- Aug 1 Hugh Hood, Canadian author (White Figure, White Ground), dies at 72
- Aug 3 Michael Meyer, English novelist and translator, dies at 79
Alec Guinness
Aug 5 Alec Guinness, British actor (The Ladykillers, The Bridge on the River Kwai), dies of liver cancer at 86
- Aug 5 Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist, dies at 80
- Aug 5 Dudley Randall, African-American poet who founded the pioneering publishing house "Broadside Press", dies at 84
- Aug 9 Fouad Serageddin, Egyptian politician and leader of Egypt's Wafd Party, dies at 88
- Aug 9 John Harsanyi, Hungarian-born economist (1994 Nobel Prize for Economics for game theory), dies at 80
- Aug 9 Nicholas Markowitz, American teenager kidnapped and murdered by Jesse James Hollywood at 15
- Aug 10 Gilbert Parkhouse, Welsh cricketer (England batsman in 7 Tests 1950-59), dies at 74
- Aug 11 Jean Papineau-Couture, Canadian composer, dies at 83
Loretta Young
Aug 12 Loretta Young, American actress (Farmer's Daughter, Stranger), dies of ovarian cancer at 87
- Aug 12 Patrick Peter Sacco, American composer, dies at 71
- Aug 13 Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist known as "Queen of Pop" in South Asia, dies of lung cancer at 35
- Aug 13 Antony Duff, British diplomat, Head of MI5, advocate for the homeless, dies at 80
- Aug 14 Alain Fournier, French-born computer graphics researcher (b. 1943)
- Aug 14 Cuan McCarthy, South African cricketer (b. 1929)
- Aug 14 John Milford, American actor (Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Homefront), dies at 72
- Aug 16 Alan Caddy, English musician (The Tornados), dies at 60
- Aug 17 Robert Gilruth, American aviation and space pioneer (NASA Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, 1961-74), dies at 86
- Aug 18 Maurice Evans, English soccer wing half (Reading, 407 games) and manager (Shrewsbury Town, Reading, Oxford United), dies from a heart attack at 63
- Aug 19 Antonio Pugliese, Italian professional wrestler (b. 1941)
- Aug 19 Bineshwar Brahma, Bodo littérateur and religious figure (birth date unknown)
- Aug 20 Henry Austin, British tennis player (3-time Grand Slam runner-up), dies of complications from a fall at 94
- Aug 21 Daniel Lisulo, Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1930)
- Aug 23 John Anthony Kaiser, Roman Catholic priest (b. 1932)
- Aug 25 Carl Barks, American cartoonist (creator of Scrooge McDuck), dies at 99
- Aug 25 Jack Nitzsche, American composer, arranger, music producer, keyboardist (Rolling Stones; Neil Young), and songwriter ("Up Where We Belong"), dies at 63
- Aug 26 Lynden Pindling, Bahamas 'Father of the Nation' Prime Minister of Bahamas (1967-92), dies at 70
- Aug 26 Akbar Adibi, Iranian engineer and professor (electronics and VLSI technology), dies at 61
- Aug 26 [Douglas] Allen Woody, American bassist (The Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule), dies at 44
- Aug 30 Willie Maddren, English soccer defender (Middlesborough 293 games) and manager (Middlesborough 1984-86), dies from motor neurone disease at 49
- Aug 31 Patricia Owens, Canadian actress (b. 1925)