August 19
14 - Caesar Augustus, Rome’s first emperor, died at age 76 after a reign lasting four decades; he was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius.
1812 - The U.S. frigate Constitution (Old Ironsides) defeated the British ship Guerriere during the War of 1812.
1814 - During the War of 1812, British forces landed at Benedict, Maryland, with the objective of capturing Washington D.C.
1848 - The New York Herald reported the discovery of gold in California.
1934 - Germans voted to combine the roles of chancellor and president, making Adolf Hitler Fuhrer.
1942 - During World War II, about 6,000 Canadian and British soldiers launched a disastrous raid against the Germans at Dieppe, France, suffering more than 50-percent casualties.
1955 - Torrential rains caused by Hurricane Diane resulted in severe flooding in the northeastern U.S., claiming some 200 lives.
1960 - American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was convicted of espionage in Moscow. (Although sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, Powers was returned to the United States in 1962 as part of a prisoner exchange.)
1977 - Comedian Groucho Marx died in Los Angeles at age 86.
1987 - A gun collector ran through Hungerford, England, 60 miles west of London, killing 16 people, including his mother, before turning his gun on himself.
2003 - U.N. special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello as one of 22 killed when a suicide car bomb struck the UN's Baghdad headquarters.
2010 - The last American combat brigade exited Iraq, seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion began.
2020 - Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president in a speech to the party’s virtual convention, cementing her place in history as the first Black woman on a major party ticket.
2020 - Apple became the first U.S. company to boast a market value of $2 trillion, just two years after becoming the first U.S. company with a $1 trillion market value.
2021 - As the Taliban moved to consolidate their rule less than a week after seizing power in Afghanistan, they violently dispersed scattered protests for a second day. At Kabul’s airport, military evacuation flights continued for Americans and others seeking to leave, but access to the airport remained difficult.
2021 - A standoff in Texas over new voting restrictions that gridlocked the state Capitol for 38 consecutive days ended when some Democrats who fled to Washington dropped their holdout, paving the way for Republicans to resume pushing an elections overhaul. (The overhaul would win legislative approval on Aug. 31.)
Birthdays
20 - Brighton Sharbino (actress)
23 - Salem Ilese (singer)
23 - Ethan Cutkosky (actor)
26 - Katja Glieson (singer)
33 - Romeo (rapper)
36 - Christina Perri (singer)
37 - J. Evan Bonifant (actor)
37 - Lindsey Jacobellis (snowboarder)
39 - Peter Mooney (acto)
39 - Missy Higgins (singer)
39 - Tammin Sursok (actress)
40 - Melissa Fumero (actress)
40 - Erika Christensen (actress)
45 - Callum Blue (actor)
47 - Tracie Thomas (actress)
51 - Mary Jo Fernandez (tennis player)
52 - Fat Joe (rapper)
53 - Clay Walker (singer)
53 - Matthew Perry (actor)
56 - Lee Ann Womack (singer)
57 - Kevin Dillon (actor)
57 - Kyra Sedgwick (actress)
59 - John Stamos (actor)
60 - Eric Lutes (actor)
64 - Anthony Munoz (football player)
65 - Martin Donovan (actor)
65 - Gary Chapman (singer)
66 - Adam Arkin (actor)
67 - Peter Gallagher (actor)
69 - Mary Matalin (political consultant)
70 - Jonathan Frakes (actor)
74 - Jim Carter (actor)
75 - Gerald McRaney (actor)
76 - Bill Clinton (42nd president of the United States)
79 - Billy J. Kramer (singer)
82 - Jill St. John (actress)
84 - Diana Muldaur (actress)
87 - Bobby Richardson (baseball player)
89 - Debra Paget (actress)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - August 19
1909 - The first car race to be run on brick occurred at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
1917 - Team managers John McGraw and Christy Matthewson were arrested for breaking New York City's blue laws. The crime was their teams were playing baseball on Sunday.
1921 - Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers recorded his 3,000th career hit.
1951 - The St. Louis Browns sent a midget to the plate against the Detroit Tigers. Eddie Gaedel, wearing the number 1/8 and standing only 3 feet, 7 inches tall, walked on four consecutive pitches and was then replaced by a pinch-runner.
1957 - The New York Giants Board of Directors voted to move the team to San Francisco in 1958.
1962 - Homero Blancas shot a 55 at the Premier Invitational Golf Tournament held in Longview, TX. It was the lowest score in U.S. competitive golf history.
1995 - Bobby Thigpen (Chicago White Sox) got his 40th save of season and became the eighth and fastest to record 40 saves in a season.
1995 - Mike Tyson knocked out Peter McNeeley after just 89 seconds.
1996 - Paul Molitor (Minnesota Twins) tied Lou Gherig by hitting his 534th career double.
2004 - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig received a contract extension through 2009.
2004 - US gymnast Carly Patterson becomes the 2nd American woman to win the all-around gold medal, and 1st to win at a non-boycotted Olympic games, when she takes gold in Athens.
14 - Caesar Augustus, Rome’s first emperor, died at age 76 after a reign lasting four decades; he was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius.
1812 - The U.S. frigate Constitution (Old Ironsides) defeated the British ship Guerriere during the War of 1812.
1814 - During the War of 1812, British forces landed at Benedict, Maryland, with the objective of capturing Washington D.C.
1848 - The New York Herald reported the discovery of gold in California.
1934 - Germans voted to combine the roles of chancellor and president, making Adolf Hitler Fuhrer.
1942 - During World War II, about 6,000 Canadian and British soldiers launched a disastrous raid against the Germans at Dieppe, France, suffering more than 50-percent casualties.
1955 - Torrential rains caused by Hurricane Diane resulted in severe flooding in the northeastern U.S., claiming some 200 lives.
1960 - American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was convicted of espionage in Moscow. (Although sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, Powers was returned to the United States in 1962 as part of a prisoner exchange.)
1977 - Comedian Groucho Marx died in Los Angeles at age 86.
1987 - A gun collector ran through Hungerford, England, 60 miles west of London, killing 16 people, including his mother, before turning his gun on himself.
2003 - U.N. special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello as one of 22 killed when a suicide car bomb struck the UN's Baghdad headquarters.
2010 - The last American combat brigade exited Iraq, seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion began.
2020 - Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president in a speech to the party’s virtual convention, cementing her place in history as the first Black woman on a major party ticket.
2020 - Apple became the first U.S. company to boast a market value of $2 trillion, just two years after becoming the first U.S. company with a $1 trillion market value.
2021 - As the Taliban moved to consolidate their rule less than a week after seizing power in Afghanistan, they violently dispersed scattered protests for a second day. At Kabul’s airport, military evacuation flights continued for Americans and others seeking to leave, but access to the airport remained difficult.
2021 - A standoff in Texas over new voting restrictions that gridlocked the state Capitol for 38 consecutive days ended when some Democrats who fled to Washington dropped their holdout, paving the way for Republicans to resume pushing an elections overhaul. (The overhaul would win legislative approval on Aug. 31.)
Birthdays
20 - Brighton Sharbino (actress)
23 - Salem Ilese (singer)
23 - Ethan Cutkosky (actor)
26 - Katja Glieson (singer)
33 - Romeo (rapper)
36 - Christina Perri (singer)
37 - J. Evan Bonifant (actor)
37 - Lindsey Jacobellis (snowboarder)
39 - Peter Mooney (acto)
39 - Missy Higgins (singer)
39 - Tammin Sursok (actress)
40 - Melissa Fumero (actress)
40 - Erika Christensen (actress)
45 - Callum Blue (actor)
47 - Tracie Thomas (actress)
51 - Mary Jo Fernandez (tennis player)
52 - Fat Joe (rapper)
53 - Clay Walker (singer)
53 - Matthew Perry (actor)
56 - Lee Ann Womack (singer)
57 - Kevin Dillon (actor)
57 - Kyra Sedgwick (actress)
59 - John Stamos (actor)
60 - Eric Lutes (actor)
64 - Anthony Munoz (football player)
65 - Martin Donovan (actor)
65 - Gary Chapman (singer)
66 - Adam Arkin (actor)
67 - Peter Gallagher (actor)
69 - Mary Matalin (political consultant)
70 - Jonathan Frakes (actor)
74 - Jim Carter (actor)
75 - Gerald McRaney (actor)
76 - Bill Clinton (42nd president of the United States)
79 - Billy J. Kramer (singer)
82 - Jill St. John (actress)
84 - Diana Muldaur (actress)
87 - Bobby Richardson (baseball player)
89 - Debra Paget (actress)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - August 19
1909 - The first car race to be run on brick occurred at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
1917 - Team managers John McGraw and Christy Matthewson were arrested for breaking New York City's blue laws. The crime was their teams were playing baseball on Sunday.
1921 - Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers recorded his 3,000th career hit.
1951 - The St. Louis Browns sent a midget to the plate against the Detroit Tigers. Eddie Gaedel, wearing the number 1/8 and standing only 3 feet, 7 inches tall, walked on four consecutive pitches and was then replaced by a pinch-runner.
1957 - The New York Giants Board of Directors voted to move the team to San Francisco in 1958.
1962 - Homero Blancas shot a 55 at the Premier Invitational Golf Tournament held in Longview, TX. It was the lowest score in U.S. competitive golf history.
1995 - Bobby Thigpen (Chicago White Sox) got his 40th save of season and became the eighth and fastest to record 40 saves in a season.
1995 - Mike Tyson knocked out Peter McNeeley after just 89 seconds.
1996 - Paul Molitor (Minnesota Twins) tied Lou Gherig by hitting his 534th career double.
2004 - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig received a contract extension through 2009.
2004 - US gymnast Carly Patterson becomes the 2nd American woman to win the all-around gold medal, and 1st to win at a non-boycotted Olympic games, when she takes gold in Athens.
