- Aug 1 Frank Grant, American Baseball HOF 2nd baseman (International League; pioneer early Negro leagues; considered greatest African-American player of 19th century), born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (d. 1937)
- Aug 2 Irving Babbitt, American writer (Rousseau & Romanticism), born in Dayton, Ohio (d. 1933)
- Aug 2 John Radecki, Australian stained glass artist, born in Łódź, Poland (d. 1955)
- Aug 4 Gus Kempis, South African cricketer (South Africa's 1st Test), born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa (d. 1890)
- Aug 7 Micha Josef Berdyczewski, Jewish writer, born in Medzhybizh, Russian Empire (d. 1921)
- Aug 10 Alexander Glazunov, Russian pianist, composer (Chopiniana; Stenka Razin), and educator (St Petersburg Conservatory, 1899-1930), born in St.Petersburg, Russia (d. 1936)
- Aug 14 Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician, born in Venice (d. 1952)
- Aug 15 Johan Bernard Schepers, Frisian writer (Braga), born in Heerenveen, Netherlands (d. 1937)
- Aug 15 Louisa Aldrich-Blake, British pioneering surgeon, born in Chingford, Essex (d. 1925)
- Aug 15 Mikao Usui, Japanese founder of Reiki (form of spiritual practice), born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan (d. 1926)
- Aug 16 Jón Friðfinnsson, Icelandic-Canadian composer (The Millennial Cantata), born in Breiðdal, Iceland (d. 1936)
- Aug 20 Bernard Tancred, South African cricket batsman (2 Tests; Northern Cape), born in Port Elizabeth, Cape Province (d. 1911)
- Aug 22 Piet A W Hopmans, bishop of Breda (Eucharistic Crusade)
- Aug 24 Ferdinand I VAM, King of Romania (1914-27), born in Sigmaringen, German Confederation (d. 1927)
- Aug 27 Charles G. Dawes, 30th Vice President of the United States, banker and 1925 Nobel Peace Prize winner, born in Marietta, Ohio (d. 1951)
- Aug 27 James Henry Breasted, American Egyptologist and anthropologist, born in Rockford, Illinois (d. 1935)