August 19

Birthdays:

1955 ~ Peter Gallagher, American actor.

1953 ~ Mary Matalin, American political consultant and wife of James Carville.

1948 ~ Tipper Gore (née Mary Elizabeth Gore), former wife of Vice President Al Gore and Second Lady of the United States under the Presidency of Bill Clinton.

1946 ~ Bill Clinton (né William Jefferson Clinton), 42^nd President of the United States.

1942 ~ Fred Thompson (né Freddie Dalton Thompson, d. 2015), American actor best known for his role as the District Attorney on Law and Order.  He later became a United States Senator from Tennessee.  He died at age 73.

1939 ~ Ginger Baker (né Peter Edward Baker), British drummer and songwriter.

1934 ~ Renée Richards (né Richard Raskind), American tennis player and ophthalmologist.  She is best known for having undergone sex reassignment surgery in 1975.

1932 ~ Thomas P. Salmon, 75^th Governor of Vermont.  He served as Governor from 1973 to 1977.

1931 ~ Willie Shoemaker (d. 2003), American jockey.  He died at age 72.

1930 ~ Frank McCourt (d. 2009), Irish-American author, best known for his memoir, Angela’s Ashes.  He died a month before his 79^th birthday.

1924 ~ Willard Boyle (d. 2011), Canadian physicist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 86.

1921 ~ Gene Roddenberry (d. 1991), American screenwriter and creator of Star Trek.  He died at age 70.

1919 ~ Malcolm Forbes (b. 1990), American publisher.  He died at age 70.

1906 ~ Philo T. Farnsworth (d. 1971), American inventor and pioneer in television technology.  He died at age 64 of pneumonia.

1902 ~ Ogden Nash (d. 1971), American poet.  He died at age 68.

1883 ~ Coco Chanel (née Gabrielle Chanel, d. 1971), French clothing designer.  She died at age 87.

1871 ~ Orville Wright (d. 1948), American aviation pioneer, who along with his brother, Wilber (1867 ~ 1912), invented the airplane.  He died at age 76.

1870 ~ Bernard Baruch (d. 1965), American financier and statesman.  He died at age 94.

1743 ~ Madame du Barry (née Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry, d. 1793), French courtesan and mistress of King Louis XV of France.  She died at age 50.

Events that Changed the World:

2003 ~ A suicide attack, planned by Hamas, on a bus in Jerusalem killed seven children and 16 adults.

1991 ~ African-American groups targeted the Hasidic Jews of Crown Heights in New York city for three days after 2 young black children were hit by a car driven by a Hasidic man.

1960 ~ A tribunal in Moscow convicted American pilot Francis Gary Powers (1929 ~ 1977) of espionage and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.  He was subsequently released to the Americans in a prisoner exchange, which is depicted in the movie Bridge of Spies.

1955 ~ Hurricane Diane caused severe flooding in the Northeast United States, killing 200 people.

1934 ~ The first All-American Soap Box Derby was held in Dayton, Ohio.

1919 ~ Afghanistan gained its full independence from the United Kingdom.

1909 ~ The Indianapolis Motor Speedway held its first automobile race.

1848 ~ The New York Herald reported the discovery of gold in California, which ultimately lead to the Gold Rush.

1812 ~ During the War of 1812, the American frigate, the USS Constitution defeated the British frigate the HMS Guerrier.  The USS Constitution thus became known by its nickname Old Ironsides.  It now resides in Boston Harbor.

1768 ~ Saint Isaac’s Cathedral was founded in St. Petersburg, Russia.

1692 ~ In Salem, Massachusetts, following the Salem Witch Trials, four men and one woman were executed after being found guilty of witchcraft.

Good-Byes:

2015 ~ George Houser (b. 1916), American minister and civil rights activist who led the First Freedom Ride.  He was 99 years old.

2014 ~ James Foley (b. 1973), American freelance photographer and journalist who was beheaded by ISIS.  He had been kidnapped while covering the Syrian Civil War.  He was from Rochester, New Hampshire.  He was 40 years old.

1994 ~ Linus Pauling (b. 1901), American chemist and recipient of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize.  He died at age 93.

1980 ~ Otto Frank (b. 1889), father of Anne Frank and Holocaust survivor.  He died at age 91.

1977 ~ Groucho Marx (né Julius Henry Marx, b. 1890), American comedian and actor.  He died at age 86.

1883 ~ Jeremiah S. Black (b. 1810), 24^th United States Attorney General.  He served in the James Buchanan administration as the 23^rd Secretary of State from December 1860 until March 1861, and as the 24^th United States Attorney General from March 1957 until December 1860.  He died at age 73.

1822 ~ Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre (b. 1749), French mathematician.  He died a month before his 73^rd birthday.

1662 ~ Blaise Pascal (b. 1623), French mathematician and philosopher.  He died at age 39.

1654 ~ Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller (b. 1579), Bohemian rabbi.

1493 ~ Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1415).  He died a month before his 78^th birthday.