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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on August 19th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Emperor Augustus, also known as Octavian, the first Roman Emperor and founder of the Roman Empire, dies in Nola, Italy. Augustus played a crucial role in transitioning Rome from a Republic to an Empire during the Pax Romana, a period of stability and prosperity. He was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius.
King Richard II of England surrenders to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke at Flint Castle on August 19, 1399. Richard was forced to abdicate and Henry crowned himself King Henry IV, beginning the Lancastrian dynasty and ultimately leading to the Wars of the Roses. Richard was imprisoned in the Tower of London before his death in February 1400.
Benjamin Banneker, the son of a free Black American woman and a formerly enslaved African man from Guinea, writes a letter to Thomas Jefferson, then-Secretary of State. On the letter, 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.
Jefferson brief response thanked him for the letter, expressed his ambivalence about slavery ("…no body [sic] wishes more sincerely than I do to see such proofs as you exhibit in your letter, that nature has given to our black brethren, talents equal to those of the other colours of men") and endorsed Banneker’s accomplishments. More
Afghanistan, Independence Day officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Independence Day (Afghan Victory Day) It commemorates the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919.
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Hitler becomes President of Germany; 89.9 percent of German voters approved granting Chancellor Adolf Hitler additional powers, including the office of president.
The Dieppe Raid, an Allied amphibious assault on the German-occupied port of Dieppe, France, ends in a heavy defeat and high casualties for the Allies.
A U.S. CIA and UK supported coup d'état by the Iranian military topples the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. It favored strengthening the monarchical rule of the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and all but insuring access to Iranian oil by the U.S. and the U.K.
Sixty years later, in 2013, the National Security Archive released declassified CIA documents on the United States' role in the controversial operation. Although American and British involvement, had long been public knowledge, the released documents were the CIA's first formal acknowledgement that the agency helped to plan and execute the coup and participated in smoothing over the aftermath. More
Soviet hardline Communists staged a coup, temporarily removing Mikhail Gorbachev from power. The coup failed within 72 hours as democratic reformer Boris Yeltsin rallied the Russian people. Yeltsin then became the leading power in the country. The Communist Party was soon banned and by December the Soviet Union itself disintegrated. More
