19 August It Happened Today

1662  Death of French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal.

1750  Birth of Italian composer Antonio Salieri.

1871  Birth of American aviation pioneer Orville Wright.

1883 Birth of French fashion designer Coco Chanel.

1977  Death of American comedy actor Groucho Marx.

1987 A lone gunman kills 14 people in Hungerford, Berkshire.

1991  Mikhail Gorbachev is toppled as leader of the Soviet Union.