Vintage News · Odd history for August 19
What Happened On August 19
66 events and 199 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 19 August →
10 odd things that happened on August 19
1897 First everThe Bersey Electric Cab (pictured) entered service as the first electric taxi in London.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1725 First everJ. S. Bach led the first performance of Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137, a cantata setting the unchanged text of Neander's hymn.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1861 First everFirst ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1854 First everThe First Sioux War begins when United States Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return are massacred.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1942 WeirdWorld War II: Operation Jubilee (The Dieppe Raid): The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division leads an amphibious assault by allied forces on Dieppe, France and fails.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1782 Oddly trueAmerican 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.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1725 First everJ. 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.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1692 Oddly trueSalem 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.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

43 BC Oddly trueIn 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.
Read more →Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Observed today
- Afghan Independence Day, commemorates the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919, granting independence from Britain (Afghanistan)
- August Revolution Commemoration Day (Vietnam)
- Birthday of Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Norway)
- Christian Feast Day: Bertulf of Bobbio
- Christian Feast Day: Saint Calminius
- Christian Feast Day: Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz
- Christian Feast Day: Feast of the Transfiguration (Julian calendar), and its related observances: Buhe (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
- Christian Feast Day: Feast of the Transfiguration (Julian calendar), and its related observances: Saviour's Transfiguration, popularly known as the "Apples Feast" (Russian Orthodox Church and Georgian Orthodox Church)
- Christian Feast Day: Jean-Eudes de Mézeray
- Christian Feast Day: Louis of Toulouse
- Christian Feast Day: Maginus
- Christian Feast Day: Magnus of Anagni
- Christian Feast Day: Magnus of Avignon
- Christian Feast Day: Sebaldus
- Christian Feast Day: August 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Manuel Luis Quezón Day (Quezon City and other places in the Philippines named after Manuel L. Quezon)
- National Aviation Day (United States)
- World Humanitarian Day
- 2017Tens 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 →
- 2013The Dhamara Ghat train accident kills at least 37 people in the Indian state of Bihar. Wikipedia →
- 2010Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait. Wikipedia →
- 2009A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others. Wikipedia →
- 2005The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins. Wikipedia →
- 2004Google Inc. has its initial public offering on Nasdaq. Wikipedia →
- 2003A truck-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees. Wikipedia →
- 2003Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing: A suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem, planned by Hamas, kills 23 Israelis, seven of them children. Wikipedia →
- 2002Khankala Mi-26 crash: A Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside Grozny, killing 118 soldiers. Wikipedia →
- 1999In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević. Wikipedia →
- 1991Dissolution 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 →
- 1991Crown Heights riot in New York City begins. Wikipedia →
- 1989Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist prime minister in 42 years. Wikipedia →
- 1989Several 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 →
- 1987Hungerford massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a semi-automatic rifle and then commits suicide. Wikipedia →
- 1981Gulf 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 →
- 1981Silvio Santos launches a new Brazilian television channel in São Paulo, Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão. Wikipedia →
- 1980Saudia 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 →
- 1980Otłoczyn railway accident: In Poland's worst post-war railway accident, 67 people lose their lives and a further 62 are injured. Wikipedia →
- 1978In Iran, the Cinema Rex fire causes more than 300 deaths. Wikipedia →
- 1965Japanese prime minister Eisaku Satō becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa Prefecture. Wikipedia →
- 1964Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, is launched. Two months later, it would enable live coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics. Wikipedia →
- 1960Cold 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 →
- 1960Sputnik 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 →
- 1955In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives. Wikipedia →
- 1953Cold War: The CIA and MI6 help to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Wikipedia →
- 1945August Revolution: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam. Wikipedia →
- 1944World War II: Liberation of Paris: Paris, France rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops. Wikipedia →
- 1942World 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 →
- 1941Germany and Romania sign the Tiraspol Agreement, rendering the region of Transnistria under control of the latter. Wikipedia →
- 1940First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. Wikipedia →
- 1936The Great Purge of the Soviet Union begins when the first of the Moscow Trials is convened. Wikipedia →
- 1934The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio. Wikipedia →
- 1934The German referendum of 1934 approves Adolf Hitler's appointment as head of state with the title of Führer. Wikipedia →
- 1927Patriarch Sergius of Moscow proclaims the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet Union. Wikipedia →
- 1920The Tambov Rebellion breaks out, in response to the Bolshevik policy of Prodrazvyorstka. Wikipedia →
- 1909The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for automobile racing. William Bourque and his mechanic are killed during the first day's events. Wikipedia →
- 1903The Transfiguration Uprising breaks out in East Thrace, resulting in the establishment of the Strandzha Commune. Wikipedia →
- 1862Dakota 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 →
- 1861First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps. Wikipedia →
- 1854The First Sioux War begins when United States Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return are massacred. Wikipedia →
- 1848California 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 →
- 1839The French government announces that Louis Daguerre's photographic process is a gift "free to the world". Wikipedia →
- 1813Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's Second Triumvirate. Wikipedia →
- 1812War 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 →
- 1787Sultan Abdul Hamid I declares war against the Russian Empire in an effort to regain territories lost in previous conflicts, starting the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792. Wikipedia →
- 1782American 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 →
- 1772Gustav 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 →
- 1759Battle of Lagos: Naval battle during the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France. Wikipedia →
- 1745Prince Charles Edward Stuart raises his standard in Glenfinnan: The start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion, known as "the 45". Wikipedia →
- 1745Ottoman–Persian War: In the Battle of Kars, the Ottoman army is routed by Persian forces led by Nader Shah. Wikipedia →
- 1725J. 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 →
- 1692Salem 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 →
- 1691An Imperial army under Ludwig of Baden defeats the Ottomans in the battle of Slankamen. Wikipedia →
- 1666Second 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 →
- 1659Parliamentarian forces under John Lambert defeat Royalist forces under George Booth in the battle of Winnington Bridge, ending Booth's Uprising. Wikipedia →
- 1604Eighty Years War: a besieging Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Orange forces the Spanish garrison of Sluis to capitulate. Wikipedia →
- 1561Mary, Queen of Scots, aged 18, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France. Wikipedia →
- 1504In Ireland, the Hiberno-Norman de Burghs (Burkes) and Cambro-Norman Fitzgeralds fight in the Battle of Knockdoe. Wikipedia →
- 1458Pope Pius II is elected the 211th Pope. Wikipedia →
- 1274Coronation of Edward I of England. Wikipedia →
- 1153After 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 →
- 947Abu Yazid, a Kharijite rebel leader, is defeated and killed in the Hodna Mountains in modern-day Algeria by Fatimid forces. Wikipedia →
- 797Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI is seized by supporters of his mother Irene, deposed and blinded. Wikipedia →
- 43 BCIn 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 →
- 295 BCThe 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 →
Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.
