Wednesday, August 19th
The 231st day of 2009.
There are 134 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlights in History
On Aug. 19, 1934, a plebiscite in Germany approved the vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler as Fuhrer. (Go to article.)
On Aug. 19, 1883, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, the influential French fashion designer, was born. Following her death on Jan. 10, 1971, her obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On August 19, 1871, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Tweed Ring. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1812 The USS Constitution defeated the British frigate Guerriere east of Nova Scotia during the War of 1812.
1929 The comedy "Amos 'n' Andy" made its network radio debut on NBC.
1942 About 6,000 Canadian and British soldiers launched a disastrous raid against the Germans at Dieppe, France, suffering about 50 percent casualties.
1955 Severe flooding in the Northeast caused by the remnants of Hurricane Diane claimed some 200 lives.
1960 A tribunal in Moscow convicted American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers of espionage.
1969 Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis began three days of recording sessions that yielded the album "Bitches Brew."
1974 U.S. Ambassador Rodger P. Davies was fatally wounded by a bullet that penetrated the American embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus, during a protest by Greek Cypriots.
1976 President Gerald R. Ford won the Republican presidential nomination at the party's national convention in Kansas City.
1977 Comedian Groucho Marx died at age 86.
1994 President Bill Clinton halted the nation's three-decade open-door policy for Cuban refugees.
1996 A judge sentenced former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker to four years' probation for his Whitewater crimes.
2003 A suicide truck bomb struck U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, killing 22, including the top U.N. envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
2004 Internet search engine Google went public.
2005 A Texas jury found pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. liable for the death of a man who'd taken the once-popular painkiller Vioxx, awarding his widow $253.4 million in damages. (The award was reduced to about $26 million by state caps on punitive damages.)
Current Birthdays
Kyra Sedgwick turns 44 years old today.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles Actress Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer") turns 44 years old today.
82 L.Q. Jones
Actor
76 Debra Paget
Actress
71 Diana Muldaur
Actress
70 Ginger Baker
Rock musician (Cream, Blind Faith)
69 Johnny Nash
R&B singer
69 Jill St. John
Actress
67 Fred Thompson
Actor, former U.S. senator, R-Tenn.
66 Billy J. Kramer
Singer
65 Eddy Raven
Country singer-songwriter
64 Ian Gillan
Rock singer (Deep Purple)
63 Bill Clinton
Former president
61 Tipper Gore
Wife of former Vice President Al Gore
61 Gerald McRaney
Actor ("Major Dad")
58 John Deacon
Rock musician (Queen)
57 Jonathan Frakes
Actor
56 Mary Matalin
Political consultant
54 Peter Gallagher
Actor ("The O.C.")
53 Adam Arkin
Actor
52 Gary Chapman
Country singer, songwriter
52 Martin Donovan
Actor
50 Ivan Neville
R&B singer
49 Morton Andersen
Football player
47 Eric Lutes
Actor
46 John Stamos
Actor ("Full House," "ER")
44 Kevin Dillon
Actor ("Entourage")
43 Lee Ann Womack
Country singer
42 Tabitha Soren
MTV reporter
41 Mark McGuinn
Country singer, songrwriter
40 Nate Dogg
Rapper
40 Matthew Perry
Actor ("Friends")
40 Clay Walker
Country singer
39 Fat Joe
Rapper
34 Tracie Thoms
Actress ("Cold Case")
28 Rissi Palmer
Country singer
27 Erika Christensen
Actress
26 Missy Higgins
Singer
25 Karli Osborn
Country singer
24 J. Evan Bonifant
Actor
20 Romeo
Rapper
Historic Birthdays
Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
8/19/1883 - 1/10/1971
French dress designer
(Go to obit.)
73 John Flamsteed
8/19/1646 - 12/31/1719
English founder of the Greenwich Observatory
50 Jeanne Becu du Barry
8/19/1743 - 12/8/1793
French mistress of Louis XV
73 Seth Thomas
8/19/1785 - 1/29/1859
American clock manufacturer; pioneered mass production
94 Bernard Baruch
8/19/1870 - 6/20/1965
American financier and adviser to United States presidents
73 Georges Enesco
8/19/1881 - 5/4/1955
Romanian violinist and composer
91 Ton Duc Thang
8/19/1888 - 3/30/1980
Vietnamese communist leader; succeeded Ho Chi Minh
84 Alfred Lunt
8/19/1892 - 8/3/1977
American actor
88 Colleen Moore
8/19/1900 - 1/25/1988
American actress
68 Ogden Nash
8/19/1902 - 5/19/1971
American poet
74 James Gould Cozzens
8/19/1903 - 8/9/1978
American novelist
70 Gene Roddenberry
8/19/1921 - 10/24/1991
American creator of the Star Trek series
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