August 19

© 1997, 1998 by Paul A. Schons

August 19, 1753

Death of the architect Balthasar Neumann in Würzburg. Neumann was clearly the master of Baroque architecture. He was born in Eger, Bohemia (then Austrian, now in the Czech Republic) in 1687. He moved to Würzburg in 1711 and gained the patronage of the prince-bishop (Holy Roman Empire) of Würzburg. He eventually rose to be the chief designer. His masterwork is the palace of Würzburg which he started in 1719. Other noted buildings by Neumann include the Schoenborn Chapel in the Wuerzburg Cathedral, the Vierzehnheiligen pilgrimage church, the Paulinus church in Trier and the abbey church at Neresheim.

August 19, 1780

Death of Johann Kalb in Camden, South Carolina (born in Hüttendorf, Germany. Experienced as an officer in a German regiment of the French infantry he secured a commission in the American Continental Army and immigrated in 1777. He died fighting the British.

August 19, 1892

Death of Richard Adelbert Lipsius in Gera, Germany. Lipsius was a Protestant theologian who identified the authorship of early Christian literature. He also worked with the history of the early papacy.

August 19, 1925

Death of Wilhelm Streitberg in Leipzig, Germany. Streitberg was one of leaders in work on early Germanic languages. He wrote Urgermanische Grammatik (1896), Gotisches Elementarbuch (1897) and Die gotische Bibel (1910). Streitberg was a professor at the universities of Freiburg, Münster, Munich and Leipzig.

August 19-20, 1961

American president vice-president, Lyndon Johnson, visits Bonn and Berlin. He reaffirms America's commitment to the defense of West Berlin.

August 19, 1989

600 East Germans flee over the Hungarian border to Austria. By the end of August 4,000 will have fled to Austria through Hungary.