Historical Events
Women's British Open
Aug 2 British Open Women's Golf, Turnberry: Inbee Park of South Korea shoots final found 65 (−7) to win her 7th major title, 3 strokes ahead of compatriot Ko Jin-young
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Aug 3 Chilean-born author Isabel Allende receives the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama
- Aug 3 The Athens Stock Exchange re-opens after a month and falls by 22%
Event of Interest
Aug 3 US President Obama unveils his Clean Power Plan to cut greenhouse gases
- Aug 4 31 people are killed and 100 are injured after floods partially sweep two passenger trains off a bridge in Madhya Pradesh, India
- Aug 4 A plague of locusts in Southern Russia prompts a state of emergency to be declared
- Aug 4 Muppets Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog announce the end to their relationship on Twitter
Film & TV History
Aug 4 Robert Downey Jr. named the world's highest paid actor by Forbes Magazine (earning $80 mil). 4 non-Hollywood actors make the top 10.
- Aug 5 Fishing boat carrying around 600 migrants sinks of the coast of Libya, 373 rescued
- Aug 5 Torrential rains and flooding leave at least 178 people dead in India, in the wake of Cyclone Komen
Film & TV History
Aug 6 American comedian Jon Stewart hosts late-night talk and satirical news program "The Daily Show" for the last time
- Aug 6 Eqyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi inaugurates the Suez Canal Expansion at a ceremony in Ismaïlia
- Aug 6 Republican Presidential nomination race begins with debate between 7 lesser ranked candidates in Cleveland, Ohio
- Aug 6 World's largest ever Pinball tournament Pinburgh with 700 machines held in Pittsburgh
Film & TV History
Aug 7 US Presidential candidate Donald Trump says in a CNN interview that news anchor Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever”
- Aug 8 Argentine winger Juan Imhoff scores 3 tries as Pumas beat South Africa, 37-25 in Rugby Championship match at Durban; Argentina's first ever win against Springboks
Sports History
Aug 8 Australia clinches first Rugby Championship with 27-19 win over New Zealand in Sydney; All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw equals Irishman Brian O'Driscoll's record for most capped international player (141)
Film & TV History
Aug 10 Google announces its restructure as Alphabet, a holding company with Google, YouTube, Android and Chrome as subsidiaries
Agreement of Interest
Aug 11 Greek Debt crisis: European Commission announces a bailout with Greece and its creditors has been agreed "in principle"
- Aug 11 Japan's Sendai Nuclear Power Plant restarts the first nuclear reactor since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
- Aug 11 Largest ever outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in New York - 12 dead, with over 100 cases in the South Bronx
- Aug 11 Spain's top matador Francisco Rivera Ordóñez Jr. is gored and injured by a bull in Huesca
- Aug 12 China cuts its currency the yuan for the 2nd day in a row to boast exports
Event of Interest
Aug 12 Former US President Jimmy Carter reveals that he has cancer
- Aug 12 In London archaeologists discover a mass grave of 30 bodies from the 1665 plague
- Aug 12 Large series of explosions in Tianjin, China leave at least 50 dead and 700 injured in an industrial accident
Music History
Aug 12 US Postal Service issues a second postage stamp featuring rock singer Elvis Presley, as part of its Music Icon series; design is a black & white photograph taken by William Speer in 1955
- Aug 13 76 people are killed & 212 are wounded by an ISIL truck bomb in Baghdad, Iraq
Event of Interest
Aug 13 Swedish Prosecutors announce they are dropping allegations against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange of sexual molestation and coercion
- Aug 14 Most extensive face transplant surgery ever performed on Patrick Hardison by Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez at New York University Langone Medical Center
- Aug 15 North Korea creates its own time zone -moving its clocks back half an hour to GMT+8.5
- Aug 16 'Batman' samaritan Lenny B. Robinson is killed in a car accident in Maryland
PGA Championship
Aug 16 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Whistling Straits GC: Australian Jason Day wins setting major championship record of 20-under-par; beats Jordan Spieth by 3 shots
- Aug 17 2012 Olympic 1500m champion from Turkey Asli Cakir Alptekin is stripped of her gold medal for doping by the IAAF
- Aug 17 Bomb blast in Bangkok at Erawan Shrine kills at least 19, injures over 100
- Aug 17 Discovery of 7,000 year old mass grave in Schöneck-Kilianstädten, Central Germany, published in PNAS Journal. 26 bodies bear evidence of violent conflict
- Aug 17 World's first flower could be underwater plant Montsechia Vidalii claim US botanists (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
- Aug 19 US Food and Drug administration approves Female Viagra libido pill Addyi
- Aug 20 30 students at West Point Military Academy are injured in a mass pillow fight
- Aug 20 After 108 years a "message in a bottle" put in the sea by UK Marine Biological Association is announced to have been found in April on a beach on the island of Amrum, Germany
- Aug 21 1st British unmanned drone hit on a UK citizen outside a conflict - ISIS fighter Reyaad Khan in Raqqa, Syria
- Aug 21 European Refugee Crisis: Germany makes it easier for Syrian refugees to claim asylum by suspending their Dublin Regulations
- Aug 21 Terrorist attack on train between Amsterdam and Paris thwarted by 4 passengers overpowering gunman
- Aug 22 15th Athletics World Championships open at Beijing, China
- Aug 22 A vintage Hawker Hunter plane crashes onto the A27 dual carriageway road during the Shoreham airshow in Britain killing at least 11
- Aug 23 12-year-old boy trips and rips 17th-century painting "Flowers" by Paolo Porpora worth $1.5m at exhibition in Taiwan
Canadian Women's Open
Aug 23 Canadian Open Women's Golf, Vancouver GC: Lydia Ko of New Zealand wins in a playoff with Stacy Lewis for her third success in the event
- Aug 23 Destruction by IS of the 1st century AD temple of Baalshamin in ancient ruins of Palmyra confirmed by Syrian officials
- Aug 23 English Indycar driver Justin Wilson suffers a head injury during a race crash at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania
- Aug 24 China stock market's "Black Monday", Shanghai Composite loses 8.5%, sending other international markets lower
Facebook Logs 1 Billion
Aug 24 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces that for the 1st time 1 billion people logged into Facebook
Hawking's Black Hole Theory
Aug 24 Physicist Stephen Hawking presents a new theory on black holes at a lecture at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
- Aug 26 WDBJ TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward are fatally shot live on TV by an ex-colleague in Moneta, Virginia
The Shepherd's Crown
Aug 27 "The Shepherd's Crown" by Terry Pratchett published by Doubleday, 5 months after the author's death, last book in the Discworld series
Sports History
Aug 27 15th Athletics World Championships: Usain Bolt of Jamaica adds the men's 200m gold to his 100m win
- Aug 27 Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos names top Supreme Court judge, Vassiliki Thanou caretaker Prime Minister - Greece's 1st female Prime Minister
- Aug 30 English author Frederick Forsyth (The Day of the Jackal) reveals that he worked for MI6 for more than 20 years
Event of Interest
Aug 30 Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad calls for the removal of then Prime Minister Najib Razak during the second day of street protests
Video Music Awards
Aug 30 Rap artist Kanye West announces he will run for President in 2020 at the MTV Video Music Awards
- Aug 31 President Obama officially re-designates Alaska’s Mt. McKinley as Denali, its native American name
- Aug 31 US President Barack Obama arrives in Alaska on a 3 day tour highlighting climate change
- Aug 31 Violent protests in Kiev after Ukraine parliament vote leave 1 national guard dead, 100 injured
Famous Weddings
- Aug 1 Actor Declan Donnelly weds Ali Astall at St Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Elswick, Tyne and Wear
Jennifer Aniston
Aug 5 Actress Jennifer Aniston (46) weds fellow actor and producer Justin Theroux (44) at their home in Los Angeles
- Aug 9 Russian model Kate Grigorieva (27) weds her boyfriend Alexander in Saint Petersburg, Russia; divorce in 2016
Ronan Keating
Aug 17 Irish "Boyzone" singer Ronan Keating (38) weds Australian television producer Storm Uechtritz (33) in East Lothian, Scotland
- Aug 19 British pop-opera tenor Russell Watson (48) weds second wife Louise Harris (27) in mountain village of Benahavís, Spain
- Aug 23 Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan (46) weds model Megan Wollover (28) in NYC
- Aug 30 Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley (34) weds model Ariana Cooper at Hotel Bel Air in Los Angeles
Famous Divorces
Gwen Stefani
Aug 3 Singer Gwen Stefani and musician Gavin Rossdale announce their intention to divorce after nearly 13 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Aug 1 Anatoly Kremer, Russian composer and conductor (Eksperiment), dies at 82
- Aug 1 Cilla Black [Priscilla White], British pop singer ("Anyone Who Had a Heart"), and TV personality (Blind Date), dies at 72
- Aug 2 Forrest Bird, American aviator and inventor (1st respirators and ventilators), dies at 94
- Aug 3 Adam Walacinski, Polish composer, dies at 86
- Aug 3 Coleen Gray [Doris Bernice Jensen], American actress (Apache Drums, The Killing), dies at 92
- Aug 3 Mel Farr, American NFL running back (Pro Bowl 1967, 70; Detroit Lions), dies of a massive heart attack at 70
- Aug 3 Robert Conquest, English historian and poet (The Great Terror), dies at 98
- Aug 4 Gerd Natschinski, German composer, dies at 86
- Aug 4 Les Munro, New Zealand WWII pilot (Dambusters Raid), dies at 96
- Aug 5 George Cole, English actor (Minder), dies at 90
Louise Suggs (1923-2015)
Aug 6 American golfer and co-founder of LPGA (11 major titles, US Open 1949, 52), dies of natural causes at 91
- Aug 7 Frances Oldham Kelsey, Canadian-American FDA Director (stopped thalidomide use in the US), dies at 101
- Aug 9 David Nobbs, English comedic writer (The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin), dies at 80
- Aug 9 Frank Gifford, American College-Pro Football HOF halfback (USC; 6 × First-team All-Pro, 8 × Pro Bowl; NY Giants) and broadcaster (ABC Monday Night Football), dies at 84
- Aug 10 Buddy Baker, American auto racer (Daytona 500 1980; 19 x NASCAR Cup Series wins), dies at 74
- Aug 11 Harald Nielsen, Danish soccer forward (14 caps; Olympic silver 1960; Frederikshavn fI, Bologna FC), dies at 73
- Aug 11 Serge Collot, French violist (Paris Opera, 1957-86; Le Trio à Cordes Français, 1960-92), and music educator (Conservatoire de Paris, 1969-89), dies at 91
- Aug 12 John Scott, English organist and choirmaster, dies at 59
- Aug 12 Per Hjort Albertsen, Norwegian organist, composer, and educator, dies at 96
- Aug 12 Stephen Lewis, British stage and screen comic actor, screenwriter and playwright (In The Buses - "Blakey"; Last of the Summer Wine - "Smiler"), dies at 88
- Aug 14 Gordon "Jazz" Summers, British music manager (Wham; Snow Patrol), dies at 71
- Aug 14 Karen Stives, American equestrian rider (Olympic gold team, silver individual 1984), dies at 64
- Aug 14 [Donald William] Bob Johnston, American music producer (Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash), dies at 83
- Aug 15 Julian Bond, American civil rights leader and politician (D-Ga), dies at 75
- Aug 16 Jacob Bekenstein, American-Israeli theoretical physicist (Bekenstein-Hawking radiation), dies of a heart attack at 68
- Aug 17 Arsen Dedić, Croatian singer-songwriter and poet, dies at 77
- Aug 17 Jan Fotek, Polish composer (Musica Cromatica), dies at 76
- Aug 17 Yvonne Craig, American actress (Batgirl), dies at 78
- Aug 18 (Alan) "Bud" Yorkin, American film and television producer and director (Divorce American Style; All in the Family; Sanford And Son), dies at 89
- Aug 18 Louis Stokes, American politician (Rep-D-OH, 1969-99), dies at 90
- Aug 18 Roger Smalley, British-Australian pianist, conductor, and composer (Gloria Tibi Trinitas), dies at 72
- Aug 20 Egon Bahr, German journalist and politician (Ostpolitik policy), dies at 93
- Aug 20 Melody Patterson, American actress (F Troop), dies at 66
- Aug 20 Piotr Warzecha, Polish composer, dies at 74
- Aug 21 Anna Kashfi [Joan O'Callaghan], Welsh actress and 1st wife of Marlon Barando, dies at 80
- Aug 21 Bob Hepple, South African-born academic and Nelson Mandela's lawyer, dies at 81
- Aug 21 Jimmy Evert, American tennis coach (father of Chris Evert), dies at 91
- Aug 22 Andy Mapple, English water skier (World Slalom C'ship 1981, 89, 95, 97, 99, 2001), dies at 52
- Aug 22 Arthur Morris, Australian cricket batsman (46 Tests, 12 x 100, HS 206, BA 46.48; NSWCA), dies at 93
- Aug 22 Charles Tomlinson, British poet and translator, dies at 88
- Aug 23 Asher Ben-Yohanan, Israeli composer, dies at 86
- Aug 23 Jean Darling, American child actress (Our Gang), dies at 93
- Aug 24 Justin Wilson, English auto racer (International Formula 3000 C'ship; Champ Car Series 4 wins), dies as a result of on track accident at 37
- Aug 24 Vardo Rumessen, Estonian classical pianist, musicologist, politician, and independence advocate, dies at 73
- Aug 25 Frank E. Petersen, American soldier and both the 1st African American Marine Corps aviator and Marine Corps general, dies at 83
- Aug 25 Ian Smith, South African cricket leg-spin bowler (9 Tests), dies at 90
- Aug 26 P J Kavanagh [Patrick Joeseph], British poet, actor and journalist (The Perfect Stranger), dies at 84
- Aug 27 Darryl Dawkins, American basketball center (Philadelphia 76ers, NJ Nets; NBA breaking a backboard rule), dies of a heart attack at 58
- Aug 27 George Cleve, Austrian-American conductor (Winnipeg Symphony, 1968-70; San Jose Symphony, 1972-92; San Francisco Midsummer Mozart Festival, 1974-2015), dies of liver failure at 79
Al Arbour (1932-2015)
Aug 28 Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman, coach and executive (coach NY Islanders Stanley Cup 1980-83), dies of Parkinson's disease and dementia at 82
Wes Craven (1939-2015)
Aug 30 American filmmaker (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream), dies at 76
- Aug 31 Colin Hope, British Industrialist (Turner and Newall), dies at 83
