- 1744 Carlo Arrigoni, Italian composer and musician, dies at 46
- 1780 Bernhard Haltenberger, German composer, dies at 32
- 1795 Friedrich Hartmann Graf, German composer, dies at 67
- 1812 Vincenzo Righini, composer, dies at 56
- 1813 Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab, composer, dies at 54
- 1813 Josef Blazej Smrcek, composer, dies at 61
- 1822 Melchor Lopez Jimenez, composer, dies at 62
- 1851 Gioseffo Catrufo, composer, dies at 80
- 1872 Eugene-Prosper Prevost, French composer, dies at 63
- 1881 Joseph Labitzky, Bohemian composer, dies at 79
- 1892 František Zdeněk Skuherský, Czech composer, dies at 62
- 1900 Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian composer, dies at 67
- 1912 Alfonse Hasselmans, composer, dies at 67
- 1922 Felipe Pedrell, composer, dies at 81
- 1929 Sergei P Diaghilev, Russian dance master (Imperial Ballet), dies at 57
- 1936 Federico Garcia Lorca, Spanish poet/composer, murdered at 37 or 38
- 1944 Henry Wood, British conductor associated with London's promenade "Proms" concerts (Gentle Art of Singing, My Life of Music), dies following an illness at 75
- 1963 Kathleen Parlow, Canadian violinist (b. 1890)
- 1975 Ima Hogg, American society leader, Texas art patron and founder of Houston Symphony, dies at 93
- 1976 Jeno Kenessey, composer, dies at 70
- 1979 Dorsey Burnette, American rockabilly singer (The Rock and Roll trio), dies at 46
- 1991 Richard Maltby Sr., American musician and orchestra leader (Vaughn Monroe Show), dies at 77
- 1995 Pierre Schaeffer, French electronics engineer and composer, dies at 85
- 1997 Petr Novák, Czech musician (George and Beatovens, Flamengo), dies of apparent poisoning at 51
- 2001 Betty Everett, American singer and pianist (b. 1939)
- 2008 LeRoi Moore, American saxophonist (Dave Matthews Band), dies at 46
- 2017 Bea Wain, American singer and radio host (Deep Purple, Heart and Soul), dies at 100
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, 1936First 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, 1847A 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, 1936The 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
