Historical Events
- Aug 1 Buttevant Rail Disaster kills 18 and injures dozens of train passengers in Ireland.
- Aug 1 East German runner Waldemar Cierpinski wins his second consecutive Olympic Games marathon in 12:11:03 in Moscow
- Aug 1 Gerd Wessig of East Germany becomes the first male to set a high jump world record at the Olympics (2.36m [7' 9"] Moscow)
- Aug 2 Cuban super-heavyweight Teofilo Stevenson becomes the 1st fighter to win 3 Olympic gold medals in the same division, scores 4-1 points decision over Pyotr Zayev (Soviet Union) in Moscow
- Aug 2 Fascist bomb attack on Bologna Italy train station, 86 killed
Baseball Hall of Fame
Aug 3 Al Kaline, Duke Snider, Chuck Klein and Tom Yawkey are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Aug 3 XXII Summer Olympic Games close in Moscow, Russia
- Aug 4 -11] Hurricane Aline, kills 272 in Texas & Caribbean
- Aug 4 7-time All Star Maury Wills becomes only the 3rd black manager in MLB history when Darrell Johnson is fired by Seattle Mariners after a 9 game losing streak
- Aug 5 Montreal Expos Dick Williams wins his 1,000th career game as a manager in 11-5 win v Mets, for whom Doug Flynn hits MLB record tying 3 triples
- Aug 6 University adm declares 5 Pac-10 schools ineligible for conference titles and post-season play due to transcript and curriculum abuses
Double Fantasy
Aug 7 John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin recording sessions for their "Double Fantasy" album at the Hit Factory, NYC
Canadian Women's Open
Aug 10 Canadian Open Women's Golf (Peter Jackson Classic), Richelieu Valley GC: Pat Bradley wins by 1 from JoAnn Carner for her first of 6 major titles
PGA Championship
Aug 10 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Oak Hill CC: Jack Nicklaus wins 5th and final PGA C'ship by a convincing 7 strokes from Andy Bean
- Aug 11 Angola revises its constitution
- Aug 11 Mohammed Ali Radjai appointed premier of Iran
Sports History
Aug 11 Yanks Reggie Jackson hits his 400th HR off Chicago's Britt Burns
- Aug 12 Nicaragua celebrates the end of their National Literary Crusade - a massive effort over five months that reduced illiteracy from 50% to 12%
- Aug 12 Signature of the Montevideo Treaty establishing the Latin American Integration Association.
One-Trick Pony
Aug 12 Warner Bros, Records releases "One-Trick Pony", the fifth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon; it features the song "Late in the Evening" and was accompanied by a dramatic film of the same name, written by and starring Simon
Presidential Convention
Aug 14 Democratic Convention in NYC nominates Jimmy Carter for president and Walter Mondale for vice president
- Aug 16 British rock keyboardist Jools Holland quits band Squeeze to pursue a solo career
- Aug 16 Cozy Powell quits Rainbow
- Aug 17 "Blackstone" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 104 performances
- Aug 17 Azaria Chamberlain disappears, likely taken by a dingo, leading to what was then the most publicised trial in Australian history
Sports History
Aug 17 George Brett goes 4-for-4, raising his batting average to .401
- Aug 18 KC Royals' George Brett, batting avg reach .400
- Aug 19 Kansas City Royals' George Brett hitting streak ends at 30 games
- Aug 19 Saudi Arabian Lockhead Tristar crashes on landing at Riyadh, 301 die
- Aug 19 Willy Russell's play "Educating Rita" premieres in London starring Julie Walters
- Aug 20 Cleveland Indians pitcher Dan Spillner, 5.45 ERA, is 2 outs from a no-hitter when Chicago White Sox rookie Leo Sutherland singles
- Aug 20 NY Yankee Bob Watson hits Seattle Kingdome speaker, 2nd straight day
- Aug 20 Pittsburgh Pirate Omar Moreno pillages record 70 bases for 3rd consecutive season
- Aug 20 Reinhold Messner of Italy is 1st to complete solo ascent of Mt Everest
- Aug 20 UN Security Council condemns (14-0, US abstains) Israeli declaration that all of Jerusalem is its capital
- Aug 21 British drummer and band co-sounder Bill Ward quits Black Sabbath for the first time
- Aug 21 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) founded in a basement office in Takoma Park, Maryland
Agreement of Interest
Aug 22 Bill Veeck agrees to sell MLB Chicago White Sox to Eddie DeBartolo Sr for $20,000,000, AL owners block the sale
- Aug 22 Leaders of Port Elizabeth's Black secondary school children in South Africa decided to end a four month boycott of classes
- Aug 23 Charles O. Finley sells Oakland A's MLB franchise for $12.7m to Walter Haas Jr. (owner and CEO of Levi Strauss)
- Aug 24 Jozef Pinkovski replaces Poland premier Babiuch
- Aug 24 Revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "Oklahoma!" closes at Palace Theater, NYC, after 293 performances
Sports History
Aug 25 MLB Texas Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins arrested for possession of drugs
42nd Street
Aug 25 Stage adaptation of Harry Warren and Al Dubin's film musical "42nd Street", directed and choreographed by Gower Champion, with additional songs by Warren and Johnny Mercer, opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 3486 performances and 2 Tony Award wins
- Aug 26 John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada
- Aug 26 Pete Comita replaces Tom Peterson as bassist of American rock band Cheap Trick
- Aug 27 Chon Doo Hwan elected president of South Korea
- Aug 28 37th Venice Film Festival: "Atlantic City" directed by Louis Malle and "Gloria" directed by John Cassavetes jointly awarded Golden Lion (first since 1968)
- Aug 28 First use of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine to scan the human body at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Scotland
- Aug 31 80th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Hal Sutton
- Aug 31 Poland's Solidarity trade union federations forms and is officially recognised by the Polish government
- Aug 31 The Gdańsk Agreement is signed, allowing Polish citizens to bring democratic changes within the communist political structure
Famous Birthdays
- Aug 1 Mancini [Alessandro Faiolhe Amantino], Brazilian footballer, born in Itapinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Aug 2 Ivica Banović, Croatian footballer, born in Zagreb, Croatia
- Aug 2 Jose "Dingdong" Dantes, Filipino actor (One More Try) and television host (Star Struck), born in Quezon City, Philippines
- Aug 2 Moto Boy [Oskar Humlebo], Swedish pop singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Beat Heart"), born in Färila, Sweden
- Aug 2 Nadia Bjorlin, American actress, born in Newport, Rhode Island
- Aug 3 Brandan Schieppati, American singer (Bleeding Through), born in Newport Beach, California
- Aug 3 Dominic Moore, Canadian NHL hockey player, 2003-18 (New York Rangers and 9 other teams), and broadcast analyst, born in Thornhill, Ontario
- Aug 3 Hannah Simone ,British-Canadian actress (New Girl), born in London, England
- Aug 5 Ali Umar, Maldivian footballer, born in Malé, Maldives
- Aug 5 Jason Čulina, Australian soccer player (Twente), born in Melbourne, Australia
- Aug 5 Sophie Winkleman, English actress, born in London, England
- Aug 5 Wayne Bridge, English premier league footballer, born in Southampton, England
- Aug 6 Danny Collins, Welsh soccer defender (12 caps; Sunderland, Stoke City, Nottingham Forest), born in Chester, England
- Aug 6 Wilber Pan, Taiwanese-American singer, rapper and actor, born in West Virgina
- Aug 7 Aurélie Claudel, French model, born in Laxou, France
- Aug 8 Michael Urie, American actor and director
- Aug 8 Mike Hindert, American musician
- Aug 8 Pat Noonan, American footballer
- Aug 8 Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player
- Aug 9 Ryu Seung-beom, South Korean actor (The Unjust), born in Asan, South Korea
- Aug 10 Kaysar Ridha, Iraqi-American reality TV contestant
- Aug 11 Lee Suggs, American football player, born in Roanoke, Virginia
- Aug 11 Merritt Wever, American Emmy Award-winning actress (Nurse Jackie - "Zoey"; Godless; Unbelievable), born in Manhattan, New York
- Aug 12 Dominique Swain, American actress (Lolita), born in Malibu, California
- Aug 12 Jade Villalon, American singer-songwriter
- Aug 12 Maggie Lawson, American actress (Psych), born in Louisville, Kentucky
- Aug 12 Matt Thiessen, Canadian-American musician (Relient K)
- Aug 14 Estrella Morente, Spanish flamenco singer, born in Las Gabias, Spain
- Aug 14 Roy Williams, American football player (Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals), born in Redwood City, California
- Aug 15 Nathalie Press, English actress (Wasp), born in London, England
- Aug 16 Robert "Bob" Hardy, English musician (Franz Ferdinand), born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
- Aug 16 Vanessa Carlton, American singer-songwriter, born in Milford, Pennsylvania
- Aug 17 Jan Kromkamp, Dutch footballer, born in Makkinga, Netherlands
- Aug 17 Keith Dabengwa, Zimbabwean cricketer, born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
- Aug 17 Lene Marlin, Norwegian singer-songwriter, born in Tromsø, Norway
- Aug 17 Shannon Lucio, American actress, born in Denver, Colorado
- Aug 18 Athina Papayianni, Greek race walker, born in Preveza, Greece
- Aug 18 Esteban Cambiasso, Argentine footballer, born in San Fernando Partido, Argentina
- Aug 18 Jeremy Shockey, American football Tight End, born in Ada, Oklahoma
- Aug 18 Preeti Jhangiani, Indian actress, born in Mumbai, India
- Aug 18 Rob Nguyen, Australian racing driver, born in Brisbane, Australia
- Aug 19 Darius Danesh, Scottish pop, opera and swing singer-songwriter and stage actor, born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2022)
- Aug 19 Jun Jin, Korean rapper (Shinhwa), born in Seoul, South Korea
- Aug 19 Michael Todd, American rock bassist (Coheed and Cambria), born in Kingston, New York
- Aug 19 Paul Parry, Welsh footballer, born in Cheptow, wales
- Aug 20 Corey Carrier, American actor (Young Indiana Jones), born in Middleborough, Massachusetts
- Aug 20 Rochelle Gadd, British actress (Hollyoaks)
- Aug 21 Burney Lamar, American race car driver, born in West Sacramento, California
- Aug 21 Paul Menard, American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver, born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- Aug 22 Christi Shake, American model and actress, born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Aug 22 Nicolas Macrozonaris, French Canadian track-and-field athlete, born in Laval, Canada
- Aug 22 Roland Benschneider, German footballer, born in Neuruppin, Germany
- Aug 23 Rex Grossman, American football player, born in Bloomington, Indiana
- Aug 24 Sonja Bennett, Canadian actress (Punch), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- Aug 25 Neal Musser, American baseball player
- Aug 26 Brendan Harris, American baseball player, born in Queensbury, New York
- Aug 26 Chris Pine, American actor (Star Trek), born in Los Angeles, California
Macaulay Culkin (43 years old)
Aug 26 American actor (Home Alone, My Girl, Richie Rich), born in New York City
- Aug 26 Neeru Bajwa, Canadian actress and director in Punjabi cinema, born in Surrey, British Columbia
- Aug 27 Kyle Lowder, American actor
- Aug 27 Stephanie Michelle Steele, American country singer, born in Abilene, Texas
- Aug 28 Rachel Khoo, English cook, author and broadcaster (The Little Paris Kitchen), born in London, England
- Aug 28 T.J. Beam, American baseball player, born in Scottsdale, Arizona
- Aug 29 Chris Simms, American NFL quarterback (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos), born in Ridgewood, New Jersey
- Aug 29 David Desrosiers, Canadian rock bassist (Simple Plan, 2000-20), born in Montreal, Quebec
- Aug 29 David West, American basketball player, born in Teaneck, New Jersey
- Aug 29 Mohammad Sheikh, Kenyan cricketer, born in Nairobi, Kenya
- Aug 29 Nicholas Tse, Hong Kong singer and actor, born in British Hong Kong
- Aug 29 William Levy, Cuban-American model and actor (The Single Mom's Club), born in Havana, Cuba
- Aug 31 Joe Budden, American rapper (Pump It Up), born in New York, New York
- Aug 31 Laura Mulleavy, American fashion designer (Rodarte), born in California
Famous Weddings
James Woods
Aug 13 Actor James Woods (33) weds costume designer Kathryn Morrison
Famous Deaths
- Aug 1 Patrick Depailler, French Formula 1 driver (b. 1944)
Strother Martin (1919-1980)
Aug 1 American actor (Cool Hand Luke, Slapshot), dies of a heart attack at 61
- Aug 2 Verdun Scott, New Zealand cricket batsman (10 Tests, 3 x 50; Auckland) and rugby league utility back (1 Test; Auckland Pakehā), dies at 64
- Aug 4 Diego Fabbri, Italian playwright and leader (Vatican movie bureau), dies at 69
- Aug 5 Harold Runnels, American politician (b. 1924)
- Aug 6 Charles Urbanus, Dutch baseball player, dies at 66
- Aug 6 Marino Marini, Italian sculptor (The Pilgrim - Houston), dies at 79
- Aug 8 Aga Yahya Khan, Pakistani general and politician (President of Pakistan 1969-71, Bangladesh genocide during his regime), dies at 63
- Aug 8 Jacqueline Cochran, US pilot and 1st woman to break sound barrier, dies at 74
- Aug 8 Paul Triquet, Canadian military officer, dies at 70
- Aug 9 Elliott Nugent, American director and actor, dies at 83
- Aug 9 Oleg Grigoryevich Kononenko, Russian cosmonaut, dies at 41
- Aug 9 Philip Lee, Australian cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 5 wickets; South Australia), dies at 75
- Aug 11 Paul Robert, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1910)
- Aug 11 Willi Forst, Austrian actor and director (Bel Amis, Operette, Vienna Blood), dies at 77
- Aug 14 Dorothy Stratten [Hoogstraten], Canadian playmate (August, 1979), model and actress (Galixina), murdered by estranged husband and manager Paul Snider at 20
- Aug 18 Norman Cazden, American composer, educator, and music theorist, dies at 65
- Aug 19 American farmer and inventor of center-pivot irrigation, US's most widely used irrigation system, dies at 86 [1]
- Aug 19 Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, dies at 91
- Aug 20 Joe Dassin, French-American singer (Les Champs-Élysées), dies at 41
- Aug 21 Jack Cheetham, South African cricket batsman and captain (24 Tests; Western Province), dies at 60
- Aug 22 Alfred Neubauer, German racing team manager (Mercedes Benz), dies at 89
- Aug 22 James Smith McDonnell, American aircraft manufacturer, dies of a stroke at 81
- Aug 23 Norman Shelley, English radio actor (Churchill's Speech), dies at 77
- Aug 24 Andre Parrot, French archaeologist (Mari, Assur), dies at 79
- Aug 24 Frederick A. Fox, American classical composer (Nightscenes; Shaking The Pumpkin),and educator (Indiana University, 1974-94), dies at 80
- Aug 24 Yootha Joyce, British actress (Man About the House, George and Mildred), dies of liver failure at 53
- Aug 25 Gower Champion, American actor, dancer, choreographer, and theater director (42nd Street; Showboat; Marge & Gower Champion Show), dies of blood cancer at 61
- Aug 26 Jimmy Forrest, American jazz saxophonist (Night Train), dies at 60
- Aug 26 Miliza Korjus, Polish-American actress (Great Waltz), dies at 71
- Aug 26 Rosa Albach-Retty, German actress (b. 1874)
- Aug 26 Tex Avery, American cartoonist (b. 1908)
- Aug 27 Douglas Kenney, American humorist (co-founded the magazine National Lampoon), dies at 33
- Aug 27 Sam Levenson, American humorist (Sam Levenson Show, Masquerade Party), dies at 68
- Aug 29 Louis Darquier de Pellepoix, French politician and Nazi collaborator (anti-Semite minister in WWII Vichy government), dies at 92
