On This Day

August 2011 in History

Events in History

  • Aug 4 Mark Duggan is shot by police in London at 29, sparking widespread riots that cost an estimated £200 million worth of property damage
  • Aug 5 Svalbard Polar Bear Attack - a rogue Polar Bear attacks and kills a British schoolboy
  • Aug 5 NASA launches its Juno space probe from Cape Canaveral to orbit and study Jupiter
  • Aug 6 A helicopter containing members of Navy SEAL 6 is shot down in Afghanistan killing 38
  • Aug 16 World Youth Day 2011, organised by the Catholic church, begins in Madrid
  • Aug 18 The "West Memphis Three" are released from prison after 18 years in imprisonment
  • Aug 23 5.8 earthquake occurs in Mineral, Virginia felt as far north as Ontario and as far south as Atlanta, Georgia

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Aug 23 Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the 2011 Libyan Civil War.

Libyan Revolutionary and Authoritarian Leader Muammar Gaddafi
Libyan Revolutionary and Authoritarian Leader
Muammar Gaddafi

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Aug 24 Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple Inc., and is succeeded by Tim Cook, as a result of his illness

CEO of Apple Tim Cook
CEO of Apple
Tim Cook
Apple Co-founder Steve Jobs
Apple Co-founder
Steve Jobs
  • Aug 26 The 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's all-new composite airliner, receives certification from the EASA and the FAA
  • Aug 29 "Tha Carter IV" 9th studio album by Lil Wayne is released

Weddings in History

  • Aug 16 Fashion designer Michael Kors (51) weds Lance LePere in Southampton, New York
  • Aug 27 British heiress Petra Ecclestone (22) weds entrepreneur James Stunt at Orsini Odescalchi Castle near City of Rome
  • Aug 27 Lisa Vanderpump's daughter Pandora Vanderpump (24) weds Jason Sabo in Beverly Hills

Deaths in History

  • Aug 2 Baruj Benacerraf, Venezuelan-American immunologist (Nobel 1980 - discovery of genes that regulate immune responses and of the role that some of these genes play in autoimmune diseases), dies at 90
  • Aug 2 Clarence E. Miller, American politician (Rep-R-OH, 1967-93), dies at 93
  • Aug 4 Mark Duggan is shot by police in London at 29, sparking widespread riots
  • Aug 5 Andrzej Lepper, Polish politician (Deputy Prime Minister of Poland), dies at 57
  • Aug 6 Mark Hatfield, American politician (29th Governor of Oregon), dies at 89
  • Aug 6 Fe del Mundo, Filipino pediatrician and National Scientist of the Philippines, dies at 99
  • Aug 7 Nancy Wake, New Zealand-born World War II secret agent (Special Operations Executive), dies at 98
  • Aug 7 Hugh Carey, American politician and attorney (Gov-D-NY), dies at 92
  • Aug 19 Gun Hägglund, Swedish news presenter (b. 1932)
  • Aug 22 Jack Layton, Canadian politician, dies at 61
  • Aug 26 George Band, British mountaineer (b. 1929)
  • Aug 26 John McAleese, British SAS Trooper, Team leader during 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege (b. 1949)
  • Aug 31 Valery Rozhdestvensky, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 23), dies at 72
  • Aug 31 Peter Twiss, British test pilot (breaking the World Air Speed Record and being the first person to exceed 1,000 mph in flight), dies at 90