Historical Events
- Aug 11 California Theatre closed (now a Pac Tel Phone Store)
- Aug 20 Longest US men's single tennis tournament match Palmer Presbrey defeats T S Tailer, 19-21, 8-6, 6-1, 6-4, an 80 game 1st-round contest
Burroughs' Adding Machine
Aug 21 American inventor William Seward Burroughs patents the adding machine
Murder of Mary Ann Nichols
Aug 31 The body of Jack the Ripper's first victim, Mary Ann Nichols, is found in Whitechapel in London's East End
Famous Birthdays
- Aug 1 Vito Frazzi, Italian composer, born in San Secondo Parmense, Italy (d. 1975)
- Aug 2 Oscar Rasbach, American composer, born in Dayton, Kentucky (d. 1975)
- Aug 4 Philip Greeley Clapp, American composer and educator (University of Iowa, 1919-54), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1954)
- Aug 4 Syedna Taher Saifuddin, Bohra Spiritual Leader, born in Surat, India (d. 1965)
- Aug 5 Victor Francen, Belgian actor (J'Acusse, San Antonio), born in Tienen, Flanders, Belgium (d. 1977)
- Aug 6 Heinrich Schlusnus, German baritone, born in Braubach, German Empire (d. 1952)
- Aug 9 Hans Oster, German major general, spy and "July 20th" plotter, born in Dresden, German Empire (d. 1945)
- Aug 11 Owen Nares [Ramsay], British actor and manager (Maiden Erleigh), born in Maiden Erlegh, Berks, England (d. 1943)
- Aug 12 Willem Vogt, Dutch radio pioneer (1st major Dutch radio broadcaster AVRO), born in Den Helder, Netherlands (d. 1973)
- Aug 13 Gleb W. Derujinsky, Russian-American sculptor, born in Smolensk, Russia (d. 1975)
John Logie Baird (1888-1946)
Aug 13 Scottish inventor and father of the television, born in Helensburgh, Scotland
T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935)
Aug 16 British author, soldier and diplomat famous for his liaison role in Arabia during WWI, born in Tremadog, Caernarfonshire, Wales
- Aug 17 Monty Wooley, American actor (Pied Piper, The Man Who Came to Dinner), born in New York City (d. 1963)
- Aug 20 George Sklavos, Greek composer, born in Brailov, Romania (d. 1976)
- Aug 22 Du Yuesheng, Chinese mob boss, born in Gaoqiao, Shanghai (d. 1951)
- Aug 22 Violet Farebrother, English actress (Downhill, Easy Virtue), born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England (d. 1969)
- Aug 31 Ramon de Basterra, Spanish writer and diplomat (La Obra de Trajano), born in Bilbao, Spain (d. 1928)
Famous Deaths
- Aug 5 Anna Haining Swan, Canadian giantess at 7ft 11in (exhibited with P. T. Barnum's Museum), dies of consumption at 41 [1]
- Aug 5 Philip Sheridan, American general (fought Civil War for Union army, helped preserve Yellowstone Park), dies of heart failure at 57
- Aug 8 Friedrich Wilhelm Jahns, German composer, voice teacher and musicologist, dies at 79
- Aug 9 Charles Cros, French inventor and poet (Le Hareng Saur), dies at 45
- Aug 9 Isaac Strauss, French violinist, conductor and composer, dies at 82
Charles Crocker (1822-1888)
Aug 14 American business tycoon and railroad executive (Central Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Railroad), dies at 65
- Aug 15 Carter L. Stevenson, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 70
John Pemberton (1831-1888)
Aug 16 American pharmacist (inventor of Coca-Cola), dies of stomach cancer at 57
- Aug 17 James Jameson, Scottish heir to Jameson Whisky and explorer who paid for a 10 yr old girl to be eaten in the Congo, dies of a fever at 32
- Aug 19 Spencer Fullerton Baird, American naturalist and ornithologist (Wood's Hole Station), dies at 65
- Aug 21 Simon Vissering, Dutch economist (Minister of Finance 1879-81), dies at 70
- Aug 23 Philip Henry Gosse, English naturalist (created 1st public aquarium at London Zoo, coined term 'aquarium'), dies at 78
- Aug 24 Rudolf Clausius, German physicist (one of the founders of the study of thermodynamics), dies at 66
Mary Ann Nichols (1845-1888)
Aug 31 English prostitute and 1st victim of Jack the Ripper, found stabbed to death in London at 42
