What Happened in August 2010

Historical Events

Famous Photo

Aug 1 200m x 250m photo mosaic commemorating the life of Filipino President Corazon Aquino is unveiled near Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta Park, Manila

  • Aug 1 Australian Stuart Appleby finishes with an 11-under-59 to win the Greenbrier Classic at White Sulphur Springs, to become only the 5th player and first non-American to break 60 on the PGA Tour

Women's British Open

Aug 1 British Open Women's Golf, Royal Birkdale GC: 21-year-old Yani Tseng of Taiwan becomes youngest-ever winner of 3 major championships, 1 stroke ahead of Katherine Hull of Australia

US Senior Golf Open

Aug 1 US Senior Open Men's Golf, Sahalee CC: Berhard Langer of Germany wins by 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Fred Couples

Film & TV History

Aug 4 California's Proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by the state's voters in 2008, is overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger

Baseball Record

Aug 4 On 3rd anniversary of his 500th MLB career home run, Alex Rodriguez reaches the 600 HR mark in the NY Yankees 5-1 win v Toronto; 7th and youngest to reach milestone

Sports History

Aug 5 Group led by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan & Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg is confirmed as winning bidder in court ordered auction of Texas Rangers MLB franchise (value $593m)

  • Aug 5 Jason Koumas agrees to join Cardiff City on a season-long loan
  • Aug 7 Hampered by a back injury Indian cricket batsman VVS Laxman scores a brave, unbeaten 103 to guide India to a 5 wicket win v Sri Lanka in Colombo; draw series

Hall of Fame

Aug 7 Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, John Randle, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Floyd Little & Dick LeBeau are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

  • Aug 14 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games opens in Singapore
  • Aug 15 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Whistling Straits GC: Martin Kaymer of Germany wins his first major title by 1 stroke in 3-hole aggregate playoff with Bubba Watson

Invasion of Iraq

Aug 19 Operation Iraqi Freedom winds down, as the last of the United States brigade combat teams cross the border to Kuwait [1]

  • Aug 21 New Zealand clinch their 10th Tri Nations Rugby Series with one match remaining, scoring 2 tries in the last 3 minutes to beat South Africa, 29–22 in the first-ever Test at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg

Sports History

Aug 22 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, Crosswater Club: Fred Funk wins last of 3 Champions Tour majors by 1 stroke from Michael Allen and Taiwan's Lu Chien-soon

  • Aug 23 Manila hostage crisis, which occurred at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, where a dismissed police officer took hostage a tour bus full of Chinese nationals.
  • Aug 25 Panic caused by escaped crocodile being smuggled aboard domestic Filair flight leads to crash of Let L-410 Turbolet passenger aircraft near Bandundu Airport, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing all but one of the 21 passengers and crew

Canadian Women's Open

Aug 29 Canadian Open Women's Golf, St. Charles CC: Michelle Wie wins by 3 from Suzann Pettersen, Jiyai Shin, Jee Young Lee & Kristy McPherson


2010 History

Famous Weddings

James Van Der Beek

Aug 1 "Dawson's Creek" actor James Van Der Beek (33) weds business consultant Kimberly Brook at the Kabbalah Center in Tel Aviv, Israel

  • Aug 7 American "Dancing in the Dark" host Rossi Morreale (33) weds one half of identical twin American country duo "Kate and Kacey" Kacey Coppola at the Grande Antigua Resort and Spa in Antigua

Robbie Williams

Aug 7 British pop star Robbie Williams (36) weds American actress Ayda Field (31) in an intimate ceremony at his mansion in Beverly Hills, California

Hilary Duff

Aug 14 American actress and singer Hilary Duff (24) weds retired Canadian professional ice hockey center Mike Comrie (31) at La Quinta Estate in Montecito, California; separate in 2014 and divorce in 2016

  • Aug 21 Actor and director Stephen Moyer (41) weds actress Anna Paquin (28) at a private estate in Malibu
  • Aug 23 Spanish singer Julio Iglesias (66) weds Dutch model Miranda Rijnsburger (44) at Virgen del Carmen Church in Marbella, Spain
  • Aug 25 Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark (40) weds Tatiana Blatnik (29) at the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas on Spetses Island, Greece
  • Aug 28 "Pretty Little Liars" actor Chad Lowe (42) weds film producer Kim Painter at Terranea Resort in Los Angeles

Leelee Sobieski

Aug 31 Actress Leelee Sobieski (27) weds fashion designer Adam Kimmel in Italy


Famous Divorces

Tiger Woods

Aug 23 Former Swedish model Elin Nordegren (30) divorces professional golfer Tiger Woods (34) after 6 years of marriage

Famous Deaths

  • Aug 1 Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby union halfback (1 cap; Wellington RFU), cricket wicketkeeper (5 Tests, 7 dismissals) and international umpire (1 Test), dies at 99
  • Aug 1 Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican nationalist (b. 1919)
  • Aug 1 Robert F. Boyle, American production designer and art director, dies at 100
  • Aug 5 Robert Aitken, Zen co-founder (Diamond Sangha), dies at 93
  • Aug 7 Manon Alving, Dutch actress (The Assault, Short American), dies at 87
  • Aug 8 Jack Parnell, British jazz drummer, and orchestra leader (The Benny Hill Show; The Englebert Humperdick Show; Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments), dies of cancer at 87

Patricia Neal (1926-2010)

Aug 8 American actress (Hud, Subject Was Roses) and wife of Roald Dahl, dies at 84

  • Aug 9 Ted Stevens, American politician (U.S. Senator from Alaska, 1968-2009), dies at 86
  • Aug 10 Antonio Pettigrew, American athlete (World C'ship gold 400m 1991), dies by overdose medication containing diphenhydramine at 42
  • Aug 10 David L Wolper, American television and film producer (Roots; The Thorn Birds; Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; Welcome Back, Kotter), dies at 82
  • Aug 11 Dan Rostenkowski, American politician (Rep-D-Il, 1959-94), convicted of mail fraud, dies at 82
  • Aug 11 Geoffrey Johnson Smith, Scottish Conservative politician (1959-2001), dies at 86
  • Aug 11 Markus Liebherr, Swiss businessman and sports executive (owner Southampton FC 2008-10), dies of a heart attack at 62
  • Aug 12 Guido de Marco, 6th president of Malta, 45th President of the United Nations General Assembly (b. 1931)
  • Aug 12 Isaac Bonewits, founder of U.S. Druid organization Ar Ndraiocht Fein (b. 1949)
  • Aug 12 Paul Ryan Rudd, American stage and screen actor, dies at 70
  • Aug 12 Richie Hayward, American drummer (Little Feat), dies of liver cancer at 64
  • Aug 13 Edwin Newman, American broadcast journalist (b. 1919)
  • Aug 13 Esteban "Steve" Jordan, American conjunto, Tejano, rock and jazz accordion player, dies of liver cancer at 71
  • Aug 13 Lance Cade, American pro wrestler (WWE Tag Team Champion [with Trevor Murdoch] 2005), dies from accidental drug overdose at 29
  • Aug 14 Abbey Lincoln [Anna Wooldridge], African-American jazz vocalist, songwriter, actress (Nothing But a Man), and civil rights activist, dies at 80
  • Aug 14 Herman Leonard, American photographer (b. 1923)
  • Aug 14 Tahar Wattar, Algerian novelist (b. 1936)
  • Aug 14 Terje Stigen, Norwegian author (Det siste paradiset), dies at 88
  • Aug 15 James J. Kilpatrick, American newspaper journalist and columnist (60 Minutes), dies at 89
  • Aug 16 Bobby Thomson, Scottish-American baseball player, dies at 86
  • Aug 17 Edwin Morgan, Scottish poet (At Eighty), dies at 90
  • Aug 17 Francesco Cossiga, Italian politician and 8th President of the Italian Republic (1985-92), dies at 82
  • Aug 18 Benjamin Kaplan, American copyright scholar, dies at 99
  • Aug 18 Hal Connolly, American Athlete and hammer thrower (b.1931)
  • Aug 18 Kenneth "Kenny" Edwards, American musician and singer-songwriter (The Stone Poneys, Bryndle), dies of cancer and a blood disorder at 64
  • Aug 18 Scott Davis, American Announcer of Track and Field (b.1943)
  • Aug 19 Michael Been, American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter (The Call - "Let the Day Begin"), dies of a heart attack at 60
  • Aug 21 Conny Stuart [Cornelia van Meygard], Dutch cabaret performer, and actress, dies at 96
  • Aug 21 Nancy Dolman, Canadian actress and comedienne (b. 1950)
  • Aug 21 Rodolfo Enrique Fogwill, Argentinean writer (b. 1941)
  • Aug 22 Stjepan Bobek, Yugoslav football player (b. 1923)
  • Aug 24 Satoshi Kon, Japanese anime film director, dies at 46
  • Aug 27 Anton Geesink, Dutch judoka (first non-Japanese world champion, Olympic gold 1964), dies at 76
  • Aug 27 Luna Vachon, Professional Wrestler (b. 1962)
  • Aug 28 William P. Foster, notable band director and founder of the Marching 100 of Florida A&M University
  • Aug 29 Hans Ulrich Humpert, German composer, dies at 69
  • Aug 30 Alain Corneau, French filmmaker (La Menace), dies of cancer at 67
  • Aug 30 Francisco Varallo, Argentine footballer (played for Argentina 1930-37), dies at 100
  • Aug 31 Laurent Fignon, French road cyclist (Tour de France 1983, 84; Giro d'Italia 1989; FICP World #1 1989), dies of cancer at 50