Historical Events
Catholic Encyclical
Aug 1 Pope John XXIII publishes encyclical Sacerdotii nostri primordia
- Aug 1 WAAY TV channel 31 in Huntsville, AL (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
Willie McCovey's 1st HR
Aug 2 Future Hall of Fame 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits 1st of his 521 MLB home runs in SF Giants 5-3 win v Pittsburgh Pirates
- Aug 2 Milwaukee Braves outfielder Bill Bruton hits 3 triples in 11-5 win v St. Louis Cardinals; 2 of them bases loaded, first time in 20th Century
- Aug 2 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Minneapolis GC: Bob Rosburg wins by 1 stroke from Jerry Barber and Doug Sanders
- Aug 3 27th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 5-3 at Memorial Coliseum, LA
- Aug 3 50 killed in uprising in Guinea-Bissau
- Aug 3 AL beats NL 5-3 in Game 2 of All Star Baseball doubleheader (to boost player pension fund) at LA Memorial Coliseum
- Aug 4 "Billy Barnes Revue" opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 87 performances
- Aug 5 42.4 cm rainfall in Decatur Co, Iowa (state record)
- Aug 5 Chicago Cardinals (NFL) beat Toronto Argonauts (CFL), 55-26 in a pre-season exhibition at CNE Stadium in Toronto
- Aug 7 Explorer 6 transmits 1st TV photo of Earth from space
- Aug 12 1st ship firing of a Polaris missile, Observation Island
- Aug 12 Progressive Party under John Steytler forms in South Africa
- Aug 13 US Military satellite Discoverer 5 launches into polar orbit
- Aug 14 26th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Baltimore 29, All-Stars 0 (70,000)
- Aug 14 First (American Football League) meeting is held in Chicago; charter memberships handed to Dallas, NY, Houston, Denver, LA and Minneapolis-Saint Paul; 'AFL' named following week
- Aug 16 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Ranier G&CC: Betsy Rawls wins her second WO by 6 strokes from JoAnne Gunderson and Patty Berg
- Aug 16 USSR introduces installment buying
- Aug 17 7.1 quake strikes Yellowstone National Park
- Aug 17 USSR & Iraq signs contract for building Iraqi nuclear reactor
Baseball History
Aug 18 Branch Rickey resigns as MLB Pittsburgh Pirates' CEO to be President of new baseball Continental League
- Aug 19 Honolulu, Hawaii seeks a franchise in baseball's new Continental League
- Aug 19 Satellite Discoverer 6 launched into polar orbit
- Aug 20 Belgium shortens military conscription to 12 months
- Aug 21 Hawaii becomes the 50th US state
- Aug 22 American Football League officially named at a meeting in Dallas, Texas; charter members Dallas, NY, Houston, Denver, LA and Minneapolis-Saint Paul
Baseball Record
Aug 22 Cincinnati Reds future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Frank Robinson hits 3 consecutive HRs (6 RBIs) in 11-4 win over St. Louis Cardinals at Crosley Field
Venice Film Festival
Aug 23 20th Venice Film Festival: "The Great War" directed by Mario Monicelli and "General della Rovere" directed by Roberto Rossellini jointly awarded Golden Lion
- Aug 24 England complete 5-0 series drubbing of India
- Aug 24 Hiram L Fong sworn in as 1st Chinese-American US Senator while Daniel K Inouye sworn in as 1st Japanese-American US Representative; both from Hawaii
Morris Mini-Minor
Aug 26 British Motor Corporation introduces the Morris Mini-Minor, designed by Alec Issigonis, it was only 10 ft long but seated 4 passengers
- Aug 31 48th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in New York (3-2)
Baseball Record
Aug 31 Sandy Koufax breaks Dizzy Dean's NL mark of 18 strikeouts in a game
Famous Birthdays
- Aug 1 Joe Elliott, English heavy metal vocalist (Def Leppard - "Hysteria"; "Rock of Ages"), born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Aug 1 Otomo Yoshihide, Japanese musician (Ground Zero), born in Yokohama, Japan
- Aug 2 Britt Helfer, American actress (Lily-Loving, Alley Cat), born in Clearfield, Utah
- Aug 2 Christian Larièpe, French soccer defender (FC Montceau Bourgogne) and sporting director (AS Saint-Étienne, FC Lausanne-Sport, FC Nantes), born in Montceau-les-Mines, France (d. 2023)
- Aug 2 Victoria Jackson, comedian and actress (Casual Sex, Saturday Night Live), born in Miami, Florida
- Aug 3 Koichi Tanaka, Japanese scientist (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2002), born in Toyama, Japan
- Aug 3 Martin Atkins, British rock drummer (Nine Inch Nails), born in Coventry, England
- Aug 4 John Gormley, Irish politician, Leader of the Green Party, Mayor of Dublin (1994-95), born in Dublin, Ireland
- Aug 4 Kim Reynolds, American politician, 1st female Governor of Iowa (2017-), born in St. Charles, Iowa
- Aug 4 Laurence Anholt, British children's author, born in London, England
- Aug 5 Pete Burns, English singer (Dead or Alive - "Spin Me Round"), born in Bebington, England (d. 2016)
- Aug 6 Grant Aleksander, actor (Guiding Light, All My Children), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Aug 6 Joyce Sims, American R&B singer-songwriter ("All and All"; "Come into My Life"), born in Rochester, New York (d. 2022)
- Aug 7 Ali Shah, Zimbabwean cricket all-rounder (3 Tests, HS 62; 28 ODIs, 18 wickets; Mashonaland), born in Harare, Zimbabwe
- Aug 8 Ronald Weigel, German race walker (Olympic silver 20k, 50k 1988; bronze 50k 1992; World C'ship gold 50k 1983), born in Hildburghausen, Germany
- Aug 9 Diane Williams, American country singer (Girls Next Door - "Slow Boat to China"), born at Hahn Air Force Base, near Kirchberg Germany
- Aug 9 Kurtis Blow [Walker], American rapper (Krushgroove - "The Breaks"), born in New York City
- Aug 9 Michael Kors, American fashion designer and Project Runway judge, born in Long Island, New York
- Aug 10 Florent Vollant, Innu-Canadian musician (Kashtin), born in Labrador, Newfoundland
- Aug 10 Mark Price, English drummer (All About Eve, Tin Huey), born in Nelson, England
Rosanna Arquette (64 years old)
Aug 10 American actress (Desperately Seeking Susan, After Hours), born in New York City
- Aug 11 Gustavo Cerati, Argentinian singer-songwriter (Soda Stereo), born in Barracas, Argentina (d. 2014)
- Aug 11 Martin Smolka, Czech contemporary classical composer (Observing the Heavens; Annunciation), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
- Aug 11 Yoshiaki Murakami, Japanese investor
- Aug 12 Lynette Woodard, (Olympic gold 1984, Harlem Globetrotter), born in Wichita, Kansas
- Aug 13 (Dante) "Danny" Bonaduce, American actor, fictional bassist (Partridge Family - "Danny"), and radio personality, born in Broomall, Pennsylvania
- Aug 13 Bruce French, English cricketer (England wicketkeeper in 16 Tests 1986-88), born in Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire, England
- Aug 13 Mark Nevin, British folk-rock guitarist (Fairground Attraction - "Find My Love"; "Perfect"), born in Ebbw Vale, Wales
- Aug 13 Mickey Bradley, Irish punk rock bassist (The Undertones - "My Perfect Cousin"), and radio host, born in Derry, Northern Ireland
- Aug 13 Tom Niedenfuer, American baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers), born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota
- Aug 14 Bill Hagerty, American politician (Senator-R-Tennessee 2021-), born in Gallatin, Tennessee
Magic Johnson (64 years old)
Aug 14 American Basketball Hall of Fame point guard, executive (5-time NBA champion, 3-time NBA Finals MVP, Olympic gold 1992), born in Lansing, Michigan
- Aug 14 Frank Brickowski, American NBA player (Seattle Supersonics), born in Bayville, New York
- Aug 14 Marcia Gay Harden, American actress, born in La Jolla, California
- Aug 15 Scott D. Altman, American Naval officer and astronaut (sk: STS 90), born in Lincoln, Illinois
- Aug 16 Marc Sergeant, Belgian cyclist
- Aug 17 David Koresh, American cult leader (Branch Davidians sect), born in Houston, Texas (d. 1993)
- Aug 17 Jonathan Franzen, American author (The Corrections), born in Western Springs, Illinois
- Aug 18 Tom Prichard, American wrestler, born in Pasadena, Texas
- Aug 19 Ivan Neville, American funk-rock and R&B keyboardist, singer, and songwriter (Dumpstaphunk), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Aug 19 René Moore, American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and record producer (René & Angela - "I'll Be Good"), born in Los Angeles, California
- Aug 19 Ricky Pierce, American NBA basketball guard/forward (Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks), born in Dallas, Texas
- Aug 19 Steve Grimmett, British heavy metal singer (Grim Reaper), born in Swindon, England
- Aug 19 Susan Cummings, Monegasque-born American heiress and convicted murderer, born in Monte Carlo, Monaco
- Aug 21 Anne Hobbs, English tennis star, born in Nottingham, England
- Aug 21 Bud Schultz, American tennis star, born in Meriden, Connecticut
- Aug 21 Jim McMahon, NFL quarterback (Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles)
- Aug 22 Denise Curry, American basketball forward (Olympic gold 1984; World C'ship gold 1979, 83), born in Fort Benton, Montana
- Aug 22 Juan Croucier, Cuban-American heavy metal bassist and songwriter (Ratt - "Round & Round"), born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
- Aug 22 Pia Gjellerup, Danish Social Democrat politician, born in Frederiksberg, Denmark
- Aug 24 Adrian Kuiper, South African cricket all-rounder (1 Test; 25 ODIs, 3 x 50, 18 wickets, BB 3/33; Western Province, Derbyshire CCC), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Aug 24 Michel Valke, Dutch soccer player (Sparta, Dordrecht '90), born in Zwijndrecht, Netherlands
- Aug 25 Ian Falconer, American author, illustrator of children's books and magazines (Olivia (the pig) series; The New Yorker), and theatrical set and costume designer, born in Ridgefield, Connecticut (d. 2023)
- Aug 26 Kathryn P Hire, American Lt Commander USN/astronaut (sk: STS 90), born in Mobile, Alabama
- Aug 27 Gerhard Berger, formula-1 racer (Italian Grand Prix-1988)
- Aug 27 Juan Fernando Cobo, Colombian artist
- Aug 27 Leila de Lima, Filipino lawyer, Senator, Chair of the Philippine Senate Electoral Reforms and People's Participation Committee, born in Iriga, Philippines
- Aug 29 (Sadenia) "Eddi" Reader, Scottish singer-songwriter (Fairground Attraction - "Find My Love"), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Aug 29 Akkineni Nagarjuna, Indian Telugu actor and producer (Ninne Pelladata), born in Madras, India
- Aug 29 Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut (STS 74, sk: 99), born in Sarnia, Ontario
- Aug 29 Ernesto Rodrigues, Portuguese violinist and composer, born in Lisbon, Portugal
- Aug 29 Rebecca De Mornay, American actress (Hand that Rocks Cradle), born in Santa Rosa, California
- Aug 29 Timothy Perry Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics and member of the Kennedy Family, born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Aug 29 Tony Johnson, New Zealand rugby commentator and presenter (Newstalk ZB; TV3; SKY Television), born in Picton, New Zealand
- Aug 30 Mark Jackson, Australian rules footballer and actor, born in Melbourne, Australia
- Aug 31 Rachel Dennison, American actress (Doralee Rhodes-9 to 5), born in Knoxville, Tennessee
- Aug 31 Tony DeFranco, Canadian pop singer (The DeFranco Family - "Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat"), born in Port Colborne, Ontario
Famous Weddings
Carole King
Aug 30 American songwriter Carole King (17) weds American lyricist Gerry Goffin (20); divorce in 1969
Famous Deaths
- Aug 1 Jean Behra, French Formula One driver, dies in a car race at 38
- Aug 2 Prospero Bisquertt, Chilean composer, dies at 78
- Aug 5 Edgar Albert Guest, American poet and newspaperman, dies at 77
- Aug 6 Preston Sturges [Edmund Biden], American director and screenwriter (Sullivan's Travels), dies at 60
- Aug 7 Armas Launis, Finnish composer, dies at 75
- Aug 9 Emil František Burian, Czech author and composer, dies at 55
- Aug 12 Mike O'Neill, Irish-American baseball player, dies at 81 (b. 1877)
- Aug 13 Henri Garat [Garascu], French actor (Congress Dances), and singer ("Les dieux s'amusent"), dies at 57
- Aug 15 "Blind" Willie McTell [McTier], American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist, dies at 61
- Aug 16 Pedro Humberto Allende Saron, Chilean composer (Tonados), dies at 74
- Aug 16 Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichordist (Musique Ancienne), dies at 80
- Aug 16 William Halsey Jr., US vice-admiral (WW II Pacific), dies at 76
Claude Grahame-White (1879-1959)
Aug 19 English aviation pioneer who was the 1st to make a night flight, dies at 79
