Events in History
- Aug 9 Charles Kennedy wins the race to succeed Paddy Ashdown as the leader of the Liberal Democrats, UK
Event of Interest
Aug 9 Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.
- Aug 11 The Salt Lake City Tornado tears through the downtown district of the city, killing one.
- Aug 11 Total solar eclipse in India-North -France (2m23s)
- Aug 15 Beni Ounif massacre in Algeria; some 29 people are killed at a false roadblock near the Moroccan border, leading to temporary tensions with Morocco.
- Aug 17 A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes İzmit, Turkey, killing more than 17,000 and injuring 44,000.
Event of Interest
Aug 19 In Belgrade tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Slobodan Milošević as president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
- Aug 26 Michael Johnson breaks the 400 metres world record with a time of 43.18 seconds.
- Aug 30 East Timorese vote for independence in a referendum.
- Aug 31 A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including 2 on the ground.
- Aug 31 The first of a series of apartment bombings in Moscow, killing one person and wounding 40 others.
Birthdays in History
- Aug 28 Prince Nikolai of Denmark, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
Deaths in History
- Aug 1 Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Indian-born writer (b. 1897)
- Aug 3 Rodney William "Rod" Ansell, Australian bushman and inspiration for "Crocodile Dundee", dies following a shootout with police officers at 44
- Aug 4 Carl Toms, British stage designer (1 Million BC, Moon Zero Two), dies at 72
- Aug 5 D. W. Brooks, American farmer and businessman, dies at 97
- Aug 10 Padma Bhushan Acharya Baldev Upadhyaya, Eminent Sanskrit Scholar in India (b. 1899)
- Aug 12 Jean Drapeau, Canadian politician (Mayor of Montreal 1954-57, 1960-86), dies at 83
- Aug 12 John Rigby Hale, British linguist and historian, dies at 75
- Aug 15 Hugh Casson, British architect (director of architecture of the Festival of Britain 1948, President of the Royal Academy) and artist, dies at 89
- Aug 21 Leo Castelli, Italian-American art dealer, dies at 91
- Aug 23 James White, Northern Irish writer (b. 1928)
- Aug 26 Lilo Hardel, German writer, dies at 85
- Aug 27 Hélder Câmara, Brazilian Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1909)
- Aug 30 Raymond Poïvet, French comics artist (b. 1910)
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists