- Aug 2 William Williams, American merchant (signed US Declaration of Independence), dies at 80
- Aug 3 Sebastiaan C Nederburgh, Dutch dir-gen of East Indies Co, dies at 49
- Aug 12 John FE Acton, cruel premier of Naples, dies at 77
- Aug 18 Johann Heinrich Zang, German composer and organist, dies at 78
- Aug 20 Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (b. 1729)