August 19 facts for kids

August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 134 days remain until the end of the year.

August 19th is a day filled with many important moments throughout history, from ancient Roman times to modern-day events. It's a day when leaders rose to power, battles were fought, and new discoveries changed the world. Many famous people were also born or passed away on this date. Let's explore some of the key events that happened on August 19th!

Events

Early History (Before 1600)

• 295 BC – The first temple dedicated to Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, was opened by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War.
• 43 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, who later became the first Roman Emperor Augustus, convinced the Roman Senate to choose him as a Consul.
• 1153 – Baldwin III of Jerusalem took control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother, Melisende. He also successfully captured the city of Ascalon.
• 1458 – Pope Pius II was chosen as the 211th Pope.
• 1504 – In Ireland, the de Burghs and Fitzgeralds, two powerful families, fought in the Battle of Knockdoe.
• 1561 – Mary, Queen of Scots, at 18 years old, returned to Scotland after living in France for 13 years.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1604 – During the Eighty Years War, a Dutch and English army, led by Maurice of Orange, forced the Spanish army in Sluis to give up.
• 1612 – Three women from the village of Samlesbury, England, known as the "Samlesbury witches", were put on trial. They were accused of practicing witchcraft in one of Britain's most famous witch trials.
• 1666 – In the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Rear Admiral Robert Holmes led a surprise attack on the Dutch island of Terschelling. He destroyed 150 merchant ships, an event called "Holmes's Bonfire".
• 1692 – During the Salem witch trials in Salem, five people, including a clergyman, were put to death after being found guilty of witchcraft.
• 1745 – Prince Charles Edward Stuart started the Second Jacobite Rebellion, also known as "the 45," by raising his flag in Glenfinnan.
• 1745 – In the Ottoman–Persian War, the Ottoman army was defeated by Persian forces led by Nader Shah in the Battle of Kars.
• 1759 – A naval battle took place between Great Britain and France during the Seven Years' War, known as the Battle of Lagos.
• 1772 – Gustav III of Sweden carried out a coup d'état, taking power and creating a new constitution. This new rule shared power between the Riksdag (parliament) and the King.
• 1782 – In the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Blue Licks was the last major fight. It happened almost ten months after the British commander Charles Cornwallis surrendered after the Siege of Yorktown.
• 1812 – During the War of 1812, the American ship USS Constitution famously defeated the British ship HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia. This earned the American ship the nickname "Old Ironsides."
• 1813 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joined Argentina's Second Triumvirate, a group of three leaders.
• 1839 – The French government announced that Louis Daguerre's photographic process was a gift "free to the world," meaning anyone could use it.
• 1848 – The New York Herald newspaper shared the exciting news about the California Gold Rush with people on the East Coast of the United States. The gold rush had actually started in January.
• 1854 – The First Sioux War began when United States Army soldiers killed Lakota chief Conquering Bear. In response, the soldiers were attacked in what became known as the Grattan massacre.
• 1861 – The Weisshorn, the fifth-highest mountain in the Alps, was climbed for the first time.
• 1862 – In the Dakota War, Lakota warriors in Minnesota decided not to attack the strong Fort Ridgely. Instead, they turned towards the settlement of New Ulm, causing harm to white settlers along the way.

Modern History (1901–present)

• 1903 – The Transfiguration Uprising began in East Thrace, leading to the creation of the Strandzha Commune.
• 1909 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened for automobile racing. Sadly, William Bourque and his mechanic died during the first day's events.
• 1920 – The Tambov Rebellion started in response to the Bolshevik government's policy of taking food from farmers.
• 1927 – Patriarch Sergius of Moscow declared the Russian Orthodox Church's loyalty to the Soviet Union.
• 1934 – The first ever All-American Soap Box Derby was held in Dayton, Ohio.
• 1934 – A vote in Germany approved Adolf Hitler becoming the head of state with the title of Führer.
• 1936 – The Great Purge began in the Soviet Union with the first of the Moscow Trials, a series of show trials.
• 1940 – The B-25 Mitchell medium bomber airplane had its first flight.
• 1941 – Germany and Romania signed the Tiraspol Agreement, which put the region of Transnistria under Romania's control.
• 1942 – During World War II, Operation Jubilee was an amphibious assault by Allied forces on Dieppe, France. It was led by the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division but was unsuccessful.
• 1944 – In World War II, the Liberation of Paris began as Paris, France, rose up against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.
• 1945 – The August Revolution took place in Vietnam, where the Viet Minh group, led by Ho Chi Minh, took power in Hanoi.
• 1953 – During the Cold War, the CIA and MI6 helped to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran. This led to the return of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power.
• 1955 – In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane resulted in the loss of 200 lives.
• 1960 – In Moscow, Soviet Union, American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage (spying).
• 1960 – The Soviet Union launched Korabl-Sputnik 2, a satellite carrying the dogs Belka and Strelka, along with mice, rats, and plants into space.
• 1964 – Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, was launched. Two months later, it helped provide live TV coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics.
• 1965 – Japanese prime minister Eisaku Satō became the first leader after World War II to visit Okinawa Prefecture.
• 1978 – In Iran, the Cinema Rex fire caused the deaths of more than 400 people.
• 1980 – Saudia Flight 163, a plane, caught fire after an emergency landing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All 301 people on board died.
• 1980 – The Otłoczyn railway accident in Poland was the country's worst post-war train crash. 67 people died, and 62 were injured.
• 1981 – In the Gulf of Sidra Incident, United States F-14A Tomcat fighter jets shot down two Libyan fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
• 1989 – Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski chose Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist prime minister in 42 years.
• 1989 – Several hundred East Germans crossed the border from Hungary into Austria during the Pan-European Picnic. This event was part of the changes that led to the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
• 1991 – The August Coup began as Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was placed under house arrest while on holiday. This was a key moment in the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• 1991 – The Crown Heights riot began in New York City.
• 1999 – In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of people gathered to demand that Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević step down.
• 2003 – A truck-bomb attack on the United Nations headquarters in Iraq killed the UN's top envoy, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, and 21 other employees.
• 2004 – Google Inc. had its initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq, meaning its shares were first offered to the public for sale.
• 2005 – The first joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005, began.
• 2010 – Operation Iraqi Freedom officially ended, with the last United States combat teams leaving Iraq and crossing into Kuwait.
• 2013 – The Dhamara Ghat train accident in the Indian state of Bihar killed at least 37 people.
• 2017 – Thousands of farmed Atlantic salmon accidentally escaped into the wild in Washington waters during the 2017 Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break.

Births

Born Before 1900

• 1561 – Mary, Queen of Scots, Queen of Scotland (d. 1587)
• 1631 – John Dryden, famous English poet and playwright (d. 1700)
• 1646 – John Flamsteed, important English astronomer (d. 1719)
• 1743 – Madame du Barry, a well-known figure in the French court (d. 1793)
• 1815 – Harriette Newell Woods Baker, American writer of children's books (d. 1893)
• 1848 – Gustave Caillebotte, French painter and engineer (d. 1894)
• 1871 – Orville Wright, American engineer and pilot, who helped invent the airplane (d. 1948)
• 1878 – Manuel L. Quezon, the second President of the Philippines (d. 1944)
• 1883 – Coco Chanel, famous French fashion designer who founded the Chanel Company (d. 1971)
• 1899 – Colleen Moore, American actress (d. 1988)

Born After 1900

• 1906 – Philo Farnsworth, American inventor who helped develop television (d. 1971)
• 1915 – Ring Lardner, Jr., American journalist and screenwriter (d. 2000)
• 1921 – Gene Roddenberry, American screenwriter and producer, creator of Star Trek (d. 1991)
• 1924 – Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist and Nobel Prize winner (d. 2011)
• 1930 – Frank McCourt, American author and educator (d. 2009)
• 1939 – Ginger Baker, English drummer and songwriter (d. 2019)
• 1940 – Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter (d. 2020)
• 1945 – Ian Gillan, English singer, known for the band Deep Purple
• 1946 – Charles Bolden, American general and astronaut
• 1946 – Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States
• 1951 – John Deacon, English bass player and songwriter, known for the band Queen
• 1952 – Jonathan Frakes, American actor and director, known for Star Trek: The Next Generation
• 1955 – Peter Gallagher, American actor
• 1958 – Anthony Muñoz, American football player and sportscaster
• 1963 – John Stamos, American actor
• 1965 – Kevin Dillon, American actor
• 1965 – Kyra Sedgwick, American actress and producer
• 1967 – Satya Nadella, Indian-American business executive, current Chairman and CEO of Microsoft
• 1969 – Matthew Perry, American actor, known for Friends (d. 2023)
• 1970 – Fat Joe, American rapper
• 1973 – Marco Materazzi, Italian footballer
• 1982 – Erika Christensen, American actress
• 1982 – Melissa Fumero, American actress
• 1983 – Missy Higgins, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Veronica Roth, American author, known for the Divergent series
• 1999 – Ethan Cutkosky, American actor and musician

Deaths

Passed Away Before 1900

• AD 14 – Augustus, the first Roman emperor (b. 63 BC)
• 1186 – Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1158)
• 1493 – Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1415)
• 1580 – Andrea Palladio, famous Italian architect (b. 1508)
• 1662 – Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (b. 1623)
• 1883 – Jeremiah S. Black, American lawyer and politician (b. 1810)
• 1895 – John Wesley Hardin, an American Old West figure (b. 1853)

Passed Away After 1900

• 1923 – Vilfredo Pareto, Italian sociologist and economist (b. 1845)
• 1929 – Sergei Diaghilev, Russian critic and producer who founded the Ballets Russes (b. 1872)
• 1936 – Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1898)
• 1944 – Henry Wood, English conductor (b. 1869)
• 1954 – Alcide De Gasperi, Italian journalist and politician, a former Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1881)
• 1967 – Hugo Gernsback, American author and publisher, known as the "Father of Science Fiction" (b. 1884)
• 1968 – George Gamow, Ukrainian-American physicist and cosmologist (b. 1904)
• 1977 – Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor (b. 1890)
• 1980 – Otto Frank, German-Swiss businessman, father of Anne Frank (b. 1889)
• 1994 – Linus Pauling, American chemist and biologist, a Nobel Prize winner (b. 1901)
• 2003 – Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat who worked for the United Nations (b. 1948)
• 2008 – Levy Mwanawasa, the third President of Zambia (b. 1948)
• 2009 – Don Hewitt, American television producer who created 60 Minutes (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Tony Scott, English-American director and producer (b. 1944)
• 2014 – James Foley, American photographer and journalist (b. 1973)
• 2017 – Dick Gregory, American comedian, author, and activist (b. 1932)
• 2021 – Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor (b. 1939)
• 2023 – Václav Patejdl, Slovak musician (b. 1954)

Holidays and observances

• Afghan Independence Day, celebrating the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919 (Afghanistan)
• August Revolution Commemoration Day (Vietnam)
• Birthday of Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Norway)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Bernardo Tolomei
  • Bertulf of Bobbio
  • Saint Calminius
  • Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz
  • Feast of the Transfiguration (Julian calendar), and its related observances:
    • Buhe (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
    • Saviour's Transfiguration, also known as the "Apples Feast" (Russian Orthodox Church and Georgian Orthodox Church)
  • Jean-Eudes de Mézeray
  • Louis of Toulouse
  • Maginus
  • Magnus of Anagni
  • Magnus of Avignon
  • Sebaldus
  • 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

See also

In Spanish: 19 de agosto para niños