Events for August 19
1980 – Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at Riyadh International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.
2009 – A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others.
1862 – Dakota War: 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.
1666 – Second Anglo-Dutch War: Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 116 to 160 merchant ships, an act later known as "Holmes's Bonfire".
2017 – Tens of thousands of farmed non-native Atlantic salmon are accidentally released into the wild in Washington waters in the 2017 Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break.
1745 – Prince Charles Edward Stuart raises his standard in Glenfinnan: The start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion, known as "the 45".
1980 – Otłoczyn railway accident: In Poland's worst post-war railway accident, 67 people lose their lives and a further 62 are injured.
1987 – Hungerford massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a semi-automatic rifle and then commits suicide.
1960 – Sputnik program: Korabl-Sputnik 2: The Soviet Union launches the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, two rats and a variety of plants.
1999 – In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević.
1812 – War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning the nickname "Old Ironsides".
1955 – In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.
2013 – The Dhamara Ghat train accident kills at least 37 people in the Indian state of Bihar.
1978 – In Iran, the Cinema Rex fire causes more than 300 deaths.
1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The August Coup begins when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine.
1854 – The First Sioux War begins when United States Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return are massacred.
1989 – Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist prime minister in 42 years.
2003 – Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing: A suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem, planned by Hamas, kills 23 Israelis, seven of them children.
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).
1960 – Cold War: In Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
1991 – Crown Heights riot in New York City begins.
1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
1942 – World War II: Operation Jubilee (The Dieppe Raid): The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division leads an amphibious assault by allied forces on Dieppe, France and fails.
Notable Births & Deaths for August 19
2012 – Tony Scott, English-American director and producer (born 1944)
1986 – Christina Perri, American singer and songwriter
1999 – Florentino Luís, Portuguese footballer
1999 – Thomas Flegler, Australian rugby league player
1985 – Lindsey Jacobellis, American snowboarder
1994 – Fernando Gaviria, Colombian cyclist
2013 – Donna Hightower, American singer-songwriter (born 1926)
1987 – Patrick Chung, Jamaican-American football player
1987 – Nico Hülkenberg, German racing driver
1987 – Nick Driebergen, Dutch swimmer
1994 – Nafissatou Thiam, Belgian pentathlete and heptathlete
2015 – Sanat Mehta, Indian activist and politician (born 1935)
2012 – Ivar Iversen, Norwegian canoe racer (born 1914)
2019 – Lars Larsen, Danish businessman and billionaire, founder and owner of the Danish retail chain JYSK (born 1948)
2004 – Chae Hyun-woo, South Korean football player
1999 – Ethan Cutkosky, American actor and musician
2022 – Tekla Juniewicz, Polish supercentenarian (born 1906)
2014 – Candida Lycett Green, Anglo-Irish journalist and author (born 1942)
2013 – Abdul Rahim Hatif, Afghan politician, 8th President of Afghanistan (born 1926)
2008 – Levy Mwanawasa, Zambian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Zambia (born 1948)
2014 – Samih al-Qasim, Palestinian poet and journalist (born 1939)
1992 – David Rittich, Czech ice hockey player
2013 – Russell S. Doughten, American director and producer (born 1927)
2015 – George Houser, American minister and activist (born 1916)
2014 – James Foley, American photographer and journalist (born 1973)
2014 – Simin Behbahani, Iranian poet and activist (born 1927)
2000 – Keegan Murray, American basketball player
1996 – Jung Ye-rin, South Korean singer and actress
1989 – Romeo Miller, American basketball player, rapper, actor
2013 – Musa'id bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (born 1923)
2024 – Maria Branyas, American-Spanish supercentenarian (born 1907)
2012 – Edmund Skellings, American poet and academic (born 1932)
2012 – Donal Henahan, American journalist and critic (born 1921)
2021 – Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor (born 1939)
1990 – Danny Galbraith, Scottish footballer
2023 – Václav Patejdl, Slovak musician (born 1954)
1996 – Lachlan Lewis, Australian rugby league player
1991 – Salem Al-Dawsari, Saudi Arabian footballer
1988 – Kirk Cousins, American football player
1986 – Saori Kimura, Japanese volleyball player
1986 – Sotiris Balafas, Greek footballer
1988 – Veronica Roth, American author
2016 – Jack Riley, American actor and voice artist (born 1935)
2017 – Dick Gregory, American comedian, author and activist (born 1932)
2001 – Awak Kuier, Finnish basketball player
2009 – Don Hewitt, American television producer, created 60 Minutes (born 1922)
Quick Start
Our API is incredibly easy to use, check out the code samples below to get started:
Fetch Historical Events
All you need to do is send a request to https://today.zenquotes.io/api/[month]/[day]/[key] in order to generate a JSON array of historical events, including notable births and deaths. API data pulled from WikiPedia.
*[key] not required but recommended.
Sample Requests
https://today.zenquotes.io/api - Generate notable events, births, and deaths for current server time (UTC).
https://today.zenquotes.io/api/1/1 - Generate notable events, births, and deaths for January 1.
https://today.zenquotes.io/api/5/5 - Generate notable events, births, and deaths for May 5.
https://today.zenquotes.io/api/12/25 - Generate notable events, births, and deaths for December 25.
Response
The result data is formatted as a JSON array, grouped by event type.
{ "info":"OnThisDay API", "date":"April_20", "updated":"1615972324",
"data":{
"Events":[
{
"text":"1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.[1]",
"html":"<a href=\"https://wikipedia.org/wiki/1303\" title=\"1303\">1303</a> – The <a href=\"https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapienza_University_of_Rome\" title=\"Sapienza University of Rome\">Sapienza University of Rome</a> is instituted by a <a href=\"https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_bull\" title=\"Papal bull\">bull</a> of <a href=\"https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Boniface_VIII\" title=\"Pope Boniface VIII\">Pope Boniface VIII</a>."
},
//.. MORE DATA ..//
],
"Births":[
{
"text":"1494 – Johannes Agricola, German theologian and reformer (d. 1566)[8]",
"html":"<a href=\"https://wikipedia.org/wiki/1494\" title=\"1494\">1494</a> – <a href=\"https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Agricola\" title=\"Johannes Agricola\">Johannes Agricola</a>, German theologian and reformer (d. 1566)"
},
//.. MORE DATA ..//
],
"Deaths":[
{
"text":"689 – Cædwalla, king of Wessex (b. 659)[21]",
"html":"<a href=\"https://wikipedia.org/wiki/689\" title=\"689\">689</a> – <a href=\"https://wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A6dwalla_of_Wessex\" title=\"Cædwalla of Wessex\">Cædwalla</a>, king of <a href=\"https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Wessex\" title=\"Wessex\">Wessex</a> (b. 659)" },
//.. MORE DATA ..//
}
]
} }Usage Limits and Attribution
Requests are restricted to 5 per 30 second period, an API key or registered IP is required for unlimited access and to enable Access-Control-Allow-Origin headers. We require that you show attribution with a link back to https://today.zenquotes.io/ when using the free version of this API. Contact support@zenquotes.io to chat with our friendly dev team and get registered.
Historical event data provided by <a href="https://today.zenquotes.io/" target="_blank">ZenQuotes.io</a>