Today in history

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 19, the 232nd day of 2020. There are 134 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On August 19, 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces landed at Benedict, Maryland, with the objective of capturing Washington D.C.

On this date:

In 1807, Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat arrived in Albany, two days after leaving New York.

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 1848, the New York Herald reported the discovery of gold in California.

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 StoddardDayton 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 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 1960, a tribunal in Moscow convicted American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers of espionage. (Although sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, Powers was returned to the United States in 1962 as part of a prisoner exchange.)

In 1964, The Beatles opened their first fullfledged U.S. tour as they performed at San Francisco’s Cow Palace.

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

In 1990, Leonard Bernstein (BURN’-styn) conducted what turned out to be the last concert of his career at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. with the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the program ended with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.

In 2003, a suicide truck bomb struck U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, killing 22, including the top U.N. envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello (SUR’-jee-oh veeEHR’-uh duh MEHL’-oh). A suicide bombing of a bus in Jerusalem killed 22 people.

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