Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
Aug 19, 1934: Adolf Hitler becomes president of Germany
On this day in 1934, Adolf Hitler, already chancellor, is also elected president of Germany in an unprecedented consolidation of power in the short history of the republic.
In 1932, German President Paul von Hindenburg, old, tired, and a bit senile, had won re-election as president, but had lost a considerable portion of his right/conservative support to the Nazi Party. Those close to the president wanted a cozier relationship to Hitler and the Nazis. Hindenburg had contempt for the Nazis' lawlessness, but ultimately agreed to oust his chancellor, Heinrich Bruning, for Franz von Papen, who was willing to appease the Nazis by lifting the ban on Hitler's Brown Shirts and unilaterally canceling Germany's reparation payments, imposed by the Treaty of Versailles at the close of World War I.
But Hitler was not appeased. He wanted the chancellorship for himself. Papen's policies failed on another front: His authoritarian rule alienated his supporters, and he too was forced to resign. He then made common cause with Hitler, persuading President Hindenburg to appoint Hitler chancellor and himself vice-chancellor. He promised the president that he would restrain Hitler's worst tendencies and that a majority of the Cabinet would go to non-Nazis. As Hindenburg's current chancellor could no longer gain a majority in the Reichstag, and Hitler could bring together a larger swath of the masses and a unified right/conservative/nationalist coalition, the president gave in. In January 1933, Hitler was named chancellor of Germany.
But that was not enough for Hitler either. In February 1933, Hitler blamed a devastating Reichstag fire on the communists (its true cause remains a mystery) and convinced President Hindenburg to sign a decree suspending individual and civil liberties, a decree Hitler used to silence his political enemies with false arrests. Upon the death of Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler proceeded to purge the Brown Shirts (his storm troopers), the head of which, Ernst Roem, had began voicing opposition to the Nazi Party's terror tactics. Hitler had Roem executed without trial, which encouraged the army and other reactionary forces within the country to urge Hitler to further consolidate his power by merging the presidency and the chancellorship. This would make Hitler commander of the army as well. A plebiscite vote was held on August 19. Intimidation, and fear of the communists, brought Hitler a 90 percent majority. He was now, for all intents and purposes, dictator.
Aug 19, 1812: Old Ironsides earns its name
During the War of 1812, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution defeats the British frigate Guerrière in a furious engagement off the coast of Nova Scotia. Witnesses claimed that the British shot merely bounced off the Constitution's sides, as if the ship were made of iron rather than wood. By the war's end, "Old Ironsides" destroyed or captured seven more British ships. The success of the USS Constitution against the supposedly invincible Royal Navy provided a tremendous boost in morale for the young American republic.
The Constitution was one of six frigates that Congress requested be built in 1794 to help protect American merchant fleets from attacks by Barbary pirates and harassment by British and French forces. It was constructed in Boston, and the bolts fastening its timbers and copper sheathing were provided by the industrialist and patriot Paul Revere. Launched on October 21, 1797, the Constitution was 204 feet long, displaced 2,200 tons, and was rated as a 44-gun frigate (although it often carried as many as 50 guns).
In July 1798 it was put to sea with a crew of 450 and cruised the West Indies, protecting U.S. shipping from French privateers. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson ordered the American warship to the Mediterranean to fight Barbary pirates off the coast of Tripoli. The vessel performed commendably during the conflict, and in 1805 a peace treaty with Tripoli was signed on the Constitution's deck.
When war broke out with Britain in June 1812, the Constitution was commanded by Isaac Hull, who served as lieutenant on the ship during the Tripolitan War. Scarcely a month later, on July 16, the Constitution encountered a squadron of five British ships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey. Finding itself surrounded, the Constitution was preparing to escape when suddenly the wind died. With both sides dead in the water and just out of gunnery range, a legendary slow-speed chase ensued. For 36 hours, the Constitution's crew kept their ship just ahead of the British by towing the frigate with rowboats and by tossing the ship's anchor ahead of the ship and then reeling it in. At dawn on July 18, a breeze sprang, and the Constitution was far enough ahead of its pursuers to escape by sail.
One month later, on August 19, the Constitution caught the British warship Guerrière alone about 600 miles east of Boston. After considerable maneuvering, the Constitution delivered its first broadside, and for 20 minutes the American and British vessels bombarded each other in close and violent action. The British man-of-war was de-masted and rendered a wreck while the Constitution escaped with only minimal damage. The unexpected victory of Old Ironsides against a British frigate helped unite America behind the war effort and made Commander Hull a national hero. The Constitution went on to defeat or capture seven more British ships in the War of 1812 and ran the British blockade of Boston twice.
After the war, Old Ironsides served as the flagship of the navy's Mediterranean squadron and in 1828 was laid up in Boston. Two years later, the navy considered scrapping the Constitution, which had become unseaworthy, leading to an outcry of public support for preserving the famous warship. The navy refurbished the Constitution, and it went on to serve as the flagship of the Mediterranean, Pacific, and Home squadrons. In 1844, the frigate left New York City on a global journey that included visits to numerous international ports as a goodwill agent of the United States. In the early 1850s, it served as flagship of the African Squadron and patrolled the West African coast looking for slave traders.
In 1855, the Constitution retired from active military service, but the famous vessel continued to serve the United States, first as a training ship and later as a touring national landmark. Since 1934, it has been based at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. Over the years, Old Ironsides has enjoyed a number of restorations, the most recent of which was completed in 1997, allowing it to sail for the first time in 116 years. Today, the Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat.
So, today in history, Octavian (to be known as Augustus later on), convinced the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. THe USS Constitution, also known as "Old Ironsides",earned a legendary status on this date, during the War of 1812, by defeating the British warship Guerriere. During World War I, the Battle of Vin began on this date. Afghanistan gained independence from Britain. Hitler became the official President of Germany. The last Japanese troops were routed out of India in 1943. The Nazis gave parts of Paris over to the Resistance on this date in 1944. Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of the downed U-2 spy plane, was convicted of espionage in Moscow.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus, compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul.
440 - St Sixtus III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1071 - Battle at Manzikert: Seldjuken sultan Alp Arslan beats Byzantine King
1099 - Crusaders beat Saracens in Battle of Ascalon
1263 - King James I of Argon censors Hebrew writing
1399 - King Richard II of England surrenders to his cousin Henry
1458 - Aenea Silvio Piccolomini chosen Pope Pius II
1477 - Burgundy & acquires Burgundian possessions in the Netherlands & France
1493 - Maximilian I of Austria becomes Roman Catholic German emperor
1504 - Battle of Knockdoe.
1524 - Emperor Charles V's troops besiege Marseille, Italy
1561 - Mary Queen of Scots arrives in Leith Scotland to assume throne after spending 13 years in France
1587 - Sigismund III becomes king of Poland
1591 - French king Henri IV occupies Rouen
1627 - Prince Frederik Henry conquerors fort Groenlo
1691 - Battle at Szalankemen: Austrians beat Turks
1692 - 5 women executed for witchcraft in Salem Mass
1698 - Russian czar Peter the Great begins term
1702 - -24] Battle at Santa Marta Venz: English fleet beat French
1757 - Battle at Gross Jagerndorf: Russian army beats Prussia [NS=Aug 30]
1768 - Saint Isaac's Cathedral is founded in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
1772 - Gustav III seizes effective control of Swedish government & restores full power of monarchy, which had been subordinate to parliament since 1720
1787 - W Herschel discovers Enceladus, a moon of Saturn
1791 - Benjamin Banneker published his 1st Almanac
1796 - Spain & France sign anti-English alliance
1812 - US warship Constitution defeats British warship Guerriere
1813 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's second triumvirate.
1816 - Java again in Dutch hands
1821 - Failed liberal coup against French King Louis XVIII
1826 - Canada Co chartered to colonize Upper Canada (Ontario)
1836 - HMS Beagle anchors at Angra Azores
1839 - Details of Louis Daguerre's 1st practical photographic process are released in Paris
1849 - NY Herald reports gold discovery in California
1861 - Confederacy Congress allies with government of MO
1864 - 2nd day of battle at Globe Tavern, Virginia
1888 - 1st beauty contest (Spa, Belgium), 18 yr old West Indian wins
1891 - William Huggins describes astronomical application of spectrum
1895 - American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas.
1897 - 1st electric taxi's drive in London
1900 - Start of the one & only olympic cricket match, in Paris
1903 - Phillies suffer record 9th straight posponed game
1905 - Russian Tsar installs "Imperial Duma," without legislative powers
1909 - Indianapolis 500 race track opens
1911 - NY Giant Christy Mathewson loses after beating Reds 22 straight times
1912 - Percy Aldridge Grainger's "Shepherd's Key," premieres
1913 - Frenchman Pégoud makes 1st parachute jump in Europe
1914 - Elmer Rice' "On Trial," premieres in NYC
1914 - German army executed 150 Belgians by firing squad
1914 - German fleet bombs English coast
1914 - Harris Theater (Candler, Coan & Harris) opens at 226 W 42nd St NYC
1915 - Rationing laws go into effect in Netherlands
1915 - World War I: the Battle of Van begins
1917 - Sunday benefit baseball game at Polo Grounds results in John McGraw & Christy Mathewson's arrest for violating Blue laws
1918 - Irving Berlin's musical "Yip Yip Yaphank," premieres in NYC
1919 - Afghanistan declares independence from UK
1921 - Ty Cobb, is 4th to get 3,000 hits
1922 - 36th US Womens Tennis: Molla B Mallory beats Helen Wills Moody (63 61)
1927 - Metropolitan Sergius proclaims the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet state.
1931 - Lefty Grove wins AL record tying 16th consecutive game
1932 - 46th US Womens Tennis: Helen Jacobs beats Carolin A Babcock (62 62)
1933 - 47th US Womens Tennis: Helen Jacobs beats Helen Moody (86 36 30 ret)
1934 - 48th US Womens Tennis: Helen Jacobs beats Sarah H P Fabyan (61 64)
1934 - Paul Runyan wins PGA golf tournament
1934 - The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
1936 - Trial against Ljev Kamenev & Grigori Zinovjev because of "Trotskyism" opens in Moscow
1939 - 37.6 cm rainfall at Tuckerton, NJ (state record)
1941 - Ump Jocko Conlan ejects Pirate manager Frankie Frisch for coming out on field holding an umbrella to get a rainout
1942 - -20] Churchill visits Montgomery's headquarter in Burg-al-Arab
1942 - Over 4,000 Canadian & British soldiers killed, wounded or captured raiding Dieppe, France
1942 - Gen Paulus orders German 6th Army to conquer Stalingrad
1943 - Belgian church excommunicates nazi Leon Degrelle
1943 - US air raid on German bases at Gilze-Rijen/Vlissingen
1944 - Allied air raid on Maastricht, 80+ killed
1944 - Gen Bradley visits Montgomery
1944 - Last Japanese troops driven out of India
1944 - Nazi's give parts of Paris to Resistance
1944 - Paris police strike against nazi occupiers
1944 - Polish 1st Division occupies Hill 262 (Mont Ormel), Normandy
1944 - US 15th Army corp occupies Mantes-Gassicourt at Paris
1944 - US 90th/Polish 1st Division occupy Chambois Normandy
1945 - Phillies Jimmie Foxx, 37, pitches 1st 7 innings vs Reds & wins
1947 - J Arens & D van Dorpen synthetise vitamin A
1950 - ABC begins Saturday morning kid shows (Animal Clinic & Acrobat Ranch)
1951 - Bill Veeck (Cleveland Indians) sends Eddie Gaedel, a 3'7" midget, to pinch-hit
1953 - England regained cricket Ashes after winning series 1-0
1954 - Ralph J Bunche named undersecretary of UN
1955 - 32.4 cm precipitation at Burlington, Connecticut (state record)
1955 - Hurricane Diane kills 200 & 1st billion $ damage storm (N.E. US)
1955 - US raises import duty on bicycles 50%
1955 - WINS radio, announces it will not play "copy" white cover versions of R&B (DJs must play Fats Domino's "Ain't It A Shame," not Pat Boone's)
1956 - Fay Crocker wins LPGA St Louis Golf Open
1957 - NY Giants vote 8-1 to move their franchise to SF in 1958
1957 - US Major David Simons reaches 30,933m in a balloon
1958 - NAACP Youth Council begin sit-ins at Oklahoma City Lunch counters
1959 - Doctor X beats Wilber Snyder in Omaha, to become NWA wrestling champ
1959 - Honolulu seeks a franchise in Continental League
1959 - Satellite Discoverer 6 launched into polar orbit
1960 - Francis Gary Powers convicted of spying by USSR (U-2 incident)
1960 - Sputnik 5 carries 2 dogs, 3 mice into orbit (later recovered alive)
1961 - US vice-president Lyndon B Johnson visits West Berlin
1962 - Homer Blancos plays finest round in golf, shooting a 55
1962 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Albuquerque Swing Parade Golf Tournament
1963 - NAACP Youth Council begins sit-ins at lunch counters, Oklahoma City
1964 - Communication satellite Syncom 3 launched
1965 - Auschwitz trials end with 6 life sentences
1965 - Cincinnati Red Jim Maloney 2nd no-hitter of year beats Chicago Cubs, 1-0
1966 - Earthquake strikes Varko Turkey: 2,400 killed
1967 - Beatles' "All You Need is Love," single goes #1
1969 - Chicago Cub Ken Holtzman no-hits Atlanta Braves, 3-0
1973 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1973 - Pirate World Music Radio (Holland) closes down after 10 years
1973 - Sandra Palmer wins LPGA St Paul Golf Open
1975 - Astros hire Bill Virdon to replace Preston Gomez as manager
1976 - Pres Gerald R Ford won Republican pres nomination at KC convention
1977 - USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan USSR
1978 - 422 die in an arson fire at a movie theater in Iran
1979 - "My Sharonna" by the Knack hits #1 (stays for 42 days)
1979 - Crew of Soyuz 32 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 34 aft 175 d flight
1979 - Sally wins LPGA Barth Golf Classic Little
38th US President Gerald R. Ford38th US President Gerald R. Ford 1979 - Soviet Cosmonauts Vladimir Lyakov & Valery Ryumin returned to Earth aboard Soyuz 34 after a record 175 days in space
1980 - George Brett ends hitting streak at 30
1980 - Saudi Arabian Lockhead Tristar crashes on landing at Riyadh, 301 die
1980 - Willy Russell's "Educating Rita," premieres in London
1981 - 2 US Navy F-14 jet fighters shoot down 2 Soviet-built Libyan SU-22
1982 - Renaldo Nehemiah of US sets record for 110 m hurdles, 12.93 sec
1982 - Soyuz T-7 launched, Svetlana Savtiskaya 2nd woman in space
1983 - LSU footballer Billy Cannon sentenced to 5 yrs for counterfeiting
1983 - Dodgers trade Dave Stewart & Ricky Wright to Texas for Rick Honeycut
1984 - 66th PGA Championship: Lee Trevino shoots a 273 at Shoal Creek Ala
1984 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Chevrolet World Championship of Women's Golf
1984 - Republican convention in Houston nominates Ronald Reagan for pres
1984 - Sally Quinlan wins LPGA MasterCard Golf International Pro-Am
1985 - Japan launches its 2nd probe of Halley's Comet, Suisei
1986 - Car bomb kills 20 in Tehran Iran
1987 - Hungerford Massacre: in the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with an assault rifle and then commits suicide.
1988 - Iran-Iraq begin a cease-fire in their 8-year-old war (11 PM EDT)
1988 - Muang Muang succeeds Gen Sein Lwin as pres of Burma
1988 - NY Rangers sign ex-Canadien great Guy LaFluer
1989 - Tadeusz Mazowiecki, elected 1st non-communist president of Poland
1990 - Betsy King wins LPGA JAL Big Apple Golf Classic
1990 - Dodger Jose Offerman hits HR in his 1st at bat
1990 - NY Yankee Kevin Mass is quickest to reach 14 HRs (approx 128 at bat)
1991 - -20] Hurricane Bob hits US
1991 - Janajev & KGB coup in Russia deposes Mikhail Gorbachev
1991 - Janel Bishop, 17, of New Hampshire, crowned 9th Miss Teen USA
1992 - Romesh Kaluwitharana scores 132 on Test Cricket debut (SL v Australia)
1992 - Sri Lanka make their highest cricket score ever 8-547 v Australia
1993 - 34th Walker Cup: US, 19-5
1993 - Dow Jones hits record high of 3612.13
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail GorbachevGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev 1993 - George Tiller, abortion doctor, shot in his arms by Rachelle Shannon
1993 - Mattel & Fisher Price toys merge
1993 - Sally Gunnell runs lady world record 400m hurdles (52.74")
1995 - After 5 days Shannon Faulkner quits as 1st woman at the Citadel
1995 - Bruce Seldon TKOs Joe Hipp in 10 for heavyweight boxing title
1995 - Mike Tyson returns to the ring & DQs Peter McNeeley in 38 seconds
1997 - NY Yank 3rd baseman Wade Boggs pitches a scoreless inning vs Anaheim
1997 - STS 85 (Discovery 23) lands
1999 - In Belgrade, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević.
2002 - A Russian Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.
2003 - A Hamas planned suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem kills 23 Israelis, 7 of them children in the Jerusalem bus 2 massacre.
2003 - A car-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees.
2005 - The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins.
2005 - A series of strong storms lashes Southern Ontario spawning several tornadoes as well as creating extreme flash flooding within the city of Toronto and its surrounding communities. In Toronto, it is also dubbed as the Toronto Supercell.
2009 - A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others.
Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike TysonHeavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson 2010 - Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.
2012 - 32 people are killed after a plane crash in Talodi, Sudan
1812 - "Old Ironsides" (the USS Constitution) won a battle against the British frigate Guerriere east of Nova Scotia. 1848 - The discovery of gold in California was reported by the New York Herald. 1856 - The process of processing condensed milk was patented by Gail Borden. 1909 - The first car race to be run on brick occurred at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 1917 - Team managers John McGraw and Christy Matthewson were arrested for breaking New York City's blue laws. The crime was their teams were playing baseball on Sunday. 1919 - Afghanistan gained independence from Britain. 1929 - "Amos and Andy," the radio comedy program, made its debut on NBC starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll. 1934 - Adolf Hitler was approved for sole executive power in Germany as Fuehrer. 1940 - The new Civil Aeronautics Administration awarded honorary license #1 to Orville Wright. 1942 - About 6,000 Canadian and British soldiers launched a raid against the Germans at Dieppe, France. They suffered about 50 percent casualties. 1960 - Francis Gary Powers, an American U-2 pilot, was convicted of espionage in Moscow. 1960 - Two dogs were launched in a satellite into Earth's orbit by the Soviet Union. 1962 - Homero Blancas shot a 55 at the Premier Invitational Golf Tournament held in Longview, TX. It was the lowest score in U.S. competitive golf history. 1974 - During an anti-American protest in Nicosia, Cyprus, U.S. Ambassador Rodger P. Davies was fatally wounded by a bullet while in the American embassy. 1981 - Two Libyan SU-22s were shot down by two U.S. Navy F-14 fighters in the Gulf of Sidra. 1991 - Soviet hard-liners announced that President Mikhail Gorbachev had been removed from power. Gorbachev returned to power two days later. 1998 - The first piece of the 351 foot bronze statue of Christopher Columbus arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1999 - Lorne Michaels received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1999 - In Belgrade, thousands of Serbs attended a rally to demand the resignation of Yugoslavia's President Slobodan Milosevic. 2004 - Google Inc. stock began selling on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The initial price was set at $85 and ended the day at $100.34 with more than 22 million shares traded.
1812 The U.S. frigate Constitution, Old Ironsides, defeated the British ship Guerriere during the War of 1812. 1934 Germans voted to make Adolf Hitler Fuhrer. 1960 American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was convicted of espionage in Moscow. 1977 Comedian Groucho Marx died in Los Angeles at age 86. 2003 U.N. special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello was one of 22 killed when a suicide car bomb struck the UN's Baghdad headquarters.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/aug19.htm
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