Historical Events
- Aug 1 Russian supported forces of self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia attack Georgian villages, breaking a 1992 cease-fire agreement
Breaking Dawn
Aug 2 "Breaking Dawn", 4th book in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight Saga" is published by Little Brown at midnight with a print run of 3.7 million copies
Women's British Open
Aug 3 British Open Women's Golf, Sunningdale GC: Jiyai Shin of South Korea shoots final round 66 (−6) to win her first major championship, 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Yani Tseng
Film & TV History
Aug 3 Morgan Freeman is injured in an automobile accident near Ruleville, Mississippi, when his car flipped over several times on the highway
US Senior Golf Open
Aug 3 US Senior Open Men's Golf, Broadmoor GC: Eduardo Romero of Argentina wins by 4 strokes ahead of Fred Funk for his second Champions Tour major title
- Aug 6 A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d'etat in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi
- Aug 6 Access 31 TV stops broadcasting in Perth, Western Australia
- Aug 7 Russo-Georgian War: Georgia moves troops into Russian supported self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia in response to aggression; 1st European war of the 21st century.
- Aug 8 Russo-Georgian War: Russia launches a full-scale land, air and sea invasion of Georgia, referring to it as a 'peace enforcement' operation after Georgia responded to aggression from South Ossetian
- Aug 8 XXIX Summer Olympic Games open in Beijing, China
- Aug 9 United States takes all 3 medals in women's fencing sabre event at the Beijing Olympics; first US podium sweep of a fencing event since 1904; Mariel Zagunis takes gold ahead of Sada Jacobson & Rebecca Ward
World Record
Aug 10 American super-star swimmer Michael Phelps wins the 400m individual medley at the Beijing Olympics in world record 4:03.84
- Aug 10 British cyclist Nicole Cooke wins the road race at the Beijing Olympics; Great Britain's 200th gold in the modern Olympics
- Aug 10 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Oakland Hills CC: Irishman Pádraig Harrington wins his second straight major by 2 shots from Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis
- Aug 11 Abhinav Bindra wins men's 10m air rifle at the Beijing Olympics, the first ever individual Olympic gold medal for India, and India's first gold medal in any Olympic event since 1980
Event of Interest
Aug 11 Airbnb is founded by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk
- Aug 11 Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima repeats 1st leg of his Athens Olympics 100/200m breaststroke double at the Beijing Games winning the 100m in world record 58.91; goes on to win 200m event
- Aug 11 The US 4 x 100m freestyle replay team of Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones & Jason Lezak beats France by 8 seconds to win gold and smash world record at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 12 American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins his 3rd of 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics when he takes the 200m freestyle in world record 1:42.96
- Aug 12 American swimmer Natalie Coughlin becomes the first to successfully defend the gold medal in the women's 100 m backstroke when she wins event at the Beijing Olympics
Olympic Games
Aug 12 An American 1-2 in the 100m backstroke at the Beijing Olympics with Aaron Peirsol swimming a world record 52.54 to beat teammate Matt Grevers
Agreement of Interest
Aug 12 Russo-Georgian War: Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France, negotiates ceasefire agreement between Russia and Georgia, ending a brief war after 5 days of hostilities
- Aug 13 American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins 3 gold medals, all in world record time, in the one day at the Beijing Olympics; 200m I/M (1:54.23), 200m butterfly (1.52.03) and 4 x 200m freestyle relay (6:58.56)
- Aug 13 Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice wraps up the medley double at the Beijing Olympics when she swims world record 2:08.45 to win the 200m I/M gold medal
- Aug 13 Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini sets new world record 1:54.82 to claim 200m freestyle gold medal at the Beijing Olympics; runner-up Sara Isaković is Slovenia's first Olympic swim medal winner
- Aug 13 The Baltic state slides into recession with a 0.9% fall in second-quarter GDP after a drop of 0.5% in the first quarter; it falls deeper into recession in the third quarter when the economy contracted 3.3%
- Aug 14 A popular Chinese 1-2 in the 200m butterfly at the Beijing Olympics with Liu Zige swimming world record 2:04.18 to beat teammate Jiao Liuyang
- Aug 14 Australian women's 4 x 200m freestyle relay team of Stephanie Rice, Bronte Barratt, Kylie Palmer & Linda Mackenzie swims world record 7:44.31 to beat China and take the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 14 French swimmer Alain Bernard wins the coveted 100m freestyle gold medal at the Beijing Olympics beating Eamon O'Sullivan of Australia by 0.11
- Aug 14 Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima repeats his Athens Olympics 100/200m breaststroke double at the Beijing Games winning the 200m in Olympic record 2:07.64
- Aug 15 American breaststroker Rebecca Soni avenges her defeat to Leisel Jones of Australia in the 100m when she swims world record 2:20.22 to beat Jones in 200m at the Beijing Olympics
World Record
Aug 15 An American 1-2 in the 200m backstroke at the Beijing Olympics with Ryan Lochte swimming a world record 1:53.94 to beat teammate Aaron Peirsol
- Aug 15 Despite China winning the women's gymnastics team all-round gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, Americans Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson go 1-2 in the individual all-round
- Aug 15 German swimmer Britta Steffen beats Australian Libby Trickett by 0.04 to win the blue ribband 100m freestyle gold medal at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 15 Lee Berger and his nine-year-old son, Matthew, discover the two-million-year-old fossils of a new species of human ancestor (Australopithecus sediba) at Malapa Cave, South Africa
- Aug 16 American swimmer Michael Phelps wins his 7th of 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics when he takes the 100m butterfly in Olympic record 50.58; beats Milorad Čavić of Serbia by 0.01
- Aug 16 British cyclist Bradley Wiggins becomes the first rider ever to successfully defend his Olympic title in the individual pursuit when he takes gold at the Beijing Olympics
Olympic Gold
Aug 16 British sailor Ben Ainslie convincingly wins the Finn class at the Beijing Olympics, his third gold medal in as many Games
- Aug 16 British swimmer Rebecca Adlington wraps up the 400/800m freestyle double at the Beijing Olympics with a world record 8:14.10 in the 800
- Aug 16 British team of Tom James, Steve Williams, Pete Reed & Andrew Triggs Hodge wins the men's rowing coxless fours in Beijing, the third straight Olympics that Great Britain wins gold in this event
- Aug 16 César Cielo wins the men's 50m freestyle in 21.30 in Beijing, Brazil's first ever swimming Olympic gold medal
World Record
Aug 16 Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt sets new world record of 9.69 seconds to win the coveted 100m gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics
- Aug 16 Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe swims a world record 2:05.24 to beat American Margaret Hoelzer by 1.01 and win the 200m backstroke at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 16 New Zealand rowers Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell successfully defend their 2004 Olympic title in the women's double sculls by beating Germany by 0.01 seconds at the Beijing Games
- Aug 16 Romanian rower Georgeta Andrunache wins the women's coxless pairs at the Beijing Olympics; her 5th career gold medal, and her 3rd consecutive Olympic gold in the event
- Aug 16 South Korean weightlifter Jang Mi-Ran wins the women's unlimited (+75 kg) division at the Beijing Olympics by breaking world records 5 times: once in snatch, twice in clean-and-jerk, and twice in total
- Aug 17 Australian women's 4 x 100m medley relay team of Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper & Libby Trickett upset the United States to win the gold medal in world record 3:52.69 at the Beijing Olympics
Canadian Women's Open
Aug 17 Canadian Open Women's Golf, Ottawa Hunt GC: Australian Katherine Hull wins by 1 from Se Ri Pak
- Aug 17 China wins its 33rd gold medal of the Beijing Olympics by beating Singapore in the table tennis women's team event; most successful Olympiad ever for China; wins all 10 singles and all 5 doubles matches
- Aug 17 Four years after winning Olympic silver in the rowing quad sculls in Athens, Briton Rebecca Romero becomes only 2nd woman to earn medals in 2 different sports at the summer Games when she wins the pursuit track cycling gold in Beijing
- Aug 17 German swimmer Britta Steffen beats American Dara Torres by 0.01 in the 50m to wrap up the 50/100m double at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 17 Gulnara Samitova-Galkina of Russia wins the 3,000m steeplechase gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in world record 8:58.81
- Aug 17 Jamaica dominates the 100m at the Beijing Olympics with Shelly-Ann Fraser taking the gold medal in 10.78; her teammates Sherone Simpson & Kerron Stewart dead-heat for silver in 10.98
Olympic Gold
Aug 17 Rafael Nadal of Spain beats Chile's Fernando González 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 to win the men's tennis singles at the Beijing Olympics; Spain's first ever Olympic gold medal in tennis
- Aug 17 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, Crosswater Club: Fred Funk wins first of 3 Champions Tour majors by 3 strokes from Mike Goodes
- Aug 17 US team Michael Phelps, Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen & Jason Lezak wins 4 x 100m medley relay at the Beijing Olympics in world record 3:29.34; Phelps' 8th gold medal of Games breaks Mark Spitz's 1972 record (7)
- Aug 18 An American 1-2-3 in the 400m hurdles at the Beijing Olympics; Angelo Taylor wins gold in 47.25 ahead of Kerron Clement and Bershawn Jackson
- Aug 18 Belarus weightlifter Andrei Aramnau breaks 3 world records, for the snatch, clean & jerk, and total, on the way to winning the men's 105kg gold medal at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 18 Emulating the Chinese women, the men win the team table tennis gold medal at the Beijing Olympics without losing a match; win all 10 singles and all 5 doubles matches
- Aug 18 President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaf resigns due to pressure from opposition
- Aug 18 Russian pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva sets a new world record of 5.05m to win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics; her 24th world record
- Aug 19 Britain's Victoria Pendleton beats Anna Mears in the women's cycling sprint final at the Beijing Olympics; GB dominates the track winning 7 of 10 gold medals
- Aug 19 Chris Hoy encapsulates British dominance of track cycling at the Beijing Olympics beating teammate Jason Kenny to win the sprint, adding to his keirin and team sprint gold medals
- Aug 19 Reigning world champion, Christine Ohuruogu wins the women's 400m at the Beijing Olympics; GB's 50th gold medal in Olympic track & field competition
- Aug 19 The men's gymnastics program at the Beijing Olympics concludes with the home team from China dominating the medals tally takes 7 of 8 gold medals; Zou Kai wins 3
- Aug 20 Russian long-distance swimmer Larisa Ilchenko wins inaugural women's open water marathon (10k) in 1:59:27.7 at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 20 Spanair Flight 5022, from Madrid to Gran Canaria, skids off the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport. 146 people are killed in the crash, 8 more die afterwards. Only 18 people survive.
- Aug 20 Usain Bolt of Jamaica wraps up the 100/200m double in style with a new 200m world record 19.30 at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 21 After winning the event in Athens, Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown makes it consecutive 200m Olympic titles beating American Allyson Felix by 0.19 in Beijing
- Aug 21 American pair Misty May-Treanor & Kerry Walsh dominate China's Tian Jiathe & Wang Jie 21-18, 21-18 in the beach volleyball final to repeat of their gold medal from Athens; don't lose a set in the competition
- Aug 21 An American sweep of the 400m medals at the Beijing Olympics; LeShawn Merritt wins gold in 43.75 ahead of Jeremy Wariner and David Neville
- Aug 21 Daniëlle de Bruijn scores a match winning 7 goals as the Netherlands upset the United States 9-8 to take the women's water polo gold medal at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 21 Dutch swimmer and cancer survivor Maarten van der Weijden wins inaugural men's open water marathon (10k) in 1:51:51.6 at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 21 Japan edges the United States 3-1 for the gold medal in the final of the women's softball tournament at the Beijing Olympics
Olympic Gold
Aug 21 Striker Carli Lloyd scores in extra time as the United States beat Brazil 1-0 to take the women's football gold medal at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 22 American decathlete Brian Clay wins 4 of the 10 events and finishes 2nd in 2 others to dominate field and take the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 22 Anne-Caroline Chausson of France and Māris Štrombergs of Latvia win the inaugural gold medals in BMX, winning the women's and men's events respectively at the Beijing Olympics
- Aug 22 Ethiopian distance runner Tirunesh Dibaba wraps up the women's 5,000/10,000m double at the Beijing Olympics when she takes gold in the 5k in an Olympic record 15:41.40
- Aug 22 Maurren Higa Maggi wins the women's long jump with a leap of 7.04m at the Beijing Olympics; Brazil's first ever gold medal in any women's individual event
- Aug 22 Russia wins the women's 4 × 100 m relay ahead of Belgium & Nigeria at the Beijing Olympics; disqualified in 2016 when reanalysis of Yulia Chermoshanskaya’s samples result in positive test for prohibited substances
- Aug 22 Steven Hooker wins the men's pole vault with 5.96m at the Beijing Olympics; Australia's first gold medal in men's athletics since 1968
- Aug 22 The Jamaican team led by Usain Bolt smashes the world 4 x 100m relay record in the final at the Beijing Olympics; disqualified in 2017 as Nesta Carter tests positive for prohibited substance
- Aug 23 Australian diver Matthew Mitcham wins the men's 10m platform gold medal with final dive at the Beijing Olympics; prevents Chinese from winning every diving event; achieves highest score for an individual dive in Olympic history (112.10)
Olympic Gold
Aug 23 Ethiopian distance runner Kenenisa Bekele wraps up the 5,000/10,000m double at the Beijing Olympics when he takes gold in the 5k in an Olympic record 12:57.82
- Aug 23 Midfielder Ángel Di María scores a 58th minute winner as Argentina beats Nigeria 1-0 to take the men's football gold medal at the Beijing Olympics; 89,102 at the National Stadium
Olympic Gold
Aug 23 The star-studded American women's basketball team led by the likes of Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird & Diana Taurasi win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with a convincing 92-65 win over Australia
- Aug 24 Dániel Varga & Péter Biros score 3 goals each as Hungary wins the men's water polo gold medal at the Beijing Olympics; third consecutive Olympic gold medal
- Aug 24 Samuel Wansiru becomes first Kenyan to win the men's Olympic marathon in Beijing; wins in Olympic record time; silver medallist Joauad Gharib of Morocco also faster than OR, yet 44 seconds behind
- Aug 24 Summer Olympics in Beijing becomes the most watched event on TV ever - nearly 5 billion, 70% of world's population
Olympic Gold
Aug 24 The star-studded American men's basketball team led by the likes of LeBron James, Chris Paul & Kobe Bryant win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with a relatively narrow 118-107 win over Spain
Presidential Convention
Aug 27 US Senator Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be nominated by a major political party for President of the United States
Slumdog Millionaire
Aug 30 "Slumdog Millionaire" based on the novel "Q & A" by Vikas Swarup, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Dev Patel premieres at the Telluride Film Festival (Best Picture 2009)
2008 History
Famous Weddings
Jewel Kilcher
Aug 7 American singer-songwriter Jewel Kilcher (34) weds American rodeo champion Ty Murray (38) at The Cove Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas; divorce in 2014
Ellen DeGeneres
Aug 16 American comedienne and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres (54) weds American actress Portia de Rossi (39) in Beverly Hills, California
James Gandolfini
Aug 30 "The Sopranos" actor James Gandolfini (46) weds former model Deborah Lin (40) at Central Union Church in Honolulu, Hawaii
Famous Divorces
Phil Collins
Aug 17 Genesis drummer and vocalist Phil Collins (57) divorces Swiss-born Orianne Cevey (35) after six years of marriage
- Aug 19 Actor-comedian Tom Arnold (48) divorces Shelby Roos (35) after six years of marriage
Famous Deaths
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)
Aug 3 Russian writer (Cancer Ward, Nobel Prize for Literature 1970), dies at 89
- Aug 3 Erik Darling, American folk musician (Rooftop Singers), dies at 74
- Aug 3 Skip Caray, American TV and radio broadcaster (b. 1939)
- Aug 5 Reg Lindsay, Australian country and western singer-songwriter ("Armstrong"; "Close The Door Lightly"), dies of pneumonia, at 79
- Aug 5 Robert Hazard [Rimato], American singer-songwriter ("Escalator Of Life"; "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"), dies after surgery at 59
- Aug 6 Jud Taylor, American actor (Dr. Kildare (TV series) - "Dr. Gerson"), and director (Tail Gunner Joe), dies at 76
- Aug 7 Andrea Pininfarina, Italian engineer (CEO of Pininfarina S.p.A.), dies in a road accident at 51
- Aug 7 Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent, manager and producer (The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd), dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 77
- Aug 8 Frank Cornish, American NFL center/guard, 1990-95 (San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and 3 other teams), dies of heart disease at 40
- Aug 8 Joseph Gelineau, French Catholic Jesuit priest and composer, dies at 87
- Aug 8 Orville Moody, American golfer (US Open 1969), dies of multiple myeloma at 74
- Aug 9 Bernie Mac, American comedian and actor (The Bernie Mac Show, Ocean's Eleven), dies of cardiac arrest at 50
- Aug 9 Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian prominent poet and writer, dies at 66
Isaac Hayes (1942-2008)
Aug 10 American Southern soul musician, singer-songwriter, Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer ("Theme from Shaft"), and actor (The Rockford Files - "Gandolf Fitch"; South Park -"Chef"), dies of a likely stroke at 65
- Aug 11 Don Helms, American steel guitarist (Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys), dies at 81
- Aug 11 Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician (Chancellor of Austria, 1983-86; Vice-Chancellor, 1981-83; Minister of Education 1971-83), dies at 79
- Aug 11 George Furth, American actor and director (Tammy, Good Guys, Dumplings), dies at 75
- Aug 11 Günther Schifter, Austrian music journalist and radio host, dies at 84
- Aug 11 Sir William "Bill" Cotton, British television producer and executive (Noel Gay TV), dies at 80
- Aug 12 (June) "Christie" Allen, British-Australian pop singer (Goosebumps), dies of pancreatic cancer at 54
- Aug 12 Donald Erb, American composer known for large orchestral works, dies at 81
- Aug 13 Bill Gwatney, American political figure, assassinated at 48
- Aug 13 Dino Toso, Italian Dutch Formula-1 engineer, dies of cancer at 39
- Aug 13 Henri Cartan, French Mathematician, dies at 104
- Aug 13 Jack Weil, American oldest working CEO (Rockmount Ranch Wear), dies at 107
- Aug 13 Roy Prosser, Australian rugby union prop (25 caps; Northern Suburbs), dies at 66
- Aug 13 Sandy Allen, American second-tallest woman in the world at 7 feet 7 inches (231 cm), dies at 53
- Aug 14 Lita Roza, British singer ("How Much is That Doggie in the Window"), dies at 82
- Aug 15 James Orthwein, American businessman (owner of the New England Patriots), dies at 84
- Aug 15 Jerry Wexler, American music producer who coined the term "rhythm and blues" (Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan), dies from congestive heart failure at 91
- Aug 15 Leroy Sievers, American journalist (CBS News, Nightline), dies of cancer at 53
- Aug 15 Vic Toweel, South African boxer (undisputed world bantamweight champion), dies at 79
- Aug 16 Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer and songwriter, dies at 94 [1]
- Aug 16 Elena Leuṣtean, Romanian gymnast and Olympic medalist (b. 1935)
- Aug 16 Lucrecia Roces Kasilag, Filipina composer (Filiasiana), concert pianist, and educator (Bayanihan Dance Company), dies of pneumonia 89
- Aug 16 Ronnie Drew, Irish singer (The Dubliners), dies at 73
- Aug 17 Franco Sensi, Italian oil tycoon and president of A.S. Roma, dies at 82
- Aug 17 František Zvarík, Slovakian stage actor (Slovak National Theatre), dies at 87
- Aug 18 Pervis Jackson, American pop and R&B singer (The Spinners, 1954-2008 - "Games People Play"), dies of brain and liver cancer at 70
- Aug 19 Clea Bradford, American jazz singer, dies of breast cancer at 67
- Aug 19 LeRoi Moore, American saxophonist (Dave Matthews Band - "Too Much"), dies from injuries sustained in a farm vehicle accident at 46
- Aug 19 Levy Mwanawasa, Zambian politician (3rd President of Zambia), dies at 59
- Aug 19 Marguerite Empey [Diane Webber], American model and Playboy playmate (May 1955, Feb 1956), dies at 76
- Aug 20 Gene Upshaw, American NFL guard (Oakland Radiers) and NFLPA leader, dies at 63
Hua Guofeng (1921-2008)
Aug 20 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
- Aug 20 Margaret Douglas, chief political adviser (BBC), dies at 73
- Aug 20 Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American politician (b. 1949)
- Aug 21 "Huckle" Jerry Finn, American sound engineer and record producer (Blink-182), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage and heart attack at 39
- Aug 21 Buddy Harman, American country music drummer (Grand Ole Opry, Elvis Presley), dies at 79
- Aug 22 Gladys Powers, Canadian World War I veteran (b. 1899)
- Aug 23 John Russell, British-born American art critic and author
- Aug 24 Tristram Ogilvie Cary, British-Australian composer, electronic music pioneer, and educator, dies at 82
- Aug 25 John Thoday, British geneticist, dies at 91
- Aug 25 Josef Tal, Israel composer (Israeli art music), dies at 97
- Aug 25 Kevin Duckworth, American basketball center (NBA All-Star 1989, 91; Portland Trail Blazers), dies of heart failure at 44
- Aug 25 Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer (b. 1959)
- Aug 25 Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Finnish composer (The Whole World Will Lament; Kwaidan-balladit), dies at 64
- Aug 27 Mark Priestley, Australian actor (b. 1976)
- Aug 28 Phil Hill, American auto racer (F1 world champion 1961; 24 Hours of Le Mans 1958, 61, 62), dies at 81
- Aug 29 Geoffrey Perkins, British comedy producer (b. 1953)
- Aug 30 Tommy Bolt, American golfer (US Open 1958), dies at 92
- Aug 30 Walter "Killer" Kowalski, Canadian professional wrestler, dies at 81
- Aug 31 Ike Pappas, American news correspondent (CBS), dies at 75
- Aug 31 Jerry Reed, American country music singer ("When You're Hot, You're Hot") and actor (Bat 21; Smokey and the Bandit), dies of complications from emphysema at 71
