A birthday on the globe
19 August on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 19 August, the English Wikipedia lists 70 events and 199 births. 37 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; eight more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 19 August through the years
The Earth on 19 August
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in August 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 19 August the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 12.8° north. In London, the day lasts about 14 hours 25 minutes.
Beyond 77° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 77° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Europe · Weisshorn
1861
First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.
On the map: Weisshorn.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Romanian.
Europe · Pan-European Picnic
1989
Several hundred East Germans cross the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events that began the process of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Pan-European Picnic”.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
Latin America · São Paulo
1981
Silvio Santos launches a new Brazilian television channel in São Paulo, Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão.
On the map: São Paulo.
North America · California gold rush
1848
California Gold Rush: The New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).
On the map: California gold rush.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Romanian.
North America · Dayton, Ohio
1934
The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
On the map: Dayton, Ohio.
North America · Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break
2017
Tens of thousands of farmed non-native Atlantic salmon are accidentally released into the wild in Washington waters in the 2017 Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break.
On the map: Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break.
19 August
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Saint Petersburg
1768
In St Petersburg (Russia), St Isaac's Cathedral is inaugurated.
On the map: Saint Petersburg.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
19 August
Born on 19 August#
The English Wikipedia lists 199 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 19 August
1883
Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded the Chanel Company (died 1971)
Place of birth: Saumur.
Born on 19 August
1631
John Dryden, English poet, literary critic and playwright (died 1700)
Place of birth: Aldwincle.
Born on 19 August
1969
Matthew Perry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2023)
Place of birth: Williamstown.
Born on 19 August
1924
Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2011)
Place of birth: Amherst.
Born on 19 August
1967
Satya Nadella, Indian-American business executive, chairman and CEO of Microsoft
Place of birth: Hyderabad.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1951
John Deacon, English bass player and songwriter
Place of birth: Leicester.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1646
John Flamsteed, English astronomer and academic (died 1719)
Place of birth: Denby.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1945
Ian Gillan, English singer-songwriter
Place of birth: Chiswick.
19 August
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 19 August through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 19 August
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 25 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 295 BC
The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Samnite Wars - 43 BC
In the wake of the murder of Julius Caesar, his nephew and heir, Octavian, uses the threat of military force to compel the Roman Senate to elect him Consul.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Julius Caesar - 797
Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI is seized by supporters of his mother Irene, deposed and blinded.
no place on the mapWikipedia: List of Byzantine emperors - 947
Abu Yazid, a Kharijite rebel leader, is defeated and killed in the Hodna Mountains in modern-day Algeria by Fatimid forces.
Africa · AlgeriaWikipedia: Abu Yazid - 1153
After a six-month siege, Baldwin III of Jerusalem captures Ascalon, obtaining a vast amount of plunder and securing the southern border of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Asia · Siege of AscalonWikipedia: Siege of Ascalon - 1274
Coronation of Edward I of England.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Edward I - 1458
Pope Pius II is elected the 211th Pope.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pope Pius II - 1504
In Ireland, the Hiberno-Norman de Burghs (Burkes) and Cambro-Norman Fitzgeralds fight in the Battle of Knockdoe.
Britain & Ireland · LackaghWikipedia: Battle of Knockdoe - 1561
Mary, Queen of Scots, aged 18, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Mary, Queen of Scots - 1604
Eighty Years War: a besieging Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Orange forces the Spanish garrison of Sluis to capitulate.
Europe · SluisWikipedia: Eighty Years' War - 1659
Parliamentarian forces under John Lambert defeat Royalist forces under George Booth in the battle of Winnington Bridge, ending Booth's Uprising.
Britain & Ireland · Battle of Winnington BridgeWikipedia: Battle of Winnington Bridge - 1666
Second Anglo-Dutch War: Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 116 to 160 merchant ships, an act later known as "Holmes's Bonfire".
Europe · Holmes's BonfireWikipedia: Second Anglo-Dutch War - 1691
An Imperial army under Ludwig of Baden defeats the Ottomans in the battle of Slankamen.
Europe · Battle of SlankamenWikipedia: Battle of Slankamen - 1692
Salem witch trials: In Salem, province of Massachusetts Bay, Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., John Proctor, John Willard, and clergyman George Burroughs are executed after being convicted of witchcraft.
North America · Salem witch trialsWikipedia: Salem witch trials - 1725
J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137, a cantata setting the unchanged text of Neander's hymn.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Johann Sebastian Bach - 1745
Ottoman–Persian War: In the Battle of Kars, the Ottoman army is routed by Persian forces led by Nader Shah.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ottoman–Persian War - 1745
Prince Charles Edward Stuart raises his standard in Glenfinnan: The start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion, known as "the 45".
Britain & Ireland · GlenfinnanWikipedia: Jacobite rising of 1745 - 1759
Battle of Lagos: Naval battle during the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France.
Europe · LagosWikipedia: Battle of Lagos - 1772
Gustav III of Sweden stages a coup d'état, in which he assumes power and enacts a new constitution that divides power between the Riksdag and the King.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Revolution of 1772 - 1782
American Revolutionary War: Battle of Blue Licks: The last major engagement of the war, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Charles Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown.
North America · Battle of Blue LicksWikipedia: Battle of Blue Licks - 1787
Sultan Abdul Hamid I declares war against the Russian Empire in an effort to regain territories lost in previous conflicts, starting the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792.
Asia · Russian EmpireWikipedia: Russo-Turkish War - 1812
War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning the nickname "Old Ironsides".
Oceans · USS Constitution vs HMS GuerriereWikipedia: USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere - 1813
Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's Second Triumvirate.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Gervasio Antonio de Posadas - 1839
The French government announces that Louis Daguerre's photographic process is a gift "free to the world".
no place on the mapWikipedia: Louis Daguerre - 1848
California Gold Rush: The New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).
North America · California gold rushWikipedia: California gold rush - 1854
The First Sioux War begins when United States Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return are massacred.
North America · Grattan massacreWikipedia: Grattan massacre - 1861
First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.
Europe · WeisshornWikipedia: Weisshorn - 1862
Dakota War: During an uprising in Minnesota, Lakota warriors decide not to attack heavily defended Fort Ridgely and instead turn to the settlement of New Ulm, killing white settlers along the way.
North America · Dakota TerritoryWikipedia: Dakota War of 1862 - 1897
The Bersey Electric Cab entered service as the first electric taxi in London.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Bersey Electric Cab - 1903
The Transfiguration Uprising breaks out in East Thrace, resulting in the establishment of the Strandzha Commune.
Europe · Monastir vilayetWikipedia: Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising - 1905
In a ceremony officiated by Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, The Luck of Cumberland was presented to HMS Cumberland.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey - 1909
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for automobile racing. William Bourque and his mechanic are killed during the first day's events.
North America · Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayWikipedia: Indianapolis Motor Speedway - 1920
The Tambov Rebellion breaks out, in response to the Bolshevik policy of Prodrazvyorstka.
Europe · Tambov RebellionWikipedia: Tambov Rebellion - 1927
Patriarch Sergius of Moscow proclaims the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet Union.
Asia · Soviet UnionWikipedia: Patriarch Sergius of Moscow - 1934
The German referendum of 1934 approves Adolf Hitler's appointment as head of state with the title of Führer.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1934 German head of state referendum - 1934
The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
North America · Dayton, OhioWikipedia: Soap Box Derby - 1936
The Great Purge of the Soviet Union begins when the first of the Moscow Trials is convened.
Asia · Soviet UnionWikipedia: Great Purge - 1940
First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
no place on the mapWikipedia: North American B-25 Mitchell - 1941
Germany and Romania sign the Tiraspol Agreement, rendering the region of Transnistria under control of the latter.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Nazi Germany - 1942
World War II: Operation Jubilee (The Dieppe Raid): The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division leads an amphibious assault by allied forces on Dieppe, France and fails.
Europe · Dieppe RaidWikipedia: Dieppe Raid - 1944
World War II: Liberation of Paris: Paris, France rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.
Europe · Liberation of ParisWikipedia: Liberation of Paris - 1945
August Revolution: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Asia · VietnamWikipedia: August Revolution - 1950
The 766th Independent Infantry Regiment of North Korea was disbanded after fighting for less than two months in the Korean War.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 766th Independent Infantry Regiment - 1953
Cold War: The CIA and MI6 help to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Cold War - 1955
In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.
North America · Northeastern United StatesWikipedia: Hurricane Diane - 1960
Cold War: In Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Lockheed U-2 - 1960
Sputnik program: Korabl-Sputnik 2: The Soviet Union launches the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, two rats and a variety of plants.
no place on the mapWikipedia: List of spacecraft called Sputnik - 1964
Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, is launched. Two months later, it would enable live coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1964 Summer Olympics - 1965
Japanese prime minister Eisaku Satō becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa Prefecture.
Asia · Okinawa PrefectureWikipedia: Prime Minister of Japan - 1978
In Iran, the Cinema Rex fire causes more than 300 deaths.
Asia · Cinema Rex fireWikipedia: Cinema Rex fire - 1980
Otłoczyn railway accident: In Poland's worst post-war railway accident, 67 people lose their lives and a further 62 are injured.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Otłoczyn train collision - 1980
Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at Riyadh International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.
Asia · Saudia Flight 163Wikipedia: Saudia Flight 163 - 1981
Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States F-14A Tomcat fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Gulf of Sidra incident - 1981
Silvio Santos launches a new Brazilian television channel in São Paulo, Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão.
Latin America · São PauloWikipedia: Silvio Santos - 1987
Hungerford massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a semi-automatic rifle and then commits suicide.
Britain & Ireland · Hungerford massacreWikipedia: Hungerford massacre - 1989
Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist prime minister in 42 years.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Wojciech Jaruzelski - 1989
Several hundred East Germans cross the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events that began the process of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
Europe · Pan-European PicnicWikipedia: Pan-European Picnic - 1991
Crown Heights riot in New York City begins.
North America · Crown Heights riotWikipedia: Crown Heights riot - 1991
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The August Coup begins when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine.
Asia · Dissolution of the Soviet UnionWikipedia: Dissolution of the Soviet Union - 1999
In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević.
Europe · BelgradeWikipedia: Belgrade - 2002
Khankala Mi-26 crash: A Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.
Europe · 2002 Khankala Mi-26 crashWikipedia: 2002 Khankala Mi-26 crash - 2003
A truck-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees.
Asia · Canal Hotel bombingWikipedia: Canal Hotel bombing - 2003
Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing: A suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem, planned by Hamas, kills 23 Israelis, seven of them children.
Asia · 2003 Shmuel HaNavi bus bombingWikipedia: 2003 Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing - 2004
Google Inc. has its initial public offering on Nasdaq.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Google - 2005
The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins.
Asia · Shandong PeninsulaWikipedia: Peace Mission 2005 - 2005
Thunderstorms in southern Ontario, Canada, spawned at least three tornadoes that caused over C$500 million in damage.
North America · Southern Ontario tornado outbreak of 2005Wikipedia: Southern Ontario tornado outbreak of 2005 - 2009
A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others.
Asia · BaghdadWikipedia: August 2009 Baghdad bombings - 2010
Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.
Asia · KuwaitWikipedia: Iraq War - 2013
The Dhamara Ghat train accident kills at least 37 people in the Indian state of Bihar.
Asia · BiharWikipedia: Dhamara Ghat train accident - 2017
Tens of thousands of farmed non-native Atlantic salmon are accidentally released into the wild in Washington waters in the 2017 Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break.
North America · Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen breakWikipedia: Washington
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
- 1768
In St Petersburg (Russia), St Isaac's Cathedral is inaugurated.
Europe · Saint PetersburgTranslated from the list on Wikipedia in SpanishWikipedia: Catedral de San Isaac
Who was born on 19 August
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 199 are shown.
- 1946
Bill Clinton, American lawyer and politician, 40th and 42nd Governor of Arkansas, 42nd President of the United States
President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic SiteWikipedia: Bill Clinton - 1883
Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded the Chanel Company (died 1971)
SaumurWikipedia: Coco Chanel - 1631
John Dryden, English poet, literary critic and playwright (died 1700)
AldwincleWikipedia: John Dryden - 1969
Matthew Perry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2023)
WilliamstownWikipedia: Matthew Perry - 1924
Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2011)
AmherstWikipedia: Willard Boyle - 232
Marcus Aurelius Probus, Roman emperor (died 282)
SirmiumWikipedia: Probus - 1967
Satya Nadella, Indian-American business executive, chairman and CEO of Microsoft
HyderabadWikipedia: Satya Nadella - 1921
Gene Roddenberry, American screenwriter and producer (died 1991)
El PasoWikipedia: Gene Roddenberry - 1951
John Deacon, English bass player and songwriter
LeicesterWikipedia: John Deacon - 1973
Marco Materazzi, Italian footballer and manager
- 1987
Nico Hülkenberg, German racing driver
Emmerich am RheinWikipedia: Nico Hülkenberg - 1646
John Flamsteed, English astronomer and academic (died 1719)
- 1878
Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (died 1944)
- 1945
Ian Gillan, English singer-songwriter
ChiswickWikipedia: Ian Gillan - 1743
Madame du Barry, French mistress of Louis XV (died 1793)
VaucouleursWikipedia: Madame du Barry - 1848
Gustave Caillebotte, French painter and engineer (died 1894)
- 1881
George Enescu, Romanian violinist, pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1955)
LiveniWikipedia: George Enescu - 1830
Julius Lothar Meyer, German chemist (died 1895)
- 1986
Christina Perri, American singer and songwriter
PhiladelphiaWikipedia: Christina Perri - 1923
Edgar F. Codd, English computer scientist, inventor of relational model of data (died 2003)
Isle of PortlandWikipedia: Edgar F. Codd - 1596
Elizabeth Stuart, queen of Bohemia (died 1662)
- 1942
Fred Thompson, American actor, lawyer, and politician (died 2015)
SheffieldWikipedia: Fred Thompson - 1957
Cesare Prandelli, Italian footballer and manager
OrzinuoviWikipedia: Cesare Prandelli - 1870
Bernard Baruch, American businessman and philanthropist (died 1965)
- 1900
Gilbert Ryle, English philosopher, author, and academic (died 1976)
BrightonWikipedia: Gilbert Ryle - 1930
Frank McCourt, American author and educator (died 2009)
BrooklynWikipedia: Frank McCourt - 1988
Veronica Roth, American author
New York CityWikipedia: Veronica Roth - 1991
Salem Al-Dawsari, Saudi Arabian footballer
- 1965
Kyra Sedgwick, American actress and producer
New York CityWikipedia: Kyra Sedgwick - 1946
Charles Bolden, American general and astronaut
ColumbiaWikipedia: Charles Bolden - 1994
Nafissatou Thiam, Belgian pentathlete and heptathlete
BrusselsWikipedia: Nafissatou Thiam - 1777
Francis I, king of the Two Sicilies (died 1830)
- 1955
Peter Gallagher, American actor
ManhattanWikipedia: Peter Gallagher - 1984
Alessandro Matri, Italian footballer
Sant'Angelo LodigianoWikipedia: Alessandro Matri - 1906
Philo Farnsworth, American inventor, invented the Fusor, key figure in the invention of television (died 1971)
- 1939
Alan Baker, British mathematician known for his work on transcendental number theory (died 2018)
LondonWikipedia: Alan Baker - 1939
Ginger Baker, English drummer and songwriter (died 2019)
LewishamWikipedia: Ginger Baker - 1963
John Stamos, American actor
CypressWikipedia: John Stamos - 1700
Bajirao I, 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. (died 1740)
SinnarWikipedia: Bajirao I - 1951
Gustavo Santaolalla, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1940
Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter (died 2020)
HoustonWikipedia: Johnny Nash - 1952
Jonathan Frakes, American actor and director
BellefonteWikipedia: Jonathan Frakes - 1969
Nate Dogg, American rapper (died 2011)
Long BeachWikipedia: Nate Dogg - 1972
Roberto Abbondanzieri, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1902
Ogden Nash, American poet (died 1971)
- 1970
Fat Joe, American rapper
The BronxWikipedia: Fat Joe - 1957
Martin Donovan, American actor and director
- 1971
Mary Joe Fernández, Dominican-American tennis player and coach
Santo DomingoWikipedia: Mary Joe Fernandez - 1982
Melissa Fumero, American actress
LyndhurstWikipedia: Melissa Fumero - 1940
Jill St. John, American model and actress
Los AngelesWikipedia: Jill St. John - 1971
João Vieira Pinto, Portuguese footballer
CampanhãWikipedia: João Pinto - 1950
Sudha Murty, Indian author and teacher, head of Infosys Foundation
ShiggaonWikipedia: Sudha Murty - 1965
Kevin Dillon, American actor
New RochelleWikipedia: Kevin Dillon - 1933
Debra Paget, American actress
DenverWikipedia: Debra Paget - 1982
Erika Christensen, American actress
SeattleWikipedia: Erika Christensen - 1938
Diana Muldaur, American actress
BrooklynWikipedia: Diana Muldaur - 1994
Fernando Gaviria, Colombian cyclist
La Ceja del TamboWikipedia: Fernando Gaviria - 1932
Banharn Silpa-archa, Thai politician, Prime Minister (1995–1996) (died 2016)
Suphan BuriWikipedia: Banharn Silpa-archa - 1975
Tracie Thoms, American actress
BaltimoreWikipedia: Tracie Thoms - 1982
Stipe Miocic, American professional mixed martial artist
EuclidWikipedia: Stipe Miocic
What is celebrated on 19 August
- Afghan Independence Day, commemorates the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919, granting independence from Britain (Afghanistan)
- August Revolution Commemoration Day (Vietnam)
- Birthday of Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Norway)
- Christian Feast Day: Bertulf of Bobbio
- Christian Feast Day: Saint Calminius
- Christian Feast Day: Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz
- Christian Feast Day: Feast of the Transfiguration (Julian calendar), and its related observances: Buhe (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
- Christian Feast Day: Feast of the Transfiguration (Julian calendar), and its related observances: Saviour's Transfiguration, popularly known as the "Apples Feast" (Russian Orthodox Church and Georgian Orthodox Church)
- Christian Feast Day: Jean-Eudes de Mézeray
- Christian Feast Day: Louis of Toulouse
- Christian Feast Day: Maginus
- Christian Feast Day: Magnus of Anagni
- Christian Feast Day: Magnus of Avignon
- Christian Feast Day: Sebaldus
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.