Events in History
Event of Interest
Aug 1 Cecil Rhodes' colonists reach Lundi
- Aug 5 British and French accord to divide African colonization
- Aug 6 At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the 1st person to be executed by electric chair
- Aug 9 First 44 Javans arrive in Suriname to work 5 years on sugar plantations
- Aug 14 Cecil Rhodes' colonists reach Mashonaland (Fort Victoria)
- Aug 16 Alexander Clark, journalist and lawyer, named minister to Liberia
Event of Interest
Aug 30 President Benjamin Harrison signed the first U.S. law requiring inspection of meat products
Birthdays in History
- Aug 4 Erich Weinert, German communist writer, born in Magdeburg (d. 1953)
- Aug 5 Naum Gabo [Pevsner], Russian-American sculptor (Stillife Flower), born in Bryans, Russian Empire (d. 1977)
- Aug 9 Eino Kaila, Finnish psychologist and philosopher, born in Alajärvi, Finland (d. 1958)
- Aug 10 Angus L. MacDonald, Canadian politician (d. 1954)
- Aug 11 Erich Wichman, Dutch fascist painter and sculptor, born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1929)
- Aug 13 [Lavinia] Marian Fleming Poe, African American advocate in Virginia, born in Warwick, County, Virginia (d. 1974)
- Aug 15 Elizabeth Bolden, American Supercentenarian (oldest verified person in the world at the time of her death), born in Somerville, Tennessee (d. 2006)
- Aug 15 Elvin M. Jellinek, American physiologist and pioneer in the study of alcoholism, born in NYC, New York (d. 1963)
- Aug 17 Harry Hopkins, US politician, Secretary of Commerce under FDR (Loan & Lease law), born in Sioux City, Iowa (d. 1946)
- Aug 17 Stefan Bastyr, Polish aviator (d. 1920)
- Aug 18 Walther Funk, German economist and Nazi politician, born in Danzkehmen, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (d. 1960)
- Aug 19 Yves Alix, French painter and graphic artist, born in Fontainebleau, France (d. 1969)
- Aug 20 H. P. Lovecraft, American horror writer (At the Mountains of Madness, Weird Tales), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1937)
- Aug 22 Floyd Henri Allport, American psychologist and sociologist, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1979)
- Aug 24 Jean Rhys [Ella Gwendolyn Rees Williams], British writer (Voyage in the Dark), born in Roseau, Dominica (d. 1979)
- Aug 27 Man Ray, American artist and photographer (Dada), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1976)
Deaths in History
- Aug 2 Louise-Victorine Ackermann, French poet (works characterized by a deep sense of pessimism), dies at 76
- Aug 9 Eduard von Bauernfeld, Austrian comedic playwright, dies at 88
- Aug 11 John Henry Newman, British thologian (Tract 90), educator, poet (Dream of Gerontius), Anglican priest, Catholic priest, cardinal and saint, dies of pneumonia at 89
- Aug 14 Fr. Michael J. McGivney, Irish-American Catholic priest, and founder the Knights of Columbus fraternal organization, dies of pneumonia at 38
- Aug 22 Vasile Alecsandri, Romanian foreign minister, diplomat and poet, dies at 69
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists