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On This Day in Automotive History: August 19

On This Day in Automotive History
August 19

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Birthdays: Dario Resta (1882), Ken Rawlings (1884), F. Hollis Wells (1899), Eddie Skinner (1908), Dennis Poore (1916), Fred Boggs (1920), Johnny Boyd (1926), Archie Nepstad (1931), Lawrence Fields (1934), Martin Birrane (1935), Dale Inman (1936), Fred Zack (1936), Dave Dayton (1942), Ray Elder (1942), Lars-Viggo Jensen (1945), Mike Peters (1950), Mike Rowe (1950), Peter Tkatch (1950), Steve Zadig (1950), Don Istook (1951), Oscar Larrauri (1954), Rayvon Clark (1956), Tim Bender (1957), Randy Craft (1957), Daniel Campeau (1958), Jim Keeker (1958), Rene Bourgois (1959), Harry Lee Hill (1960), Jeff Fredrickson (1961), Darryl Wills (1961), Jean de Pourtales (1965), Ed Kosiski (1965), James Shead (1965), Mike Johnson (1966), David Hyder (1967), Todd Patnode (1970), Robert Garner (1971), Kelly Williams (1971), Jeremy Thompson (1974), TJ Zizzo (1975), Kres Vandyke (1980), Bryan Sellers (1982), Mike Conway (1983), Wade Cunningham (1984), Nico Hülkenberg (1987), Jeff Goodale (1993), Dalton Kellett (1993), Nick Cassidy (1994), Gus Dean (1994)

1942: PRA's Senior Structural Engineer, Harry P. Hart, and Associate Highway Engineer Edward A. Willis submit a report to Commissioner Thomas MacDonald on their work as part of the U.S. Economic Mission to Bolivia authorized by the Department of State on December 4, 1941. The report includes a general study of principal routes, recommends the Cochabamba-to-Santa Cruz route as the most important for improvement, and suggests the most practicable routes for inclusion in the "National Highway System." The transmittal letter notes that, "Roads exist along the majority of these routes, but since Bolivia is a country of rugged mountain regions and deep canyons, some of these roads are very steep."

1959: Region 9 crews working in Yellowstone National Park were all shook up, literally, by an earthquake that began at 11:37 p.m. on August 17. In inspecting the damage done by the quake, they found that the most critically affected Bureau of Public Roads project is the reconstruction of the bridges on the Gibbon River. All new construction comes through with only minor damage, but all the roads in the western portion of the park, the hardest hit, are temporarily closed by rolling rocks and slope debris.

1973: The film Diamonds on Wheels was released.

1975: Mark Donohue died from injuries sustained in a crash practicing for the Austrian Grand Prix.