AUGUST 19
1812:Commanded by Capt. Isaac Hull, the U.S. Navy frigate USS Constitution is victorious in a naval engagement against the British ship HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia during the War of 1812. The heavy oak construction of the American ship is able to withstand cannonball attacks by the British ship at close range, earning it the nickname Old Ironsides. The USS Constitution now has the distinction of being the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat.
1940: On his 69th birthday, Orville Wright is awarded the first honorary pilot's certificate given by the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Authority. The same day, the Wilbur and Orville Wright Memorial is dedicated in Dayton, Ohio. Wilbur Wright, the other half of the Wright Brothers credited with the first sustained, powered flight, had died of typhoid fever in 1912.
1962: Homero Blancas shoots a 15-under-par 55 at the Premier Invitational Golf Tournament in Longview, Texas. Blancas, who would be nicknamed "Mr. 55," holds the lowest official score ever in competitive golf.
1919:Afghanistan gains independence from the United Kingdom
1848:News about the Gold Rush in California is broken to those in the east coast, in the New York Herald
0043:B.C. - Octavian, also known as Augustus Caesar, convinces Senate to elect him Consul.
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