Historical Events on Tuesday, 19th August

19/08/2017

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.

The Atlantic salmon is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to 1 m (3.3 ft) in length. Atlantic salmon are found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into it. Most populations are anadromous, hatching in streams and rivers but moving out to sea as they grow where they mature, after which the adults seasonally move upstream again to spawn.

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19/08/2013

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

The Dhamara Ghat train accident occurred on 19 August 2013 when the Saharsa Patna Rajya Rani Express train struck a large group of people at the Dhamara Ghat railway station in the Indian state of Bihar. At least 28 people were killed and 24 injured. The victims were mostly Hindu pilgrims returning from prayers at the nearby Katyayani temple. The accident triggered a protest by passengers who beat the driver unconscious, attacked staff and torched two coaches of the train. The chief minister of Bihar State, Nitish Kumar, called it "the rarest of rare tragedies". He pledged 200,000 rupees, or around $3,180, for the family of each victim, and urged the railway ministry to do the same.

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19/08/2010

Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.

The Iraq War, also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States–led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. During the US occupation of Iraq, the conflict persisted as an insurgency that arose against coalition forces and the newly established Iraqi government. US forces were officially withdrawn in 2011. In 2014, the US became re-engaged in Iraq, leading a new coalition under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, as the conflict evolved into the ongoing Islamic State insurgency.

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19/08/2009

A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others.

The August 2009 Baghdad bombings were three coordinated car bomb attacks and a number of mortar strikes in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on 19 August 2009. The explosives were detonated simultaneously across the capital at approximately 10:45 in the morning, killing at least 101 people and wounding at least 565, making it the deadliest attack since the 14 August 2007 Yazidi communities bombings in northern Iraq which killed almost 800 people. The bombings targeted both government and privately owned buildings.

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19/08/2005

The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins.

Peace Mission 2005 was the first ever joint military exercise between China and Russia. The exercise started on August 19, 2005, and consisted of combined land, sea, and air elements simulating an intervention in a state besieged by terrorists or political turmoil. It concluded on August 25, 2005. The force practiced air and naval blockades, an amphibious assault, and occupying a region. Approximately 8,200 Chinese troops took part along with 1,800 Russian troops. China initially wanted to hold the exercise near the Taiwan Strait, Russia wanted to hold the exercise in Northwestern China near central Asia, but instead settlement was made on the Shandong Peninsula.

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19/08/2004

Google Inc. has its initial public offering on Nasdaq.

Google LLC is an American multinational technology corporation focused on information technology, online advertising, search engine technology, email, cloud computing, software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial intelligence (AI). It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world" by the BBC, and is one of the world's most valuable brands. Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. has been described as a Big Tech company.

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19/08/2003

A truck-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees.

The Canal Hotel bombing was a suicide truck bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, during the afternoon of 19 August 2003. It killed 23 people, including the United Nations' Special Representative in Iraq Sérgio Vieira de Mello, and wounded over 100, including human rights lawyer and political activist Amin Mekki Medani. The attack targeted the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq created just five days earlier. The attack resulted in the withdrawal within weeks of most of the 600 UN staff members from Iraq. These events were to have a profound and lasting impact on the UN's security practices globally.

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Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing: A suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem, planned by Hamas, kills 23 Israelis, seven of them children.

A Palestinian suicide bombing of a crowded public bus in the Shmuel HaNavi quarter in Jerusalem took place on August 19, 2003, during the Second Intifada. Twenty-four people were killed and over 130 wounded. Many of the victims were children, some of them infants. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

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19/08/2002

Khankala Mi-26 crash: A Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.

On 19 August 2002, a group of Chechen fighters armed with a man-portable air-defense system brought down a Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter in a minefield, which resulted in the death of 127 Russian soldiers in the greatest loss of life in the history of helicopter aviation. It is also the deadliest aviation disaster ever suffered by the Russian Armed Forces, as well as its worst loss of life in a single day since the 1999 start of the Second Chechen War.

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19/08/1999

In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević.

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. According to the 2022 census, the population of Belgrade city proper stands at 1,197,114, its contiguous urban area has 1,298,661 inhabitants, while population of city's administrative area totals 1,682,720 people. It is one of the major cities of Southeast Europe and the third-most populous city on the river Danube.

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19/08/1991

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.

The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. It also brought an end to the Soviet Union's federal government and CPSU general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's effort to reform the Soviet political and economic system in an attempt to stop a period of political stalemate and economic backslide.

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Crown Heights riot in New York City begins.

The Crown Heights riot was a race riot that took place from August 19 to August 21, 1991, in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York City. Black residents attacked Orthodox Jewish residents, damaged their homes, and looted businesses. The riots began on August 19, 1991, after two 7-year-old children of Guyanese immigrants were unintentionally struck by a driver running a red light while following the motorcade of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the leader of Chabad, a Jewish religious movement. One child died and the second was severely injured.

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19/08/1989

Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist prime minister in 42 years.

Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski was a Polish military general, politician and de facto leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989, and a military dictator from 13 December 1981 until 22 July 1983. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party between 1981 and 1989, making him the last leader of the Polish People's Republic. Jaruzelski served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985, the Chairman of the Council of State from 1985 to 1989 and briefly as President of Poland from 1989 to 1990, when the office of President was restored after 37 years. He was also the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's Army, which in 1990 became the Polish Armed Forces.

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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.

East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally viewed as a communist state and described itself as a socialist workers' and peasants' state.

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19/08/1987

Hungerford massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a semi-automatic rifle and then commits suicide.

The Hungerford massacre was a spree shooting in Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, which occurred on 19 August 1987 when 27-year-old Michael Ryan shot and killed sixteen people, including his mother and an unarmed police officer, before killing himself. No motive for the killings was established.

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19/08/1981

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.

In the first Gulf of Sidra incident, 19 August 1981, two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22M3 Fitter-G fired upon two U.S. Grumman F-14A Tomcats and were subsequently shot down off the Libyan coast. Libya had claimed that the entire Gulf was their territory, at 32° 30′ N, with an exclusive 62-nautical-mile fishing zone, which Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi asserted as "The Line of Death" in 1973. Two further incidents occurred in the area in 1986 and in 1989.

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19/08/1980

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.

Saudia Flight 163 was a scheduled Saudia passenger flight departing from Quaid-e-Azam Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, bound for Kandara Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via then-Riyadh International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which caught fire after takeoff on 19 August 1980. Although the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar made a successful emergency landing at Riyadh, the flight crew failed to perform an emergency evacuation of the airplane, leading to the deaths of all 287 passengers and 14 crew on board the aircraft from smoke inhalation.

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Otłoczyn railway accident: In Poland's worst post-war railway accident, 67 people lose their lives and a further 62 are injured.

The Otłoczyn railway accident was a train crash which occurred on 19 August 1980, near the village of Otłoczyn. At 4:30 a.m., a freight train collided with a passenger train which ran from Toruń Main Station to Łódź Kaliska. As a result, 65 people were killed, and 64 injured, out of which an additional two later died, bringing the total number of dead to 67. It was caused by one of the drivers proceeding without permission in a thick fog. To date, it is the deadliest railway accident in peacetime history of Poland.

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19/08/1978

In Iran, the Cinema Rex fire causes more than 300 deaths.

The Cinema Rex fire happened on August 19th 1978 when the Cinema Rex in Abadan, Iran, was set ablaze, killing between 377 and 470 people. The event started when four individuals, who were militants motivated by Islamic extremism, doused the building with airplane fuel before setting it alight. The attack was responsible in part for triggering the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which saw the overthrow of the ruling dynasty under the Iranian monarch and a related outbreak of mass violence.

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19/08/1965

Japanese prime minister Eisaku Satō becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa Prefecture.

The prime minister of Japan is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self Defence Forces.

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19/08/1964

Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, is launched. Two months later, it would enable live coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Syncom started as a 1961 NASA program for active geosynchronous communication satellites, all of which were developed and manufactured by the Space and Communications division of Hughes Aircraft Company. Syncom 2, launched in 1963, was the world's first geosynchronous communications satellite. Syncom 3, launched in 1964, was the world's first geostationary satellite.

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19/08/1960

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.

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed the "Dragon Lady", is an American single-engine, high–altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since the 1950s. Designed for all-weather, day-and-night intelligence gathering at altitudes above 70,000 feet, the U-2 has played a pivotal role in aerial surveillance for decades.

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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.

Sputnik is a name for multiple spacecrafts launched under the Soviet space program. "Sputnik 1", "Sputnik 2" and "Sputnik 3" were the official Soviet names of those objects, and the remaining designations in the series were not official names but names applied in the West to objects whose original Soviet names may not have been known at the time.

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19/08/1955

In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.

The Northeastern United States form one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. Located on the Atlantic coast of North America, the region borders Canada to its north, the Southern United States to its south, the Midwestern United States to its west, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east.

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19/08/1953

Cold War: The CIA and MI6 help to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc. It began in the aftermath of the Second World War and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars. In addition to the struggle for ideological and economic influence and an arms race in both conventional and nuclear weapons, the Cold War was expressed through technological rivalries such as the Space Race, espionage, propaganda campaigns, embargoes, and sports diplomacy.

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19/08/1945

August Revolution: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The August Revolution, also known as the August General Uprising, was a revolution led by the Việt Minh against the Empire of Vietnam from 13 to 28 August 1945. The Empire of Vietnam was led by the Nguyễn dynasty and was backed by Japan as a member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The Việt Minh, a political league de facto led by the Communist Party, was created in 1941 and designed to appeal to a wider population than the communists could command. The revolution had the participation of factions that did not follow the Việt Minh.

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19/08/1944

World War II: Liberation of Paris: Paris, France rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.

The Liberation of Paris was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armistice of 22 June 1940, after which the Wehrmacht occupied northern and western France.

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19/08/1942

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.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

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19/08/1941

Germany and Romania sign the Tiraspol Agreement, rendering the region of Transnistria under control of the latter.

Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945, after 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, ending World War II in Europe.

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19/08/1940

First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.

The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built. It was the most-produced American medium bomber and the third-most-produced American bomber overall. These included several limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainer, and the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber.

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19/08/1936

The Great Purge of the Soviet Union begins when the first of the Moscow Trials is convened.

The Great Purge or Great Terror, also known as the Year of '37 and the Yezhovshchina, was a political purge in the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1938. After the assassination of Sergei Kirov by Leonid Nikolaev in 1934, Joseph Stalin launched a series of show trials known as the Moscow trials to remove suspected dissenters from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The term "great purge" was popularized by historian Robert Conquest in his 1968 book, The Great Terror, whose title alluded to the French Revolution's Reign of Terror.

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19/08/1934

The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.

The Soap Box Derby is a youth-oriented gravity racer event founded in 1934 in the United States by Myron Scott, employed by the Dayton Daily News, and preceded by events such as Kid Auto Races at Venice in 1914. Proclaimed "the greatest amateur racing event in the world", the program culminates each July at the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby World Championship held at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio, with winners from their local communities traveling from across the US, Canada, Germany, and Japan to compete. 2024 marked the 86th running of the All-American since its inception in 1934 in Dayton, Ohio, having missed four years (1942–1945) during World War II and one (2020) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cars competing in the program race downhill, propelled by gravity alone.

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The German referendum of 1934 approves Adolf Hitler's appointment as head of state with the title of Führer.

A referendum on merging the posts of Chancellor and President was held in Nazi Germany on 19 August 1934, seventeen days after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg. The German leadership sought to gain approval for Adolf Hitler's assumption of supreme power. The referendum was associated with widespread intimidation of voters and significant electoral fraud.

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19/08/1927

Patriarch Sergius of Moscow proclaims the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet Union.

Patriarch Sergius I was the 12th Patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus', from September 8, 1943 until his death on May 15, 1944. He was also the de facto head of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1925–1943, firstly as deputy Patriarchal locum tenens (1925–1937) subsequently as Patriarchal locum tenens (1937–1943).

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19/08/1920

The Tambov Rebellion breaks out, in response to the Bolshevik policy of Prodrazvyorstka.

The Tambov Rebellion of 1920–1922 was one of the largest and best-organized peasant rebellions challenging the Bolshevik government during the Russian Civil War. The uprising took place in the territories of the modern Tambov Oblast and part of the Voronezh Oblast, less than 500 kilometres (300 mi) southeast of Moscow.

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19/08/1909

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for automobile racing. William Bourque and his mechanic are killed during the first day's events.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix and the Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix. It is located six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.

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19/08/1903

The Transfiguration Uprising breaks out in East Thrace, resulting in the establishment of the Strandzha Commune.

The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising, consisting of the Ilinden Uprising and Preobrazhenie Uprising, was an organized revolt against the Ottoman Empire from August to October 1903. It was prepared and carried out by the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization, with the support of the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee, which included mostly Bulgarian military personnel. The name of the uprising refers to Ilinden, a name for Elijah's day, and to Preobrazhenie which means Feast of the Transfiguration.

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19/08/1862

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.

The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota collectively known as the Santee Sioux. It began on August 18, 1862, when the Dakota, who were facing starvation and displacement, attacked the Lower Sioux Agency and white settlements along the Minnesota River valley in southwest Minnesota. The war lasted for five weeks and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of settlers and the displacement of thousands more. In the aftermath, the Dakota people were exiled from their homelands, forcibly sent to reservations in the Dakotas and Nebraska, and the State of Minnesota confiscated and sold all their remaining land in the state. Thirty-eight Dakota men were subsequently hanged for crimes committed during the conflict in the largest mass execution in US history.

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19/08/1861

First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.

The Weisshorn is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at 4,505 metres above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Valais. In the latter valley, the Weisshorn is one of the many 4000ers surrounding Zermatt, with Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn.

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19/08/1854

The First Sioux War begins when United States Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return are massacred.

The Sioux Wars were a series of conflicts between the United States and various subgroups of the Sioux people which occurred in the later half of the 19th century. The earliest conflict came in 1854 when a fight broke out at Fort Laramie in Wyoming, when Sioux warriors killed 31 American soldiers in the Grattan Massacre, and the final came in 1890 during the Ghost Dance War.

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19/08/1848

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).

The California gold rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush in California, which began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people from the rest of the United States and abroad to California, which had recently been conquered from Mexico. The sudden influx of gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy; the sudden population increase allowed California to grow rapidly into statehood in the Compromise of 1850. The gold rush had severe effects on Native Californians and accelerated the Native American population's decline from disease, starvation, and the California genocide.

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19/08/1839

The French government announces that Louis Daguerre's photographic process is a gift "free to the world".

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a French scientist, artist and photographer recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photography. Though he is most famous for his contributions to photography, he was also an accomplished painter, scenic designer, and a developer of the diorama theatre.

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19/08/1813

Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's Second Triumvirate.

Gervasio Antonio de Posadas y Dávila was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as the first Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata from 31 January 1814 to 9 January 1815, after having been a member of the Second Triumvirate in 1813–1814.

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19/08/1812

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".

The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, the war did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by the United States Congress on 17 February 1815.

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19/08/1782

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.

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war, but Washington and the Continental Army's decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war. In 1783, in the Treaty of Paris, the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.

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19/08/1772

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.

Gustav III, also called Gustavus III, was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden.

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19/08/1759

Battle of Lagos: Naval battle during the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France.

The Battle of Lagos took place between a British fleet commanded by Edward Boscawen and a French fleet under Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran over two days in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. They fought south west of the Gulf of Cádiz on 18 August and to the east of the small Portuguese port of Lagos, after which the battle is named, on 19 August.

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19/08/1745

Prince Charles Edward Stuart raises his standard in Glenfinnan: The start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion, known as "the 45".

Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1766. He is also known as the Young Pretender, the Young Chevalier and Bonnie Prince Charlie, and to Jacobites as Charles III.

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Ottoman–Persian War: In the Battle of Kars, the Ottoman army is routed by Persian forces led by Nader Shah.

The Ottoman–Persian War of 1743–1746 or Ottoman–Iranian War of 1743–1746 was fought between the Ottoman Empire and Afsharid Iran.

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19/08/1725

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.

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orchestral Brandenburg Concertos; solo instrumental works such as the Cello Suites and Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier; organ works such as the Schübler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and choral works such as the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. He is known for his mastery of counterpoint, as heard in The Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue. Felix Mendelssohn precipitated the Bach Revival with a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829. Ever since, Bach has been acclaimed as one of the greatest composers of classical music.

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19/08/1692

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.

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging. One other man, Giles Corey, died under torture after refusing to enter a plea, and at least five people died in the disease-ridden jails without trial.

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19/08/1666

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".

The Second Anglo-Dutch War began on 4 March 1665 and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of naval wars between England and the Dutch Republic, driven largely by commercial disputes.

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19/08/1604

Eighty Years War: a besieging Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Orange forces the Spanish garrison of Sluis to capitulate.

The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, excessive taxation, and the rights and privileges of the Dutch nobility and cities.

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19/08/1561

Mary, Queen of Scots, aged 18, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.

Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication on 24 July 1567.

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19/08/1504

In Ireland, the Hiberno-Norman de Burghs (Burkes) and Cambro-Norman Fitzgeralds fight in the Battle of Knockdoe.

Norman Irish or Hiberno-Normans is a modern term for the descendants of Norman settlers who arrived during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. Most came from England and Wales. They are distinguished from the native Gaelic Irish, although some Normans eventually became Gaelicised. The Hiberno-Normans were a feudal aristocracy and merchant oligarchy which controlled the Lordship of Ireland. The Hiberno-Normans were associated with the Gregorian Reform of the Catholic Church in Ireland and contributed to the emergence of a Hiberno-English dialect.

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19/08/1458

Pope Pius II is elected the 211th Pope.

Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464.

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19/08/1153

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.

Baldwin III was the king of Jerusalem from 1143 until his death. Although he only took up sole rule in 1152 and died young, he was the longest-reigning of the 12th-century kings of Jerusalem. He expanded the borders of the kingdom, paved the way for the later kings' attempts to conquer Egypt, and acted as the defender of the other crusader states in the Levant.

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19/08/0947

Abu Yazid, a Kharijite rebel leader, is defeated and killed in the Hodna Mountains in modern-day Algeria by Fatimid forces.

Abū Yazīd Makhlad ibn Kaydād, was a member of the Ibadi sect. He opposed the Ismaili Shia rule of the Fatimids in North Africa and sought to restore Ibadi dominance in the region. Known as the Man on the Donkey due to his humble means of transport, Abu Yazid led a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya starting in 944, rallying various Berber tribes and disaffected groups against the Fatimids. His forces initially achieved significant victories, even threatening the Fatimid capital of al-Mahdiyya. Abu Yazid conquered Kairouan for a time, but was eventually driven back and defeated by the Fatimid caliph al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah in 947, Abu Yazid escaped following a siege, but was wounded and captured. He died of his wounds several days later.

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01/01/1970

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.

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, and author who was the dictator of the Roman Republic almost continuously from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. A member of the First Triumvirate, he led the Roman armies through the Gallic Wars and defeated his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil war. He consolidated power and proclaimed himself dictator for life in 44 BC, which contributed to the political conditions that led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the emergence of the Roman Empire. For his role in these events, he is regarded as one of the most influential historical figures.

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20/08/2005

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.

Venus is a Roman goddess whose functions encompass love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the ancestor of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor. Venus was central to many religious festivals, and was revered in Roman religion under numerous cult titles.

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