- Aug 1 František Kmoch, Czech composer and conductor, born in Zásmuky, Austrian Empire (d. 1912)
- Aug 4 Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (d. 1926)
- Aug 10 William Harnett, Irish-American painter (Old Violin), born in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland (d. 1892)
- Aug 12 Macellus Emants, Dutch writer/poet (Along the Nile)
- Aug 19 Gustave Caillebotte, French painter (Rue de Paris) and member of Impressionists, born in Paris (d. 1894)
- Aug 22 Melville E. Stone, American newspaper publisher (Founder of Chicago Daily News), born in Hudson, Illinois (d. 1929)
- Aug 30 Andrew Onderdonk, American railway contractor (Canadian Pacific Railway), born in NYC, New York (d. 1905)