Historical Events
- Aug 1 Commandos occupy Iraqi embassy in Paris, 1 dead
- Aug 3 11th Commonwealth Games open in Edmonton, Canada
- Aug 5 New Orleans Saints beat Philadelphia Eagles 14-7 in an NFL exhibition at Mexico City's Olympic Stadium
- Aug 5 The first all-seater stadium is opened in Aberdeen, Scotland; Aberdeen & London club Tottenham Hotspurs play a friendly to inaugurate the Pittodrie Stadium
PGA Championship
Aug 6 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Oakmont CC: John Mahaffey recovers from 7 down with 14 to play to force playoff; beats Tom Watson & Jerry Pate on 2nd hole
- Aug 7 Eddie Mathews, Addie Joss and Larry MacPhail are inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
- Aug 11 Legionnaire's disease bacteria isolated in Atlanta
- Aug 12 Arron Marshall completes a record shower of 336 hours
- Aug 12 China & Japan sign peace treaty
- Aug 12 International Cometary Explorer (ICE) spacecraft launched - to study solar wind
- Aug 12 NFL New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley suffers a spinal cord injury leaving him with incomplete quadriplegia from a hit by Oakland Raiders Jack Tatum, in a pre-season exhibition game
- Aug 13 Bomb attack in Beirut, 175 killed
- Aug 15 US House of Representatives approves (233-169), 39-month extension for ERA
- Aug 17 1st successful crossing of the Atlantic by balloon (3 Americans)
- Aug 18 Memphis Tenn settles with striking police officers & firefighters
- Aug 19 422 die in an arson fire at a movie theater in Iran
- Aug 20 Gunmen open fire on an Israeli El Al Airline bus in London
- Aug 20 Mark Vinchesi of Amherst Mass keeps a frisbee aloft 15.2 seconds
- Aug 21 1st gay theme telefilm - Matlovich vs US Air Force
- Aug 22 Left-wing Sandinistas revolutionaries occupy National Palace in Managua, Nicaragua
- Aug 23 Iranian students occupies Iranian embassy at Wassenaar
- Aug 24 USSR performs underground nuclear test
- Aug 25 MLB baseball umpires stage a 1 day strike
- Aug 26 Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice becomes Pope John Paul I
- Aug 26 Soyuz 31 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 East German) to Salyut 6
- Aug 27 Dutch cyclist Gerrie Knetemann wins UCI Road World C'ship from Francesco Moser of Italy and Dane Jorgen Marcussenin in Nürburg, West Germany
Baseball Record
Aug 27 MLB Cincinnati Reds Joe Morgan is 1st to hit 200 HRs & have 500 stolen bases
- Aug 27 MLB New York Yankees pitcher Catfish Hunter's 6-2 win gives him a perfect 6-0 record in month of August
- Aug 28 Donald Vesco rode 21'-long Kawasaki motorcycle at 318.598 mph
- Aug 28 Ja'afar Sharif-Emami appointed premier of Iran
- Aug 29 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- Aug 29 USTA National Tennis Center opens in Flushing NY
- Aug 31 Constitution adopted by Sri Lanka
Trial of Interest
Aug 31 Emily & William Harris plead guilty to 1974 kidnapping of American publishing heiress Patty Hearst
- Aug 31 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Famous Birthdays
- Aug 1 Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer, born in Salisbury, Rhodesia
- Aug 1 Dhani Harrison, British musician (In Parallel; Brainwashed), born in Windsor, Berkshire, England
- Aug 1 Edgerrin James, American football player (Indianapolis Colts), born in Immokalee, Florida
- Aug 2 Goran Gavrančić, Serbian footballer, born in Belgrade, Serbia
- Aug 2 Matt Guerrier, American baseball player, born in Shaker Heights, Ohio
- Aug 3 Mariusz Jop, Polish footballer, born in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Poland
- Aug 4 Kurt Busch, American race car driver
- Aug 5 Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprinter, born in Leuven, Belgium
- Aug 5 Lorrie Fair, American soccer midfielder (120 caps; FIFA Women's World Cup gold 1999; Olympics silver 2000; Philadelphia Charge, Olympique Lyonnais, Chelsea), born in Los Altos, California
- Aug 5 Nektaria Karantzi, Greek traditional music and Byzantine chant singer, born in Greece
- Aug 6 Marisa Miller, American model
- Aug 7 Alex Timbers, American stage and screen director (Moulin Rouge!), born in New York City
- Aug 7 Alexandre Aja, French director, born in Paris, France
- Aug 7 Cirroc Lofton, American actor, born in Los Angeles, California
- Aug 7 Jamey Jasta [James Shanahan], American metal singer (Hatebreed), born in New Haven, Connecticut
- Aug 7 Vanness Wu, Taiwanese-American singer (F4, Kangta & Vanness), born in Santa Monica, California
- Aug 8 Alan Maybury, Irish footballer
- Aug 8 Countess Vaughn, American actress and singer
- Aug 8 Louis Saha, French footballer
- Aug 8 Miho Shiraishi, Japanese actress
- Aug 10 Chris Read, English cricketer and captain of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, born in Paignton, England
- Aug 10 Daniel Allsopp, Australian footballer (Manchester City), born in Melbourne, Australia
- Aug 11 Amber Brkich, American reality television personality
- Aug 11 Jermain Taylor, American boxer (undisputed world middleweight champion 2005-07), born in Little Rock, Arkansas
- Aug 12 Chris Chambers, American football player, born in Cleveland, Ohio
- Aug 12 Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (4 Olympic Gold medals for Canada), born in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan
- Aug 13 Benjani Mwaruwari, Zimbabwean footballer, born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
- Aug 14 Anastasios Kyriakos, Greek footballer, born in Giannouli, Greece
- Aug 14 Kate Ritchie, Australian actress, born in Goulburn, Australia
- Aug 15 Kerri Walsh, American beach volleyball player (Olympic gold 2004, 08, 12), born in Santa Clara, California
- Aug 15 Lilia Podkopayeva, Ukrainian gymnast (World Champion 1995, Olympic Gold 1996), born in Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR
- Aug 15 Stavros Tziortziopoulos, Greek footballer
- Aug 15 Tim Foreman, American bassist (Switchfoot - "The Beautiful Letdown"), born in Lake Arrowhead, California
- Aug 16 Eddie Gill, American basketball player, born in Aurora, Colorado
- Aug 16 Fu Mingxia, Chinese diver (Olympic gold women's 10m platform 1992, 96; 3m springboard 1996, 2000), born in Wuhan, China
- Aug 17 Vibeke Stene, Norwegian goth-metal singer (Tristania), and actress, born in Sokndal, Norway
- Aug 18 Andy Samberg, American comedian and actor (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), born in Berkeley, California
- Aug 19 Aarti Sequeira, Indian-American cook and television personality (The Next Food Network Star, 2010; Aarti Party; Guy's Grocery Games), born in Mumbai, India
- Aug 19 Chris Capuano, American baseball player (Pitcher), born in West Springfield, Massachusetts
- Aug 19 Luis von Ahn, Guatemalan computer scientist (reCAPTCHA), born in Guatemalan City, Guatemala [1]
- Aug 20 Sanna Lankosaari, Finnish ice hockey right wing (Finland, Olympics 1998), born in Kemi, Finland
- Aug 21 Alan Lee, Irish footballer, born in Galway, Ireland
- Aug 21 Jason Marquis, American baseball pitcher, born in Manhasset, NY
- Aug 21 Lee Gronkiewicz, American baseball player, born in Los Angeles, California
- Aug 21 Reuben Droughns, American football player, born in Chicago, Illinois
James Corden (45 years old)
Aug 22 British actor, comedian and television host (The Late Late Show with James Corden), born in Hillingdon, London
- Aug 23 Julian Casablancas, American musician, born in New York City
Kobe Bryant (1978-2020)
Aug 23 American basketball guard (NBA champion 2000–02, 09-10; NBA MVP 2008; 18 x NBA All Star; LA Lakers; Olympic gold 2008,12), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Aug 24 Rafael Furcal, Dominican baseball player, born in Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic
- Aug 25 Kel Mitchell, American actor
- Aug 26 Amanda Schull, American actress (12 Monkeys), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Aug 26 Cedric Burnside, American Blues musician and singer-songwriter (I Be Trying), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- Aug 26 Raja Kashif, Pakistani singer and songwriter, born in Isleworth, Hounslow, England
- Aug 28 Jess Margera, American drummer (CKY), born in West Chester, Pennsylvania
- Aug 28 Shaniqua [Linda Miles], American wrestling valet, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Aug 29 Celestine Babayaro, Nigerian footballer, born in Kaduna, Nigeria
- Aug 30 Cliff Lee, American baseball player, born in Benton, Arkansas
- Aug 31 Philippe Christanval, French footballer
Famous Weddings
Neil Young
Aug 2 Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young (32) weds American diner waitress Pegi Morton (25); divorce in 2014
Kate Jackson
Aug 23 Actress Kate Jackson (29) weds actor Andrew Stevens (23) in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
Famous Deaths
- Aug 2 Carlos Chávez, Mexican conductor and composer (Sinfonía India), dies at 79
- Aug 2 Satomi Myodo, Zen nun/attendant of Hakuun Yasutani Roshi, dies at 82
- Aug 2 Totie Fields [Sophie Feldman], American comedienne, dies at 48
- Aug 3 Ezzedin Kalak, Palestinian PLO representative in Paris, assassinated at about 42
- Aug 4 Frank Fontaine, American comedian (Crazy Guggenheim), dies at 58
- Aug 5 Dutch Clark, American Pro/College Football HOF back (Colorado College; 6 × First-team All-Pro; 3 × NFL rushing TD leader & NFL scoring leader; Portsmouth Spartans/Detroit Lions), dies at 71
- Aug 5 Jesse Haines, American Baseball HOF pitcher (World Series 1926, 31, 34; pitched no-hitter 1924; St. Louis Cardinals), dies at 85
- Aug 5 Queenie Smith, American actress/dancer (Funny Side), dies at 79
- Aug 6 Edward Durrell Stone, US architect, dies at 76
Paul VI (1897-1978)
Aug 6 262nd Roman Catholic pope (1963-78), dies of a heart attack at 80
- Aug 7 (Albert) Eddie Calvert, British trumpeter ("Oh, Mein Papa"; "Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)"), dies of a heart attack at 56
- Aug 7 Franz Alphons Wolpert, German composer, dies at 60
- Aug 9 James Gould Cozzens, American novelist (1949 Pulitzer-Guard of Honor), dies at 74
- Aug 9 Johan Daisne [Herman Thiery], Belgian writer (Lago Maggiore), dies at 66
- Aug 14 (Giuseppe) "Joe" Venuti, American jazz musician and pioneer violinist considered the "father of jazz violin", dies of cancer at 74
- Aug 14 Nicolas Bentley, British writer and illustrator, dies at 71
- Aug 15 Harrison Kerr, American composer, dies at 80
- Aug 16 Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborch Stachouwer, Dutch last Governor-General of Dutch East Indies (1936-45), taken prisoner by the Japanese during WWII, dies at 90
- Aug 20 Ivan Jirko, Czech composer, music critic and psychiatrist, dies at 51
- Aug 21 Charles Eames, American designer and architect, dies at 71
- Aug 21 Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricket all-rounder (44 Tests, 5 x 100, HS 231, 162 wickets, BB 8/52; Nawanagar, Hindus, Gujarat, Bombay, Rajasthan), dies at 61
- Aug 22 Ignazio Silone, Italian novelist (Fontamara, Pane e vino), dies at 78
Jomo Kenyatta (1891-1978)
Aug 22 1st Prime Minister of Kenya (1963-64) and the 1st President of Kenya (1964-78), dies at 83
- Aug 24 Kathleen Kenyon, English archaeologist, her excavations at Jericho established it as the oldest continuously occupied city, dies at 72
- Aug 24 Louis Prima, American jazz and pop singer, trumpeter, and bandleader ("That Old Black Magic"; "Oh, Marie"), dies at 67
- Aug 26 Charles Boyer, French actor (Gaslight, Rogues), dies at 78
- Aug 26 Charles Trowbridge Haubiel, American composer, pianist and lecturer (Tre Ritratti Characteristici), dies at 86
- Aug 26 José Manuel Moreno, Argentine footballer, dies at 62
- Aug 28 Bruce Catton, American historian and writer (Civil War), dies at 78
- Aug 28 F. Van Wyck Mason, American historian and author (Three Harbours), dies at 76
- Aug 28 Robert Shaw, British actor (The Sting; Jaws; The Deep), novelist (The Sun Doctor), and playwright (The Man in the Glass Booth), dies of a heart attack at 51
- Aug 31 John Wrathall, President of Rhodesia (b. 1913)
