What are the important events that happened on August 19? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

August 19: Facts & Myths About This Day

August 19 is the 231^st day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 134 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 6, 2025 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,755,561,600 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectatriacontahenagon’ day.

Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 182 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,624 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

August 19 Historical Events

• 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.
• 1919 –
  Afghanistan gains full independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1960 –
  Sputnik program: Sputnik 5 – the Soviet Union launches the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants.
• 1981 –
  Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
• 1987 –
  Hungerford Massacre: in the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with an assault rifle and then commits suicide.
• 1991 –
  Crown Heights Riot: Black groups target Hasidic Jews on the streets of Crown Heights during 3 days, after 2 black kids were struck by a car driven by a Hasidic man.
• 1991 –
  dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Crimea.
• 2002 –
  A Russian Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.
• 2010 –
  Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.

Who were born on August 19?

• 1871 –
  Orville Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1948)
• 1919 –
  Malcolm Forbes, American publisher (d. 1990)
• 1926 –
  Arthur Rock, American venture capitalist
• 1944 –
  Charles Wang, Chinese-born philanthropist
• 1945 –
  Sandro de América, Argentine singer & actor (d. 2010)
• 1946 –
  Dawn Steel, American film producer (d. 1997)
• 1951 –
  Gustavo Santaolalla, Argentine film composer
• 1961 –
  Jonathan Coe, British author
• 1972 –
  Sammi Cheng Sau Man, Hong Kong singer and actress
• 1988 –
  Travis Tedford, American actor

Who died on August 19?

• 1245 –
  Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence (b. 1195)
• 1889 –
  Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, French writer (b. 1838)
• 1923 –
  Vilfredo Pareto, Italian sociologist and economist (b. 1845)
• 1936 –
  Hugh Patrick Lygon, English aristocrat (b. 1904)
• 1957 –
  David Bomberg, English painter (b. 1890)
• 1970 –
  Paweł Jasienica, Polish historian (b. 1909)
• 1975 –
  Mark Donohue, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1937)
• 1980 –
  Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank (b. 1889)
• 1986 –
  Hermione Baddeley, English actress (b. 1906)
• 2008 –
  LeRoi Moore, American musician (Dave Matthews Band) (b. 1961)