Historical Events
- Aug 10 Dan Rylands patents screw cap
- Aug 13 William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut patents the coin-operated telephone
- Aug 23 1st ship-to-shore wireless message ("Sherman is sighted") received in the US from Lightship No. 70 to a coastal receiving station at Cliff House in San Francisco
- Aug 29 1st American International professional lawn tennis contest (Newport, Rhode Island)
Joule, Watt and Quadrant Adopted
Aug 31 Second International Electrical Congress adopts the joule as unit of energy (after James Prescott Joule), the watt as unit of power (after James Watt) and the quadrant as unit of electrical inductance (later renamed henry)
Famous Birthdays
- Aug 1 John Friend Mahoney, American physician who pioneered the treatment of syphilis with penicillin, born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (d. 1957)
- Aug 1 Walther Gerlach, German physicist who, with Otto Stern, co-discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field (Stern–Gerlach effect), born in Biebrich, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany (d. 1979)
- Aug 5 Conrad Aiken, American Pulitzer poet and writer (Ushant/Conversation), born in Savannah, Georgia (d. 1973)
- Aug 6 George Kenney, American Air Force General (Commander of South West Pacific Area, 1942-45), born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 1977)
- Aug 6 John Middleton Murry, English poet and literary critic (Between Two Worlds), born in London, England (d. 1957)
- Aug 8 Jack Ryder, Australian cricket all-rounder (20 Tests, 1,394 runs @ 51.62), born in Collingwood, Victoria (d. 1977)
- Aug 10 (Cecil) Armstrong Gibbs, British composer, born in Great Baddow, Essex, England (d. 1960)
- Aug 10 Charles Darrow, American businessman who modified and popularized Monopoly game, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1967)
- Aug 10 Irene Steer, Welsh swimmer (Olympic gold GB 4 x 100m relay 1912), born in Cardiff, Wales (d. 1977)
- Aug 12 Zerna Sharp, American writer and educator (Dick and Jane) (d. 1981)
- Aug 13 Camillien Houde, French Canadian politician and Mayor of Montreal, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1958)
- Aug 19 Arthur Waley, English sinologist, translator from Chinese & Japanese, born in Tunbridge Wells, England (d. 1966)
- Aug 20 Witold Friemann, Polish composer, pianist, conductor and pedagogue, born in Konin, Poland (d. 1977)
- Aug 23 Alfred Lichtenstein, German writer, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1914)
- Aug 24 Simon Kimbangu/Kibangu, Congolese religious leader and founder of Kimbanguism, born in Nkamba, Congo (d. 1951)
- Aug 30 Eduardo Ciannelli, Italian actor (Foreign Correspondent, Gunga Din), born in Ischia, Italy (d. 1969)
- Aug 31 Bombardier Billy Wells [William Thomas Wells], English heavyweight boxer (Lonsdale Belt, 1911), born in London, England (d. 1967)
Famous Deaths
- Aug 2 Eduardo Gutiérrez, Argentinian author (Juan Moreira), dies at 38
- Aug 4 Carl Ludwig Amand Mangold, German composer, dies at 75
- Aug 5 Willem Ruys, Dutch ship owner and founder of Rotterdam Lloyd (Nedlloyd), dies at 80
- Aug 17 Ernst Franck, German composer and conductor, dies at 42
- Aug 18 Jacques Damala [Aristides Damalas], Greek military officer and actor, dies from an overdose at 34
- Aug 19 Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, French writer (Contes cruels), dies at 60
- Aug 22 John Sanger, British circus entrepreneur, dies (b. 1816)
- Aug 24 Jan Matzeliger, Surinamese-Dutch-American inventor (shoe lasting machine), dies of tuberculosis at 36
- Aug 29 Stefan Dunjov, Banat Bulgarian military figure (b. 1815)
