1399: King Richard II of England surrenders to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke at Flint Castle after promising to abdicate if his life was spared
1791: Benjamin Banneker writes to Thomas Jefferson, urging justice for African Americans
You will also like...
On August 19, 1791, the accomplished American mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker pens a letter to then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson corresponds prolifically with luminaries from around the world, but Banneker is unique among them: the son of a free Black American woman and a formerly enslaved African man from Guinea, Banneker criticizes Jefferson’s hypocritical stance on slavery in respectful but unambiguous terms, using Jefferson’s own words to make his case for the abolition of slavery.
1897: The London Electric Cab Company began operating the electric-powered taxi cabs in London’s West End and the City. They had a range of up to 30 miles, and a top speed of 9 miles an hour. The cabs prove uneconomical and were withdrawn in 1900.
1909: The first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, now the home of the world’s most famous motor racing competition, the Indianapolis 500.
1912: The Nigeria Civil Service Union was founded by 33 Civil Servants cutting across all cadre.
1919: Afghanistan Gains Independence from the United Kingdom
The Central Asian country came under British control in 1859, The country was considered to be a buffer for the British trade in opium and as a frontier to protect their interests in India. Despite trying several times to consolidate their rule over Afghanistan, the Afghan people remained hostile to British control and in 1919, King Amanullah declared Afghanistan to be independent from Britain’s protection. The declaration launched a war called the Third Anglo-Afghan War, which ended with the signing of the Rawalpindi Treaty on this day. The treaty granted Afghanistan independence from the British.
1942: British and Canadian troops launched a disastrous attack on German-held Dieppe. Of the 6,000 troops involved, only about 2,500 returned. The rest were killed or captured.
1944: In an effort to prevent a communist uprising in Paris, Charles De Gualle begins attacking German forces all around the city.
1953: Democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh is overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the United Kingdom (under the name ‘Operation Boot’) and the United States (under the name TPAJAX Project)
1960: Sputnik 5 is launched by USSR
The Soviet spacecraft carried two dogs, Strelka and Belka, who became the first living beings to survive in space.
1964: World’s First Geostationary Satellite is Launched
Syncom 3, a communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. A geostationary satellite is a manmade object that follows the Earth’s rotation around its axis. Because of this, it looks like it is not moving in the sky for observers on Earth. Like all geostationary satellites, Syncom 3 was placed in orbit about 22,00 miles from Earth, above the Equator and near the International Date Line. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were broadcast to the United States with the help of this satellite.
1968: Nigeria’s Federal Troops launched a major offensive against multiple targets in Biafra on the 19th of August 1968. Despite claims that scores of people were killed, the leader of the Nigerian military government, General Yakubu Gowon said that his troops were ‘behaving correctly’. Biafra had declared itself independent from Nigeria on 30 May 1967 which sparked tensions.
1976: Gerald R Ford, who had become President of the United States after Richard Nixon resigned, wins Republican Party’s presidential nomination at Kansas City convention.
1978: A fire at the Rex Cinema in Abadan, Iran, kills over 400 people
The incident which is considered to be a run-up to the Iranian Revolution occurred during the screening of The Deers, a film by Iranian director Masoud Kimiai. It is thought that 4 extremists locked the gates of the theater and set it on fire. Many people at the time believed that the fire was started by SAVAK, the Iranian intelligence agency.
1987: Hungerford Massacre in the UK; armed with semi-automatic rifles and a handgun Michael Ryan kills 16 people before committing suicide. In response, Parliament passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act of 1988 banning ownership of certain classes of firearms.
1991: Mikhail Gorbachev, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985–91) and president of the Soviet Union (1990–91), was briefly ousted in a coup by communist hard-liners.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: August 19
Bill Clinton, 78 years
Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas. He was the only child of Virginia Cassidy Blythe (1923-94) and traveling salesman William Jefferson Blythe Jr. (1918-46), who died in a car accident three months before his son’s birth. In 1950, Virginia Blythe married car dealer Roger Clinton Sr. (1908-67) and the family later moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. As a teen, Bill Clinton officially adopted his stepfather’s surname. His only sibling, Roger Clinton Jr., was born in 1956. He became the 42nd U.S. president, served in office from 1993 to 2001.
Augustine Eguaavoen, 59 years
Augustine Owen Eguavoen (born 19 August 1965) is a former professional footballer and was manager of Nigeria national under-23 football team and the former manager of the Nigerian national football team.
Malcolm Forbes (19 August 1919 – 24 February 1990)
Malcolm Stevenson Forbes was an American entrepreneur and politician most prominently known as the publisher of Forbes magazine, which was founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He died at the age of 70.
