# What happened on August 19 in history?

**Date:** August 19  
**Events recorded:** 60  
**Years spanned:** 295 BC – 2017  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/august/19/

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## Featured Event

**2013** — The Dhamara Ghat train accident kills at least 37 people in the Indian state of Bihar.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhamara_Ghat_train_accident)

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## Events on this date

- **295 BC** — The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_(mythology)))
- **43 BC** — In the wake of the murder of Julius Caesar, his nephew and heir, Octavian, uses the threat of military force to compel the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar))
- **947** — Abu Yazid, a Kharijite rebel leader, is defeated and killed in the Hodna Mountains in modern-day Algeria by Fatimid forces. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Yazid))
- **1153** — After a six month siege, Baldwin III of Jerusalem captures Ascalon, obtaining a vast amount of plunder and securing the southern border of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_III_of_Jerusalem))
- **1458** — Pope Pius II is elected the 211th Pope. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_II))
- **1504** — In Ireland, the Hiberno-Norman de Burghs (Burkes) and Cambro-Norman Fitzgeralds fight in the Battle of Knockdoe. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Irish))
- **1561** — Mary, Queen of Scots, aged 18, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%2C_Queen_of_Scots))
- **1604** — Eighty Years War: a besieging Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Orange forces the Spanish garrison of Sluis to capitulate. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years'_War))
- **1666** — Second Anglo-Dutch War: Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 116 to 160 merchant ships, an act later known as "Holmes's Bonfire". ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Anglo-Dutch_War))
- **1692** — Salem witch trials: In Salem, province of Massachusetts Bay, Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., John Proctor, John Willard, and clergyman George Burroughs are executed after being convicted of witchcraft. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials))
- **1725** — J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137, a cantata setting the unchanged text of Neander's hymn. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach))
- **1745** — Prince Charles Edward Stuart raises his standard in Glenfinnan: The start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion, known as "the 45". ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Edward_Stuart))
- **1745** — Ottoman–Persian War: In the Battle of Kars, the Ottoman army is routed by Persian forces led by Nader Shah. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Persian_War_(1743%E2%80%931746)))
- **1759** — Battle of Lagos: Naval battle during the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lagos))
- **1772** — Gustav 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III))
- **1782** — American Revolutionary War: Battle of Blue Licks: The last major engagement of the war, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Charles Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War))
- **1812** — War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning the nickname "Old Ironsides". ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812))
- **1813** — Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's Second Triumvirate. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gervasio_Antonio_de_Posadas))
- **1839** — The French government announces that Louis Daguerre's photographic process is a gift "free to the world". ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Daguerre))
- **1848** — California Gold Rush: The New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (although the rush started in January). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_gold_rush))
- **1854** — The First Sioux War begins when United States Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return are massacred. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sioux_Wars))
- **1861** — First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weisshorn))
- **1862** — Dakota War: 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_War_of_1862))
- **1903** — The Transfiguration Uprising breaks out in East Thrace, resulting in the establishment of the Strandzha Commune. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilinden%E2%80%93Preobrazhenie_Uprising))
- **1909** — The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for automobile racing. William Bourque and his mechanic are killed during the first day's events. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis_Motor_Speedway))
- **1920** — The Tambov Rebellion breaks out, in response to the Bolshevik policy of Prodrazvyorstka. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tambov_Rebellion))
- **1927** — Patriarch Sergius of Moscow proclaims the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet Union. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Sergius_of_Moscow))
- **1934** — The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_Box_Derby))
- **1934** — The German referendum of 1934 approves Adolf Hitler's appointment as head of state with the title of Führer. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_German_head_of_state_referendum))
- **1936** — The Great Purge of the Soviet Union begins when the first of the Moscow Trials is convened. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge))
- **1940** — First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_B-25_Mitchell))
- **1941** — Germany and Romania sign the Tiraspol Agreement, rendering the region of Transnistria under control of the latter. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany))
- **1942** — World War II: Operation Jubilee (The Dieppe Raid): The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division leads an amphibious assault by allied forces on Dieppe, France and fails. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1944** — World War II: Liberation of Paris: Paris, France rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_of_Paris))
- **1945** — August Revolution: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Revolution))
- **1953** — Cold War: The CIA and MI6 help to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War))
- **1955** — In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeastern_United_States))
- **1960** — Cold War: In Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_U-2))
- **1960** — Sputnik program: Korabl-Sputnik 2: The Soviet Union launches the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, two rats and a variety of plants. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_called_Sputnik))
- **1964** — Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, is launched. Two months later, it would enable live coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncom))
- **1965** — Japanese prime minister Eisaku Satō becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa Prefecture. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Japan))
- **1978** — In Iran, the Cinema Rex fire causes more than 300 deaths. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_Rex_fire))
- **1980** — Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at Riyadh International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudia_Flight_163))
- **1980** — Otłoczyn railway accident: In Poland's worst post-war railway accident, 67 people lose their lives and a further 62 are injured. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ot%C5%82oczyn_railway_accident))
- **1981** — Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States F-14A Tomcat fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Sidra_incident_(1981)))
- **1987** — Hungerford massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a semi-automatic rifle and then commits suicide. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungerford_massacre))
- **1989** — Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist prime minister in 42 years. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojciech_Jaruzelski))
- **1989** — Several hundred East Germans cross the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events that began the process of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germany))
- **1991** — Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The August Coup begins when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union))
- **1991** — Crown Heights riot in New York City begins. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Heights_riot))
- **1999** — In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade))
- **2002** — Khankala Mi-26 crash: A Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside Grozny, killing 118 soldiers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Khankala_Mi-26_crash))
- **2003** — A truck-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_Hotel_bombing))
- **2003** — Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing: A suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem, planned by Hamas, kills 23 Israelis, seven of them children. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shmuel_HaNavi_bus_bombing))
- **2004** — Google Inc. has its initial public offering on Nasdaq. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google))
- **2005** — The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Mission_2005))
- **2009** — A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_2009_Baghdad_bombings))
- **2010** — Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War))
- **2013** — The Dhamara Ghat train accident kills at least 37 people in the Indian state of Bihar. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhamara_Ghat_train_accident))
- **2017** — Tens of thousands of farmed non-native Atlantic salmon are accidentally released into the wild in Washington waters in the 2017 Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_salmon))

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## Notable births on August 19

- **2004** — **Chae Hyun-woo** — South Korean football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chae_Hyun-woo))
- **2001** — **Awak Kuier** — Finnish basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awak_Kuier))
- **2000** — **Keegan Murray** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keegan_Murray))
- **1999** — **Ethan Cutkosky** — American actor and musician ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Cutkosky))
- **1999** — **Thomas Flegler** — Australian rugby league player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Flegler))
- **1999** — **Florentino Luís** — Portuguese footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentino_Lu%C3%ADs))
- **1996** — **Jung Ye-rin** — South Korean singer and actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerin_(entertainer)))
- **1996** — **Lachlan Lewis** — Australian rugby league player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachlan_Lewis))
- **1994** — **Nafissatou Thiam** — Belgian pentathlete and heptathlete ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nafissatou_Thiam))
- **1994** — **Fernando Gaviria** — Colombian cyclist ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Gaviria))

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## Notable deaths on August 19

- **2024** — **Maria Branyas** — American-Spanish supercentenarian (born 1907) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Branyas))
- **2023** — **Václav Patejdl** — Slovak musician (born 1954) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Va%C5%A1o_Patejdl))
- **2022** — **Tekla Juniewicz** — Polish supercentenarian (born 1906) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekla_Juniewicz))
- **2021** — **Sonny Chiba** — Japanese actor (born 1939) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Chiba))
- **2019** — **Lars Larsen** — Danish businessman and billionaire, founder and owner of the Danish retail chain JYSK (born 1948) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Larsen))
- **2017** — **Dick Gregory** — American comedian, author and activist (born 1932) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Gregory))
- **2016** — **Jack Riley** — American actor and voice artist (born 1935) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Riley_(actor)))
- **2015** — **George Houser** — American minister and activist (born 1916) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Houser))
- **2015** — **Sanat Mehta** — Indian activist and politician (born 1935) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanat_Mehta))
- **2014** — **Samih al-Qasim** — Palestinian poet and journalist (born 1939) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samih_al-Qasim))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/august/19/](https://thisday.info/events/august/19/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.