Historical Events
- Aug 1 Benjamin Mays named president of Morehouse College
- Aug 2 A Finnish trifecta in the 10,000m final at the Berlin Olympics; Ilmari Salminen beats teammates Arvo Askola and Volmari Iso-Hollo
- Aug 2 Americans Cornelius Johnson, Dave Albritton and Delos Thurber sweep the high jump medals at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 2 Tour de France: Sylvère Maes of Belgium wins his second title from Frenchman Antone Magne
Jesse Owens Wins Gold
Aug 3 American sprinter Jesse Owens wins the 100m (10.3 seconds) in front of Adolf Hitler in a famous race at the Berlin Olympics, first of 4 gold medals at the Games
- Aug 3 Karl Hein (56.49 Olympic record) and Erwin Blask make it a German 1-2 in the hammer throw at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 4 American athlete Jesse Owens wins his 2nd gold medal at the Berlin Olympics; beats German Luz Long in the long jump final with an Olympic record
- Aug 4 American Helen Stephens runs 11.5 to win the 100m at the Berlin Olympics, beating controversial intersex athlete Stanisława Walasiewicz of Poland
- Aug 4 Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas leads a 'self-coup' giving him authoritarian control of the country
- Aug 5 American athlete Jesse Owens wins 200m in world record time (20.7s), his 3rd gold medal of the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 5 Italian athlete Ondina Valla runs a world record 11.6 in the semi finals of the 80m hurdles at the Berlin Olympics; wins final the next day but can't match the time
- Aug 5 Ken Carpenter (50.48 Olympic record) and Gordon Dunn make it an American 1-2 in the men’s discus throw at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 6 American athlete Forrest Towns runs world record 14.1 in 110m hurdles semi finals at the Berlin Olympics; later can't match the time but wins the gold medal in the final
- Aug 6 Jack Lovelock of New Zealand runs a world record (3:47.8) to win the gold medal in the 1,500m at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 6 Japanese athletes quinella the triple jump at the Berlin Olympics; Naoto Tajima wins gold and Masao Harada silver
- Aug 7 A Finnish quinella in the 5,000m final at the Berlin Olympics; Gunnar Höckert runs an Olympic record to beat teammate Lauri Lehtinen
- Aug 7 Argentina wins the polo gold medal beating Great Britain 11-0 in the final at the Berlin Olympics; final time the sport is contested at the Olympics
- Aug 7 Twenty-two nations line-up as the first basketball competition in the Olympics Games starts in Berlin; Estonia beats France 34-29 in the first game
- Aug 8 A Finnish quinella in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Berlin Olympics; Volmari Iso-Hollo beats teammate Kaarlo Tuominen in world record time (9:03.8)
- Aug 8 American Glenn Morris' decathlon total of 7,254 points is a world record; teammates Bob Clark & Jack Parker complete US sweep in the gruelling event at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 8 Corbett National Park and Tiger Reserve founded in Uttarakhand, British India, as Hailey National Park (later renamed) - India's first National Park [1]
- Aug 9 Helen Stephens claims the women's sprint double at the Berlin Olympics having won the 100m and as part of the victorious American 4 x 100m relay team
- Aug 9 Hungarian swimmer Ferenc Csik wins 100m freestyle gold medal in 57.6 at the Berlin Olympics, beating Japanese pair Masanori Yusa & Shigeo Arai
- Aug 9 Jesse Owens is part of the American 4 x 100m relay team that wins gold in world record (39.8) at the Berlin Olympics; his 4th gold medal of the Games
- Aug 9 Korean nationals representing Japan earn medals in the marathon at the Berlin Olympics; Sohn Kee-chung won gold and Nam Sung-yong bronze
- Aug 10 114°F (46°C) at Plain Dealing, Louisiana (state record)
- Aug 10 120°F (49°C) at Ozark, Arkansas (state record)
- Aug 10 4th Venice Film Festival opens
- Aug 10 First time the Olympic cycling road race is conducted as a mass start event with Frenchmen Robert Charpentier and Guy Lapébie taking gold and silver, and France winning the teams gold medal
- Aug 11 Chaing Kai-shek's troops conquers Kanton
- Aug 12 120°F (49°C), Seymour, Texas (state record)
- Aug 12 After 24 year absence a baseball demonstration game is played between 2 American teams at Berlin Olympics, World Champions beat US Olympics, 6-5
- Aug 12 American diver Marjorie Gestring wins 3m springboard gold at the Berlin Olympics, youngest Olympic gold medalist (13 years 268 days)
- Aug 12 The gymnastics competition at the Berlin Olympics concludes with Germany dominating, winning 6 of 9 gold medals including the men’s & women’s teams events
- Aug 13 Americans Dorothy Poynton-Hil and Velma Dunn take the gold and silver medals in the 10m platform diving at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 13 Nida Senff and Rie Mastenbroek make it a Dutch 1-2 in the women’s 100m backstroke final at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 13 Rie Mastenbroek of the Netherlands swims an Olympic record 1:05.9 to win the women’s 100m freestyle at the Berlin Olympics, beating Jeannette Campbell of Argentina by 0:05
- Aug 14 American swimmers Adolph Kiefer and Al Vande Veghe quinella the 100m backstroke at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 14 Rainey Bethea is hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last public execution in the United States
- Aug 14 The Berlin Olympics rowing competition concludes with Germany winning 5 of 7 gold medals, although the United States wins the coveted eights gold
- Aug 14 United States beats Canada, 19-8 in poor conditions outdoors to win the gold medal in the inaugural men's basketball competition at the Olympic Games in Berlin
- Aug 15 Americans make a clean sweep of the 3m diving medals via Marjorie Gestring, Katherine Rawls and Dorothy Poynton-Hill at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 15 Annibale Frossi scores twice as Italy beats Austria 2-1 in extra time in the soccer final at the Berlin Olympics
A Kiss For Adolf Hitler
Aug 15 Carla de Vries, an American tourist at the swimming event of the Berlin Olympics finds Adolf Hitler “so friendly and gracious” she shakes his hand and gives him a kiss
- Aug 15 Marshall Wayne and Elbert Root make it an American 1-2 in the 10m platform diving at the Berlin Olympics
- Aug 15 The Berlin Olympic fencing competition concludes with Italy winning 4 of the 7 gold medals and Hungary taking the other 3
- Aug 16 The Berlin Olympic equestrian competition concludes with Germany winning all 6 gold medals in an unprecedented team achievement
- Aug 16 XI Summer Olympic Games close in Berlin
- Aug 17 An unemployed worker, Neils B. Ruud, in Madison, Wisconsin, receives the first unemployment benefit check paid under a State law, for $15
- Aug 19 Trial against Ljev Kamenev & Grigori Zinovjev because of "Trotskyism" opens in Moscow
Baseball Record
Aug 23 17-year-old Cleveland Indians future Baseball HOF pitcher Bob Feller's first MLB game as a starter; strikes out 15 St Louis Browns in 4-1 win at League Park, Cleveland
- Aug 24 Australian Antarctic Territory created
- Aug 25 3 Braves hit twice in an inning getting 2 hits each
- Aug 25 Odourless cornstarch is patented in the US by Ralph W. Kerr
Famous Birthdays
- Aug 1 Laurie Taylor, English sociologist and broadcaster (BBC Radio 4), born in Liverpool, England
- Aug 1 Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer, born in Oran, French Algeria (d. 2008)
- Aug 2 Anthony Payne, British composer (Phoenix Mass; Visions and Journeys), critic, and musicologist, born in London (d. 2021)
- Aug 2 Christopher Hogg, British industrialist and CEO (Courtaulds & Reuters), born in Surry, England (d. 2021)
- Aug 3 Edward Petherbridge, English actor (The Guardians), born in West Bowling, Bradford, Yorkshire, England
- Aug 3 Vinko "Vice" Vukov, Croatian singer (Eurovision Song Contest 1963 & 1965), born in Šibenik, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (d. 2008)
- Aug 4 Elsbeary Hobbs, American bass doo-wop vocalist (The Drifters - "There Goes My Baby"; "Save The Last Dance For Me"), born in New York City (d. 1996)
- Aug 5 John Dancy, American newscaster (Prime Time Sunday), born in Jackson, Texas (d. 2021)
- Aug 7 Charles Pope, American soul singer (Tams - "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me"), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2013)
- Aug 7 Richard L. Tierney, American sci-fi author (Winds of Zarr), born in Spencer, Iowa (d. 2022)
- Aug 8 Don Bowden, American middle distance runner (1st American to run sub 4 minute mile 1957, 3:58.7), born in San José, California
- Aug 8 Frank Howard, American baseball utility (4 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1963 LA Dodgers; NL Rookie of the Year 1960) and manager (SD Padres, NY Mets), born in Columbus, Ohio (d. 2023)
- Aug 8 Keith Barron, English actor (At Earth's Core, Baby Love), born in Mexborough, England (d. 2017)
- Aug 9 Julián Javier, American baseball player, born in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic
- Aug 10 Chuck Israels, American jazz double bassist, composer (Bill Evans Trio), arranger, and bandleader, born in New York City
- Aug 10 Leendert-John Schalm, Dutch banker on Curacao
- Aug 11 Bill Monbouquette, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1960, 60², 62, 63; no-hitter 1962 Boston Red Sox), born in Medford, Massachusetts (d. 2015)
- Aug 11 D V Day, Principal (St John's College, Durham U)
- Aug 11 J L Thompson, Bishop (Bath & Wells)
- Aug 12 Geoff Hamilton, English gardener and journalist (BBC Gardener's World), born in London, England (d. 1996)
- Aug 12 Gerard Masson, French composer, born in Paris, France
- Aug 12 Hans Haacke, German artist (Right to Life, Dripper Boxes), born in Cologne, Germany
- Aug 12 John Poindexter, American naval officer (national security advisor under Reagan, Iran-Contra affair), born in Odon, Indiana
- Aug 14 Trevor Bannister, British actor (Are You Being Served?), born in Durrington, Wiltshire (d. 2011)
- Aug 15 Lothar Buchmann, German soccer manager (VfB Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt, Kickers Offenbach, Karlsruher SC), born in Breslau, Germany (d. 2023)
- Aug 16 Anita Gillette, American actress (Quincy ME, Marathon, Moonstruck), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Aug 17 Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Native American (Dakota Sioux) country music singer-songwriter, actor (Walker, Texas Ranger; Northern Exposure), and political activist, born on Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, South Dakota (d. 2007)
- Aug 17 Ivan Parik, Czech classical and electro-acoustic composer (Quadrophony), born in Bratislava (d. 2005)
- Aug 17 Margaret Hamilton, American computer scientist, systems engineer (MIT), and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient (2016, for her work with NASA's Apollo missions), born in Paoli, Indiana
Robert Redford (87 years old)
Aug 18 American actor (The Sting; The Candidate; The Natural; All The President's Men), and Academy Award-winning director (Ordinary People; Quiz Show; A River Runs Through It), born in Santa Monica, California
- Aug 20 Carla Fracci, Italian ballerina (La Scala Theatre Ballet), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2021)
- Aug 20 Hideki Shirakawa, Japanese chemist (Nobel Prize 2000 - discovery and development of conductive polymers), born in Tokyo
- Aug 20 Sam Melville, American actor (The Rookies -"Mike Danko"; Roughnecks), born in Fillmore, Utah (d. 1989)
- Aug 21 Mart Crowley, American playwright (Boys in the Band), born in Vicksburg, Mississippi (d. 2020)
- Aug 21 Radish Tordia, Georgian painter of Figurative Art, born in Abasha, Georgia
Wilt Chamberlain (1936-1999)
Aug 21 American College / Basketball HOF center (4 x NBA MVP; 13 x All Star; NBA C'ship 1967, 72 [MVP]; Philadelphia/SF Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, LA Lakers), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Aug 22 Anne Downey, British circuit judge
- Aug 22 Lex Humphries, American jazz drummer (Sun Ra Arkestra), born in New York City (d. 1994)
- Aug 23 Henry Lee Lucas, American drifter and serial killer, born in Blacksburg, Virginia (d. 2001)
- Aug 23 Rudy Lewis, American pop vocalist (The Drifters - "Up On The Roof"; "On Broadway"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1964)
- Aug 24 A. S. Byatt [Antonia Susan Byatt], English novelist (Possession), born in Sheffield, England (d. 2023) [1]
- Aug 24 Kenny Guinn, American businessman and politician, born in Garland, Arkansas (d. 2010)
- Aug 24 William J. Coyne, American politician (Rep-D-Pennsylvania, 1981-2003), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2013)
- Aug 25 Hugh Hudson, English film director (Chariots of Fire), born in London, England (d. 2023) [1]
- Aug 25 Max Beauvoir, Haiti Chief Voodoo Priest, born in Haiti (d. 2015)
- Aug 26 Francine York, American actress (Slattery's People), born in Aurora, Minnesota (d. 2017)
- Aug 27 Joel Kovel, American politician
- Aug 28 Don Denkinger, American baseball umpire (World Series: 1974, 80, 85, 91; MLB All-Star Game 1971, 76, 87; "The Call"), born in Cedar Falls, Iowa (d. 2023)
- Aug 28 Harry McLevy, Scottish trade unionist, born in Dundee, Scotland (d. 1995)
- Aug 29 Gilbert Amy, French composer (Mouvements; Épigrammes), conductor, and educator, born in Paris, France
John McCain (1936-2018)
Aug 29 American war hero and Republican politician (Rep-Arizona, 1983-2018, Presidential candidate, 2008), born in Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone
- Aug 29 Ken Scotland, Scottish rugby union full-back (27 Tests Scotland, 5 British & Irish Lions; Leicester Tigers RUFC, London Scottish FC), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 2023)
- Aug 30 Edward Pałłasz, Polish classical, theater, and film composer, born in Starogard Gdański, Poland (d. 2019)
- Aug 30 Fabrizia Ramondino, Italian author, born in Naples, Kingdom of Italy (d. 2008)
- Aug 31 Igor Zhukov, Russian pianist, conductor (Moscow Chamber Orchestra), and sound engineer, born in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), Russia (d. 2018)
- Aug 31 Marva Nettles Collins, American educator (West Side Preparatory School), born in Monroeville, Alabama (d. 2015)
Famous Weddings
William Hanna
Aug 7 American "The Flintstones" animator William Hanna (26) weds Violet Blanch Wogatzke (23), until his death in 2001
Famous Deaths
- Aug 2 Louis Blériot, French aviator who made the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier than air aircraft, dies of a heart attack at 64
- Aug 4 Henry Schoenfeld, American composer, dies at 78
- Aug 9 Joseph Lincoln Steffens, American muckraker and investigative journalist (Shame of the Cities), dies at 70
- Aug 11 Blas Infante, Spanish writer and politician (b. 1885)
- Aug 14 Rainey Bethea, American murderer, hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, last US public hanging
- Aug 15 Grazia Deledda, Italian author (Nobel Prize for Literature 1926), dies at 64
- Aug 15 Henry Lytton, British actor and opera singer (The Mikado), dies at 71
- Aug 15 Stanisław Niewiadomski, Polish composer, dies at 76
- Aug 17 Pierre-Octave Ferroud, French composer (Surgery & Foules), dies at 36
- Aug 19 Federico Garcia Lorca, Spanish poet and composer, murdered at 37 or 38
- Aug 20 Edward Weston, English-born American electrical engineer who invented the portable voltmeter, dies at 86 [1]
- Aug 22 Juliette Adam, French author (Salon/Nouvelle Revue) and feminist, dies at 99
- Aug 25 Grigory Zinoviev [Hirsch Apfelbaum], Russian revolutionary, dies at 52
