Historical Events
Endless Love
Aug 1 "Endless Love" single released by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (Billboard Song of the Year 1981, Billboard Greatest Song Duet of All-Time)
- Aug 1 Music video cable channel MTV debuts in US at 12:01 AM with The Buggles song "Video Killed The Radio Star"
Cricket History
Aug 2 England cricket all-rounder Ian Botham takes 5 for 11 to end Australia's chase of 151 target, all out 121 for 29 run defeat in 4th Test at Edgbaston
Event of Interest
Aug 3 13,000 Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) begin their strike; US President Ronald Reagan offers ultimatum to workers: 'if they do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated'
- Aug 3 France performs nuclear test in Pacific
- Aug 3 Senegalese opposition parties, under the leadership of Mamadou Dia, launch the Antiimperialist Action Front-Suxxali Reew Mi.
- Aug 4 Columbia mated with SRBs and external tank for STS-2 mission
Event of Interest
Aug 4 Oliver North is assigned to White House duty
- Aug 5 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Aug 5 US President Ronald Reagan fires 11,500 striking air traffic controllers
- Aug 6 Argentine ex-president Isabel Peron freed
- Aug 6 NASA launches US Navy communication system Fltsatcom-5 - fails after being damaged during flight
- Aug 7 "The Washington Star" ceases all operations after 128 years of publication
- Aug 8 At a summit South African Trade Unions resolve to defy apartheid and labour laws
- Aug 9 52nd All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 5-4 at Municipal Stadium, Cleveland
Sports History
Aug 9 All star MVP: Gary Carter (Mont Expos)
- Aug 9 NL beats AL 5-4 in 52nd All Star Game (Cleveland Stadium)
PGA Championship
Aug 9 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Atlanta Athletic Club: Larry Nelson wins by 4 strokes from Fuzzy Zoeller
- Aug 9 Six English lifeguards set relay swim record English Channel (7:17)
- Aug 10 Coca-Cola Bottling Co agrees to pump $34 million into black business
Sports History
Aug 10 Pete Rose, 3,631 career hit, breaks Stan Musial's NL hit record
- Aug 10 Richard Nixon Museum in San Clemente, California closes
- Aug 12 IBM introduces its first Personal Computer (PC & PC-DOS version 1.0)
- Aug 12 Jon Erikson (US) becomes 1st to triple cross English Channel (38:27)
- Aug 13 American swimmer Mary T. Meagher breaks her own world women's 200 m butterfly record (2:05.96) in Brown Deer, Wisconsin
- Aug 13 Last broadcast of "The Waltons" on CBS-TV
- Aug 13 Test Cricket debut of Mike Whitney for Australia versus England at Old Trafford
- Aug 14 George Foster hits his 8th HR into red seats at Riverfront
Sports History
Aug 14 Phils Mike Schmidt hits his 300th career HR off NY Met Mike Scott
- Aug 15 Ian Botham scores a century in 86 balls v Australia at Old Trafford
- Aug 15 Robin Leamy of US swims record 7.98 kph for 50 m
- Aug 16 American swimmer Mary T. Meagher breaks her own world women's 100 m butterfly record (57.93) in Brown Deer, Wisconsin; holds 100/200m double WR
- Aug 16 Highest score in World Cup soccer match (New Zealand-13, Fiji-0)
- Aug 18 Football running back, Herschel Walker, of U of Georgia, takes out a Lloyd's of London insurance policy for $1 million
Telethon
Aug 18 Jerry Lewis appears on "Donahue" to defend Telethons
My Fair Lady
Aug 18 Revival of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical "My Fair Lady" opens at Uris Theater, NYC; runs for 119 performances
Murder of Interest
Aug 24 Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 yrs to life for John Lennon's murder
- Aug 25 Jeff Schwartz, sets solo record for trampoline bouncing (266:09)
Voyager 2 Spacecraft
Aug 25 Voyager 2's closest approach to Saturn (63,000 miles/100,000 km) [1]
World Record Mile
Aug 28 Britain's Sebastian Coe sets a then 1-mile word record of 3:47.33
Ronald Reagan is Shot
Aug 28 John Hinckley pleads innocent to attempt to assassinate US President Ronald Reagan
- Aug 28 National Centers for Disease Control announces high incidence of Pneumocystis & Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men
- Aug 29 28th Golf Walker Cup: US wins 15-9
- Aug 29 Phillies minor leaguer Jeff Stone steals pro baseball record 121st base en route to 122 (Spartanburg (South Atlantic League))
Sports History
Aug 30 Bill Shoemaker becomes the first jockey to win a $1 million thoroughbred horse race when John Henry takes the inaugural Arlington Million by a nose over The Bart
- Aug 31 Dirk Wellham scores 103 on Test Cricket debut, v England at Lord's
- Aug 31 MLB Kansas City Royals fire manager Jim Frey, replace him with Dick Howser
Famous Birthdays
- Aug 1 Ashley Parker Angel, American pop singer (O-Town), and actor, born in Redding, California
- Aug 1 Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer, born in Port Laoise, Ireland
- Aug 4 Abigail Spencer, Gulf Breeze, Florida, American actress (Cowboys & Aliens)
- Aug 4 Ben Scott, English cricketer
- Aug 4 Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
- Aug 4 Marques Houston, American R&B singer (Immature-IMx) and actor, born in Los Angeles, California
Meghan Markle (42 years old)
Aug 4 American former actress (Suits), Duchess of Sussex and wife of Prince Harry, born in Los Angeles, California
- Aug 5 Alester Maregwede, Zimbabwean cricketer
- Aug 5 Carl Crawford, American baseball player, born in Houston, Texas
- Aug 5 Cory Williams, American internet celebrity (The Mean Kitty Song), born in Merced, California
- Aug 5 Erik Guay, Canadian alpine skier, born in Montreal, Quebec
- Aug 5 Jesse Williams, American actor (Grey's Anatomy), director and activist, born in Chicago, Illinois
- Aug 5 Kō Shibasaki, Japanese singer and actress (47 Ronin), born in Toshima, Japan
- Aug 5 Rachel Scott, American murder victim (d. 1999)
- Aug 5 Ricky Kej, Indian Grammy Award-winning new age musician, composer (Winds of Samsara; Divine Tides), and environmentalist, born in North Carolina, USA
- Aug 6 Leslie Odom Jr., American actor and singer (Hamilton), born in New York City
- Aug 6 Travis McCoy, American alternative hip-hop artist (Gym Class Heroes), born in Geneva, New York
- Aug 8 Bradley McIntosh, British pop singer-songwriter (S Club), born in London, England
- Aug 8 Candie Kung, American golfer (US Open 2009 runner-up), born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Aug 8 Kaori Iida, Japanese pop singer and actress (Morning Musume; Dream Morning Musume), born in Hokkaidō, Japan
Roger Federer (42 years old)
Aug 8 Swiss tennis player (20 x Grand Slam singles titles; Olympic gold doubles 2008; Davis Cup 2014; 6 x Tour Finals), born in Bottmingen, Switzerland
- Aug 8 Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer and songwriter
- Aug 9 Li Jiawei, Singaporean Olympic table tennis player
- Aug 10 Natsumi Abe, Japanese pop singer (Dream Morning Musume), born in Muroran, Hokkaidō, Japan
- Aug 10 Taufik Hidayat, Indonesian Badminton Player
- Aug 11 Fiona Sit, Hong Kong singer and actress
- Aug 11 Sandi Thom, Scottish born singer
- Aug 12 Djibril Cissé, French footballer
- Aug 12 Tony Capaldi, Northern Ireland footballer, born in Porsgrunn, Norway
- Aug 14 Julius Jones, American football player, born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia
- Aug 14 Matthew Etherington, English footballer, born in Truro, United Kingdom
- Aug 14 Ray William Johnson, American comedian, writer, and youtuber (Equals Three; Your Favorite Martian), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Aug 15 Brendan Hansen, American swimmer (Olympic gold, 4x100m medley relay 2004, 08, 12; 6 x World C'ship gold), born in Havertown, Pennsylvania
- Aug 15 Oliver Perez, American baseball player
- Aug 15 Song Ji-hyo, South Korean actress (Running Man), born in Pohang, South Korea
- Aug 16 Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguayan footballer, born in Asunción, Paraguay
- Aug 17 Kristin Holt, American television personality (American Idol), born in Plano, Texas
- Aug 18 César Delgado, Argentine footballer, born in Rosario, Argentina
- Aug 18 Dimitris Salpingidis, Greek footballer, born in Thessaloniki, Greece
- Aug 18 Jon Schneck, American rock guitarist (Relient K, 2005-present), born in Eustis, Florida
- Aug 20 Ben Barnes, English actor (Prince Caspian-The Chronicles of Narnia), born in London
- Aug 20 Bernard Mendy, French footballer (Paris Saint-Germain), born in Évreux, France
- Aug 21 Andreas Glyniadakis, Greek basketball player, born in Chania, Greece
- Aug 21 Collie Buddz [Colin Patrick Harper], American reggae and dancehall artist ("Come Around"), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Aug 22 Alex Holmes, American football player, born in San Diego, California
- Aug 22 Jennifer Castellano, American pianist and composer, born in Westchester County, New York
- Aug 23 Carlos Cuéllar, Spanish footballer, born in Madrid, Spain
- Aug 23 Ozzy Lusth, American Survivor contestant, born in Guanajuato, Mexico
- Aug 23 Stephan Loboué, Ivorian footballer, born in Pforzheim, Germany
- Aug 24 Chad Michael Murray, American actor (One Tree Hill), born in Buffalo, New York
- Aug 24 Jiro Wang Dong Cheng, Taiwanese singer and actor, born in Taipei, Taiwan
- Aug 24 Mercedes Scelba-Shorte, American model, born in New Jersey
- Aug 25 Bobby Berk, American interior designer and TV personality (Queer Eye), born in Houston, Texas
- Aug 25 Clare Oliver, Australian cancer activist (d. 2007)
- Aug 25 Rachel Bilson, American actress
- Aug 26 Birdie Kim, South Korean golfer (US Open 2005), born in Iksan, South Korea
- Aug 26 Jesse Martin, German- Australian yachtsman (youngest person to solo circumnavigate the globe at 18), born in Dachau, Germany
- Aug 26 Nico Muhly, American contemporary classical composer (Marnie), born in Randolph, Vermont
- Aug 26 Petey Williams, Canadian professional wrestler (Lucha Libre USA), born in Windsor, Ontario
- Aug 27 Demetria McKinney, American actress (House of Payne), born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida
- Aug 28 Agata Wróbel, Polish weightlifter, born in Żywiec, Poland
- Aug 28 Daniel Gygax, Swiss footballer, born in Zürich, Switzerland
- Aug 28 Martin Erat, Czech hockey player, born in Třebíč, Czechoslovakia
- Aug 28 Raphael Matos, Brazilian racing driver, born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Aug 28 Vaggelis Moras, Greek footballer, born in Larissa, Greece
Brian Chesky (42 years old)
Aug 29 American internet entrepreneur (CEO of Airbnb), born in Niskayuna, New York
- Aug 29 Geneviève Jeanson, French Canadian cyclist, born in Montreal, Quebec
- Aug 29 Jay Ryan (Jay Bunyan), New Zealand actor, born in Auckland, New Zealand
- Aug 31 Dwayne Peel, Welsh rugby union halfback (76 Tests, British & Irish Lions 3, Barbarians 1; Llanelli Scarlets RFC, Sale Sharks RFC), born in Carmarthen, Wales
- Aug 31 Joe Swanberg, American filmmaker (mumblecore film movement), born in Detroit, Michigan
Famous Deaths
- Aug 1 (Sidney) "Paddy" Chayefsky, American Academy Award-winning screenwriter (Marty; The Hospital; Network), novelist, and playwright, dies of cancer at 58
- Aug 1 Seppo Nummi, Finnish composer and music critic, dies at 49
- Aug 2 Stefanie Clausen, Danish diver (Olympic gold 10m platform 1920), dies at 81
- Aug 3 Roberto Peci, Italian brother of Red Brigade leader, murdered at 25
- Aug 3 Seymour Österwall, Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader and composer, dies at 73
- Aug 4 Melvyn Douglas [Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg], American actor (Hud, Being There, Ghost Story), dies at 80
- Aug 14 Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor, dies at 87
- Aug 14 lDudley Nourse, South African cricket batsman and captain (34 Tests, 9 x 100s, HS 231; Nata), dies at 70
- Aug 15 Humphrey Waldock, British lawyer (UN International Law Commission, 1961-72), and jurist (European Court of Human Rights, 1966-74; International Court of Justice, 1973-81), dies of a heart attack at 77
- Aug 15 Pappy Waldorf, American College Football Hall of Fame tackle and coach (Northwestern, California), dies at 78
- Aug 17 Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and arranger (Oklahoma!), dies at 87
- Aug 18 Anita Loos, American screenwriter, novelist (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) and playwright, dies at 88
- Aug 19 Jessie Matthews, English actress (Gangway, First a Girl), dies at 74
- Aug 21 Eddie Byrne, British actor (Star Wars, Island of Terror), dies from a stroke at 70
- Aug 21 Hermann Schey, German-Dutch classical bass-baritone singer, and teacher, dies at 85
- Aug 23 (Thaman) "Pete" Daily, American swing and dixieland jazz cornetist and valve trombonist (The Chicagoans), dies at 70
- Aug 26 Lee Hays, American folk singer (The Weavers), songwriter ("Wasn't That a Time?"; "If I Had a Hammer"; "Kisses Sweeter than Wine"), and civil rights activist, dies at 67dies of a heart attack at 67
- Aug 26 Roger Nash Baldwin, American founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, dies at 97
- Aug 26 Walter "Foots" Thomas, American saxophonist, flutist, and arranger (Cab Calloway Orchestra), dies from cancer at 74
- Aug 27 Joan Edwards, American pop singer on radio (Your Hit Parade) and television (Joan Edwards Show), dies of a heart attack at 62
- Aug 27 Valery Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
- Aug 28 Béla Guttmann, Hungarian soccer midfielder (4 caps; MTK Hungária, Hakoah Wien) and coach (Benfica, AC Milan, FC Porto; Hungary, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, Uruguay, Portugal), dies at 82
- Aug 28 Guy Stevens, British record company executive (Sue; Island), band manager (Mott the Hoople; Procol Harum), and record producer (The Clash - London Calling), dies from an overdose of anti-alcohol medication at 38
- Aug 28 Paul Anspach, Belgian fencer (Olympic gold individual epée, team epée 1912), dies at 99
- Aug 29 Lowell Thomas, American newscaster (High Adventure), dies in Pawling, NY at 89
- Aug 30 Mohammad-Ali Rajai, President of Iran (1981), assassinated by a bomb at 48
Vera-Ellen (1921-1981)
Aug 30 American actress and dancer (White Christmas; Big Leaguer; On the Town), dies of cancer at 60
- Aug 31 Joseph H. Hirschhorn, American financier and art collector (Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden), dies at 82
