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UPI Almanac for Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020

On Aug. 19, 1991, a coup orchestrated by hard-line Communists removed Mikhail Gorbachev as president of the Soviet Union.

By United Press International
On August 19, 1991, a coup orchestrated by hard-line Communists removed Mikhail Gorbachev as president of the Soviet Union. File Photo by H. Ruckemann/UPI
On August 19, 1991, a coup orchestrated by hard-line Communists removed Mikhail Gorbachev as president of the Soviet Union. File Photo by H. Ruckemann/UPI | License Photo

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 19, the 232nd day of 2020 with 134 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus.

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include Julius Lothar Meyer, who helped develop the periodic table of elements, in 1830; aviation pioneer Orville Wright in 1871; French fashion designer Coco Chanel in 1883; humorist Ogden Nash in 1902; publisher Malcolm Forbes in 1919; Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in 1921; writer Frank McCourt in 1930; astronaut Story Musgrave in 1935 (age 85); actor Diana Muldaur in 1938 (age 82); drummer Ginger Baker in 1939; actor Jill St. John in 1940 (age 80); singer Johnny Nash in 1940 (age 80); actor/former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson in 1942; Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States, in 1946 (age 74); actor Gerald McRaney in 1947 (age 73); former second lady Tipper Gore in 1948 (age 72); bassist John Deacon in 1951 (age 69); political commentator Mary Matalin in 1953 (age 67); actor Jonathan Frakes in 1952 (age 68); actor Peter Gallagher in 1955 (age 65); actor Adam Arkin in 1956 (age 64); actor John Stamos in 1963 (age 57); actor Kyra Sedgwick in 1965 (age 55); singer Lee Ann Womack in 1966 (age 54); actor Matthew Perry in 1969 (age 51); rapper Fat Joe, born Joseph Antonio Cartagena, in 1970 (age 50); actor Callum Blue in 1977 (age 43); actor Melissa Fumero in 1982 (age 38); actor Erika Christensen in 1982 (age 38); singer Christina Perri in 1986 (age 34); author Veronica Roth in 1988 (age 32).

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On this date in history:

In 1812, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution defeated the British ship Guerriere in a furious engagement off the coast of Nova Scotia and earned its nickname of "Old Ironsides." Witnesses said British shots seemed to bounce off the Constitution.

In 1953, the Iranian military overthrew the government led by Premier Mohammed Mossadegh and reinstated the shah.

In 1960, U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was convicted in a Moscow court and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released 18 months later in exchange for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.

In 1977, Julius "Groucho" Marx, leader of the Marx Brothers comedy troupe, died at the age of 87.

In 1987, gun enthusiast Michael Ryan went on a shooting rampage in Hungerford, England, killing 16 people.

In 1991, a coup orchestrated by hard-line Communists and led by Vice President Gennady Yanayev removed Mikhail Gorbachev as president of the Soviet Union. The coup would endure for three days before being put down. The action led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union which would formally occur on December 26, 1991.

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In 1992, delegates to the Republican National Convention nominated President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for re-election. They were defeated in November by Democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

In 1995, three U.S. negotiators, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Robert Frasure, were killed when their vehicle plunged from a mountain road near Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In 1996, the Green Party nominated Ralph Nader as its presidential candidate.

In 2003, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations' representative to Iraq, was killed in a car-bomb attack on U.N. headquarters in Iraq.

In 2008, the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was followed by insurgent bombing attacks that killed roughly 100 people.

In 2009, two massive bomb attacks killed at least 95 people and injured more than 600 others in Baghdad. It was said to be the worst attack in the region since the U.S. military gave control of the country's security back to the Iraqi government.

In 2013, an express train killed at least 37 people and injured many others crossing tracks at a remote transit station in the eastern India state of Bihar. After the accident, an angry mob severely beat the operator of the train, authorities said.

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In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the so-called "female Viagra," called Addyi to treat sexual disorder in premenopausal women.


A thought for the day: "Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete." -- American jockey Bill Shoemaker

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