Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/August 19
August 19: Afghan Independence Day; National Aviation Day in the United States.
- 1848 - California Gold Rush: The New York Herald reported news to the East Coast of the United States that a gold rush was on in California.
- 1942 - World War II: Allied forces raided Dieppe, France in the Dieppe Raid.
- 1953 - Operation Ajax: The government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran was overthrown.
- 1960 - Russian space dogs Belka and Strelka (pictured) began to orbit the Earth aboard the Korabl-Sputnik-2 spacecraft.
- 1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev was announced as "ill and had been relieved of his state post as President" in a failed Soviet coup attempt.