19th August, on this day

43 BC Octavian, later known as Augustus, compels the senate to elect him Consul.
440 St Sixtus III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1099 Crusaders beat Saracens in Battle of Ascalon
1263 King James I of Argon censors Hebrew writings
1274 Coronation of King Edward I of England
1504 Battle of Knockdoe.
1561 Mary Queen of Scots arrives in Scotland to assume the throne after spending 13 years in France
1685 In England, the beginning of the 'Bloody Assizes' with Judge Jeffreys regularly sentencing people to death
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.
1745 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".
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 American Revolutionary War: Battle of Blue Licks - The last major engagement of the war, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Lord Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown.
1787 W Herschel discovers Enceladus, a moon of Saturn
1812 US warship Constitution defeats British warship Guerriere
1826 Canada Co chartered to colonise Upper Canada (Ontario)
1839 Presentation of Jacque Daguerre's new photographic process to the French Academy of Sciences.
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).
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.
1879 Laying of the foundation stone for the Eddystone Lighthouse
1888 1st beauty contest (Spa, Belgium), 18 yr old West Indian wins
1891 William Huggins describes astronomical application of spectrum
1895 American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas.
1897 The London Electric Cab Company begins operating the electric-powered taxi cabs in London's West End and the City. They have a range of up to 30 miles, and a top speed of 9 miles an hour. The cabs prove uneconomical and are withdrawn in 1900
1905 In Russia, Tsar Nicholas II issues an Imperial Manifesto proposing the creation of a semi-elected Imperial Duma (parliament) with limited powers
1909 In US, 1st race at the Indianapolis 500 Speedway
1915 World War I: The Battle of Van begins : it was one of the few instances during the Armenian Genocide when Armenians, in an act of self-defense, fought against the Ottoman Empire's armed forces
1919 Afghanistan gains full independence from the United Kingdom.
1927 Metropolitan Sergius proclaimed the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet state.
1934 The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
1934 A plebiscite in Germany gives sole power to the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler
1942 Operation Jubilee - British and Canadian troops launch an unsuccessful attack on the German-held French port of Dieppe. More than half of the 6,000 Allied soldiers are either killed or captured
1942 1st American offensive in Pacific in WW2, Guadalcanal, Solomon Is
1944 Liberation of Paris - Paris rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.
1950 In US, ABC begins Saturday morning kid shows (Animal Clinic and Acrobat Ranch)
1953 Cold War: The CIA helps to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
1953 The England cricket team, under captain Len Hutton, wins The Ashes against Australia for the first time since the controversial 'bodyline' tour of 1932-1933
1955 Hurricane Diane kills 200 and 1st billion $ damage storm (N.E. US)
1958 NAACP Youth Council begin sit-ins at Oklahoma City Lunch counters
1960 US spy plane pilot Gary Powers, shot down by the Russians over Soviet territory, is sentenced to be detained for 10 years
1960 Sputnik 5 carries 2 dogs, 3 mice into orbit (later recovered alive)
1962 Homer Blancos plays the finest round in golf, shooting a 55
1967 Beatles' "All You Need is Love," single goes to number 1
1969 British Army takes over control of security in Northern Ireland
1973 George Papadopoulos is sworn in a President of Greece after a military coup overthrows the Greek monarchy
1974 US Ambassador to Cyprus, Roger Davis, is shot dead during anti-American demonstrations in Nicosia
1975 The cricket test match between England and Australia is called off after the pitch is vandalised by supporters of George Davis.
1976 President Gerald R Ford won Republican pres nomination at KC convention
1978 422 die in an arson fire at a movie theater in Iran
1979 Crew of Soyuz 32 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 34 after 175-day flight
1980 Saudi Arabian Lockheed Tristar crashes on landing at Riyadh, 301 die
1981 Gulf of Sidra Incident: : 2 US Navy F-14 jet fighters shot down 2 Soviet-built Libyan SU-22
1982 Soyuz T-7 launched, Svetlana Savtiskaya 2nd woman in space
1983 In US, LSU footballer Billy Cannon sentenced to 5 yrs for counterfeiting
1985 Japan launches its 2nd probe of Halley's Comet, Suisei
1987 In England, gun crazy Micheal Ryan shoots dead 16 people in the Berkshire town of Hungerford before turning a gun on himself
1988 Iran-Iraq begin a cease-fire in their 8-year-old war (11 PM EDT)
1989 Tadeusz Mazowiecki is elected 1st non-communmist president of Poland
1989 Raid on offshore pirate station, Radio Caroline in North Sea by British and Dutch governments.
1990 Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
1991 Soviet hardliners attempt to topple President Mikhail Gorbachev in coup - putting tanks on the streets of Moscow, banning demonstrations and imposing a state of emergency. The coup is declared a failure less than 48 hours later
1991 Hurricane Bob hits the Northeast.
1997 The Teamsters end their 15-day walkout against United Parcel Service.
1999 In Belgrade, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Miloševic.
2002 A Russian Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.
2003 A car-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees.
2003 A Hamas planned suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem kills 23 Israelis, 7 of them children in the Jerusalem bus 2 massacre.
2005 The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins.

19th August 2006

Beirut fury at 'ceasefire breach'

Mixed UN commitments from Europe

South Africa Aids policy attacked

19th August 2007

Hurricane bears down on Jamaica

Eastern China lashed by typhoon

Iraqis enrol in Jordan's schools

19th August 2008

Afghan ambush kills French troops

Bombing kills dozens in Algeria

Pakistan hospital bomb kills many

19th August 2009

Blasts cause carnage in Baghdad

Afghanistan on alert before vote

Hungary marks 1989 event

19th August 2010

Blast kills 7 in China's Xinjiang

Rampaging bull injures 40 in Spanish arena

Last US combat brigade exits Iraq

Birthdates which occurred on 19th August :

1398 I¤igo L¢pez Spain, marques de Santillana, poet (Comedieta de Ponza)
1631 John Dryden 1st poet laureate of England (Absalom & Achitophel)
1646 John Flamsteed 1st astronomer royal of England
1689 Samuel Richardson English novelist (Pamela) (baptized)
1785 Seth Thomas pioneer in mass production of clocks
1844 Minna Canth Finland, novelist/dramatist (social evils)
1946 Bill Clinton 42nd US President. (Former Little Rock Attorney)
1948 Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson. In 1970 became "Tipper" Gore. Wife of Al Gore US Vice President.
1858 Edith Nesbit England, children books author (Railway Children)
1859 Charles Comiskey 1st basemen/manager (Chicago White Sox)
1860 John Kane Scottish-born US primitivist painter (Self-Portrait)
1870 Bernard Baruch financier/presidential adviser
1871 Orville Wright aviator
1878 Manuel Quezon 1st president of Philippine Commonwealth (1935-42)
1881 Georges Enesco (or Enescu) Romania, composer (Romanian Dances)
1889 Arthur Waley sinologist, translator from Chinese & Japanese
1892 Alfred Lunt Broadway actor (Emmy 1965)
19-- Frank Telfer actor (As the World Turns)
19-- Matthew L Perry actor (Chazz Russell-2nd Chance)
19-- Michael Goodwin Virginia Minn, actor (Strike Force, Hamptons)
1902 Ogden Nash Rye NY, humorous poet (I'm a Stranger Here Myself)
1903 Claude Dauphin Corbell France, actor (April in Paris, Deported)
1903 James Gould Cozzens US, novelist (1949 Pulitzer-Guard of Honor)
1906 Philo T Farnsworth Beaver Utah, inventor (electronic TV)
1907 June Collyer NYC, actress (June-Stu Erwin Show)
1907 Thurston Morton (Sen-Ky, 1957-1969)
1915 Ring Lardner Jr Chicago, screenwriter (Woman of the Year)
1916 Marie Wilson Anaheim Calif, actress (My Friend Irma)
1919 Malcolm Forbes publisher (Forbes Magazine)
1921 Gene Roddenberry executive producer (Star Trek)
1924 William Marshall Gary Ind, actor (Blacula, Something of Value)
1931 Willie Shoemaker jockey (In 1956 he won $2 million)
1933 Debra Paget actress (Anne of the Indies, Love Me Tender)
1934 Bill Cleary US, ice hockey player (Olympic-gold-1960)
1934 David F Durenberger Minn, (Sen-R-Minn)
1934 Dr Renee Richards trans-sexual tennis player
1935 Bobby Richardson SC, 2nd baseman (NY Yankees)
1935 F Story Musgrave Boston, MD/astronaut (STS 6, 51-F, 33, 44)
1938 Diana Muldaur actress (McCloud, Star Trek Next Generation, LA Law)
1938 Valentin Mankin USSR, finn class yachtsman (Olympic-gold-1968)
1939 Ginger [Peter] Baker England, drummer (Cream-White Room)
1940 Jill St John [Oppenheim], LA Calif, actress (Diamonds are Forever)
1940 Johnny Nash Houston, Tx, rocker (I Can See Clearly Now)
1943 Billy J Kramer Liverpool, rocker (The Dakotas-Bad to Me)
1945 Ian Gillian heavy metal rocker (Deep Purple-Knocking at Backdoor)
1946 Charles F Bolden Jr Columbia SC, astronaut (STS 61C, 31, STS 45)
1947 Gerald McRaney Collins Miss, actor (Simon & Simon, Major Dad)
1951 John Deacon rocker (Queen-Bohemian Rhapsody)
1951 Randi Oakes Randalia Iowa, actress (Officer Bonnie Clark-CHiPs)
1952 Jonathan Frakes actor (Actor: Commander Will Riker in "Star Trek Next Generation", Director: "Star Trek: First Contact")
1956 Adam Arkin Bkln, actor (Lenny-Busting Loose, Pearl, Tough Cookies)
1956 Cindy Nelson US, skier (Olympic-bronze-1976)
1957 Darby Hinton Santa Monica Calif, actor (Israel-Daniel Boone)
1959 Steve Grimmett heavy metal rocker
1960 Ron Darling Hawaii, baseball pitcher (NY Mets)
1962 Valerie Kaprisky Paris France, actress (Breathless, Public Woman)
1963 Joey Tempest rocker (Europe-The Final Countdown)
1963 John Stamos Cypress Calif, actor (General Hospital, Full House)
1965 Kevin Dillon actor (Heaven Help Us, Remote Control, Platoon)
1967 Jason Starsky son of Beatle Ringo
1969 Christian Slater actor (Legend of Billie Jean)
1970 Matthew Perry actor (Sydney)
1971 Tricia Ann Luedtke Oostburg Wisc, Miss Wisc-America-1991

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Deaths which occurred on August 19th:
14 -BC- Octavian [Augustus] Roman general, dies at 48
1493 Frederick III Innsbruck Austria, German Emperor (1440-1493)
1929 Sergei P Diaghilev Russia, dance master (Imperial Ballet), dies at 57
1962 Kerstin Hesselgren 1st woman in Swedish parliament, dies at 90
1977 Julius (Groucho) Marx NYC, comedian (Marx Bros), dies in LA at 86
1986 Hermione Baddeley actress (Camp Runamuck, Maude), dies at 79