Events in History
- Aug 1 Death penalty for anti-fascists in Germany
Event of Interest
Aug 1 National Recovery Administration (NRA) is founded with Hugh S. Johnson as its first director

Hugh S. Johnson
- Aug 7 The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
- Aug 11 Temperature reaches 136°F (57.8°C) at San Luis Potosi, Mexico (world record)
- Aug 12 Cuban dictator Machado y Morales flees after military coup
- Aug 17 Soviet Union test GIRD-R1 rocket ("Object 09")
- Aug 22 International Zionists Congress opens in Prague
Event of Interest
Aug 23 Mahatma Gandhi released from Indian jail following another hunger strike

Mahatma Gandhi
Birthdays in History
- Aug 1 Erwin Nypels, Dutch economist and Minister of Housing (D66), born in Bloemendaal, North Holland
- Aug 1 Richard Lloyd Jones, British secretary (Welsh Office 1985–93)
- Aug 1 Ko Un, South Korean poet, born in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province
- Aug 2 Alan Tuffin, British trade union leader (d. 2017)
- Aug 3 Thé Tjong-Khing, Dutch illustrator of children books (Miep Diekman), born in Purworedjo, Java
Sheldon Adelson
Aug 4 Sheldon Adelson, American business magnate (CEO of Las Vegas Sands casino company) and major political donor to the GOP and Israel, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2021) [1]

Sheldon Adelson
- Aug 7 Jerry Pournelle, American polymath and sci-fi author (Mercenary, Red Dragon), born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 2017)
- Aug 10 Alan Hardcastle, chairman (Lloyds Regulatory Board)
- Aug 10 Butler-Sloss, British Lady Justice
- Aug 10 David Rowland, chairman (Lloyd's)
- Aug 10 Doyle Brunson, American poker player
- Aug 10 Keith Duckworth, English mechanical engineer (Cosworth; d. 2005)
- Aug 11 Jerry Falwell Sr., American TV evangelist (Moral Majority), born in Lynchburg, Virginia (d. 2007)
- Aug 11 Julian Oswald, British Admiral of the Fleet
- Aug 13 Jocelyn Elders, 15th US Surgeon General (1993-94) 1st African American holder, born in Schaal, Arkansas
- Aug 14 Richard R. Ernst, Swiss physical chemist (Nobel 1991 -techniques for high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy), born in Winterthur, Switzerland
- Aug 14 Bryce Courtenay, Australian novelist (The Power of One), born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 2012)
- Aug 16 Jan van Ginkel, graphic artist/publisher (Perscombinatie)
- Aug 16 Reiner Kunze, German writer (The Lovely Years), born in Oelsnitz, Saxony
- Aug 16 Stuart A "Smokey" Roosa, Durango Colo, Col USAF/astronaut (Apollo 14)
- Aug 17 Eugene F. Kranz, American NASA Flight Director (Gemini and Apollo programs)
- Aug 19 Vladimir Borisovich Alekseyev, Russian cosmonaut
- Aug 20 Don Fuqua, American Democratic politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida), born in Jacksonville, Florida
- Aug 20 George J. Mitchell, American lawyer and politician (Senate Majority Leader 1989-95), born in Waterville, Maine
- Aug 22 Irmtraud Morgner, German writer, born in Chemnitz, Germany (d. 1990)
- Aug 23 Pete Wilson, American politician (36th Governor of California), born in Lake Forest, Illinois
- Aug 23 Robert Curl, American chemist (Nobel 1996), born in Alice, Texas
Yasser Arafat
Aug 24 Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, 1st President of the Palestinian National Authority (1994-2004) and 1994 Nobel peace prize winner, born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 2004)

Yasser Arafat