August 11

Pre-1600

 * 3114 BC – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins.
 * 2492 BC – Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation.
 * 106 – The south-western part of Dacia (modern Romania) becomes a Roman province: Roman Dacia.
 * 117 – Hadrian is proclaimed Roman emperor, two days after Trajan's death.
 * 355 – Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor against Constantius II.
 * 490 – Battle of Adda: The Goths under Theodoric the Great and his ally Alaric II defeat the forces of Odoacer on the Adda River, near Milan.
 * 923 – The Qarmatians of Bahrayn capture and pillage the city of Basra.
 * 1315 – The Great Famine of Europe becomes so dire that even the king of England has difficulties buying bread for himself and his entourage.
 * 1332 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Dupplin Moor: Scots under Domhnall II, Earl of Mar are routed by Edward Balliol.
 * 1473 – The Battle of Otlukbeli: Mehmed the Conqueror of the Ottoman Empire decisively defeats Uzun Hassan of Aq Qoyunlu.
 * 1492 – Rodrigo de Borja is elected as Head of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Alexander VI.

1601–1900

 * 1675 – Franco-Dutch War: Forces of the Holy Roman Empire defeat the French in the Battle of Konzer Brücke.
 * 1685 – Morean War: The 49-day Siege of Coron ends with the surrender and massacre of its garrison by the Venetians.
 * 1786 – Captain Francis Light establishes the British colony of Penang in Malaysia.
 * 1804 – Francis II assumes the title of first Emperor of Austria.
 * 1812 – Peninsular War: French troops engage British-Portuguese forces in the Battle of Majadahonda.
 * 1813 – In Colombia, Juan del Corral declares the independence of Antioquia.
 * 1858 – The Eiger in the Bernese Alps is ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.
 * 1871 – An explosion of guncotton occurs in Stowmarket, England, killing 28.
 * 1898 – Spanish–American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

1901–present

 * 1918 – World War I: The Battle of Amiens ends.
 * 1919 – Germany's Weimar Constitution is signed into law.
 * 1920 – The 1920 Cork hunger strike begins which eventually results in the deaths of three Irish Republicans including the Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney.
 * 1920  – The Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty, which relinquished Russia's authority and pretenses to Latvia, is signed, ending the Latvian War of Independence.
 * 1929 – Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
 * 1934 – The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island.
 * 1942 – Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a Frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones, two-way radio communications, and Wi-Fi.
 * 1945 – Poles in Kraków engage in a pogrom against Jews in the city, killing one and wounding five.
 * 1952 – Hussein bin Talal is proclaimed King of Jordan.
 * 1959 – Sheremetyevo International Airport, the second-largest airport in Russia, opens.
 * 1960 – Chad declares independence from France.
 * 1961 – The former Portuguese territories in India of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are merged to create the Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
 * 1962 – Vostok 3 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev becomes the first person to float in microgravity.
 * 1965 – Race riots (the Watts Riots) begin in the Watts area of Los Angeles, California.
 * 1969 – The Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine following their liftoff from the Moon.
 * 1972 – Vietnam War: The last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam.
 * 1975 – East Timor: Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.
 * 1979 – Two Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134s collide over the Ukrainian city of Dniprodzerzhynsk and crash, killing all 178 aboard both airliners.
 * 1982 – A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, killing one passenger and injuring 15 others.
 * 1984 – "We begin bombing in five minutes": United States President Ronald Reagan, while running for re-election, jokes while preparing to make his weekly Saturday address on National Public Radio.
 * 1988 – A meeting between Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, and leaders of Egyptian Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan culminates in the formation of Al-Qaeda.
 * 1991 – Nickelodeon's first line of “Nicktoons” (Doug, Rugrats & Ren & Stimpy) premiere on the channel.
 * 1992 – The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota opens. At the time the largest shopping mall in the United States.
 * 2000 – An air rage incident occurs on board Southwest Airlines Flight 1763 when 19-year-old Jonathan Burton attempts to storm the cockpit, but he is subdued by other passengers and dies from his injuries.
 * 2003 – NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
 * 2003  – Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.
 * 2006 – The oil tanker MT Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country's worst oil spill.
 * 2012 – At least 306 people are killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.
 * 2017 – At least 41 people are killed and another 179 injured after two passenger trains collide in Alexandria, Egypt.
 * 2023 – Luna 25 launches from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

Pre-1600

 * 1086 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1125)
 * 1384 – Yolande of Aragon (d. 1442)
 * 1472 – Nikolaus von Schönberg, Catholic cardinal (d. 1537)
 * 1510 – Margaret Paleologa, Sovereign Marchioness of Montferrat (d. 1566)

1601–1900

 * 1673 – Richard Mead, English physician and astrologer (d. 1754)
 * 1718 – Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-English general and politician, 22nd Governor of Quebec (d. 1791)
 * 1722 – Richard Brocklesby, English physician (d. 1797)
 * 1748 – Joseph Schuster, German composer (d. 1812)
 * 1778 – Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, Prussian gymnast, educator, and politician (d. 1852)
 * 1794 – James B. Longacre, American engraver (d. 1869)
 * 1807 – David Rice Atchison, American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1886)
 * 1808 – William W. Chapman, American lawyer and politician (d. 1892)
 * 1816 – Frederick Innes, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1882)
 * 1833 – Robert G. Ingersoll, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 1899)
 * 1833  – Kido Takayoshi, Japanese samurai and politician (d. 1877)
 * 1836 – Warren Brown, American historian and politician (d. 1919)
 * 1837 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French engineer and politician, 4th President of the French Republic (d. 1894)
 * 1855 – John Hodges, Australian cricketer (d. 1933)
 * 1858 – Christiaan Eijkman, Dutch physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1930)
 * 1860 – Ottó Bláthy, Hungarian engineer and chess player (d. 1939)
 * 1870 – Tom Richardson, English cricketer (d. 1912)
 * 1874 – Princess Louise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg (d. 1953)
 * 1877 – Adolph M. Christianson, American lawyer and judge (d. 1954)
 * 1878 – Oliver W. F. Lodge, English poet and author (d. 1955)
 * 1881 – Aleksander Aberg, Estonian wrestler (d. 1920)
 * 1884 – Hermann Wlach, Austrian-Swiss actor (d. 1962)
 * 1885 – Stephen Butterworth, English physicist and engineer (d. 1958)
 * 1891 – Stancho Belkovski, Bulgarian architect and educator (d. 1962)
 * 1891  – Edgar Zilsel, Austrian historian and philosopher of science, linked to the Vienna Circle (d. 1944)
 * 1892 – Hugh MacDiarmid, Scottish poet and linguist (d. 1978)
 * 1892  – Eiji Yoshikawa, Japanese author (d. 1962)
 * 1897 – Enid Blyton, English author, poet, and educator (d. 1968)
 * 1897  – Louise Bogan, American poet and critic (d. 1970)
 * 1898 – Peter Mohr Dam, Faroese educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1968)
 * 1900 – Charley Paddock, American sprinter (d. 1943)
 * 1900  – Philip Phillips, American archaeologist and scholar (d. 1994)

1901–present

 * 1902 – Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (d. 1986)
 * 1902  – Lloyd Nolan, American actor (d. 1985)
 * 1902  – Christian de Castries, French general (d. 1991)
 * 1905 – Erwin Chargaff, Austrian-American biochemist and academic (d. 2002)
 * 1905  – Ernst Jaakson, Estonian diplomat (d. 1998)
 * 1907 – Ted a'Beckett, Australian cricketer and lawyer (d. 1989)
 * 1908 – Don Freeman, American author and illustrator (d. 1978)
 * 1908  – Torgny T:son Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (d. 1999)
 * 1909 – Yūji Koseki, Japanese composer (d. 1989)
 * 1909  – Uku Masing, Estonian philosopher and theologian (d. 1985)
 * 1911 – Thanom Kittikachorn, Thai field marshal and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Thailand (d. 2004)
 * 1912 – Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs, German astronomer and academic (d. 1954)
 * 1912  – Raphael Blau, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1996)
 * 1913 – Paul Dupuis, Canadian actor (d. 1976)
 * 1913  – Bob Scheffing, American baseball player and manager (d. 1985)
 * 1913  – Angus Wilson, English author and academic (d. 1991)
 * 1915 – Morris Weiss, American author and illustrator (d. 2014)
 * 1916 – Johnny Claes, English-Belgian race car driver and trumpet player (d. 1956)
 * 1919 – Luis Olmo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and manager (d. 2017)
 * 1920 – Mike Douglas, American singer and talk show host (d. 2006)
 * 1920  – Chuck Rayner, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2002)
 * 1921 – Alex Haley, American historian and author (d. 1992)
 * 1922 – John "Mule" Miles, American baseball player (d. 2013)
 * 1923 – Stan Chambers, American journalist and actor (d. 2015)
 * 1925 – Floyd Curry, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2006)
 * 1925  – Arlene Dahl, American actress, businesswoman and writer (d. 2021)
 * 1926 – Aaron Klug, Lithuanian-English chemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
 * 1927 – Raymond Leppard, English harpsichord player and conductor (d. 2019)
 * 1927  – Stuart Rosenberg, American director and producer (d. 2007)
 * 1932 – Fernando Arrabal, Spanish actor, director, and playwright
 * 1932  – Izzy Asper, Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician, founded Canwest (d. 2003)
 * 1932  – Geoffrey Cass, English businessman
 * 1932  – Peter Eisenman, American architect, designed the City of Culture of Galicia
 * 1932  – John Gorrie, English director and screenwriter
 * 1933 – Jerry Falwell, American minister and television host (d. 2007)
 * 1933  – Jerzy Grotowski, Polish director and producer (d. 1999)
 * 1933  – Tamás Vásáry, Hungarian pianist and conductor
 * 1934 – Bob Hepple, South African lawyer and academic (d. 2015)
 * 1936 – Andre Dubus, American short story writer, essayist, and memoirist (d. 1999)
 * 1936  – Bill Monbouquette, American baseball player and coach (d. 2015)
 * 1936  – Jonathan Spence, English-American historian and academic (d. 2021)
 * 1937 – Anna Massey, English actress (d. 2011)
 * 1937  – Patrick Joseph McGovern, American businessman, founded International Data Group (d. 2014)
 * 1939 – James Mancham, first President of Seychelles (d. 2017)
 * 1939  – Ronnie Dawson, American singer and guitarist (d. 2003)
 * 1940 – Glenys Page, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2012)
 * 1941 – John Ellison, American-Canadian musician and songwriter
 * 1942 – Mike Hugg, English drummer and keyboard player
 * 1942  – Otis Taylor, American football player (d. 2023)
 * 1943 – Jim Kale, Canadian bass player
 * 1943  – Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani general and politician, 10th President of Pakistan (d. 2023)
 * 1943  – Denis Payton, English saxophonist (d. 2006)
 * 1944 – Martin Linton, Swedish-English journalist and politician
 * 1944  – Frederick W. Smith, American businessman, founded FedEx
 * 1944  – Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
 * 1946 – John Conlee, American singer-songwriter
 * 1946  – Marilyn vos Savant, American journalist and author
 * 1947 – Theo de Jong, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
 * 1947  – Georgios Karatzaferis, Greek journalist and politician
 * 1947  – Wilma van den Berg, Dutch sprinter
 * 1948 – Don Boyd, Scottish director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1949 – Eric Carmen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2024)
 * 1949  – Tim Hutchinson, American lawyer and politician
 * 1949  – Ian Charleson, Scottish-English actor and singer (d. 1990)
 * 1950 – Erik Brann, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
 * 1950  – Gennadiy Nikonov, Russian engineer, designed the AN-94 rifle (d. 2003)
 * 1950  – Steve Wozniak, American computer scientist and programmer, co-founded Apple Inc.
 * 1952 – Reid Blackburn, American photographer (d. 1980)
 * 1952  – Bob Mothersbaugh, American singer, guitarist, and producer
 * 1953 – Hulk Hogan, American wrestler
 * 1953  – Wijda Mazereeuw, Dutch swimmer
 * 1954 – Bryan Bassett, American guitarist
 * 1954  – Vance Heafner, American golfer and coach (d. 2012)
 * 1954  – Joe Jackson, English singer-songwriter and musician
 * 1954  – Tarmo Rüütli, Estonian footballer, coach, and manager
 * 1954  – Yashpal Sharma, Indian cricketer and umpire (d. 2021)
 * 1955 – Marc Bureau, Canadian politician, 16th Mayor of Gatineau
 * 1955  – Sylvia Hermon, Northern Irish academic and politician
 * 1956 – Pierre-Louis Lions, French mathematician and academic
 * 1957 – Ian Stuart Donaldson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1993)
 * 1957 – Masayoshi Son, Japanese technology entrepreneur and investor
 * 1958 – Steven Pokere, New Zealand rugby player
 * 1958  – Jah Wobble, English singer-songwriter and bass player
 * 1959 – Gustavo Cerati, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2014)
 * 1959  – Yoshiaki Murakami, Japanese businessman
 * 1959  – Taraki Sivaram, Sri Lankan journalist and author (d. 2005)
 * 1959  – Richard Scudamore, English businessman
 * 1959  – László Szlávics, Jr., Hungarian sculptor
 * 1961 – David Brooks, American journalist and author
 * 1961  – Craig Ehlo, American basketball player and coach
 * 1962 – Brian Azzarello, American author
 * 1962  – Charles Cecil, English video game designer and co-founded Revolution Software
 * 1962  – John Micklethwait, English journalist and author
 * 1962  – Rob Minkoff, American director and producer
 * 1963 – Hiromi Makihara, Japanese baseball player
 * 1964 – Jim Lee, South Korean-American author and illustrator
 * 1964  – Grant Waite, New Zealand golfer
 * 1965 – Marc Bergevin, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
 * 1965  – Embeth Davidtz, American actress
 * 1965  – Viola Davis, American actress
 * 1966 – Nigel Martyn, English footballer and coach
 * 1966  – Juan María Solare, Argentinian pianist and composer
 * 1967 – Massimiliano Allegri, Italian footballer and manager
 * 1967  – Enrique Bunbury, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1967  – Joe Rogan, American actor, comedian, and television host
 * 1967  – Petter Wettre, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
 * 1968 – Anna Gunn, American actress
 * 1968  – Sophie Okonedo, British actress
 * 1968  – Charlie Sexton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1970 – Dirk Hannemann, German footballer and manager
 * 1970  – Gianluca Pessotto, Italian footballer
 * 1971 – Alejandra Barros, Mexican actress and screenwriter
 * 1971  – Tommy Mooney, English footballer
 * 1973 – Kristin Armstrong, American cyclist
 * 1974 – Marie-France Dubreuil, Canadian figure skater
 * 1974  – Hadiqa Kiani, Pakistani singer, songwriter and philanthropist
 * 1974  – Audrey Mestre, French biologist and diver (d. 2002)
 * 1974  – Carolyn Murphy, American model and actress
 * 1975 – Chris Cummings, Canadian singer-songwriter
 * 1976 – Iván Córdoba, Colombian footballer and manager
 * 1976  – Bubba Crosby, American baseball player
 * 1976  – Will Friedle, American actor and screenwriter
 * 1976  – Ben Gibbard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1976  – Ľubomír Višňovský, Slovak ice hockey player
 * 1977 – Gemma Hayes, Irish singer-songwriter
 * 1977  – Dênio Martins, Brazilian footballer
 * 1978 – Spyros Gogolos, Greek footballer
 * 1978  – Charlotte Leslie, British politician
 * 1978  – Lillian Nakate, Ugandan politician
 * 1978  – Isy Suttie, English comedian, musician, actress, and writer
 * 1979 – Walter Ayoví, Ecuadorian footballer
 * 1980 – Daniel Lloyd, English cyclist and sportscaster
 * 1980  – Lee Suggs, American football player
 * 1981 – Daniel Poohl, Swedish journalist
 * 1982 – Andy Lee, American football player
 * 1983 – Chris Hemsworth, Australian actor
 * 1983  – Luke Lewis, Australian rugby league player
 * 1983  – Pavel 183, Russian painter (d. 2013)
 * 1984 – Mojtaba Abedini, Iranian Olympic fencer
 * 1984  – Melky Cabrera, Dominican baseball player
 * 1984  – Lucas di Grassi, Brazilian race car driver
 * 1985 – Jacqueline Fernandez, Bahraini–Sri Lankan actress
 * 1985  – Asher Roth, American rapper
 * 1986 – Mokhtar Benmoussa, Algerian footballer
 * 1986  – Hélène Defrance, French sailor
 * 1986  – Pablo Sandoval, Venezuelan baseball player
 * 1987 – Dany N'Guessan, French footballer
 * 1987  – Drew Storen, American baseball player
 * 1988 – Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Filipino basketball player
 * 1988  – Patty Mills, Australian basketball player
 * 1988  – Mustafa Pektemek, Turkish footballer
 * 1989 – Junior Heffernan, Irish cyclist and triathlete (d. 2013)
 * 1989  – Sebastian Huke, German footballer
 * 1990 – Lenka Juríková, Slovak tennis player
 * 1991 – Cristian Tello, Spanish footballer
 * 1992 – Tomi Lahren, American conservative political commentator
 * 1993 – Alyson Stoner, American actor, singer, and dancer
 * 1994 – Storm Sanders, Australian tennis player
 * 1994 – Anton Cooper, New Zealand cross-country cyclist
 * 1994 – Joseph Barbato, French footballer
 * 1994 – Song I-han, South Korean singer
 * 1995 – Brad Binder, South African motorcycle racer
 * 1997 – Sarah Clelland, Scottish footballer
 * 1999 – Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Indonesian badminton player
 * 2001 – Moyuka Uchijima, Japanese tennis player

Pre-1600

 * 223 – Jia Xu, Chinese politician and strategist (b. 147)
 * 353 – Magnentius, Roman usurper (b. 303)
 * 449 – Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople
 * 632 – Rusticula, abbess of Arles
 * 919 – Dhuka al-Rumi, Abbasid governor of Egypt
 * 979 – Gero, Count of Alsleben
 * 991 – Byrhtnoth, English soldier (b. 956)
 * 1044 – Sokkate, king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (b. 1001)
 * 1204 – Guttorm of Norway (b. 1199)
 * 1253 – Clare of Assisi, Italian follower of Francis of Assisi (b. 1194)
 * 1259 – Möngke Khan, Mongolian emperor (b. 1208)
 * 1268 – Agnes of Faucigny, Dame ruler of Faucigny, Countess consort of Savoy
 * 1332 – Domhnall II, Earl of Mar
 * 1332  – Robert II Keith, Marischal of Scotland
 * 1332  – Thomas Randolph, 2nd Earl of Moray
 * 1332  – Murdoch III, Earl of Menteith
 * 1332  – Robert Bruce, Lord of Liddesdale
 * 1456 – John Hunyadi, Hungarian general and politician (b. 1387)
 * 1464 – Nicholas of Cusa, German cardinal and mystic (b. 1401)
 * 1465 – Kettil Karlsson, regent of Sweden and Bishop of Linköping (b. 1433)
 * 1486 – William Waynflete, English Lord Chancellor and bishop of Winchester (b. c. 1398)
 * 1494 – Hans Memling, German-Belgian painter (b. 1430)
 * 1519 – Johann Tetzel, German preacher (b. 1465)
 * 1556 – John Bell, English bishop
 * 1563 – Bartolomé de Escobedo, Spanish composer and educator (b. 1500)
 * 1578 – Pedro Nunes, Portuguese mathematician and academic (b. 1502)
 * 1596 – Hamnet Shakespeare, son of William Shakespeare (b. 1585)

1601–1900

 * 1614 – Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter (b. 1552)
 * 1656 – Ottavio Piccolomini, Austrian-Italian field marshal (b. 1599)
 * 1725 – Prince Vittorio Amedeo Theodore of Savoy (b. 1723)
 * 1774 – Charles-François Tiphaigne de la Roche, French physician and author (b. 1722)
 * 1813 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (b. 1745)
 * 1851 – Lorenz Oken, German botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (b. 1779)
 * 1854 – Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1798)
 * 1868 – Halfdan Kjerulf, Norwegian pianist and composer (b. 1815)
 * 1886 – Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet and playwright (b. 1843)
 * 1890 – John Henry Newman, English cardinal and theologian (b. 1801)
 * 1892 – Enrico Betti, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1813)

1901–present

 * 1903 – Eugenio María de Hostos, Puerto Rican-American sociologist, philosopher, and lawyer (b. 1839)
 * 1908 – Khudiram Bose, Indian Bengali revolutionary (b. 1889)
 * 1919 – Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Carnegie Steel Company and Carnegie Hall (b. 1835)
 * 1921 – Mary Sumner, English philanthropist, founded the Mothers' Union (b. 1828)
 * 1936 – Blas Infante, Spanish historian and politician (b. 1885)
 * 1937 – Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1862)
 * 1939 – Jean Bugatti, German-Italian engineer (b. 1909)
 * 1939  – Siegfried Flesch, Austrian fencer (b. 1872)
 * 1945 – Stefan Jaracz, Polish actor and theater producer (b. 1883)
 * 1953 – Tazio Nuvolari, Italian race car driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1892)
 * 1956 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (b. 1912)
 * 1961 – Antanas Škėma, Lithuanian-American author, playwright, actor, and director (b. 1910)
 * 1963 – Otto Wahle, Austrian-American swimmer and coach (b. 1879)
 * 1965 – Bill Woodfull, Australian cricketer and educator (b. 1897)
 * 1969 – Miriam Licette, English soprano and educator (b. 1885)
 * 1972 – Max Theiler, South African-American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
 * 1974 – Vicente Emilio Sojo, Venezuelan conductor and composer (b. 1887)
 * 1977 – Frederic Calland Williams, British co-inventor of the Williams-Kilborn tube, used for memory in early computer systems (b. 1911)
 * 1978 – Berta Ruck, Indian-born Welsh romance novelist (b. 1878)
 * 1979 – J. G. Farrell, English author (b. 1935)
 * 1980 – Paul Robert, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1910)
 * 1982 – Tom Drake, American actor and singer (b. 1918)
 * 1984 – Alfred A. Knopf Sr., American publisher, founded Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (b. 1892)
 * 1984  – Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–American chemist and chess player (b. 1916)
 * 1986 – János Drapál, Hungarian motorcycle racer (b. 1948)
 * 1988 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (b. 1929)
 * 1989 – John Meillon, Australian actor (b. 1934)
 * 1991 – J. D. McDuffie, American race car driver (b. 1938)
 * 1994 – Peter Cushing, English actor (b. 1913)
 * 1995 – Phil Harris, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1904)
 * 1996 – Rafael Kubelík, Czech conductor and composer (b. 1914)
 * 1996  – Ambrosio Padilla, Filipino basketball player and politician (b. 1910)
 * 2000 – Jean Papineau-Couture, Canadian composer and academic (b. 1916)
 * 2001 – Percy Stallard, English cyclist and coach (b. 1909)
 * 2002 – Galen Rowell, American photographer and mountaineer (b. 1940)
 * 2003 – Armand Borel, Swiss-American mathematician and academic (b. 1923)
 * 2003  – Herb Brooks, American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1937)
 * 2006 – Mike Douglas, American singer and talk show host (b. 1920)
 * 2008 – George Furth, American actor and playwright (b. 1932)
 * 2008  – Dursun Karataş, founding leader of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP-C) in Turkey (b. 1952)
 * 2009 – Eunice Kennedy Shriver, American activist, founded the Special Olympics (b. 1921)
 * 2010 – James Mourilyan Tanner, British paediatric endocrinologist (b. 1920)
 * 2012 – Red Bastien, American wrestler, trainer, and promoter (b. 1931)
 * 2012  – Michael Dokes, American boxer (b. 1958)
 * 2012  – Lucy Gallardo, Argentinian-Mexican actress and screenwriter (b. 1929)
 * 2013 – Raymond Delisle, French cyclist (b. 1943)
 * 2013  – Zafar Futehally, Indian ornithologist and author (b. 1919)
 * 2013  – David Howard, English ballet dancer and educator (b. 1937)
 * 2014 – Vladimir Beara, Croatian footballer and manager (b. 1928)
 * 2014  – Raymond Gravel, Canadian priest and politician (b. 1952)
 * 2014  – Kika Szaszkiewiczowa, Polish author and blogger (b. 1917)
 * 2014  – Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (b. 1951)
 * 2015 – Serge Collot, French viola player and educator (b. 1923)
 * 2015  – Harald Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1941)
 * 2015  – Richard Oriani, Salvadoran-American metallurgist and engineer (b. 1920)
 * 2017 – Yisrael Kristal, Polish-Israeli supercentenarian; oldest living Holocaust survivor and one of the ten oldest men ever (b. 1903)
 * 2017  – Segun Bucknor, Nigerian musician and journalist (b. 1946)
 * 2018 – V S Naipaul, British writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1932)
 * 2019 – Sergio Obeso Rivera, Mexican Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1931)
 * 2020 – Trini Lopez, American singer and guitarist (b. 1937)
 * 2020  – Sumner Redstone, American billionaire businessman (b. 1923)
 * 2022 – Anne Heche, American actress (b. 1969)
 * 2022  – Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer (b. 1926)
 * 2023 – Mike Ahern, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Queensland (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian Feast Day:
 * Athracht
 * Clare of Assisi
 * Gaugericus
 * John Henry Newman (Church of England)
 * Philomena
 * Susanna
 * Taurinus of Évreux
 * Tiburtius and Chromatius
 * August 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Flag Day (Pakistan)
 * Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Chad from France in 1960.
 * Mountain Day (Japan)