Ever since 1939, August 19 has been celebrated as National Aviation Day, the legacy of a presidential proclamation first made by Franklin D. Roosevelt to celebrate the birth date of civil aviation pioneer Orville Wright. Together with his brother Wilbur, the Wrights are credited with inventing, building, and flying the world’s first successful airplane. Specifically, Orville Wright piloted the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air machine with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Although not the first to build experimental aircraft, the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls which truly made fixed-wing powered flight possible. Orville was born in Dayton, Ohio, while his partner and older brother, Wilbur Wright, was born on a farm near Millville, Indiana. Today, National Aviation Day celebrates the history and development of the aviation.
Daily Calendar for Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Died
- Axel Fredrik Cronstedt (Swedish scientist) –
- James Geddes (engineer) –
- Federico García Lorca (writer) –
- Groucho Marx (comedian & actor) –
- Otto Frank (father of Anne Frank) –
- Sri Swami Satchidananda (founded Yogaville” in Virginia”) –
- Tony Scott (director) –
Born
- Orville Wright (aviator) –
- Coco Chanel (designer) –
- Ogden Nash (writer) –
- Malcolm Forbes (publisher) –
- Gene Roddenberry (author, producer) –
- Willie Shoemaker (jockey) –
- Bill Clinton (42nd U.S. president) –
- Jonathan Frakes (actor) –
- Peter Gallagher (actor) –
- John Stamos (actor) –
- Kyra Sedgwick (actress) –
- Lee Ann Womack (country musician) –
- Matthew Perry (actor) –
- Callum Blue (actor) –
- Jennifer Morrison (actress) –
- Erika Christensen (actress) –
Events
- Five hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts–
- In a battle off Nova Scotia, the USS Constitution earned the nickname Old Ironsides and sank the British frigate HMS Guerrière–
- Farmer Gail Borden obtained a patent for his process for condensing milk–
- The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 5, a space menagerie. Two dog passengers, Belka and Strelka, became the first living organisms recovered from orbit–
- Strong earthquake in Turkey killed over 2,000 people–
- 72-pound lake trout was caught in Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories–
- Carly Patterson became the first American in 20 years to win the women’s Olympic gymnastics all-around gold medal–
- A bronze statue of Arthur Fonzie Fonzarelli was unveiled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin–
Weather
- The thermometer soared to 102.92 degrees F (39.4 degrees C) in Rexton, New Brunswick–
- Hurricane Diane caused unprecedented flooding of many small rivers in New England, resulting in 184 deaths and $1 billion in damage–
- Hurricane Bob hit New England–
