Today in History: Dissolution of the Soviet Union begins with the August Coup when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest

The following is a chronological list of notable events that occurred on August 19 throughout history:

295 BC – The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War.

43 BC – In the wake of the murder of Julius Caesar, his nephew and heir, Octavian, uses the threat of military force to compel the Roman Senate to elect him Consul.

1561 – Mary, Queen of Scots, aged 18, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.

1692 – Salem witch trials: In Salem, province of Massachusetts Bay, Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., John Proctor, John Willard, and clergyman George Burroughs are executed after being convicted of witchcraft.

1839 – The French government announces that Louis Daguerre’s photographic process is a gift “free to the world”.

1862 – Dakota War: During an uprising in Minnesota, Lakota warriors decide not to attack heavily defended Fort Ridgely and instead turn to the settlement of New Ulm, killing white settlers along the way.

1934 – The German referendum of 1934 approves Adolf Hitler’s appointment as head of state with the title of Führer.

1936 – The Great Purge of the Soviet Union begins when the first of the Moscow Trials is convened.

1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The August Coup begins when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine.

2004 – Google Inc. has its initial public offering on Nasdaq.