August 8

"August 8th" redirects here. For the 2012 film, see August Eighth.

August 8 is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 145 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1220 – Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
• 1503 – King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.
• 1576 – The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on the island of Hven.
• 1585 – John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.
• 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England.
• 1605 – The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.
• 1647 – The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungan's Hill: English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.
• 1709 – Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the King of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal
• 1786 – Mont Blanc on the French – Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
• 1793 – The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.
• 1794 – Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
• 1844 – The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
• 1863 – American Civil War: Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).
• 1870 – The Republic of Ploiești, a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.
• 1876 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
• 1885 – More than 1.5 million people attend the funeral of Ulysses S. Grant in New York City.
• 1908 – Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers' first public flight.
• 1918 – World War I: The Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).
• 1927 – The predecessor to the Philippine Stock Exchange opens.
• 1929 – The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.
• 1940 – The "Aufbau Ost" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.
• 1942 – Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for swaraj or complete independence.
• 1945 – The London Charter is signed by France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States, establishing the laws and procedures for the Nuremberg trials.
• 1946 – First flight of the Convair B-36, the world's first mass-produced nuclear weapon delivery vehicle, the heaviest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft, with the longest wingspan of any military aircraft, and the first bomber with intercontinental range.
• 1960 – South Kasai secedes from the Congo.
• 1963 – Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes.
• 1963 – The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the current ruling party of Zimbabwe, is formed by a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union.
• 1967 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
• 1969 – At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the photo that becomes the cover of the Beatles album Abbey Road.
• 1973 – Kim Dae-jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.
• 1974 – President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.
• 1980 – The Central Hotel Fire occurs in Bundoran, Ireland.
• 1988 – The "8888 Uprising" occurs in Burma.
• 1989 – Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission: Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
• 1990 – Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.
• 1991 – The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
• 2000 – Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.
• 2007 – An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.
• 2008 – A EuroCity express train en route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic strikes a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the railroad track near Studénka railway station in the Czech Republic and derails, killing eight people and injuring 64 others.
• 2008 – Official ceremony of 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Bird's Nest.
• 2010 – 2010 China floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.
• 2013 – A suicide bombing at a funeral in the Pakistani city of Quetta kills at least 31 people.
• 2015 – Eight people are killed in a shooting in Harris County, Texas.

Births

• 1079 – Emperor Horikawa of Japan (d. 1107)
• 1518 – Conrad Lycosthenes, French-German scholar and author (d. 1561)
• 1605 – Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, English lawyer and politician, Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1675)
• 1640 – Amalia Catharina, German poet and composer (d. 1697)
• 1646 – Godfrey Kneller, German-English painter (d. 1723)
• 1673 – John Ker, Scottish spy (d. 1726)
• 1693 – Laurent Belissen, French composer (d. 1762)
• 1694 – Francis Hutcheson, Irish philosopher and academic (d. 1746)
• 1709 – Hermann Anton Gelinek, German-Italian monk and violinist (d. 1779)
• 1720 – Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish general and politician (d. 1796)
• 1754 – Hipólito Ruiz López, Spanish botanist (d. 1816)
• 1758 – Friedrich Georg Weitsch, German painter (d. 1828)
• 1790 – Ferenc Kölcsey, Hungarian poet, critic, and politician (d. 1838)
• 1807 – Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish author (d. 1892)
• 1814 – Esther Hobart Morris, American lawyer and judge (d. 1902)
• 1824 – Maria Alexandrovna, German-Russian wife of Alexander II of Russia (d. 1880)
• 1839 – Nelson A. Miles, American general (d. 1925)
• 1856 – Thomas Anstey Guthrie, English journalist and author (d. 1934)
• 1857 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (d. 1944)
• 1866 – Matthew Henson, American explorer (d. 1955)
• 1874 – Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (d. 1948)
• 1875 – Arthur Bernardes, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 12th President of Brazil (d. 1955)
• 1876 – Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly, Indian-Syrian priest, founded the Sisters of the Destitute (d. 1929)
• 1879 – Bob Smith, American physician and surgeon, co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (d. 1950)
• 1879 – Emiliano Zapata, Mexican general and politician (d. 1919)
• 1880 – Earle Page, Australian lawyer, academic, and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1961)
• 1881 – Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, German field marshal (d. 1954)
• 1882 – Ladislas Starevich, Russian-French animator, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 1965)
• 1884 – Sara Teasdale, American poet and educator (d. 1933)
• 1889 – Hans Egede Budtz, Danish actor (d. 1968)
• 1889 – Jack Ryder, Australian cricketer (d. 1977)
• 1891 – Adolf Busch, German violinist and composer (d. 1952)
• 1896 – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American author and academic (d. 1953)
• 1898 – Alexis Minotis, Greek actor and director (d. 1990)
• 1901 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
• 1902 – Paul Dirac, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
• 1903 – Dayton Lummis, American actor (d. 1988)
• 1904 – Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (d. 1948)
• 1905 – André Jolivet, French composer (d. 1974)
• 1907 – Benny Carter, American saxophonist, trumpet player, and composer (d. 2003)
• 1908 – Arthur Goldberg, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1990)
• 1909 – Bill Voce, England cricketer and coach (d. 1984)
• 1910 – Jimmy Murphy, Welsh-English footballer and manager (d. 1989)
• 1910 – Sylvia Sidney, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1911 – Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (d. 2002)
• 1915 – James Elliott, American runner and coach (d. 1981)
• 1919 – Dino De Laurentiis, Italian actor and producer (d. 2010)
• 1919 – John David Wilson, English animator and producer (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Leo Chiosso, Italian songwriter and producer (d. 2006)
• 1920 – Carol Lambrino, Romanian son of Carol II of Romania (d. 2006)
• 1920 – Jimmy Witherspoon, American singer (d. 1997)
• 1921 – William Asher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Webb Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
• 1921 – Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian pathologist and academic (d. 2001)
• 1921 – Esther Williams, American swimmer, actress, and singer (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Rory Calhoun, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
• 1922 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer, created the Monokini (d. 1985)
• 1922 – Gertrude Himmelfarb, American historian, author, and academic
• 1922 – Károly Reich, Hungarian illustrator (d. 1988)
• 1925 – Alija Izetbegović, Bosnian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 2003)
• 1925 – Ginny Tyler, American voice actress and singer (d. 2012)
• 1926 – Richard Anderson, American actor and producer
• 1927 – Johnny Temple, American baseball player and coach (d. 1994)
• 1927 – Maia Wojciechowska, Polish-American author (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Don Burrows, Australian saxophonist, clarinet player, and flute player
• 1928 – Simón Díaz, Venezuelan singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Ronnie Biggs, English criminal (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Larisa Bogoraz, Russian linguist and activist (d. 2004)
• 1930 – Joan Mondale, American wife of Walter Mondale, 32nd Second Lady of the United States (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Terry Nation, Welsh-American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
• 1930 – Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Roger Penrose, English physicist, mathematician, and philosopher
• 1932 – Luis García Meza Tejada, Bolivian general and politician, 68th President of Bolivia
• 1932 – Mel Tillis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Old Dogs)
• 1933 – Joe Tex, American singer-songwriter (d. 1982)
• 1933 – Serena Wilson, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Keith Barron, English actor
• 1934 – Sarat Pujari, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Donald P. Bellisario, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1935 – John Laws, Papua New Guinean-Australian singer and radio host
• 1936 – Frank Howard, American baseball player and manager
• 1936 – Çolpan İlhan, Turkish actress (d. 2014)
• 1936 – Jan Pieńkowski, Polish-English author and illustrator
• 1937 – Dustin Hoffman, American actor, singer, and producer
• 1937 – Cornelis Vreeswijk, Dutch-Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 1987)
• 1938 – Jack Baldwin, English chemist and academic
• 1938 – Jacques Hétu, Canadian composer and educator (d. 2010)
• 1938 – Connie Stevens, American actress, singer, director, and producer
• 1939 – Phil Balsley, American singer-songwriter (The Statler Brothers)
• 1939 – Viorica Viscopoleanu, Romanian long jumper
• 1939 – Alexander Watson, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Peru
• 1940 – Dilip Sardesai, Indian cricketer (d. 2007)
• 1940 – Dennis Tito, American engineer and businessman, founded Wilshire Associates
• 1941 – George Tiller, American physician (d. 2009)
• 1942 – Dennis Canavan, Scottish educator and politician
• 1942 – John Gustafson, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Roxy Music, Ian Gillan Band, The Big Three, Quatermass, and Episode Six) (d. 2014)
• 1942 – Vardo Rumessen, Estonian pianist and musicologist (d. 2015)
• 1944 – Brooke Bundy, American actress
• 1944 – Uli Derickson, Czech-American flight attendant (d. 2007)
• 1944 – Michael Johnson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1944 – John Renbourn, English-Scottish guitarist and songwriter (Pentangle) (d. 2015)
• 1944 – Simon Taylor, English journalist and author
• 1946 – Joe Bethancourt, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
• 1947 – José Cruz, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
• 1947 – Ken Dryden, Canadian ice hockey player, lawyer, and politician
• 1947 – Larry Wilcox, American actor, director, and producer
• 1948 – Susan Himmelweit, English economist and academic
• 1948 – Svetlana Savitskaya, Russian engineer and astronaut
• 1948 – Margaret Urban Walker, American philosopher
• 1949 – Keith Carradine, American actor and singer
• 1949 – Ricardo Londoño, Colombian race car driver (d. 2009)
• 1950 – Sarah Dunant, English author and critic
• 1950 – Willie Hall, American drummer and producer (The Blues Brothers, The Bar-Kays, and Booker T. & the M.G.'s)
• 1950 – Ken Kutaragi, Japanese businessman, created PlayStation
• 1950 – Lucjan Lis, Polish-German cyclist (d. 2015)
• 1951 – Martin Brest, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1951 – Phil Carlson, Australian cricketer
• 1951 – Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian engineer, academic, and politician, 5th President of Egypt
• 1951 – Mamoru Oshii, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1951 – Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
• 1951 – Louis van Gaal, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1952 – Anton Fig, South African-American drummer (Spider, Frehley's Comet, and Booker T. & the M.G.'s)
• 1952 – Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author
• 1952 – Doug Melvin, Canadian baseball player and manager
• 1952 – Robin Quivers, American radio host, actress, and author
• 1952 – Sudhakar Rao, Indian cricketer
• 1953 – Mark Lazarowicz, English politician
• 1953 – Nigel Mansell, English race car driver
• 1953 – Don Most, American actor and director
• 1954 – Nick Holtam, English bishop
• 1955 – Diddú, Icelandic singer-songwriter
• 1955 – Herbert Prohaska, Austrian footballer and manager
• 1955 – Michael Roe, Irish race car driver
• 1955 – Branscombe Richmond, American actor, stuntman, and producer
• 1956 – Chris Foreman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Madness)
• 1956 – David Grant, English singer (Linx)
• 1956 – Cecilia Roth, Argentinian actress
• 1957 – Dennis Drew, American keyboard player (10,000 Maniacs)
• 1958 – Deborah Norville, American journalist
• 1959 – Caroline Ansink, Dutch flute player, composer, and educator
• 1960 – Mustafa Balbay, Turkish journalist and politician
• 1960 – Ulrich Maly, German politician, 16th Mayor of Nuremberg
• 1961 – The Edge, English-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (U2)
• 1961 – Daniel House, American bass player and producer (10 Minute Warning and Skin Yard)
• 1961 – Ron Klain, American lawyer and politician, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States
• 1961 – Bruce Matthews, American football player and coach
• 1961 – Rikki Rockett, American drummer (Poison and Devil City Angels)
• 1961 – Annemieke Verdoorn, Dutch singer and actress
• 1961 – Simon Weston, Welsh soldier
• 1962 – Kool Moe Dee, American rapper (Treacherous Three)
• 1963 – Rica Fukami, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1963 – Hur Jin-ho, South Korean director and screenwriter
• 1963 – Ron Karkovice, American baseball player and manager
• 1963 – Emi Shinohara, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1963 – Jon Turteltaub, American director and producer
• 1963 – Stephen Walkom, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and manager
• 1963 – Carmi Martin, Filipino actress
• 1964 – Anastasia M. Ashman, American blogger and author
• 1964 – Scott Sandelin, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1964 – Paul Taylor, English cricketer
• 1964 – Eddie Trunk, American radio host and author
• 1965 – Angus Fraser, English cricketer, manager, and journalist
• 1965 – El Hefe, American guitarist and trumpet player (NOFX)
• 1965 – Kate Langbroek, Australian talk show host
• 1966 – Chris Eubank, English boxer
• 1966 – John Hudek, American baseball player and coach
• 1967 – Yūki Amami, Japanese actress
• 1967 – Eric Angle, American wrestler
• 1967 – Marcelo Balboa, American soccer player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1967 – Sable, American wrestler and actress
• 1967 – Lee Unkrich, American director and screenwriter
• 1968 – Yvie Burnett, Scottish soprano
• 1968 – Aldo Calderón van Dyke, Honduran journalist (d. 2013)
• 1968 – Abey Kuruvilla, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1968 – Huey Morgan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Fun Lovin' Criminals)
• 1969 – Song Sung-il, South Korean wrestler
• 1969 – Monika Tsõganova, Estonian chess player
• 1969 – Faye Wong, Chinese singer-songwriter and actress
• 1970 – Trev Alberts, American football player and journalist
• 1970 – Ben G. Davis, English chemist and academic
• 1970 – Pascal Duquenne, Belgian actor
• 1970 – Chester Williams, South African rugby player and coach
• 1971 – Johnny Balentina, Dutch baseball player
• 1972 – Joely Collins, Canadian actress and producer
• 1972 – Andrea de Rossi, Italian rugby player and coach
• 1972 – Axel Merckx, Belgian cyclist
• 1972 – Steven Tweed, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1973 – Shane Lee, Australian cricketer and guitarist (Six & Out)
• 1973 – Senta Moses, American actress
• 1973 – Jessica Calvello, American voice actress
• 1973 – Gert Olesk, Estonian footballer and manager
• 1973 – Scott Stapp, American singer-songwriter and producer (Creed)
• 1974 – Manjul Bhargava, Canadian-American mathematician and academic
• 1974 – Scott D'Amore, Canadian wrestler and manager
• 1974 – Brian Harvey, English singer-songwriter (East 17)
• 1974 – Andy Priaulx, Guernseyan race car driver
• 1975 – Mick Moss, English singer-songwriter (Antimatter)
• 1976 – JC Chasez, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor ('N Sync)
• 1976 – Tawny Cypress, American actress
• 1976 – Drew Lachey, American singer and actor (98 Degrees)
• 1977 – Darren Manzella, American sergeant (d. 2013)
• 1977 – Szilárd Németh, Slovak footballer and manager
• 1977 – Lindsay Sloane, American actress
• 1977 – Rocky Thompson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1977 – Nicolas Vogondy, French cyclist
• 1977 – Mohammad Wasim, Pakistani cricketer
• 1978 – Alan Maybury, Irish footballer and coach
• 1978 – Louis Saha, French footballer
• 1978 – Miho Shiraishi, Japanese actress
• 1978 – Countess Vaughn, American actress and singer
• 1978 – Natsuko Kuwatani, Japanese voice actress
• 1978 – Ebru Yaşar, Turkish singer
• 1979 – Richard Harwood, English cellist
• 1979 – Rashard Lewis, American basketball player
• 1979 – Richard Lyons, Northern Irish racing driver
• 1979 – Pooja Shah, English actress
• 1979 – Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson, Icelandic handball player
• 1980 – Shayna Baszler, American mixed martial artist
• 1980 – Craig Breslow, American baseball player
• 1980 – Jack Cassel, American baseball player
• 1980 – Denisse Guerrero, Mexican singer-songwriter (Belanova)
• 1980 – Mike Hindert, American singer and bass player (The Bravery)
• 1980 – Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player
• 1980 – Diego Markwell, Dutch baseball player
• 1980 – Pat Noonan, American soccer player
• 1980 – Michael Urie, American actor, director, and producer
• 1981 – Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
• 1981 – Meagan Good, American actress and producer
• 1981 – Kaori Iida, Japanese singer and actress (Morning Musume, Tanpopo, and Dream Morning Musume)
• 1981 – Bradley McIntosh, English singer and actor (S Club and Upper Street)
• 1981 – Harel Skaat, Israeli singer-songwriter
• 1982 – David Florence, Scottish canoe racer
• 1983 – Guy Burnet, English actor and producer
• 1983 – Fred Meyers, American actor
• 1983 – Willie Tonga, Australian rugby player
• 1984 – Kirk Broadfoot, Scottish footballer
• 1984 – Brenda Gandini, Argentinian model, actress, and singer
• 1984 – Devon McTavish, American soccer player
• 1984 – Norbert Michelisz, Hungarian race car driver
• 1984 – Martrez Milner, American football player
• 1985 – Toby Flood, English rugby player
• 1985 – Ryan Koolwijk, Dutch footballer
• 1985 – James Morgan, Welsh actor and producer
• 1985 – Brett Ratliff, American football player
• 1986 – Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukrainian tennis player
• 1986 – Pierre Garçon, American football player
• 1986 – Cody Lightning, Canadian actor
• 1986 – Peyton List, American actress
• 1986 – Chris Pressley, American football player
• 1986 – Charlotte Stokely, American porn actress
• 1987 – Pierre Boulanger, French actor
• 1987 – Katie Leung, Scottish actress
• 1987 – Tatjana Malek, German tennis player
• 1988 – Princess Beatrice of York
• 1988 – Danilo Gallinari, Italian basketball player
• 1988 – Ni Ni, Chinese actress
• 1988 – Rinku Singh, Indian baseball player
• 1988 – Laura Slade Wiggins, American actress and singer
• 1989 – Ken Baumann, American actor and author
• 1989 – Anthony Rizzo, American baseball player
• 1989 – Sesil Karatantcheva, Bulgarian-Kazakhstan tennis player
• 1989 – Hannah Miley, English-Scottish swimmer
• 1989 – Aleksandra Szwed, Polish actress and singer
• 1990 – Vladimír Darida, Czech footballer
• 1990 – Parker Kligerman, American race car driver
• 1991 – Nélson Oliveira, Portuguese footballer
• 1992 – Josip Drmić, Swiss footballer
• 1993 – Ben Breedlove, American blogger (d. 2011)
• 1993 – Jessie Rogers, Brazilian-American porn actress
• 1995 – Malin Reitan, Norwegian singer
• 1998 – Shawn Mendes, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1999, – Jay Tromp, Dutch music producer

Deaths

• 869 – Lothair II, Frankish king (b. 825)
• 1303 – Henry of Castile the Senator (b. 1230)
• 1555 – Oronce Finé, French mathematician and cartographer (b. 1494)
• 1588 – Alonso Sánchez Coello, Spanish painter (b. 1532)
• 1604 – Horio Tadauji, Japanese daimyo (b. 1578)
• 1631 – Konstantinas Sirvydas, Lithuanian priest, lexicographer, and academic (b. 1579)
• 1684 – George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer, English politician (b. 1622)
• 1719 – Christoph Ludwig Agricola, German painter (b. 1667)
• 1747 – Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian raid leader (b. 1678)
• 1759 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (b. 1704)
• 1827 – George Canning, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)
• 1828 – Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish botanist and psychologist (b. 1743)
• 1863 – Angus MacAskill, Scottish-Canadian giant (b. 1825)
• 1879 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher and academic (b. 1797)
• 1887 – Alexander William Doniphan, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1808)
• 1897 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian and academic (b. 1818)
• 1898 – Eugène Boudin, French painter (b. 1824)
• 1902 – James Tissot, French painter and illustrator (b. 1836)
• 1902 – John Henry Twachtman, American painter and academic (b. 1853)
• 1909 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (b. 1842)
• 1911 – William P. Frye, American lawyer and politician (b. 1830)
• 1921 – Juhani Aho, Finnish journalist and author (b. 1861)
• 1928 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian politician (b. 1871)
• 1930 – Launceston Elliot, Scottish wrestler and weightlifter (b. 1874)
• 1934 – Wilbert Robinson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1863)
• 1937 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motor cycle racer (b. 1897)
• 1940 – Johnny Dodds, American clarinet player and saxophonist (b. 1892)
• 1944 – Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (b. 1881)
• 1944 – Michael Wittmann, German commander (b. 1914)
• 1947 – Anton Denikin, Russian general (b. 1872)
• 1950 – Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman, founded Qantas (b. 1879)
• 1959 – Albert Namatjira, Australian painter (b. 1902)
• 1961 – Mei Lanfang, Chinese actor and singer (b. 1894)
• 1962 – Elizabeth Ann Duncan, American murderer (d. 1904)
• 1964 – Cengiz Topel, Turkish lieutenant and pilot (d. 1934)
• 1965 – Shirley Jackson, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1916)
• 1969 – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German biologist and eugenicist (b. 1896)
• 1971 – Freddie Spencer Chapman, English lieutenant (b. 1907)
• 1972 – Andrea Feldman, American actress (b. 1948)
• 1973 – Dean Corll, American serial killer (b. 1939)
• 1973 – Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish historian and author (b. 1898)
• 1974 – Alexander Nelke, Estonian-American painter and carpenter (b. 1894)
• 1974 – Baldur von Schirach, German soldier and youth leader (b. 1907)
• 1975 – Cannonball Adderley, American saxophonist (b. 1928)
• 1979 – Esther Marion Armstrong, American wife of Edwin Howard Armstrong (b. 1898).
• 1979 – Nicholas Monsarrat, English lieutenant and author (b. 1910)
• 1980 – Paul Triquet, Canadian general, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1910)
• 1981 – Thomas McElwee, Irish activist (b. 1957)
• 1982 – Eric Brandon, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1920)
• 1984 – Richard Deacon, American actor (b. 1921)
• 1984 – Ellen Raskin, American author and illustrator (b. 1928)
• 1985 – Louise Brooks, American actress and dancer (b. 1906)
• 1987 – Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
• 1988 – Félix Leclerc, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1914)
• 1988 – Alan Napier, English-American actor (b. 1903)
• 1991 – Julissa Gomez, American gymnast (b. 1972)
• 1991 – James Irwin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
• 1992 – Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Iranian religious leader and scholar (b. 1899)
• 1992 – John Kordic, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1965)
• 1996 – Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
• 1996 – Jüri Randviir, Estonian chess player and journalist (b. 1927)
• 1998 – Mahmoud Saremi, Iranian journalist (b. 1968)
• 2003 – Dirk Hoogendam, Dutch-German SS officer (b. 1922)
• 2003 – Falaba Issa Traoré, Malian director and playwright (b. 1930)
• 2004 – Leon Golub, American painter and academic (b. 1922)
• 2004 – Dimitris Papamichael, Greek actor and director (b. 1934)
• 2004 – Fay Wray, Canadian-American actress (b. 1907)
• 2005 – Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress and author (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Ahmed Deedat, South African missionary and author (b. 1918)
• 2005 – John H. Johnson, American publisher, founded the Johnson Publishing Company (b. 1918)
• 2005 – Gene Mauch, American baseball player and manager (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Dean Rockwell, American commander, wrestler, and coach (b. 1912)
• 2005 – Monica Sjöö, Swedish-English painter (b. 1938)
• 2005 – Ilse Werner, Indonesian-German actress and singer (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Ma Lik, Chinese journalist and politician (b. 1952)
• 2007 – Melville Shavelson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Orville Moody, American golfer (b. 1933)
• 2008 – Leonard Pagliero, English pilot and dog breeder (b. 1913)
• 2009 – Daniel Jarque, Spanish footballer (b. 1983)
• 2010 – Patricia Neal, American actress (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, German-American physicist and academic (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Ruth Etchells, English poet and academic (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Sancho Gracia, Spanish actor (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Surya Lesmana, Indonesian footballer and manager (b. 1944)
• 2012 – Kurt Maetzig, German director and screenwriter (b. 1911)
• 2013 – Karen Black, American actress, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
• 2013 – Johannes Bluyssen, Dutch bishop (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Fernando Castro Pacheco, Mexican painter, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Jack Clement, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (b. 1985)
• 2013 – Regina Resnik, American soprano and actress (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Charles Keating, English-American actor (b. 1941)
• 2014 – Leonardo Legaspi, Filipino archbishop (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Danny Murphy, American actor (b. 1955)
• 2014 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer and conductor (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Red Wilson, American football and baseball player (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Christopher Marshall, English physician and biologist (b. 1948)
• 2015 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Sean Price, American rapper and producer (Boot Camp Clik and Heltah Skeltah) (b. 1972)
• 2015 – Sam S. Walker, American general (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Cyriacus
  • Dominic de Guzmán, founder of the Dominican Order.
  • Hormisdas
  • Largus
  • Mary MacKillop
  • Smaragdus (and companions)
  • August 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Earliest day on which Children's Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August. (Argentina)
• Earliest day on which Defence Forces Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Tuesday in August. (Zimbabwe)
• Earliest day on which Father's Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August. (Brazil, Samoa)
• Earliest day on which Melon Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August. (Turkmenistan)
• Ceasefire Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
• Farmer's Day or Nane Nane, Swahili for "8-8". (Tanzania)
• Father's Day or Bā bā Day (爸爸節), Bā Bā is Mandarin for "father" and "8-8", or August 8. (Taiwan)
• Flag Day (Sweden), namesday of Queen Silvia. (Sweden)
• Signal Troops Day (Ukraine)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada