Events in History
- Aug 4 US launches 1st satellite into lunar orbit from manned spacecraft
- Aug 5 The British Parliament debate the security situation in Northern Ireland
- Aug 7 A Catholic man is shot dead by a British soldier in Belfast
- Aug 7 Apollo 15 returns to Earth
- Aug 8 A British soldier is shot dead by the Irish Republican Army in Belfast
- Aug 8 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- Aug 9 Operation Demetrius (or Internment) is introduced in Northern Ireland allowing suspected terrorists to be indefinitely detained without trial; the security forces arrested 342 people suspected of supporting paramilitaries
- Aug 10 During the internment round-up operation in west Belfast, the Parachute Regiment kill 11 unarmed civilians in what became known as the Ballymurphy massacre
- Aug 11 4 people are shot dead in separate incidents in Belfast; three of them by the British Army, as violence continues following the introduction of Internment and Operation Demetrius
- Aug 11 Construction begins on Louisiana Superdome
Event of Interest
Aug 12 Syrian President Hafez al-Assad drops diplomatic relations with Jordan
- Aug 14 Bahrain proclaims independence after 110 years of British rule
- Aug 14 British begin internment without trial in Northern Ireland
- Aug 14 Cards Bob Gibson, 35, no-hits Pirates, 11-0
- Aug 14 France performs nuclear test
- Aug 15 Bahrain gains independence from Britain
- Aug 15 KVRL (now KRIV) TV ch 26 in Houston, Texas (Fox) begins
- Aug 15 The Social Democratic and Labour Party announce a campaign of civil disobedience in response to the introduction of Internment in Northern Ireland
Event of Interest
Aug 15 US President Richard Nixon announces 90-day freeze on wages, prices & rents
- Aug 16 Over 8,000 workers go on strike in Derry, Northern Ireland, in protest at the introduction of Internment (allowing suspected terrorists to be indefinitely detained without trial)
Event of Interest
Aug 18 New Zealand Prime Minister Keith Holyoake announces in Parliament that New Zealand’s combat force would be withdrawn from Vietnam before the end of the year, coinciding with a similar announcement by the Australian government
- Aug 20 FBI begins covert investigation of journalist Daniel Schorr
- Aug 22 Approximately 130 non-Unionist councillors announce their withdrawal from participation on district councils across Northern Ireland in protest against Internment (allowing suspected terrorists to be indefinitely detained without trial)
- Aug 22 Bolivian military coup led by army Col. Hugo Banzer, drives out leftist President Juan José Torres
The Camden 28
Aug 22 FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and US Attorney General John Mitchell announce arrest of 20 of the "Camden 28", a religious-left anti-war activist group intent on disrupting the military draft in Camden, New Jersey [1] [2] [3]
- Aug 24 India beat England by 4 wickets, their win against the Poms
- Aug 25 Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party Gerry Fitt presents a number of allegations of brutality by the security forces in Northern Ireland to representatives of the United Nations
- Aug 26 Dutch Queen Juliana & Prince Bernhard visit Indonesia
- Aug 26 NY Giant football team announces they're leaving Bronx for New Jersey in 1975
- Aug 28 The US dollar is allowed to float against the Japanese yen for the first time.
- Aug 31 An inquiry into allegations of brutality by the security forces against those interned without trial in Northern Ireland is announced
Birthdays in History
- Aug 9 James Kim, American technology reporter, who died in the Oregon mountains at 35
- Aug 10 Kevin Randleman, American mixed martial artist
- Aug 17 Shaun Rehn, Australian Rules footballer, born in Arno Bay, Australia
- Aug 21 Robert Harvey, Australian Rules Footballer (St Kilda Football Club), born in Seaford, Australia
- Aug 23 Gretchen Whitmer, American politician, Governor of Michigan (2019-), born in Lansing, Michigan
- Aug 25 Quintis "Chico" Ristie, Suriname radio host
Deaths in History
- Aug 2 Ludwig Marcuse, German philosopher (Obscene: The history of an indignation), dies at 77
- Aug 17 Wilhelm List, German field marshal during WWII, convicted of war crimes, dies at 91
- Aug 19 Walther Victor, German writer, dies at 76
- Aug 20 Rashid Minhas, Pakistani Air Force pilot (b. 1951)
- Aug 21 George Jackson, American criminal, author, and Black Guerrilla Family gang founder, shot to death during attempted San Quentin, California prison escape at 29
- Aug 23 The original Shamu, Sea World orca
- Aug 24 Carl Blegen, American archaeologist (excavator at Troy, Pylos), dies at 84
- Aug 27 Bennett Cerf, American publisher (Random House) and panelist (What's My Line), dies at 73
- Aug 27 Margaret Bourke-White, American photographer, 1st female LIFE staff photographer, dies at 67
- Aug 28 Nathan Leopold, US kidnapper and murderer of Bobby Franks (1924), dies at 66
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists