaklamanakis was born. Greek windsurfer, gold medalist.
• 1968 - George Gamow dies (b. 1904). Ukrainian-born physicist.
• 1969 - Matthew Perry was born. Canadian actor.
• 1969 - Nate Dogg was born. American rapper.
• 1969 - Clay Walker was born. American singer.
• 1969 - Patrick Van Horn was born. American actor.
• 1969 - Kirk Herbstreit was born. American football analyst (College GameDay).
• 1969 - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe dies (b. 1886). German architect.
• 1970 - Paweł Jasienica dies (b. 1909). Polish historian.
• 1971 - João Vieira Pinto was born. Portuguese soccer player / Nasce João (Manuel Vieira) Pinto. Futebolista internacional português que representa actualmente o Braga.
• 1972 - Roberto Abbondanzieri was born. Argentine football player (goalkeeper).
• 1972 - Sammi Cheng Sau Man was born. Hong Kong singer and actress.
• 1973 - Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway was born.
• 1973 - Marco Materazzi was born. Italian footballer, 2006 World Champion by Italy.
• 1973 - Lilian Garcia was born. Professional wrestling announcer.
• 1973 - Penélope Nova was born. Brazilian TV presenter.
• 1973 - Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway was born.
• 1973 - Callum Blue was born. British actor.
• 1973 - Georgios Papadopoulos takes place on Presidency of Greece.
• 1975 - The cricket test match between England and Australia is called off after the pitch is vandalised by supporters of George Davis.
• 1975 - Tracie Thoms was born. American actress.
• 1975 - Jim Londos dies (b. 1897). Wrestler.
• 1976 - Alastair Sim dies (b. 1900). Scottish actor and rector of Edinburgh University.
• 1977 - Iban Mayo was born. Spanish cyclist.
• 1977 - Groucho Marx dies (b. 1890). American comedian and actor.
• 1978 - Chris Capuano was born. American baseball player.
• 1979 - Oumar Kondé was born. Swiss footballer.
• 1979 - Dave Douglas was born. American musician (Relient K).
• 1979 - Jennifer Morrison was born. American actress.
• 1979 - Dorsey Burnette dies (b. 1932). American singer.
• 1979 - Odylo Costa Fº dies (b. 14 Dez 1914). Brazilian journalist, writer and poet.
  
• 1980 - Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.
• 1980 - Darius Danesh was born. Scottish singer-songwriter and actor.
• 1980 - Jun Jin was born. Korean rapper (Shinhwa).
• 1980 - Otto Frank dies (b. 1889). Father of Anne Frank.
• 1980 - Darius Danesh was born. Scottish singer.
• 1981 - Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi sends two Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets to take on a couple of United States fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. The American jets destroyed the Libyan fighters.
• 1981 - Arqueólogos do Gabinete de Sines põem a descoberto na ilha do Pessegueiro uma estação arqueológica romana considerada de grande importância.
• 1981 - Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
• 1982 - Erika Christensen was born. American actress.
• 1982 - J.J. Hardy was born. American baseball player.
• 1982 - Erika Christensen was born. American actress.
• 1982 - August Neo dies (b. 1908). Estonian wrestler.
• 1983 - Missy Higgins was born. Australian singer-songwriter.
• 1983 - Tammin Sursok was born. Australian actress.
• 1983 - Mike Conway was born. British racing driver.
• 1984 - Micah Alberti was born. American actor.
• 1984 - Ryan Taylor was born. English footballer.
• 1985 - Megan Rochell was born. American singer.
• 1986 - Rúben Micael was born. Portuguese footballer.
• 1986 - Saori Kimura was born. Japanese volleyball player.
• 1987 - Hungerford Massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with an assault rifle and then commits suicide.
• 1987 - Anais Lameche was born. Swedish singer (Play).
• 1987 - Ileana D'Cruz was born. Indian actress.
• 1987 - Richard Stearman was born. English footballer.
• 1988 - Travis Tedford was born. American actor.
• 1989 - Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be Prime Minister, thus Mazowiecki becoming the first non-communist to come to power in Poland in 42 years.
• 1989 - Raid on offshore pirate station, Radio Caroline in North Sea by British and Dutch governments.
• 1989 - Lil Romeo was born. American rapper and actor.
• 1990 - Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
• 1991 - Collapse of the Soviet Union, August Coup: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Crimea.
• 1991 – Hurricane Bob hits the Northeast.
• 1991 - Shaun Anich was born. American baseball player.
• 1991 - (Luís Filipe) Lindley Cintra dies (b. 1925). Portuguese professor and philologist.
• 1994 - Linus (Carl) Pauling dies (b. 28 Feb 1901). American physicist, chemist and author who was recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Peace.
• 1995 - Pierre Schaeffer dies. French composer.
• 1996 - Vera Lagoa dies. Portuguese journalist and writer.
• 1996 - Jofre Soares dies (b. 1922). Brazilian actor.
• 1997 - The Teamsters end their 15-day walkout against United Parcel Service.
• 1998 - Ella Guevara was born. Filipino child actress.
• 1999 - In Belgrade, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević.
• 2000 - Lola Vilar dies. Peruvian actress.
• 2000 - Antonio Pugliese dies (b. 1941). Italian professional wrestler.
• 2000 - Bineshwar Brahma dies. Bodo literateur and religious figure.
• 2001 - Betty Everett dies (b. 1939). American singer and pianist.
• 2001 - Donald Woods dies (b. 1933). South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.
• 2002 - A Russian Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny killing 118 soldiers.
• 2002 - Eduardo Chillida dies. Spanish sculptor.
• 2003 - A car-bomb attack on UN headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employers.
• 2003 - A Hamas planned suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem kills 23 Israelis, 7 of them children in the Jerusalem bus 2 massacre.
• 2003 - Carlos Roberto Reina dies (b. 1926). President of Honduras.
• 2003 - Francisco Carlos dies (b. 1928). Brazilian singer and actor.
• 2003 - Sérgio Vieira de Mello dies (b. 1948). Brazilian diplomat.
• 2005 - The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins.
• 2005 - A series of strong storms lashes Southern Ontario spawning several tornadoes as well as creating extreme flash flooding within the city of Toronto and its surrounding communities. In Toronto, it is also dubbed as the Toronto Supercell.
• 2005 - Bueno de Mesquita dies (b. 1918). Dutch comedian and actor.
• 2005 - Mo Mowlam dies (b. 1949). British politician.
• 2008 – LeRoi Moore dies (b. 1961). American musician (Dave Matthews Band).
• 2008 - Levy Mwanawasa dies (b. 1948). Zambian politician.
• 2009 – A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others.
• 2008 – LeRoi Moore, American musician (Dave Matthews Band) (b. 1961)
• 2009 – Don Hewitt dies (b. 1922). Television news producer & director; creator of 60 Minutes.
• Independence Day, commemorates the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919, granting independence from Britain (Afghanistan).
• Manuel Luis Quezón Day (Quezon City).
• National Aviation Day (United States).
• Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Saviour's Transfiguration, popularly known as the "Apples Feast" (it's the first day of the year when eating apples is allowed).
• World Humanitarian Day (International).