1991: On this day in 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.
1960: American pilot Francis Gary Powers was sentenced to 10 years' confinement by the Soviet Union for espionage following the U-2 Affair, but he was later released (1962) in exchange for the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
1946: Birth of Bill Clinton in Hope, Arkansas
1945: A commando force formed by Vo Nguyen Giap, under Vietnamese nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh, entered the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
1936: Soviet officials began the Great Purge of prominent Old Bolsheviks—real or potential political rivals and critics of Joseph Stalin—as the first show trial opened, resulting in the execution of Lev Kamenev and others.
1934: Some 90 percent of German voters approved a referendum that made Adolf Hitler “Führer und Reichskanzler” (“leader and chancellor”).
1883: French fashion designer Coco Chanel—who, with her elegantly casual creations, ruled over Parisian haute couture for almost six decades—was born.
1847: U.S. forces under Major General Winfield Scott began the Battle of Contreras, opening the final campaign of the Mexican-American War.
1812: The USS Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, won a brilliant victory over the British frigate HMS Guerriere in the War of 1812.
1458: Enea Silvio Piccolomini was elected pope as Pius II, following the death of Calixtus III.
1274: Edward I was crowned king of England at Westminster.
** This aired on August 19, 1972. That 19 number.
Much more notable events also on August 19th:
1991: On this day in 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.
1960: American pilot Francis Gary Powers was sentenced to 10 years' confinement by the Soviet Union for espionage following the U-2 Affair, but he was later released (1962) in exchange for the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
1946: Birth of Bill Clinton in Hope, Arkansas
1945: A commando force formed by Vo Nguyen Giap, under Vietnamese nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh, entered the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
1936: Soviet officials began the Great Purge of prominent Old Bolsheviks—real or potential political rivals and critics of Joseph Stalin—as the first show trial opened, resulting in the execution of Lev Kamenev and others.
1934: Some 90 percent of German voters approved a referendum that made Adolf Hitler “Führer und Reichskanzler” (“leader and chancellor”).
1883: French fashion designer Coco Chanel—who, with her elegantly casual creations, ruled over Parisian haute couture for almost six decades—was born.
1847: U.S. forces under Major General Winfield Scott began the Battle of Contreras, opening the final campaign of the Mexican-American War.
1812: The USS Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, won a brilliant victory over the British frigate HMS Guerriere in the War of 1812.
1458: Enea Silvio Piccolomini was elected pope as Pius II, following the death of Calixtus III.
1274: Edward I was crowned king of England at Westminster.
From https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/August-19