The Soviet Union launches the satellite Korabl-Sputnik 2 on August 19, 1960, along with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, two rats, and a variety of plants. Strelka later gave birth to a litter of six puppies, one of which JFK gave to his children as a gift.

Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian nationalist who lived from 23 January 1897 to 18 August 1945. His defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan left a legacy of authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, and military failure. The honorific Netaji (Hindustani for "Respected Leader") was bestowed upon Bose in early 1942 by Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and German and Indian officials in Berlin's Special Bureau for India. It is now widely used in India.

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (August 18, 1900 – December 1, 1990) was an Indian diplomat and politician who served as the sixth Governor of Maharashtra and the eighth President of the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the first woman to hold either position. Her brother, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first Prime Minister of independent India, her niece, Indira Gandhi, was the first female Prime Minister of India, and her grand-nephew, Rajiv Gandhi, was the sixth Prime Minister of India.

Mahesh Bhatt directed Naaraaz, a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action drama film starring Mithun Chakraborty, Pooja Bhatt, Atul Agnihotri, Sonali Bendre, and Gulshan Grover.
Naaraaz is about the love and friendship of wealthy Ajay Pandit and poor Deva, played by Atul Agnihotri and Mithun Chakraborty, respectively.

Satya Narayana Nadella (born August 19, 1967) is a business executive of Indian origin. He is Microsoft's executive chairman and CEO, succeeding Steve Ballmer as CEO in 2014 and John W. Thompson as chairman in 2021. He was the executive vice president of Microsoft's cloud and enterprise group before becoming CEO, and was in charge of building and running the company's computing platforms.

On this day, August 19, 1757, the East India Company minted its first rupee coin. The first rupee coin, known as a sicca, was minted in Kolkata and used as legal tender in the Mughal province of Bengal. Under a treaty with the Nawab of Bengal, the East India Company established the Calcutta Mint.

Shivaji escaped from Aurangzeb's interment in Agra in a fruit basket in 1666.
After a thorough inspection, the security personnel passed the basket without further inspection. Shivaji realised that now was the time to flee, and on August 19, he and his son escaped while hiding inside huge baskets of sweets.

Nirmala Sitharaman (born August 18, 1959) is an Indian economist and politician who has served as India's Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs since 2019. She has been a member of the Rajya Sabha, India's upper house, since 2014. Sitharaman previously served as India's Defence Minister, becoming the country's second female defense minister as well as the country's second female finance minister after Indira Gandhi and the first full-time female finance minister.

On August 18, 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut as a member of the Beatles at a horticultural society dance in Port Sunlight. Following his appearance at the Cavern Club the next day, Best fans protested outside his house and at the club, chanting "Pete forever! Ringo never!"

William Jefferson Clinton, born August 19, 1946, is a politician from the United States who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as Arkansas governor from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992, as well as as the state's attorney general from 1977 to 1979. Clinton, a Democrat, became known as a New Democrat because many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy. He is the husband of Hillary Clinton, who served as a senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, and as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 2016.

Andy Samberg (born August 18, 1978) is a comedian, actor, musician, producer, and writer from the United States. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and appeared on Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2012, where he and his fellow cast members are credited with popularising the SNL Digital Shorts.

Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He is best known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004.

Perry appeared in several films, including Fools Rush In, Almost Heroes, The Whole Nine Yards, and 17 Again, in addition to the short-lived television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. When he voiced Benny in the video game Fallout: New Vegas in 2010, he expanded his resume to include both video games and voice-over work.

Sampooran Singh Kalra (born August 18, 1934) is an Indian poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director best known for his work in Hindi cinema. He began his career as a lyricist for music director S.D. Burman in the 1963 film Bandini and has worked with many music directors, including R. D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Vishal Bhardwaj, and A. R. Rahman. Gulzar also composes poetry, dialogues, and screenplays. During the 1970s, he directed films such as Aandhi and Mausam, and in the 1980s, he directed the TV series Mirza Ghalib. In 1993, he directed Kirdaar.

Daler Singh (born August 18, 1967) is an Indian singer, songwriter, author, and record producer better known as Daler Mehndi. He was instrumental in making Bhangra and Indian pop music popular outside of Bollywood. His dance songs, voice, turban, and long, flowing robes made him famous.

Initially, the IIT started functioning from 5, Esplanade East, Calcutta, and very soon shifted to Hijli in Sept. 1950. The present name 'Indian Institute of Technology was adopted before the formal inauguration of the Institute on August 18, 1951, by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.