Historical Events
- Aug 1 Anthrax outbreak in Yamalo-Nenets, Siberia kills one and infects 8 others, also kills 2,300 reindeer, global warming blamed
- Aug 3 International Olympic Committee approves baseball/softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding to be included in the sports program for 2020 Games only; total number of sports, 33
- Aug 5 XXXI Summer Olympic Games officially open in Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
World Record
Aug 6 Australian women's 4 × 100m freestyle relay team of Emma McKeon, Brittany Elmslie, Bronte Campbell & Cate Campbell sets a new world record 3:30.65 to win gold ahead of US and Canada at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 6 Hoàng Xuân Vinh of Vietnam records 202.5 points to win the gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Vietnam's first ever gold medal in any Olympic event
- Aug 6 Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszú sets world record 4:26.36 to win the gold medal in the women's 400m individual medley at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 6 Super Rugby Final, Westpac Stadium Wellington: Wellington Hurricanes win their first SR title with a 20-3 win over the Lions from Johannesburg
World Record
Aug 7 American swimmer Katie Ledecky sets a new world record with a time of 3:56.46 to win the gold medal in the women's 400m freestyle at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
World Record
Aug 7 British swimmer Adam Peaty records a world record 57.13 to win the gold medal in the men's 100m breaststroke at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Sports History
Aug 7 Miami Marlins veteran Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki becomes the 30th member of the 3,000 hit club in a 10 - 7 win v Rockies
- Aug 7 Sarah Sjöström of Sweden breaks world record in 55.48 to win the gold medal in the women's 100m butterfly at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Olympic Gold
Aug 7 United States men's 4 × 100m freestyle relay team wins the final in 3:09.92 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Michael Phelps' record 19th Olympic gold medal
- Aug 8 Australia beats New Zealand 24-17 to win the inaugural women's sevens rugby gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 8 Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszú wins the women's 100m backstroke gold medal in a time of 58.45; her second gold medal of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
- Aug 9 American swimmer Katie Ledecky wins her second gold medal of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 1:53.73 in the women's 200m freestyle ahead of Sarah Sjöström of Sweden and Australian Emma McKeon
- Aug 9 American swimmer Michael Phelps swims 1:53.36 to win the men's 200m butterfly gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; beats Japan's Masato Sakai by 0.04 for his 20th Olympic gold medal
- Aug 9 Chinese weightlifter Deng Wei sets a world record of 147kg in the clean & jerk, and another for a total score of 262kg, to win the women's 63kg gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 9 Hungary's Katinka Hosszú records an Olympic record of 2:06.58 in the women's 200m individual medley, her 3rd gold medal of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 9 Longest ever hunger strike ends, Indian human rights campaigner Irom Sharmila tastes honey after 16 years
- Aug 10 18-year-old Australian Kyle Chalmers creates huge upset when he swims a junior world record 47.58 to win the blue ribband men's 100m freestyle gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 10 South Korean shooter Jin Jong-oh recovers from 7th place during the final to record an Olympic record 193.7 and win gold in men's 50m pistol at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; first shooter to win 3 consecutive Olympic gold medals in one event
- Aug 10 Weightlifter Nijat Rahimov of Kazakhstan sets a world record 214kg in the clean & jerk, and finishes with 379kg overall, to win the gold medal in the men's 77kg at the Ro de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 11 A Greenland shark declared oldest vertebrate animal in the world at 392 years by international team of scientists
- Aug 11 American Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak of Canada dead heat for the gold medal in coveted 100m freestyle at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; tie in Olympic record 52.70; Sarah Sjöström (Sweden) takes bronze; her 3rd medal of the Games
- Aug 11 American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins men's 200m individual medley in 1:54.66 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; 3rd athlete and 1st swimmer to win 4 consecutive Olympic gold medals in one event
- Aug 11 Fiji wins inaugural men's rugby sevens gold medal with a comfortable 43-7 rout of Great Britain at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 12 American star swimmer Katie Ledecky sets world record 8:04.79 to dominate the women's 800m field at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; medal tally of 4 gold, 1 silver make her most decorated US female athlete at one Olympics
- Aug 12 Cannes becomes first French resort to ban the burkini
- Aug 12 Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszú wins her 4th medal of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics finishing 2nd in the women's 200m backstroke; gold to American Maya DiRado in 2:05:99
- Aug 12 Italian jockey Frankie Dettori aboard Predilection rides his 3,000th British winner at Newmarket
- Aug 12 Joseph Schooling of Singapore sets Olympic record 50.39 to win men's 100m butterfly gold at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; rare 3-way tie for silver at 51.14, Michael Phelps (USA), Chad le Clos (South Africa) & László Cseh (Hungary)
- Aug 13 American swimmer Michael Phelps ends his career at the Rio Olympics as part of the winning 4x100 medley relay, his record 23rd gold medal
- Aug 13 Great Britain sets a world record of 3:14.051 to comfortably beat the United States in the women's cycling team pursuit at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Olympic Gold
Aug 13 Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson wins blue ribband women's 100m gold in 10.71 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; American Tori Bowie second in 10.83 and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica 3rd 10.86
- Aug 13 The dominant Great Britain men's crew wins the eight at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; US scores a comfortable win over GB in the women's eight
- Aug 14 An all-British final in the men's cycling sprint with Jason Kenny beating teammate Callum Skinner at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Olympic Gold
Aug 14 Great Britain's Andy Murray wins the men's tennis singles gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics 7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5 over Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina
Olympic Gold
Aug 14 Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt wins coveted 100m Olympic 100m gold medal in 9.81 at Rio de Janeiro Olympics - first man to win the event 3 times
- Aug 14 Justin Rose of Great Britain finishes with a score of 16 under par to win the inaugural men's individual golf gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Rose is 2 strokes ahead of Henrik Stenson (Sweden) and 3 from American Matt Kuchar
- Aug 14 Kenya's Jemima Sumgong wins women's marathon gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2:24:04; Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) takes silver, and Mare Dibaba (Ethiopia) bronze
- Aug 14 South African athlete Wayde van Niekerk sets world record 43.03 to win the men's 400m gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Kirani James (Grenada) silver, American LaShawn Merritt bronze
- Aug 14 US Senior Open Men's Golf, Scioto CC: Gene Sauers wins by 1 stroke ahead of Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Billy Mayfair
- Aug 15 Anita Włodarczyk of Poland sets a world record 82.29m to win the women's hammer throw gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Zhang Wenxiu (China) silver, and Sophie Hitchon (Great Britain) bronze.
- Aug 15 Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas dives at the line to win the women's 400m gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; beats American 6-time Olympic gold medallist Allyson Felix by 0.07
- Aug 15 Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil sets an Olympic record 6.03m to win the men's pole vault gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
Hurricane Katrina
Aug 16 "When the Levees Broke" documentary directed by Spike Lee, of effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, premieres at New Orleans Arena
- Aug 16 Croatian discus thrower Sandra Perković retains her Olympic title with a distance of 69.21m at the Rio de Janeiro Games
- Aug 16 Georgian weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze sets a world record of 473 total kilograms to win the men's +105kg gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 16 New Zealand canoeist Lisa Carrington retains her K-1 200m Olympic title with a time of 39.864 at the Rio de Janeiro Games
- Aug 16 Russian pair Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina retain their Olympic synchronised swimming duet title at the Rio de Janeiro Games with final score 194.9910
- Aug 16 Wildfire breaks out in San Bernardino County, California, engulfing 15,000 acres, prompting evacuation of 82,000 people
- Aug 17 American sweep in 100m women's hurdles at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics with Brianna Rollins taking gold ahead of Nia Ali & Kristi Castlin; 1st time US has swept medals in an Olympic women's track & field event
- Aug 17 Flood waters recede in Louisiana leaving 13 dead and damaging 4,000 homes
- Aug 17 German pair Laura Ludwig & Kira Walkenhorst upsets Brazilian hometown favourites Ágatha Bednarczuk & Bárbara Seixas 21–18, 21–14 to win the Olympic women's beach volleyball gold in Rio de Janeiro
- Aug 17 Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson wins 200m gold medal in 21.78; wraps up 100/200m Rio de Janeiro Olympics double
- Aug 17 Kenyan runner Conseslus Kipruto records an Olympic record 8:03.28 to win the men's 3,000m steeplechase gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games
- Aug 18 Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee records time of 1:45.01 to retain his Olympic men's triathlon title at the Rio de Janeiro Games; 0:06 in front of second-place finisher, brother Jonathan Brownlee
- Aug 18 Jamaica's Usain Bolt wins the gold medal in the men's 200m for the 3rd successive Summer Olympics, recording a time of 19.78 in Rio de Janeiro
Olympic Gold
Aug 18 New Zealand's 2017 America's Cup winning helmsman Peter Burling teams with Blair Tuke to win the gold medal in the 49er class sailing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
- Aug 18 Ukranine canoeist Yuriy Cheban sets an Olympic record 39.279 to win the men's C-1 200m gold at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; retains title he won in London 2012
- Aug 19 A 6-way tie for first place in the final of the equestrian individual jumping competition at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Nick Skelton of Great Britain wins gold medal jump-off
- Aug 19 Chloe Esposito of Australia sets Olympic record overall score of 1,372 points to win the women's modern pentathlon in Rio de Janeiro. Élodie Clouvel of France second (1,356 points), Oktawia Nowacka of Poland third (1,349)
Music History
Aug 19 City of San Francisco unveils a statue of singer Tony Bennett outside of the Fairmount Hotel, where he first performed his signature song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in 1961
- Aug 19 Colombian BMX rider Mariana Pajón successfully defends her Olympic title when she beats American Alise Post in the final in Rio de Janeiro
- Aug 19 Germany beats Sweden 2-1 in the women's football gold medal match at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; 52,432 at the Maracanã Stadium
- Aug 19 Great Britain upsets the heavily favoured Netherlands to win the women's field hockey gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after drawing 3-3 in regulation time; win dramatic penalty shootout, 2-0
- Aug 19 Kiley Neushul scores 3 goals as the US women's water polo team routs Italy 12-5 to win the gold medal in Rio de Janeiro and retain their Olympic title
- Aug 19 Tajikistan's Dilshod Nazarov throws 78.68m to win the men's hammer throw gold medal the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; first gold medal for Tajikistan in Olympic history
- Aug 19 Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya goes one better than her London silver medal when she wins women's 5,000m at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; runs Olympic record time of 14:26.17
- Aug 20 4 women's high jump competitors tie at clearing winning height 1.97m at the Rio Olympics; all then fail at 2.00m; Ruth Beitia of Spain wins the gold based on having no misses prior to bar being raised to 2.00m
- Aug 20 Canoeists Max Rendschmidt and Marcus Gross part of winning German crew in K-4 100m at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; wrap up K-2 / K-4 1,000m double
- Aug 20 Chinese diver Chen Aisen does the Olympic 10m platform double in Rio de Janeiro; having already won the synchronised event, he wins the individual gold by a comfortable margin
- Aug 20 Controversial South African middle distance runner Caster Semenya retains her Olympic women's 800m title in a time of 1:55.28 in the final in Rio de Janeiro
- Aug 20 German canoeist Sebastian Brendel teams with Jan Vandrey to win the C-2 1,000m at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; wraps up C-1 / C-2 1,000m double
- Aug 20 In a blanket finish American triathlete Gwen Jorgensen takes the Olympic gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 1:56.16; 0.40 ahead of Nicola Spirig Hug of Switzerland, and Great Britain's Vicky Holland by 0:45
- Aug 20 Rio de Janeiro Olympics: team sports - China beats Serbia, 3-1 for the women's indoor volleyball gold; in the men's water polo final, Serbia downs Croatia, 11-7 for first Olympic title
Olympic Gold
Aug 20 South Korean golfer Inbee Park wins the inaugural Olympic women's individual gold with a final score of 16 under par in Rio de Janeiro; Lydia Ko (New Zealand) 11 under par; Shanshan Feng (China) 10 under par
- Aug 20 Star British runner Mo Farah wins the men's 5,000m in 13:03.30 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; wraps up 5k/10k double which he also completed in London 2012
- Aug 20 Suicide bombing in Turkish city Gaziantep during a wedding party kills at least 51
- Aug 20 The Hungarian crew wins canoe sprint K-4 500m at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Danuta Kozák becomes the only female to win K1, K2 and K4 at the same Olympics
- Aug 21 Brazil takes 3rd Olympic men's indoor volleyball gold medal at the Rio Games with 25–22, 28–26, 26–24 win over Italy
Olympic Gold
Aug 21 Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge wins the Olympic men's marathon gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games in a time of 2:08.44; Feyisa Lilesa (Ethiopia) second in 2:09:54, and Galen Rupp (US) third in 2:10:05
Olympic Gold
Aug 21 Kevin Durant scores 30 as the US retains the Olympic men's basketball title with a comfortable 96-66 win over Serbia at the Rio de Janeiro Games
- Aug 24 6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes central Italy, north east of Rome, killing 268, injuring 400
- Aug 24 Astronomers announce discovery of earth-like planet named Proxima b orbiting star Proxima Centauri
- Aug 28 Canadian Open Women's Golf, Priddis Green CC: Ariya Jutanugam of Thailand wins by 4 from Kim Sei-young of South Korea
- Aug 29 Italian coastguard says 6,500 migrants rescued at sea in 40 separate incidents in 1 day off coast of Sabratha, Libya
Event of Interest
Aug 31 Brazilian Senate votes to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, removing her from office
Famous Weddings
- Aug 12 Singer-songwriter Ray J (35) weds Princess Love at the Vibiana in Los Angeles
Kevin Hart
Aug 13 Comedian Kevin Hart (37) weds Eniko Parrish near Santa Barbara, California
- Aug 20 Olympic figure skater Sasha Cohen (31) weds Tom May in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
- Aug 20 Stand-up comedian Chris Hardwick (31) weds actress Lydia Hearst (44) in Pasadena, California
Famous Divorces
Chris Rock
Aug 22 American actor and comedian Chris Rock (31) divorces founder and executive director of StyleWorks Malaak Compton-Rock, after 19 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Aug 1 Franciszek Macharski, Polish Cardinal, Archbishop of Kraków (1978-2005), dies at 87
- Aug 1 Queen Anne of Romania [Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma], wife of Michael I King of Romania, dies at 92
- Aug 2 Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist, (Nobel Prize 1999), dies at 70
- Aug 2 David Huddleston, American actor (The Big Lebowski), dies at 85
- Aug 2 Forbes Carlile, Australian athlete and influential swimming coach, dies at 95
- Aug 3 Chris Amon, New Zealand Formula 1 racer, dies at 73
- Aug 3 Matt Higgins Doran, American composer (Roland the Minstrel Pig; Faculty Meeting), pedagogue (St. Mary's College), and magician, dies at 94
- Aug 4 Patrice Munsel [Munsil], American operatic soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1943-58; Patrice Munsel Show), dies at 91
- Aug 6 Helen Delich Bentley, American politician (Rep-R-MD, 1985-950), dies at 92
- Aug 6 Pete Fountain [Pierre LaFontaine], American jazz and Dixieland clarinetist (Lawrence Welk, 1957-59), dies at 86
- Aug 8 Doris Bohrer [Sharrar], American WWII spy, dies at 93
- Aug 8 Edward Daly, Irish Bishop "Bloody Sunday" priest, dies at 82
- Aug 9 Bob Kiley, American public transit specialist (New York, London), dies at 80
- Aug 9 Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, British peer and its 3rd richest Britain, dies at 64
Hanif Mohammad (1934-2016)
Aug 11 Pakistani cricket batsman (55 Tests; longest Test innings in history at 16 hours, 337 v WI 1958; 12 x 100), dies at 81
- Aug 13 Françoise Mallet-Joris, Belgian writer (Signs & Wonders), dies at 86
- Aug 13 Kenny Baker, English actor (R2-D2 in Star Wars, Time Bandits), dies at 81
- Aug 13 Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian Hindu spiritual leader (BAPS), dies at 94
- Aug 14 Hermann Kant, German writer, dies at 90
- Aug 14 Neil Black, British oboist, and educator, dies at 84
- Aug 14 Philip "Fyvush" Finkel, American actor (Boston Public, Picket Fences), dies at 93
- Aug 15 Bobby Hutcherson, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player ("Little B's Poem"; SFJAZZ Collective), dies of emphysema at 75
- Aug 16 João Havelange, Brazilian industrialist and FIFA President 1974-98, dies at 100
- Aug 16 John McLaughlin, American TV commentator (McLaughlin Group) and Nixon aide, dies at 89
- Aug 17 Arthur Hiller, Canadian director (Love Story), dies at 92
- Aug 19 Donald Henderson, American epidemiologist, led world campaign that eradicated smallpox, dies at 82
- Aug 19 Jack Riley, American actor (The Bob Newhart Show - "Mr. Carlin"; Rugrats -"Stu Pickles"), dies of pneumonia at 80
- Aug 19 Nina Ponomaryova, Russian athlete (Olympic gold USSR discus 1952, 60; bronze 1956), dies at 87
- Aug 20 Brian Rix [Lord Rix], British actor and activist (Mencap), dies at 92
- Aug 20 Irving Fields [Yitzhak Schwartz], American lounge pianist and composer (Ilona Massey Show; Bagels & Bongos), dies at 101
- Aug 20 Matt Roberts, American rock guitarist (3 Doors Down - "When I'm Gone"), dies of prescription drug overdose at 38
- Aug 22 (Jean-Baptiste) "Toots" Thielemans, Belgian-American jazz harmonica player, guitarist, whistler, and composer, dies at 94
- Aug 22 Roberto Cassan, Italian-American jazz and folk accordionist, dies of a heart attack at 53
- Aug 22 S. R. [Sellapan Ramanathan] Nathan, 6th President of Singapore (1999-2011), dies at 92
- Aug 23 Reinhard Selten, German economist (Nobel Prize 1994), dies at 85
- Aug 23 Steven Hill, American actor (Mission Impossible, Law & Order), dies at 94
- Aug 24 Michel Butor, French novelist and essayist (La Modification), dies at 89
- Aug 24 Roger Tsien, American chemist (Nobel Prize 2008, green fluorescent variants), dies at 64
- Aug 24 Walter Scheel, German politician, West German Foreign Minister and President, dies at 97
- Aug 25 James Cronin, American nuclear physicist (Physics Nobel Prize, 1980), dies at 84
- Aug 25 Marvin Kaplan, American character and voice actor (Top Cat - "Choo Choo"; Alice - "Henry"), dies at 89
- Aug 25 Rudy Van Gelder, American recording engineer (Miles Davis, John Coltrane), dies at 91
- Aug 25 Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer, dies at 86
- Aug 28 Juan Gabriel [Alberto Aguilera Valadez], Mexican singer,-songwriter dies of a heart attack at 66
Gene Wilder (1933-2016)
Aug 29 American actor (Blazing Saddles; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Silver Streak; Young Frankenstein), dies at 83
