Historical Events
Britain Abolishes the Slave Trade
Aug 1 Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into effect, abolishes slavery throughout the British Empire
Voyage of Discovery
Aug 17 Charles Darwin reaches the top of Campana in Chile during his voyage on the Beagle
Famous Birthdays
Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904)
Aug 2 French sculptor (designed the Statue of Liberty), born in Colmar, France
- Aug 2 Isaac Capadose, Dutch clergyman in the Catholic Apostolic Church, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1920)
- Aug 4 John Venn, English mathematician (Venn Diagram), born in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England (d. 1923)
- Aug 9 Elias Álvares Lobo, Brazilian composer, born in Itu, Brazil (d. 1901)
- Aug 17 Peter Benoit, Flemish composer (De Leie; Rubens Cantata: Requiem), and conductor, born in Harelbeke, Flanders (d. 1901)
- Aug 18 Marshall Field, American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, born in Conway, Massachusetts (d. 1906)
- Aug 22 Nathaniel Harrison Harris, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Natchez, Mississippi (d. 1900)
- Aug 22 Samuel Pierpont Langley, American astronomer and pioneer aviator, born in Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1906)
- Aug 31 Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (I Lituani; La Giaconda), born in Paderno Ponchielli, Italy (d. 1886)
Famous Deaths
- Aug 1 Robert Morrison, missionary in China/translated bible, dies
- Aug 5 Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp, Dutch count and Minister of Foreign affairs (1813-14), dies at 71
- Aug 7 Joseph Marie Jacquard, French weaver and merchant who invented the programmable loom (Jacquard loom), forerunner to today's computers, dies at 82
- Aug 8 Silvestro Palma, Italian opera composer, dies at 80
- Aug 14 Friedrich Christian Ruppe, German-Dutch composer and violinist, brother of Christian Friedrich Ruppe, dies at 63
- Aug 17 Husein Gradaščević, Bosniak general, dies at 31
