This day in history

[August 19, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Aug. 19, the 231st day of 2009. There are 134 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 19, 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.

On this date:

In 1812, the USS Constitution defeated the British frigate Guerriere off Nova Scotia during the War of 1812.

In 1918, "Yip! Yip! Yaphank," a musical revue by Irving Berlin featuring Army recruits from Camp Upton in Yaphank, N.Y., opened on Broadway.

In 1929, the radio comedy program "Amos 'n' Andy," starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, made its network debut on NBC-Blue.

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 1949, the Federal Communications Commission prohibited so-called "giveaway" radio and TV shows, saying they violated lottery laws. (The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ban in 1954, ruling that giveaway shows fell short of being lotteries because participants did not pay in order to try to win prizes.)

In 1955, severe flooding in the northeastern U.S. claimed some 200 lives.

In 1960, a tribunal in Moscow convicted American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers of espionage.

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

In 1991, Soviet hard-liners announced to a shocked world that President Mikhail S. Gorbachev had been removed from power. (The coup attempt collapsed two days later.)

Ten years ago: Confronting questions about possible past drug use, Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush told reporters he had not used illegal drugs in 25 years, and added that if voters insisted on knowing more, "they can go find somebody else to vote for."

Five years ago: Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry fought back against campaign allegations that he had exaggerated his combat record in Vietnam, accusing President George W. Bush of using a Republican front group "to do his dirty work." Google began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, ending the day up $15.34 at $100.34. Carly Patterson won gymnastics' premier event at the Olympics in Athens, becoming the first U.S. woman to win the all-around title since Mary Lou Retton in 1984.

One year 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. Shawn Johnson won a gold medal on the balance beam at the Beijing games. LeRoi Moore, a versatile saxophonist with the Dave Matthews Band, died in Los Angeles of complications from an ATV accident; he was 46.

Today's birthdays: Actor L.Q. Jones is 82. Actress Debra Paget is 76. Tennis coach Renee Richards is 75. Baseball All-Star Bobby Richardson is 74. Actress Diana Muldaur is 71. Rock musician Ginger Baker (Cream, Blind Faith) is 70. Singer Johnny Nash is 69. Actress Jill St. John is 69. Actor and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson is 67. Singer Billy J. Kramer is 66. Country singer-songwriter Eddy Raven is 65. Rock singer Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) is 64. Former President Bill Clinton is 63. Tipper Gore, wife of former Vice President Al Gore, is 61. Actor Gerald McRaney is 61. Rock musician John Deacon (Queen) is 58. Actor-director Jonathan Frakes is 57. Political consultant Mary Matalin is 56. Actor Peter Gallagher is 54. Actor Adam Arkin is 53. Singer-songwriter Gary Chapman is 52. Actor Martin Donovan is 52. NFL Hall-of-Famer Anthony Munoz is 51. R&B singer Ivan Neville is 50. Actor Eric Lutes is 47. Actor John Stamos is 46. Actress Kyra Sedgwick is 44. Actor Kevin Dillon is 44. Country singer Lee Ann Womack is 43. TV reporter Tabitha Soren is 42. Country singer-songwriter Mark McGuinn is 41. Rapper Nate Dogg is 40. Actor Matthew Perry is 40. Country singer Clay Walker is 40. Rapper Fat Joe is 39. Olympic gold medal tennis player Mary Joe Fernandez is 38. Actress Tracie Thoms is 34. New York Jets running back Thomas Jones is 31. Country singer Rissi Palmer is 28. Actress Erika Christensen is 27. Milwaukee Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy is 27. Pop singer Missy Higgins is 26. Country singer Karli Osborn is 25. Olympic silver medal snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis is 24. Actor J. Evan Bonifant is 24. Rapper Romeo is 20.

Thought for today: "Being an intellectual creates a lot of questions and no answers." -- Janis Joplin, American rock singer (1943-1970)

[Associated Press]

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