- Aug 3 Tokugawa Iemitsu, 3rd Tokugawa shogun, establishes alternate attendance (sankin kotai) feudal daimyōs spend 1 year at Edo Castle (Tokyo) and 1 year at their feudal manor, while their families remain in Tokyo as hostages (Traditional Japanese Date: June 21)
- Aug 15 1st recorded north American hurricane hits the Plymouth Colony
- Aug 24 The Great Colonial Hurricane affected the Virginia Colony at Jamestown