- 535 Mochta of Louth, disciple of St. Patrick
- 984 John XIV, [Petrus Canepanova], Italian Pope (983-84), dies
- 1153 Bernard[us] van Clairvaux, French saint, dies
- 1384 Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life, dies at 43
- 1538 Aefgen Listinck, Dutch anabaptist, burned at stake
- 1572 Miguel López de Legazpi, Spanish conquistador (b. 1502)
- 1580 Jeronymo Osorio, Portuguese historian (b. 1506)
- 1632 Valentin de Boulogne, French painter, buried at 38
- 1639 Martin Opitz, German poet/historian (Troerinnen), dies at 41
- 1643 Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher, killed in Native American uprising (b. 1591)
- 1648 Edward Herbert of Cherbury, English military/philosopher, dies at 65
- 1672 Cornelis de Witt, Dutch, statesman, lynched at 49
- 1672 Johan de Witt, Dutch statesman and advisor of Holland, lynched at 46
- 1679 Jacob Alting, Dutch theologist, dies at 60
- 1680 William Bedloe, English fraudster and Popish Plot informer, dies at 30
- 1701 Charles Sedley, English playwright (b. 1639)
- 1773 Enrique Florez, Spanish historian, dies at 72
- 1804 Charles Floyd, only fatality of the Lewis & Clark Expedition
- 1811 Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (b. 1729)
- 1823 Pius VII, [Luigi B Chiaramonti], Pope (1800-23), dies at 83
- 1823 Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German encyclopedia publisher, dies at 51
- 1825 William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, Governor of Newfoundland, dies at 72
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
1854 Friedrich WJ von Schelling, German philosopher, dies at 79
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
- 1864 Daniel Chaplin, US Union brigadier general, dies
- 1864 John H Kelly, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at 24
- 1885 Edouard J. A. Agneessens, Flemish painter (Slave Market), dies at 42
- 1887 Jules Laforgue, French poet (Les Complaintas), dies at 27
- 1912 William Booth, English preacher and founder of Salvation Army, dies at 83
- 1914 Pius X, [Giuseppe M Sarto], Pope (1903-14), dies
- 1915 Paul Ehrlich, German bacteriologist and physician (Chemotherapy, Nobel Prize 1908), dies in 61
- 1917 JFW Adolf Ritter von Baeyer, German chemist (Nobel 1905), dies
- 1932 Paul Keller, German writer (Vergrabenes Gut), dies at 59
- 1945 Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian writer, dies at 73
- 1947 Franz VM Cumont, Belgian religious historian, dies at 79
- 1952 Kurt Schumacher, German political chairman (SPD), dies at 56
- 1959 Alfred Kubin, Austrian writer and illustrator, dies at 82
- 1961 Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Arctic explorer, dies at 82
- 1963 Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer, dies at 84
- 1970 Hildo Krop, modernistic sculptor, dies at 86
- 1971 Rashid Minhas, Pakistani Air Force pilot (b. 1951)
- 1983 Kerwin Duinmeijer, Dutch of Antillean descent, murdered by in a racially motivated attack at 15
- 1985 Harchand Singh Longowai, Sikh leader, shot by Sikh extremists
- 1986 Milton Acorn, Canadian poet (b. 1923)
- 1989 George Adamson [Baba ya Simba - "Father of Lions"], British conservationist (Born Free), murdered in Kenya at 82
- 1990 Marc Turfkruijer, Flemish movie journalist and writer, dies at 90
- 1991 Lenore Strunsky Gershwin, widow of Ira Gershwin, dies at 90
- 1992 Ivan Nikolayevich Anikeyev, cosmonaut, dies at 59
- 1992 William Taylor, chairman (FDIC), dies at 53
- 1993 Bernard Delfgaauw, philosopher (Johnson murderer!), dies at 80
- 1994 Kalman Kahana, Polish co-founder of state Israel, dies at 81
- 1995 Hugo Pratt, graphic artist, dies at 68
- 1995 Vladimir Skutina, writer playwright/journalist, dies at 64
- 1997 Norris Bradbury, American physicist (b. 1909)
- 2001 Sir Fred Hoyle, English astronomer and sci-fi writer (b. 1915)
- 2006 Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (Pulitzer Prize-Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima), dies at 94
- 2006 Bryan Budd, British soldier (Afghanistan), dies at 29
- 2006 Richard Arthur de Yarburgh-Bateson, 6th Lord Deramore, British architect, dies at 95
- 2007 Leona Helmsley, American real estate billionaire and convicted of federal income tax evasion, dies at 87
- 2007 Larry Hartsell, American martial artist, bodyguard, trainer, student of Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto, dies at 65
Hua Guofeng
2008 Hua Guofeng, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (1976-81) and Premier of the People's Republic of China (1976-80), dies at 87
Hua Guofeng
- 2008 Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American politician (b. 1949)
- 2012 Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian Prime Minister, dies from liver cancer at 57
- 2012 Dom Mintoff, Maltese Prime Minister (1955-58, 1971-84), dies at 96
- 2013 Elmore Leonard, American author (Glitz, Mr Majestyk, Touch, 52 Pick-Up), dies from complications from a stroke at 87
- 2014 B.K.S. Iyengar, Indian yoga advocate, dies at 95
- 2015 Egon Bahr, German journalist and politician (Ostpolitik policy), dies at 93
August in History
America's Last Public Hanging
The last man to be publicly hanged in the United States met his fate on this day in history. It was a squalid affair watched by about 10,000 people.
August 14, 1936
First Faltering Steps of Jane Eyre
With hope, pride – and some subterfuge – Charlotte Brontë sent her hefty manuscript of Jane Eyre to publishers in London on this day, then crossed her fingers.
August 15, 1847
A Kiss For Adolf Hitler
A woman spectator leaned over and kissed Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympic Games on this day. Hitler pretended to be amused, but his guards were to suffer.
August 15, 1936
The 17 Year-Old Witness to the Eruption of Vesuvius
17 year-old Pliny the Younger's account of the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii made the event famous long after Pompeii was buried and forgotten.
August 24, 79 AD