- 1863 Ernest Thayer, American poet who wrote the famous baseball poem "Casey", born in Lawrence, Massachusetts (d. 1940)
- 1867 Cupid Childs, American baseball player, born in Calvert County, Maryland (d. 1912)
- 1880 Fred Alexander, American tennis player (Australasian C'ship 1908, 5-time US Indoor winner), born in Sea Bright, New Jersey (d. 1969)
- 1895 Jack Gregory, cricketer (Australian all-rounder of post-WWI years)
- 1909 Len Darling, cricketer (South Australian & Test batsman of 30's)
- 1913 Fred Davis, English world champ snooker player (1948-49, 51)
- 1913 Paul Dean, American baseball player (d. 1981)
- 1916 Wellington Mara, Co-Owner of the New York Giants (d. 2005)
- 1929 Dick Tiger, Nigerian boxer (d. 1971)
- 1930 Earl Weaver, manager (Baltimore Orioles 1968-82, 85-86), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 2013)
- 1937 Brian Curvis, Welsh boxer and British welterweight champion (1960-1964), born in Swansea, Wales (d. 2012)
- 1938 Betsy Cullen, LPGA golfer
- 1940 Galen Hall, WLAF Head Coach (Orlando Thunder, Rhein Fire)
- 1941 Peter Truscott, cricketer (one Test NZ v Pakistan 1965, 3 & 26)
- 1943 Barrie Leadbeater, English cricketer and umpire, born in Harehills, Leeds
- 1944 Robyn Smith Astaire [Melody Dawn Miller], American jockey, wife of Fred Astaire, born in San Francisco, California
- 1949 Bob Backlund, American wrestler
- 1952 Debbie Meyer, 200m/400m/800m swimmer (Olympic 3 gold-68), born in Annapolis, Maryland
- 1954 Mark Fidrych, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers), born in Worcester, Massachusetts
- 1956 Rusty Wallace, American race car driver
- 1957 Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (d. 1986)
Magic Johnson
1959 Earvin "Magic" Johnson, American NBA Forward (LA Lakers/Olympic gold 1992), born in Lansing, Michigan
Magic Johnson
- 1959 Frank Brickowski, NBA forward/center (Seattle Supersonics)
- 1960 Broderick Thompson, NFL tackle/guard (Denver Broncos)
- 1960 Fred Roberts, NBA forward (LA Lakers)
- 1961 "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler (d. 1995)
- 1962 Jerry Foltz, American professional golfer and commentator, born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- 1962 Mark Gubicza, pitcher (KC Royals), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1962 Rameez Raja, cricketer (prolific Pakistani batsman)
- 1965 Paul Broadhurst, British golfer (British Open Seniors 2016), born in Walsall, England
- 1966 Karl Petter Løken, Norwegian footballer
- 1968 Glenn Leroy McLeay, Invercargill NZ, points race cyclist (Olympics 1996)
- 1968 Praveen Amre, cricketer (Indian batsman, century on Test debut 1992)
- 1969 Stig Tøfting, Danish footballer
- 1970 Arno Doornernik, soccer player (Roda JC)
- 1970 Slava Dosedel, Czech, tennis star
- 1970 Susan Veasey, LPGA golfer (U of S Fla), born in Wilmington, Delaware
- 1970 Trise Jackson, WNBA guard (LA Sparks)
- 1971 Adam Timmerman, NFL guard (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31)
- 1971 Christopher R Nelloms, sprinter, born in Dayton, Ohio
- 1971 James Folston, NFL defensive end (Oakland Raiders)
- 1971 Mark Loretta, infielder (Milwaukee Brewers), born in Santa Monica, California
- 1971 Pramodaya Wickremasinhghe, cricketer (Sri Lankan fast-medium bowler)
- 1971 Sean Hill, NFL cornerback (Miami Dolphins)
- 1971 Stan White, NFL/WLAF quarterback (NY Giants, London Monarchs)
- 1972 Brian Gragert, WLAF punter (Amsterdam Admirals)
- 1972 Ed O'Bannon, NBA forward (NJ Nets)
- 1972 Evan Pilgrim, NFL guard (Chicago Bears)
- 1972 Katja Maaria Lehtd, ice hockey defenseman (Finland, Olympics 1998)
- 1972 Ross Schulte, NFL/WLAF kicker/punter (Buffalo Bills, Frankfurt Galaxy)
- 1973 Kieren Perkins, Australian swimmer (Olympic gold 1,500m 1992, 96), born in Brisbane, Australia
- 1973 Mike Mamula, NFL linebacker/defensive end (Philadelphia Eagles)
- 1973 Nancy Sweetnam, Lindsay Ontario, 400m swimmer (Olympics-7-92, 96)
- 1973 Wayne Chrebet, NFL wide receiver (NY Jets)
- 1973 Jay-Jay Okocha, Nigerian footballer
- 1973 Jared Borgetti, Mexican footballer
- 1974 Chucky Atkins, American basketball player
- 1975 Mike Vrabel, defensive end (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- 1975 Viaceslav Ivanovski, Israel, Men's Weightlifting 99kg
- 1977 Juan Pierre, American baseball player
- 1978 Anastasios Kyriakos, Greek footballer
- 1979 Paul Burgess, Australian athlete
- 1980 Roy Williams, American football player, born in Redwood City, California
- 1981 Matthew Etherington, English footballer
- 1981 Julius Jones, American football player
- 1983 Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian/British tennis player
- 1983 Leo Núñez, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 Clay Buchholz, American baseball player
- 1984 Josh Gorges, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 Christian Gentner, German footballer
- 1986 Terin Humphrey, American gymnast
- 1987 Tim Tebow, American football player
- 1989 Kyle Turris, Canadian ice hockey player
August in History
Ship Of Gold Sails Into Oblivion
A frigate with more than 150 souls on board, as well as nearly three tons of gold, sailed out of Melbourne on this day – never to be seen again.
August 12, 1853
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