- Aug 3 Luther Orlando Emerson, American composer, born in Parsonsfield, Maine (d. 1915)
- Aug 20 Adolphe Fétis, Belgian-French pianist and composer, born in Paris (d. 1873)
- Aug 24 Jacopo Tomadini, Italian composer, born in Cividale del Friuli, Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom (now Italy) (d. 1883)
- Aug 30 George Frederick Root, American songwriter (The Battle Cry of Freedom), born in Sheffield, Massachusetts (d. 1895)