August 19 Birthday
On August 19, 1991, a group of Soviet officials placed Gorbachev under house arrest at his Crimean dacha and announced that he was "ill." Tanks rolled into Moscow. Boris Yeltsin climbed onto a tank outside the Russian White House and denounced the coup. The coup leaders — the "Gang of Eight" — had no plan and no public support. The military refused to fire on civilians. The coup collapsed in three days. Gorbachev returned to Moscow but was politically finished. Yeltsin, who had defied the coup, became the dominant figure. The Soviet Union dissolved on December 25, 1991. Bill Clinton, born this day in 1946, was the first president born after World War II. He met John F. Kennedy at the White House as a delegate to Boys Nation in 1963 — the handshake was photographed. He was governor of Arkansas at thirty-two. He was impeached in 1998 for lying about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He was acquitted by the Senate. People born on August 19 fall under the zodiac sign of Leo. The birthstone is Peridot and the birth flower is Gladiolus. Historical events on August 19 include 1934: Adolf Hitler combines offices of Chancellor and President, becomes Führer, 1991: Soviet hardliners attempt coup against Gorbachev (August Coup), 1812: USS Constitution defeats HMS Guerriere ("Old Ironsides"). Famous people born on August 19 include Coco Chanel (1883), Orville Wright (1871), Bill Clinton (1946).