August 19 in Pop Culture History

August 19th Fun Facts, Trivia and History

August 19th History Highlights

  • 1812 – American frigate USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, earning the nickname “Old Ironsides”.
  • 1893 – Frank Wisner invented the Root Beer Float.
  • 1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby was held in Dayton, Ohio.
  • If you were born on August 19th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… November 26th (prior year)

The Samlesbury Witch Trials

The Samlesbury witches were three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury (Jane Southworth, Jennet Bierley, and Ellen Bierley), each accused by a 14-year-old Grace Sowerbutts, of practicing witchcraft. Their trial at Lancaster Assizes in England on August 19, 1612, was one in a series of witch trials held there over two days, and all three of the Samlesbury women were acquitted. They faired better than the accused Pendle witches.

August 19th is…

Aviation Day
Bow Day
Potato Day
Soft Ice Cream Day
World Humanitarian Day
World Photo Day

August 19th Birthday Quotes

“If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance.”
– Orville Wright

“Middle age is when you’ve met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else.”
– Ogden Nash

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”
– Coco Chanel

” We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs.”
– William J. Clinton

“A really good band with a bad drummer is not a good band. A really bad band with a good drummer sounds better.”
– Ginger Baker

“There’s nothing on it worthwhile, and we’re not going to watch it in this household, and I don’t want it in your intellectual diet.”
– Philo Farnsworth (regarding television)

August 19th Birthdays

1871 – Orville Wright, American engineer, and pilot, co-founded the Wright Company (died in 1948)
1883 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded the Chanel Company (died in 1971)
1902 – Ogden Nash, American poet (died in 1971)
1906 – Philo Farnsworth, American inventor, invented the Television (died in 1971)
1919 – Malcolm Forbes, American publisher and politician (died in 1990)
1921 – Gene Roddenberry, American screenwriter, and producer, Star Trek (died in 1991)
1933 – Debra Paget, American actress
1934 – Renée Richards, American tennis player, and ophthalmologist
1939 – Ginger Baker, English drummer, and songwriter (died in 2019)
1940 – Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter
1940 – Jill St. John, American actress
1942 – Fred Thompson, American actor, and politician (died in 2015)
1946 – Bill Clinton, American lawyer, 42nd President of the United States
1948 – Gerald McRaney, American actor
1952 – Jonathan Frakes, American actor, and director
1953 – Mary Matalin, American political consultant
1956 – Adam Arkin, American actor
1963 – John Stamos, American actor
1965 – Kyra Sedgwick, American actress
1966 – Lee Ann Womack, American singer-songwriter
August 19, 1966, is the date of a nuclear war in the 1960 film The Time Machine
1969 – Nate Dogg, American rapper (died in 2011)
1969 – Matthew Perry, American actor
1988 – Veronica Roth, American author

August 19th History

295 BC – The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, was dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges

1612 – The “Samlesbury witches”, three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England, were put on trial, accused of practicing witchcraft, with all three of the Samlesbury women acquitted.

1692 – In Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, five people, one woman and four men, including a clergyman, are executed after being convicted of witchcraft at the Salem Witch Trials.

1812 – American frigate USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, earning the nickname “Old Ironsides”.

1848 – The New York Herald published the news to the East Coast of the US about the Gold Rush in California.

1909 – The first automobile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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

1950 – #1 Hit August 19, 1950 – November 17, 1950: Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers – Goodnight Irene

1960 – With Korabl-Sputnik 2, the Soviet Union launched the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, two rats, and a variety of plants. All of the creatures survived

1964 – Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, was launched.

1967 – #1 Hit August 19, 1967 – August 25, 1967: The Beatles – All You Need Is Love

1973 – The (real) Texas Chain Saw Massacre occurred.

August 19, 19** Birthday (fictional) Aloysius Snuffleupagus, Sesame Street

1991 – Black groups targeted Hasidic Jews on the streets of Crown Heights in New York, New York for three days, after two black children were hit by a car driven by a Hasidic man.

2006 – #1 Hit August 19, 2006 – September 8, 2006: Fergie – London Bridge

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

In the 1970s, Tony the Tiger was given a family in an effort to humanize him. His family included Mama Tony, Mrs. Tony, and a daughter, Antoinette. Theeeyyy’re GONE!

A “kilowarhol” is the unit of measurement used to describe someone who has been famous for 15,000 minutes.

Composer Arthur Sullivan sent a message to Thomas Edison in regard to the phonograph that he was “… terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever.”

TV Quotes… “Heh heh” (Beavis and Butt-head) on “Beavis and Butthead”

If the first two aliens we met were twins we would think their entire species looked the same. #perception

The biggest film of 1943: This is the Army (Musical) earned ~ $12,000,000

Vincent Price did the monologue for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in one take.

US President #1 President George Washington (1789-1797) Despite rumors, his teeth were made of ivory, not wood. You can visit them at the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, Md.

“Doctors say that Nordberg has a 50/50 chance of living, though there’s only a 10 percent chance of that.” – Ed Hocken #moviequotes

The “Dog Days of Summer” meaning comes from the dog star Sirius, and that the star would rise just before the sun mid-summer (the hottest days of the year).

The AOL “Welcome” & “You’ve Got Mail” sounds were recorded in 1989 on a cassette deck.

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