August 2

Pre-1600

 * 338 BC – A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean.
 * 216 BC – The Carthaginian army led by Hannibal defeats a numerically superior Roman army at the Battle of Cannae.
 * 49 BC – Caesar, who marched to Spain earlier in the year leaving Marcus Antonius in charge of Italy, defeats Pompey's general Afranius and Petreius in Ilerda (Lerida) north of the Ebro river.
 * 461 – Majorian is arrested near Tortona (northern Italy) and deposed by the Suebian general Ricimer as puppet emperor.
 * 932 – After a two-year siege, the city of Toledo, in Spain, surrenders to the forces of the Caliph of Córdoba Abd al-Rahman III, assuming an important victory in his campaign to subjugate the Central March.
 * 1274 – Edward I of England returns from the Ninth Crusade and is crowned King seventeen days later.
 * 1343 – After the execution of her husband, Jeanne de Clisson sells her estates and raises a force of men with which to attack French shipping and ports.
 * 1377 – Russian troops are defeated by forces of the Blue Horde Khan Arapsha in the Battle on Pyana River.
 * 1415 – Thomas Grey is executed for participating in the Southampton Plot.
 * 1492 – The Jews are expelled from Spain: 40,000–200,000 leave. Sultan Bayezid II of the Ottoman Empire, learning of this, dispatches the Ottoman Navy to bring the Jews safely to Ottoman lands, mainly to the cities of Thessaloniki (in modern-day Greece) and İzmir (in modern-day Turkey).

1601–1900

 * 1610 – During Henry Hudson's search for the Northwest Passage, he sails into what is now known as Hudson Bay.
 * 1776 – The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence took place.
 * 1790 – The first United States Census is conducted.
 * 1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: The Battle of the Nile concludes in a British victory.
 * 1830 – Charles X of France abdicates the throne in favor of his grandson Henri.
 * 1858 – The Government of India Act 1858 replaces Company rule in India with that of the British Raj.
 * 1869 – Japan's Edo society class system is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms.
 * 1870 – Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London, England, United Kingdom.
 * 1873 – The Clay Street Hill Railroad begins operating the first cable car in San Francisco's famous cable car system.
 * 1897 – Anglo-Afghan War: The Siege of Malakand ends when a relief column is able to reach the British garrison in the Malakand states.

1901–present

 * 1903 – The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottoman Empire begins.
 * 1914 – The German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I begins.
 * 1916 – World War I: Austrian sabotage causes the sinking of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto.
 * 1918 – The first general strike in Canadian history takes place in Vancouver.
 * 1922 – A typhoon hits Shantou, Republic of China, killing more than 50,000 people.
 * 1923 – Vice President Calvin Coolidge becomes U.S. President upon the death of President Warren G. Harding.
 * 1932 – The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson.
 * 1934 – Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg.
 * 1937 – The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, the effect of which is to render marijuana and all its by-products illegal.
 * 1939 – Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.
 * 1943 – The Holocaust: Jewish prisoners stage a revolt at Treblinka, one of the deadliest of Nazi death camps where approximately 900,000 persons were murdered in less than 18 months.
 * 1943  – World War II: The Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 is rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri and sinks. Lt. John F. Kennedy, future U.S. president, saves all but two of his crew.
 * 1944 – ASNOM: Birth of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, celebrated as Day of the Republic in North Macedonia.
 * 1944  – World War II: The largest trade convoy of the world wars arrives safely in the Western Approaches.
 * 1945 – World War II: End of the Potsdam Conference.
 * 1947 – A British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian airliner crashes into a mountain during a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile. The wreckage would not be found until 1998.
 * 1968 – An earthquake hits Casiguran, Aurora, Philippines killing more than 270 people and wounding 261.
 * 1973 – A flash fire kills 50 people at the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man.
 * 1980 – A bomb explodes at the railway station in Bologna, Italy, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200.
 * 1982 – The Helsinki Metro, the first rapid transit system of Finland, is opened to the general public.
 * 1985 – Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, crashes at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport killing 137.
 * 1989 – Pakistan is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations after having restored democracy for the first time since 1972.
 * 1989  – A massacre is carried out by an Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 64 ethnic Tamil civilians.
 * 1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War.
 * 1999 – The Gaisal train disaster claims 285 lives in Assam, India.
 * 2005 – Air France Flight 358 lands at Toronto Pearson International Airport and runs off the runway, causing the plane to burst into flames leaving 12 injuries and no fatalities.
 * 2014 – At least 146 people were killed and more than 114 injured in a factory explosion in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China.

Pre-1600

 * 1260 – Kyawswa of Pagan, last ruler of the Pagan Kingdom (d. 1299)
 * 1455 – John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1499)
 * 1533 – Theodor Zwinger, Swiss physician and scholar (d. 1588)
 * 1549 – Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł, Polish nobleman (d. 1616)

1601–1900

 * 1612 – Saskia van Uylenburgh, Dutch model and wife of Rembrandt van Rijn (d. 1642)
 * 1627 – Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten, Dutch painter (d. 1678)
 * 1630 – Estephan El Douaihy, Maronite patriarch (d. 1704)
 * 1646 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral and buccaneer (d. 1715)
 * 1672 – Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, Swiss paleontologist and scholar (d. 1733)
 * 1674 – Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1723)
 * 1696 – Mahmud I, Ottoman sultan (d. 1754)
 * 1702 – Dietrich of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1769)
 * 1703 – Lorenzo Ricci, Italian religious leader, 18th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1775)
 * 1740 – Jean Baptiste Camille Canclaux, French general (d. 1817)
 * 1754 – Pierre Charles L'Enfant, French-American architect and engineer, designed Washington, D.C. (d. 1825)
 * 1788 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist and academic (d. 1853)
 * 1815 – Adolf Friedrich von Schack, German poet and historian (d. 1894)
 * 1820 – John Tyndall, Irish-English physicist and mountaineer (d. 1893)
 * 1828 – Manuel Pavía y Rodríguez de Alburquerque, Spanish general (d. 1895)
 * 1834 – Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, French sculptor, designed the Statue of Liberty (d. 1904)
 * 1835 – Elisha Gray, American businessman, co-founded Western Electric (d. 1901)
 * 1861 – Prafulla Chandra Ray, Indian chemist and academic (d. 1944)
 * 1865 – Irving Babbitt, American academic and critic (d. 1933)
 * 1865  – John Radecki, Australian stained glass artist (d. 1955)
 * 1867 – Ernest Dowson, English poet, novelist, and short story writer (d. 1900)
 * 1868 – Constantine I of Greece (d. 1923)
 * 1870 – Marianne Weber, German sociologist and suffragist (d. 1954)
 * 1871 – John French Sloan, American painter and illustrator (d. 1951)
 * 1872 – George E. Stewart, Australian-American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1946)
 * 1876 – Pingali Venkayya, Indian geologist, designed the Flag of India (d. 1963)
 * 1877 – Ravishankar Shukla, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh (d. 1956)
 * 1878 – Aino Kallas, Finnish-Estonian author (d. 1956)
 * 1880 – Arthur Dove, American painter and educator (d. 1946)
 * 1882 – Red Ames, American baseball player and manager (d. 1936)
 * 1882  – Albert Bloch, American painter and academic (d. 1961)
 * 1884 – Rómulo Gallegos, Venezuelan author and politician, 46th President of Venezuela (d. 1969)
 * 1886 – John Alexander Douglas McCurdy, Canadian pilot and politician, 20th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (d. 1961)
 * 1887 – Oskar Anderson, Bulgarian-German mathematician and statistician (d. 1960)
 * 1889 – Margaret Lawrence, American stage actress (d. 1929)
 * 1891 – Arthur Bliss, English composer and conductor (d. 1975)
 * 1891  – Viktor Zhirmunsky, Russian linguist and historian (d. 1971)
 * 1892 – Jack L. Warner, Canadian-born American production manager and producer, co-founded Warner Bros. (d. 1978)
 * 1894 – Bertha Lutz, Brazilian feminist and scientist (d. 1976)
 * 1895 – Matt Henderson, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1970)
 * 1897 – Karl-Otto Koch, German SS officer (d. 1945)
 * 1897  – Max Weber, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
 * 1898 – Ernő Nagy, Hungarian fencer (d. 1977)
 * 1899 – Charles Bennett, English director and screenwriter (d. 1995)
 * 1900 – Holling C. Holling, American author and illustrator (d. 1973)
 * 1900  – Helen Morgan, American actress and singer (d. 1941)

1901–present

 * 1902 – Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (d. 1971)
 * 1902  – Mina Rees, American mathematician (d. 1997)
 * 1905 – Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer (d. 1963)
 * 1905  – Myrna Loy, American actress (d. 1993)
 * 1905  – Ruth Nelson, American actress (d. 1992)
 * 1907 – Mary Hamman, American journalist and author (d. 1984)
 * 1910 – Roger MacDougall, Scottish director, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
 * 1911 – Ann Dvorak, American actress (d. 1979)
 * 1912 – Palle Huld, Danish actor (d. 2010)
 * 1912  – Håkon Stenstadvold, Norwegian painter, illustrator, and critic (d. 1977)
 * 1912  – Vladimir Žerjavić, Croatian economist and author (d. 2001)
 * 1913 – Xavier Thaninayagam, Sri Lankan scholar and academic (d. 1980)
 * 1914 – Félix Leclerc, Canadian singer-songwriter, actor, and poet (d. 1988)
 * 1914  – Big Walter Price, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2012)
 * 1914  – Beatrice Straight, American actress (d. 2001)
 * 1915 – Gary Merrill, American actor (d. 1990)
 * 1916 – Alfonso A. Ossorio, Filipino-American painter and sculptor (d. 1990)
 * 1917 – Wah Chang, Chinese-American artist and designer (d. 2003)
 * 1919 – Nehemiah Persoff, Israeli-American actor (d. 2022)
 * 1920 – Louis Pauwels, French journalist and author (d. 1997)
 * 1920  – Augustus Rowe, Canadian physician and politician (d. 2013)
 * 1921 – Alan Whicker, Egyptian-English journalist (d. 2013)
 * 1922 – Betsy Bloomingdale, American philanthropist and socialite (d. 2016)
 * 1922  – Geoffrey Dutton, Australian historian and author (d. 1998)
 * 1923 – Shimon Peres, Polish-Israeli lawyer and politician, 9th President of Israel (d. 2016)
 * 1923  – Ike Williams, American boxer (d. 1994)
 * 1924 – James Baldwin, American novelist, poet, and critic (d. 1987)
 * 1924  – Joe Harnell, American pianist and composer (d. 2005)
 * 1924  – Carroll O'Connor, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
 * 1925 – K. Arulanandan, Ceylon-American engineer and academic (d. 2004)
 * 1925  – John Dexter, English director and producer (d. 1990)
 * 1925  – John McCormack, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2017)
 * 1925  – Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentinian general and politician, 43rd President of Argentina (d. 2013)
 * 1927 – Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, English mathematician and academic (d. 2018)
 * 1928 – Malcolm Hilton, English cricketer (d. 1990)
 * 1929 – Roy Crimmins, English trombonist and composer (d. 2014)
 * 1929  – John Gale, English director and producer
 * 1929  – Vidya Charan Shukla, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (d. 2013)
 * 1929  – David Waddington, Baron Waddington, English lawyer and politician, Governor of Bermuda (d. 2017)
 * 1930 – Vali Myers, Australian painter and dancer (d. 2003)
 * 1931 – Pierre DuMaine, American bishop and academic (d. 2019)
 * 1931  – Eddie Fuller, South African cricketer (d. 2008)
 * 1931  – Karl Miller, English journalist and critic (d. 2014)
 * 1931  – Viliam Schrojf, Czech footballer (d. 2007)
 * 1932 – Lamar Hunt, American businessman, co-founded the American Football League and World Championship Tennis (d. 2006)
 * 1932  – Peter O'Toole, British-Irish actor and producer (d. 2013)
 * 1933 – Ioannis Varvitsiotis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of Defence
 * 1934 – Valery Bykovsky, Russian general and cosmonaut (d. 2019)
 * 1935 – Hank Cochran, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
 * 1936 – Anthony Payne, English composer and author (d. 2021)
 * 1937 – Ron Brierley, New Zealand businessman
 * 1937  – Billy Cannon, American football player and dentist (d. 2018)
 * 1937  – María Duval, Mexican actress and singer
 * 1937  – Garth Hudson, Canadian keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
 * 1938 – Dave Balon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2007)
 * 1938  – Pierre de Bané, Israeli-Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2019)
 * 1938  – Terry Peck, Falkland Islander soldier (d. 2006)
 * 1939 – Benjamin Barber, American theorist, author, and academic (d. 2017)
 * 1939  – Wes Craven, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
 * 1939  – John W. Snow, American businessman and politician, 73rd United States Secretary of the Treasury
 * 1940 – Angel Lagdameo, Filipino archbishop (d. 2022)
 * 1940  – Beko Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian physician and activist (d. 2006)
 * 1940  – Will Tura, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1941 – Doris Coley, American singer (d. 2000)
 * 1941  – Jules A. Hoffmann, Luxembourgian-French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
 * 1941  – François Weyergans, Belgian director and screenwriter (d. 2022)
 * 1942 – Isabel Allende, Chilean-American novelist, essayist, essayist
 * 1942  – Leo Beenhakker, Dutch football manager
 * 1942  – Juan Formell, Cuban singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2014)
 * 1942  – Nell Irvin Painter, American author and historian
 * 1943 – Herbert M. Allison, American lieutenant and businessman (d. 2013)
 * 1943  – Tom Burgmeier, American baseball player and coach
 * 1943  – Jon R. Cavaiani, English-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2014)
 * 1943  – Rose Tremain, English novelist and short story writer
 * 1944 – Jim Capaldi, English drummer and singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
 * 1944  – Naná Vasconcelos, Brazilian singer and berimbau player (d. 2016)
 * 1945 – Joanna Cassidy, American actress
 * 1945  – Alex Jesaulenko, Austrian-Australian footballer and coach
 * 1945  – Bunker Roy, Indian educator and activist
 * 1945  – Eric Simms, Australian rugby league player and coach
 * 1946 – James Howe, American journalist and author
 * 1947 – Ruth Bakke, Norwegian organist and composer
 * 1947  – Lawrence Wright, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
 * 1948 – Andy Fairweather Low, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
 * 1948  – Dennis Prager, American radio host and author
 * 1948  – Tapan Kumar Sarkar, Indian-American electrical engineer and academic (d. 2021)
 * 1948  – James Street, American football and baseball player (d. 2013)
 * 1948  – Snoo Wilson, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2013)
 * 1949 – James Fallows, American journalist and author
 * 1949  – Bertalan Farkas, Hungarian general and cosmonaut
 * 1950 – Jussi Adler-Olsen, Danish author and publisher
 * 1950  – Ted Turner, British guitarist
 * 1951 – Andrew Gold, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
 * 1951  – Steve Hillage, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1951  – Burgess Owens, American football player and politician
 * 1951  – Joe Lynn Turner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1951  – Per Westerberg, Swedish businessman and politician, Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden
 * 1952 – Alain Giresse, French footballer and manager
 * 1953 – Donnie Munro, Scottish singer and guitarist
 * 1953  – Butch Patrick, American actor
 * 1953  – Anthony Seldon, English historian and author
 * 1954 – Sammy McIlroy, Northern Irish footballer and manager
 * 1955 – Caleb Carr, American historian and author (d. 2024)
 * 1955  – Tony Godden, English footballer and manager
 * 1955  – Butch Vig, American drummer, songwriter, and record producer
 * 1956 – Fulvio Melia, Italian-American physicist, astrophysicist, and author
 * 1957 – Jacky Rosen, United States senator
 * 1959 – Victoria Jackson, American actress and singer
 * 1959  – Johnny Kemp, Bahamian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
 * 1959  – Apollonia Kotero, American singer and actress
 * 1960 – Linda Fratianne, American figure skater
 * 1960  – Neal Morse, American singer and keyboard player
 * 1960  – David Yow, American singer-songwriter
 * 1961 – Pete de Freitas, Trinidadian-British drummer and producer (d. 1989)
 * 1962 – Lee Mavers, English singer, songwriter and guitarist
 * 1962  – Cynthia Stevenson, American actress
 * 1963 – Laura Bennett, American architect and fashion designer
 * 1963  – Uğur Tütüneker, Turkish footballer and manager
 * 1964 – Frank Biela, German race car driver
 * 1964  – Mary-Louise Parker, American actress
 * 1965 – Joe Hockey, Australian lawyer and politician, 38th Treasurer of Australia
 * 1965  – Hisanobu Watanabe, Japanese baseball player and coach
 * 1966 – Takashi Iizuka, Japanese wrestler
 * 1966  – Grainne Leahy, Irish cricketer
 * 1966  – Tim Wakefield, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2023)
 * 1967 – Aaron Krickstein, American tennis player
 * 1967  – Aline Brosh McKenna, American screenwriter and producer
 * 1968 – Stefan Effenberg, German footballer and sportscaster
 * 1969 – Cedric Ceballos, American basketball player
 * 1969  – Fernando Couto, Portuguese footballer and manager
 * 1970 – Tony Amonte, American ice hockey player and coach
 * 1970  – Kevin Smith, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1970  – Philo Wallace, Barbadian cricketer
 * 1971 – Jason Bell, Australian rugby league player
 * 1971  – Michael Hughes, Irish footballer and manager
 * 1972 – Mohamed Al-Deayea, Saudi Arabian footballer
 * 1972  – Muriel Bowser, American politician, Mayor of Washington, D.C.
 * 1973 – Danie Keulder, Namibian cricketer
 * 1973  – Miguel Mendonca, Zimbabwean journalist and author
 * 1973  – Susie O'Neill, Australian swimmer
 * 1974 – Phil Williams, English journalist and radio host
 * 1975 – Mineiro, Brazilian footballer
 * 1975  – Xu Huaiwen, Chinese-German badminton player and coach
 * 1975  – Tamás Molnár, Hungarian water polo player
 * 1976 – Reyes Estévez, Spanish runner
 * 1976  – Jay Heaps, American soccer player and coach
 * 1976  – Michael Weiss, American figure skater
 * 1976  – Sam Worthington, English-Australian actor and producer
 * 1976  – Mohammad Zahid, Pakistani cricketer
 * 1977 – Edward Furlong, American actor
 * 1978 – Goran Gavrančić, Serbian footballer
 * 1978  – Matt Guerrier, American baseball player
 * 1978  – Deividas Šemberas, Lithuanian footballer
 * 1978  – Dragan Vukmir, Serbian footballer
 * 1979 – Marco Bonura, Italian footballer
 * 1979  – Reuben Kosgei, Kenyan runner
 * 1980 – Ivica Banović, Croatian footballer
 * 1981 – Alexander Emelianenko, Russian mixed martial artist and boxer
 * 1981  – Tim Murtagh, Irish-English cricketer
 * 1982 – Hélder Postiga, Portuguese footballer
 * 1982  – Kerry Rhodes, American football player
 * 1982  – Grady Sizemore, American baseball player
 * 1983 – Michel Bastos, Brazilian footballer
 * 1983  – Huston Street, American baseball player
 * 1984 – Giampaolo Pazzini, Italian footballer
 * 1985 – Stephen Ferris, Irish rugby player
 * 1985  – David Hart Smith, Canadian wrestler
 * 1985  – Britt Nicole, American Christian pop artist
 * 1986 – Mathieu Razanakolona, Canadian skier
 * 1986 – Lily Gladstone, American actress
 * 1988 – Rob Kwiet, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1988  – Golden Tate, American football player
 * 1989 – Nacer Chadli, Belgian footballer
 * 1990 – Ima Bohush, Belarusian tennis player
 * 1990  – Vitalia Diatchenko, Russian tennis player
 * 1990  – Skylar Diggins-Smith, American basketball player
 * 1992 – Charli XCX, English singer-songwriter
 * 1993 – Gael Bussa, Congolese politician
 * 1994 – Laura Pigossi, Brazilian tennis player
 * 1994  – Laremy Tunsil, American football player
 * 1995 – Kristaps Porziņģis, Latvian basketball player
 * 1996 – Keston Hiura, American baseball player
 * 1996  – Simone Manuel, American swimmer
 * 1997 – Austin Theory, American wrestler
 * 1999 – Mark Lee, Korean-Canadian singer
 * 2000 – Varvara Gracheva, Russian tennis player
 * 2000 – Mohammed Kudus, Ghanaian footballer

Pre-1600

 * 216 BC – Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, Roman consul
 * 216 BC – Lucius Aemilius Paullus, Roman consul and general
 * 216 BC – Marcus Minucius Rufus, Roman consul
 * 257 – Pope Stephen I
 * 575 – Ahudemmeh, Syriac Orthodox Grand Metropolitan of the East.
 * 640 – Pope Severinus
 * 686 – Pope John V
 * 855 – Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Arab theologian and jurist (b. 780)
 * 924 – Ælfweard of Wessex (b. 904)
 * 1075 – Patriarch John VIII of Constantinople
 * 1100 – William II of England (b. 1056)
 * 1222 – Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse (b. 1156)
 * 1277 – Mu'in al-Din Sulaiman Pervane, Chancellor and Regent of the Sultanate of Rum
 * 1316 – Louis of Burgundy (b. 1297)
 * 1330 – Yolande of Dreux, Queen consort of Scotland and Duchess consort of Brittany (b. 1263)
 * 1332 – King Christopher II of Denmark (b. 1276)
 * 1415 – Thomas Grey, English conspirator (b. 1384)
 * 1445 – Oswald von Wolkenstein, Austrian poet and composer (b. 1376)
 * 1451 – Elizabeth of Görlitz (b. 1390)
 * 1511 – Andrew Barton, Scottish admiral (b. 1466)
 * 1512 – Alessandro Achillini, Italian physician and philosopher (b. 1463)
 * 1589 – Henry III of France (b. 1551)

1601–1900

 * 1605 – Richard Leveson, English admiral (b. c. 1570)
 * 1611 – Katō Kiyomasa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1562)
 * 1667 – Francesco Borromini, Swiss architect, designed San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and Sant'Agnese in Agone (b. 1599)
 * 1696 – Robert Campbell of Glenlyon (b. 1630)
 * 1769 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1689)
 * 1788 – Thomas Gainsborough, English painter (b. 1727)
 * 1799 – Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor, co-invented the hot air balloon (b. 1745)
 * 1815 – Guillaume Brune, French general and politician (b. 1763)
 * 1823 – Lazare Carnot, French mathematician, general, and politician, president of the National Convention (b. 1753)
 * 1834 – Harriet Arbuthnot, English diarist (b. 1793)
 * 1849 – Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Ottoman Albanian commander (b. 1769)
 * 1854 – Heinrich Clauren, German author (b. 1771)
 * 1859 – Horace Mann, American educator and politician (b. 1796)
 * 1876 – "Wild Bill" Hickok, American sheriff (b. 1837)
 * 1889 – Eduardo Gutiérrez, Argentinian author (b. 1851)
 * 1890 – Louise-Victorine Ackermann, French poet and author (b. 1813)

1901–present

 * 1903 – Eduard Magnus Jakobson, Estonian missionary and engraver (b. 1847)
 * 1903  – Edmond Nocard, French veterinarian and microbiologist (b. 1850)
 * 1911 – Ioryi Mucitano, Aromanian revolutionary
 * 1913 – Ferenc Pfaff, Hungarian architect and academic, designed Zagreb Central Station (b. 1851)
 * 1915 – John Downer, Australian politician, 16th premier of South Australia (b. 1843)
 * 1917 – Jaan Mahlapuu, Estonian military pilot (b. 1894)
 * 1921 – Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1873)
 * 1922 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-Canadian engineer, invented the telephone (b. 1847)
 * 1923 – Warren G. Harding, American journalist and politician, 29th president of the United States (b. 1865)
 * 1923 – Joseph Whitty, Irish Republican died on hunger strike during the 1923 Irish Hunger Strikes (b. 1904)
 * 1934 – Paul von Hindenburg, German field marshal and politician, 2nd president of Germany (b. 1847)
 * 1937 – Artur Sirk, Estonian soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1900)
 * 1939 – Harvey Spencer Lewis, American mystic and author (b. 1883)
 * 1945 – Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer and educator (b. 1863)
 * 1955 – Alfred Lépine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1901)
 * 1955  – Wallace Stevens, American poet and educator (b. 1879)
 * 1963 – Oliver La Farge, American anthropologist and author (b. 1901)
 * 1967 – Walter Terence Stace, English-American epistemologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1886)
 * 1970 – Angus MacFarlane-Grieve, English academic, mathematician, rower, and soldier (b. 1891)
 * 1972 – Brian Cole, American bass player (b. 1942)
 * 1972  – Paul Goodman, American psychotherapist and author (b. 1911)
 * 1972  – Helen Hoyt, American poet and author (b. 1887)
 * 1973 – Ismail Abdul Rahman, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia (b. 1915)
 * 1973 – Jean-Pierre Melville, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1917)
 * 1974 – Douglas Hawkes, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1893)
 * 1976 – László Kalmár, Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1905)
 * 1976  – Fritz Lang, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1890)
 * 1978 – Carlos Chávez, Mexican composer and conductor (b. 1899)
 * 1978  – Antony Noghès, French businessman, founded the Monaco Grand Prix (b. 1890)
 * 1979 – Thurman Munson, American baseball player (b. 1947)
 * 1981 – Kieran Doherty, Irish hunger striker and politician (b. 1955)
 * 1981 – Stefanie Clausen, Danish diver (b. 1900)
 * 1983 – James Jamerson, American bass player (b. 1936)
 * 1986 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
 * 1988 – Joe Carcione, American activist and author (b. 1914)
 * 1988  – Raymond Carver, American short story writer and poet (b. 1938)
 * 1990 – Norman Maclean, American short story writer and essayist (b. 1902)
 * 1990  – Edwin Richfield, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1921)
 * 1992 – Michel Berger, French singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
 * 1996 – Michel Debré, French lawyer and politician, 150th prime minister of France (b. 1912)
 * 1996  – Obdulio Varela, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1917)
 * 1996  – Mohamed Farrah Aidid, Somalian general and politician, 5th president of Somalia (b. 1934)
 * 1997 – William S. Burroughs, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1914)
 * 1997  – Harald Kihle, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
 * 1997  – Fela Kuti, Nigerian singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1938)
 * 1998 – Shari Lewis, American television host and puppeteer (b. 1933)
 * 1999 – Willie Morris, American writer (b. 1934)
 * 2003 – Peter Safar, Austrian-American physician and academic (b. 1924)
 * 2004 – Ferenc Berényi, Hungarian painter and academic (b. 1929)
 * 2004  – François Craenhals, Belgian illustrator (b. 1926)
 * 2004  – Heinrich Mark, Estonian lawyer and politician, 5th prime minister of Estonia in exile (b. 1911)
 * 2005 – Steven Vincent, American journalist and author (b. 1955)
 * 2007 – Chauncey Bailey, American journalist (b. 1950)
 * 2008 – Fujio Akatsuka, Japanese illustrator (b. 1935)
 * 2011 – José Sanchis Grau, Spanish author and illustrator (b. 1932)
 * 2012 – Gabriel Horn, English biologist and academic (b. 1927)
 * 2012  – Magnus Isacsson, Canadian director and producer (b. 1948)
 * 2012  – Jimmy Jones, American singer-songwriter (b. 1930)
 * 2012  – John Keegan, English historian and journalist (b. 1934)
 * 2012  – Bernd Meier, German footballer (b. 1972)
 * 2012  – Marguerite Piazza, American soprano (b. 1920)
 * 2013 – Julius L. Chambers, American lawyer and activist (b. 1936)
 * 2013  – Richard E. Dauch, American businessman, co-founded American Axle (b. 1942)
 * 2013  – Alla Kushnir, Russian–Israeli chess player (b. 1941)
 * 2014 – Ed Joyce, American journalist (b. 1932)
 * 2014  – Billie Letts, American author and educator (b. 1938)
 * 2014  – Barbara Prammer, Austrian social worker and politician (b. 1954)
 * 2014  – James Thompson, American-Finnish author (b. 1964)
 * 2015 – Forrest Bird, American pilot and engineer (b. 1921)
 * 2015  – Giovanni Conso, Italian jurist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (b. 1922)
 * 2015  – Piet Fransen, Dutch footballer (b. 1936)
 * 2015  – Jack Spring, American baseball player (b. 1933)
 * 2016 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (b. 1930)
 * 2016  – David Huddleston, American actor (b. 1930)
 * 2016  – Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (b. 1927)
 * 2016  – Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1946)
 * 2017 – Judith Jones, American literary and cookbook editor (b. 1924)
 * 2020 – Suzanne Perlman, Hungarian-Dutch visual artist (b. 1922)
 * 2022 – Vin Scully, American sportscaster and game show host (b. 1927)
 * 2023 – Nitin Chandrakant Desai, Indian art director, production designer, and film and television producer (b. 1965)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian feast day:
 * Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).
 * Basil Fool for Christ (Russian Orthodox Church)
 * Justin Russolillo
 * Eusebius of Vercelli
 * Peter Faber
 * Peter Julian Eymard
 * Plegmund
 * Pope Stephen I
 * Portiuncola Indulgence ("Pardon of Assisi"), the plenary indulgence related to St. Francis of Assisi (Catholic Church).
 * Samuel David Ferguson (Episcopal Church)
 * August 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Day of Azerbaijani cinema (Azerbaijan)
 * Our Lady of the Angels Day (Costa Rica)
 * Paratroopers Day (Russia)
 * Republic Day (North Macedonia)
 * Romani genocide-related observances, including:
 * Roma Holocaust Memorial Day (Council of Europe, European Parliament)