August 19:

Events

• 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 Lord Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown.
• 1812 – War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning her nickname "Old Ironsides".
• 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).
• 1862 – Indian Wars: 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.
• 1895 – American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas.
• 1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
• 1940 – First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
• 1953 – Cold War: the CIA helps to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
• 1955 – In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.
• 1960 – Cold War: in Moscow, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
• 1981 – Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
• 1991 – Hurricane Bob hits the Northeast, United States.

Births

• 1870 – Bernard Baruch, American financier (d. 1965)
• 1871 – Orville Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1948)
• 1883 – Elsie Ferguson, American film actress (d. 1961)
• 1892 – Alfred Lunt, American actor (d. 1977)
• 1900 – Colleen Moore, American film actress.(d. 1988)
• 1902 – Ogden Nash, American poet (d. 1971)
• 1903 – James Gould Cozzens, American novelist (d. 1978)
• 1906 – Philo Farnsworth, American inventor (d. 1971)
• 1907 – Thruston B. Morton, American politician (d. 1982)
• 1907 – Archie League, generally considered the first air traffic controller (d. 1986)
• 1913 – Richard Simmons, American actor (d. 2003)
• 1915 – Ring Lardner Jr, American journalist and screenwriter (d. 2000)
• 1919 – Malcolm Forbes, American publisher (d. 1990)
• 1921 – Gene Roddenberry, American television producer (d. 1991)
• 1926 – Arthur Rock, American venture capitalist
• 1930 – Frank McCourt, Irish-American author (d. 2009)
• 1931 – Willie Shoemaker, American jockey (d. 2003)
• 1932 – Thomas P. Salmon, 75^th Governor of Vermont
• 1934 – Renée Richards, American physician
• 1935 – Bobby Richardson, American baseball player
• 1938 – Diana Muldaur, American actress
• 1940 – Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter
• 1940 – Jill St. John, American actress
• 1942 – Fred Thompson, American politician and actor
• 1944 – Buzz Kilman, Chicago radio personality
• 1946 – Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
• 1946 – Dawn Steel, American film producer (d. 1997)
• 1947 – Terry Hoeppner, American football coach (d. 2007)
• 1947 – Gerard Schwarz, American conductor
• 1948 – Gerald McRaney, American actor
• 1948 – Tipper Gore, Second Lady of the United States
• 1952 – Jonathan Frakes, American actor and director
• 1953 – Lynwood Slim, American blues musician
• 1953 – Mary Matalin, American political consultant
• 1955 – Peter Gallagher, American actor
• 1955 – Ned Yost, American baseball player and manager
• 1956 – Adam Arkin, American actor
• 1958 – Anthony Muñoz, American football player
• 1958 – Gary Gaetti, American baseball player
• 1959 – Ricky Pierce, American basketball player
• 1959 – Susan Cummings, Monegasque-born American heiress and convicted murderer
• 1960 – Morten Andersen, American football player
• 1960 – Ron Darling, American baseball player and announcer
• 1962 – Tammy Bruce, American political commentator
• 1963 – John Stamos, American actor
• 1965 – Kyra Sedgwick, American actress
• 1965 – Kevin Dillon, American actor
• 1966 – Lee Ann Womack, American musician
• 1968 – Mark McGuinn, country music singer
• 1969 – Nate Dogg, American rapper
• 1969 – Kirk Herbstreit, American football analyst (College GameDay)
• 1969 – Paula Jai Parker, American actress
• 1969 – Matthew Perry, American actor
• 1969 – Patrick Van Horn, American actor
• 1969 – Clay Walker, American singer
• 1970 – Fat Joe, American rapper
• 1970 – Jeff Tam, American baseball Player
• 1971 – Mary Jo Fernandez, Tennis player
• 1974 – Tim Kasher, American musician, Cursive and The Good Life
• 1975 – Chynna Clugston, American comic book creator
• 1975 – Tracie Thoms, American actress
• 1978 – Chris Capuano, American baseball player
• 1979 – Dave Douglas, American musician (Relient K, Attack Cat)
• 1980 – Michael Todd, American musician (Coheed and Cambria)
• 1982 – Erika Christensen, American actress
• 1982 – J. J. Hardy, American baseball player
• 1983 – John McCargo, American football player
• 1984 – Micah Alberti, American actor
• 1985 – Megan Rochell, American singer
• 1988 – Travis Tedford, American actor
• 1989 – Romeo Miller, American rapper and basketball player

Deaths

• 1692 – John Proctor, Salem farmer and tavern keeper (b.1632)
• 1883 – Jeremiah S. Black, American statesman (b. 1810)
• 1895 – John Wesley Hardin, American gunfighter (b. 1853)
• 1959 – Jacob Epstein, American-born sculptor (b. 1880)
• 1959 – Blind Willie McTell, American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist (b. 1901)
• 1975 – Mark Donohue, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1937)
• 1977 – Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor (b. 1890)
• 1979 – Dorsey Burnette, American singer (b. 1932)
• 1994 – Linus Pauling, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Peace (b. 1901)
• 2000 – Theodore Trautwein, American judge (b. 1920)
• 2001 – Betty Everett, American singer and pianist (b. 1939)
• 2008 – LeRoi Moore, American musician (Dave Matthews Band) (b. 1961)
• 2009 – Don Hewitt, television news producer & director; creator of 60 Minutes (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

• United States: National Aviation Day