Today in History

Today is Sunday, Aug. 19, the 231st day of 2018. There are 134 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 19, 2004, Google began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, ending the day up $15.34 at $100.34.

On this date:

In A.D. 14, Caesar Augustus, Rome's first emperor, died at age 76 after a reign lasting four decades; he was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius.

In 1812, the USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off Nova Scotia during the War of 1812, earning the nickname "Old Ironsides."

In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces landed at Benedict, Maryland, with the objective of capturing Washington D.C.

In 1909, the first automobile races were run at the just-opened Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the winner of the first event was auto engineer Louis Schwitzer, who drove a Stoddard-Dayton touring car twice around the 2.5-mile track at an average speed of 57.4 mph.

In 1934, a plebiscite in Germany approved the vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler.

In 1936, the first of a series of show trials orchestrated by Soviet leader Josef Stalin began in Moscow as 16 defendants faced charges of conspiring against the government (all were convicted and executed).

In 1942, during World War II, about 6,000 Canadian and British soldiers launched a disastrous raid against the Germans at Dieppe, France, suffering more than 50-percent casualties.

In 1951, the owner of the St. Louis Browns, Bill Veeck, sent in Eddie Gaedel, a 3-foot-7 player with dwarfism, to pinch-hit in a game against Detroit. (In his only major league at-bat, Gaedel walked on four pitches and was replaced at first base by a pinch-runner.)

In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford won the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Kansas City.

In 1980, 301 people aboard a Saudi Arabian L-1011 died as the jetliner made a fiery emergency return to the Riyadh airport.

In 1987, a gun collector ran through Hungerford, England, 60 miles west of London, killing 16 people, including his mother, before turning his gun on himself.

In 2003, a suicide truck bomb struck U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, killing 22, including the top U.N. envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello. A suicide bombing of a bus in Jerusalem killed 22 people.

Ten years ago: Tropical Storm Fay rolled ashore in Florida short of hurricane strength but mysteriously gained speed as it headed over land. Heavily armed insurgents in Afghanistan killed 10 French soldiers in a mountain ambush and then sent a squad of suicide bombers in a failed assault on a U.S. base near the Pakistan border. Russia and Georgia exchanged prisoners captured during their brief war. American Shawn Johnson won a gold medal on the balance beam at the Beijing games.

Five years ago: Olympian runner Oscar Pistorius was indicted in Pretoria, South Africa, on charges of murder and illegal possession of ammunition for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his home on Valentine's Day 2013; Pistorius maintained he'd mistaken her for an intruder. (He was initially convicted of manslaughter, but that was overturned and replaced with a murder conviction by South Africa's Supreme Court. Pistorius is serving a 13-year prison sentence.) A train ran over a group of Hindu pilgrims at a crowded station in eastern India, killing at least 37 people.

One year ago: Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans and denouncing white nationalism upstaged a small group of conservatives in Boston who had gathered for a "free speech rally." In Dallas, police on horseback broke up a scuffle at a cemetery between people rallying against white supremacy and supporters of Confederate monuments. Hundreds marched from downtown Atlanta to the home of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in protest of white supremacists and other hate groups. Duke University removed a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee after it was vandalized. Comedian and activist Dick Gregory, who broke racial barriers in the 1960s and later spread messages of social justice and nutritional health, died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 84.

Today's Birthdays: Actor L.Q. Jones is 91. Actress Debra Paget is 85. USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Famer Renee Richards is 84. Former MLB All-Star Bobby Richardson is 83. Actress Diana Muldaur is 80. Rock musician Ginger Baker (Cream, Blind Faith) is 79. Singer Johnny Nash is 78. Actress Jill St. John is 78. Singer Billy J. Kramer is 75. Country singer-songwriter Eddy Raven is 74. Rock singer Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) is 73. Former President Bill Clinton is 72. Actor Gerald McRaney is 71. Tipper Gore, wife of former Vice President Al Gore, is 70. Actor Jim Carter is 70. Pop singer-musician Elliot Lurie (Looking Glass) is 70. Rock musician John Deacon (Queen) is 67. Bluegrass musician Marc Pruett (Balsam Range) is 67. Actor-director Jonathan Frakes is 66. Political consultant Mary Matalin is 65. Actor Peter Gallagher is 63. Actor Adam Arkin is 62. Singer-songwriter Gary Chapman is 61. Actor Martin Donovan is 61. Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Anthony Munoz is 60. Rhythm-and-blues singer Ivan Neville is 59. Actor Eric Lutes is 56. Actor John Stamos is 55. Actress Kyra Sedgwick is 53. Actor Kevin Dillon is 53. Country singer Lee Ann Womack is 52. TV reporter Tabitha Soren is 51. Country singer-songwriter Mark McGuinn is 50. Actor Matthew Perry is 49. Country singer Clay Walker is 49. Rapper Fat Joe is 48. Olympic gold medal tennis player Mary Joe Fernandez is 47. Actress Tracie Thoms is 43. Actor Callum Blue is 41. Country singer Rissi Palmer is 37. Actress Erika Christensen is 36. Actress Melissa Fumero is 36. Pop singer Missy Higgins is 35. Actor Peter Mooney is 35. Actress Tammin Sursok is 35. Country singer Karli Osborn is 34. Olympic silver medal snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis is 33. Actor J. Evan Bonifant is 33. Rapper Romeo is 29. Actor Ethan Cutkosky is 19.

Thought for Today: "Well done is quickly done." -- Caesar Augustus, Roman emperor (63 B.C.-A.D. 14).