August 3

Pre-1600

 * 8 – Roman Empire general Tiberius defeats the Dalmatae on the river Bosna.
 * 435 – Deposed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius, considered the originator of Nestorianism, is exiled by Roman Emperor Theodosius II to a monastery in Egypt.
 * 881 – Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu: Louis III of France defeats the Vikings, an event celebrated in the poem Ludwigslied.
 * 908 – Battle of Eisenach: An invading Hungarian force defeats an East Frankish army under Duke Burchard of Thuringia.
 * 1031 – Olaf II of Norway is canonized as Saint Olaf by Grimketel, the English Bishop of Selsey.
 * 1057 – Frederick of Lorraine elected as Pope Stephen IX.
 * 1342 – The Siege of Algeciras commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
 * 1492 – Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.
 * 1527 – The first known letter from North America is sent by John Rut while at St. John's, Newfoundland.

1601–1900

 * 1601 – Long War: Austria captures Transylvania in the Battle of Goroszló.
 * 1645 – Thirty Years' War: The Second Battle of Nördlingen sees French forces defeating those of the Holy Roman Empire.
 * 1678 – Robert LaSalle builds the Le Griffon, the first known ship built on the Great Lakes.
 * 1778 – The theatre La Scala in Milan is inaugurated with the première of Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
 * 1795 – Treaty of Greenville is signed, ending the Northwest Indian War in the Ohio Country.
 * 1811 – First ascent of Jungfrau, third highest summit in the Bernese Alps by brothers Johann Rudolf and Hieronymus Meyer.
 * 1829 – The Treaty of Lewistown is signed by the Shawnee and Seneca peoples, exchanging land in Ohio for land west of the Mississippi River.
 * 1852 – Harvard University wins the first Boat Race between Yale University and Harvard. The race is also known as the first ever American intercollegiate athletic event.
 * 1859 – The American Dental Association is founded in Niagara Falls, New York.
 * 1900 – The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded.

1901–present

 * 1903 – Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaim the Kruševo Republic, which exists for only ten days before Ottoman Turks lay waste to the town.
 * 1907 – Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis fines Standard Oil of Indiana a record $29.4 million for illegal rebating to freight carriers; the conviction and fine are later reversed on appeal.
 * 1914 – World War I: Germany declares war against France, while Romania declares its neutrality.
 * 1921 – Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirms the ban of the eight Chicago Black Sox, the day after they were acquitted by a Chicago court.
 * 1936 – Jesse Owens wins the 100 metre dash, defeating Ralph Metcalfe, at the Berlin Olympics.
 * 1936  – A fire wipes out Kursha-2 in the Meshchera Lowlands, Ryazan Oblast, Russia, killing 1,200 and leaving only 20 survivors.
 * 1940 – World War II: Italian forces begin the invasion of British Somaliland.
 * 1946 – Santa Claus Land, the world's first themed amusement park, opens in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States.
 * 1948 – Whittaker Chambers accuses Alger Hiss of being a communist and a spy for the Soviet Union.
 * 1949 – The Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League finalize the merger that would create the National Basketball Association.
 * 1958 – The world's first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, becomes the first vessel to complete a submerged transit of the geographical North Pole.
 * 1959 – Portugal's state police force PIDE fires upon striking workers in Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, killing over 50 people.
 * 1960 – Niger gains independence from France.
 * 1972 – The United States Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
 * 1975 – A privately chartered Boeing 707 strikes a mountain peak and crashes near Agadir, Morocco, killing 188.
 * 1977 – Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world's first mass-produced personal computers.
 * 1981 – Senegalese opposition parties, under the leadership of Mamadou Dia, launch the Antiimperialist Action Front – Suxxali Reew Mi.
 * 1997 – Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre in Algeria: A total of 116 villagers killed, 40 in Oued El-Had and 76 in Mezouara.
 * 1997  – The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction.
 * 2004 – The pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reopens after being closed since the September 11 attacks.
 * 2005 – President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya is overthrown in a military coup while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia.
 * 2007 – Former deputy director of the Chilean secret police Raúl Iturriaga is captured after having been on the run following a conviction for kidnapping.
 * 2010 – Widespread rioting erupts in Karachi, Pakistan, after the assassination of a local politician, leaving at least 85 dead and at least 17 billion Pakistani rupees (US$200 million) in damage.
 * 2014 – A 6.1 magnitude earthquake kills at least 617 people and injures more than 2,400 in Yunnan, China.
 * 2014  – The genocide of Yazidis by ISIL begins.
 * 2018 – Two burka-clad men kill 29 people and injure more than 80 in a suicide attack on a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan.
 * 2019 – Six hundred protesters, including opposition leader Lyubov Sobol, are arrested in an election protest in Moscow, Russia.
 * 2019  – Twenty-three people are killed and 22 injured in a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.
 * 2023 – Worst floods hit major parts of Slovenia.

Pre-1600

 * 1442 – Galeotto I Pico, Duke of Mirandola (d. 1499)
 * 1486 – Imperia Cognati, Italian courtesan (d. 1512)
 * 1491 – Maria of Jülich-Berg, German noblewoman (d. 1543)
 * 1509 – Étienne Dolet, French scholar and translator (d. 1546)

1601–1900

 * 1622 – Wolfgang Julius, Count of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, German field marshal (d. 1698)
 * 1692 – John Henley, English minister and poet (d. 1759)
 * 1724 – Alvise Foscari, Venetian admiral (d. 1790)
 * 1766 – Aaron Chorin, Hungarian rabbi and author (d. 1844)
 * 1770 – Frederick William III of Prussia (d. 1840)
 * 1803 – Joseph Paxton, English gardener and architect, designed The Crystal Palace (d. 1865)
 * 1808 – Hamilton Fish, American lawyer and politician, 26th United States Secretary of State (d. 1893)
 * 1811 – Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (d. 1861)
 * 1817 – Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen (d. 1895)
 * 1823 – Thomas Francis Meagher, Irish-American revolutionary and military leader, territorial governor of Montana (d. 1867)
 * 1832 – Ivan Zajc, Croatian composer, conductor, and director (d. 1914)
 * 1840 – John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, English jurist and politician (d. 1929)
 * 1850 – Reginald Heber Roe, English-Australian swimmer, tennis player, and academic (d. 1926)
 * 1856 – Alfred Deakin, Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1919)
 * 1860 – William Kennedy Dickson, French-Scottish actor, director, and producer (d. 1935)
 * 1863 – Géza Gárdonyi, Hungarian author and journalist (d. 1922)
 * 1867 – Stanley Baldwin, English businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1947)
 * 1871 – Vernon Louis Parrington, American historian and scholar (d. 1929)
 * 1872 – Haakon VII of Norway (d. 1957)
 * 1886 – Maithili Sharan Gupt, Indian poet and playwright (d. 1964)
 * 1887 – Rupert Brooke, English poet (d. 1915)
 * 1887  – August Wesley, Finnish journalist, trade unionist, and revolutionary (d. ?)
 * 1890 – Konstantin Melnikov, Russian architect, designed the Rusakov Workers' Club (d. 1974)
 * 1894 – Harry Heilmann, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1951)
 * 1895 – Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley, English politician (d. 1942)
 * 1896 – Ralph Horween, American football player and coach (d. 1997)
 * 1899 – Louis Chiron, Monegasque race car driver (d. 1979)
 * 1900 – Ernie Pyle, American soldier and journalist (d. 1945)
 * 1900  – John T. Scopes, American educator (d. 1970)

1901–present

 * 1901 – John C. Stennis, American lawyer and politician (d. 1995)
 * 1901  – Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal (d. 1981)
 * 1902 – Regina Jonas, German rabbi (d. 1944)
 * 1902  – David Buttolph, American film composer (d. 1983)
 * 1903 – Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian journalist and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Tunisia (d. 2000)
 * 1904 – Dolores del Río, Mexican actress (d. 1983)
 * 1904  – Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author (d. 1988)
 * 1905 – Franz König, Austrian cardinal (d. 2004)
 * 1907 – Lawrence Brown, American trombonist and composer (d. 1988)
 * 1907  – Ernesto Geisel, Brazilian general and politician, 29th President of Brazil (d. 1996)
 * 1907  – Yang Shangkun, Chinese politician, and 4th President of China (d. 1998)
 * 1909 – Walter Van Tilburg Clark, American author and educator (d. 1971)
 * 1911 – Alex McCrindle, Scottish actor and producer (d. 1990)
 * 1912 – Fritz Hellwig, German politician (d. 2017)
 * 1913 – Mel Tolkin, Ukrainian-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2007)
 * 1916 – Shakeel Badayuni, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1970)
 * 1916  – José Manuel Moreno, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1978)
 * 1917 – Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 1995)
 * 1918 – James MacGregor Burns, American historian, political scientist, and author (d. 2014)
 * 1918  – Sidney Gottlieb, American chemist and theorist (d. 1999)
 * 1918  – Larry Haines, American actor (d. 2008)
 * 1918  – Eddie Jefferson, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
 * 1920 – Norman Dewis, English test driver and engineer (d. 2019)
 * 1920  – Max Fatchen, Australian journalist and author (d. 2012)
 * 1920  – P. D. James, English author (d. 2014)
 * 1920  – Charlie Shavers, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1971)
 * 1920  – Elmar Tampõld, Estonian-Canadian architect (d. 2013)
 * 1921 – Richard Adler, American composer and producer (d. 2012)
 * 1921  – Hayden Carruth, American poet and critic (d. 2008)
 * 1921  – Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (d. 1972)
 * 1922 – John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (d. 2013)
 * 1923 – Jean Hagen, American actress (d. 1977)
 * 1923  – Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (d. 2012)
 * 1924 – Connie Converse, American musician and singer-songwriter
 * 1924  – Leon Uris, American soldier and author (d. 2003)
 * 1925 – Marv Levy, American-Canadian football player, coach, and manager
 * 1925  – Lewis Rowland, American neurologist (d. 2017)
 * 1926 – Rona Anderson, Scottish actress (d. 2013)
 * 1926  – Tony Bennett, American singer and actor (d. 2023)
 * 1926  – Anthony Sampson, English journalist and author (d. 2004)
 * 1926  – Gordon Scott, American actor (d. 2007)
 * 1926  – Rushdy Abaza, Egyptian actor (d. 1980)
 * 1928 – Cécile Aubry, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
 * 1928  – Henning Moritzen, Danish actor (d. 2012)
 * 1930 – James Komack, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
 * 1933 – Pat Crawford, Australian cricketer (d. 2009)
 * 1934 – Haystacks Calhoun, American wrestler and actor (d. 1989)
 * 1934  – Michael Chapman, English bassoon player (d. 2005)
 * 1934  – Jonas Savimbi, Angolan general, founded UNITA (d. 2002)
 * 1935 – John Erman, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2021)
 * 1935  – Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (d. 1997)
 * 1935  – Vic Vogel, Canadian pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2019)
 * 1936 – Jerry G. Bishop, American radio and television host (d. 2013)
 * 1936  – Edward Petherbridge, English actor
 * 1937 – Steven Berkoff, English actor, director, and playwright
 * 1937  – Roland Burris, American lawyer and politician, 39th Illinois Attorney General
 * 1937  – Duncan Sharpe, Pakistani-Australian cricketer
 * 1938 – Terry Wogan, Irish radio and television host (d. 2016)
 * 1939 – Jimmie Nicol, English drummer
 * 1939  – Apoorva Sengupta, Indian general and cricketer (d. 2013)
 * 1940 – Lance Alworth, American football player
 * 1940  – Martin Sheen, American actor and producer
 * 1940  – James Tyler, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2010)
 * 1941 – Beverly Lee, American singer
 * 1941  – Martha Stewart, American businesswoman, publisher, and author, founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
 * 1943 – Béla Bollobás, Hungarian-English mathematician and academic
 * 1943  – Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson of Sweden
 * 1943  – Steven Millhauser, American novelist and short story writer
 * 1944 – Morris Berman, American historian and social critic
 * 1944  – Nino Bravo, Spanish singer (d. 1973)
 * 1945 – Eamon Dunphy, Irish footballer and journalist
 * 1946 – Robert Ayling, English businessman
 * 1946  – Jack Straw, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
 * 1946  – John York, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
 * 1947 – Ralph Wright, English footballer (d. 2020)
 * 1948 – Jean-Pierre Raffarin, French lawyer and politician, 166th Prime Minister of France
 * 1949 – Philip Casnoff, American actor and director
 * 1949  – B. B. Dickerson, American bass player and songwriter
 * 1949  – Sue Slipman, English politician
 * 1950 – Linda Howard, American author
 * 1950  – John Landis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1950  – Jo Marie Payton, American actress and singer
 * 1950  – Ernesto Samper, Colombian economist and politician, 29th President of Colombia
 * 1951 – Marcel Dionne, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1951  – Jay North, American actor
 * 1952 – Osvaldo Ardiles, Argentinian footballer and manager
 * 1953 – Ian Bairnson, Scottish saxophonist and keyboard player (d. 2023)
 * 1953  – Marlene Dumas, South African painter
 * 1954 – Michael Arthur, English physician and academic
 * 1954  – Gary Peters, English footballer and manager
 * 1956 – Kirk Brandon, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1956  – Todd Christensen, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
 * 1956  – Dave Cloud, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
 * 1956  – Balwinder Sandhu, Indian cricketer and coach
 * 1957 – Bodo Rudwaleit, German footballer and manager
 * 1957  – Kate Wilkinson, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 11th New Zealand Minister of Conservation
 * 1958 – Lindsey Hilsum, English journalist and author
 * 1958  – Ana Kokkinos, Australian director and screenwriter
 * 1959 – Martin Atkins, English drummer and producer
 * 1959  – Mike Gminski, American basketball player and sportscaster
 * 1959  – John C. McGinley, American actor and producer
 * 1959  – Koichi Tanaka, Japanese chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
 * 1960 – Tim Mayotte, American tennis player and coach
 * 1960  – Gopal Sharma, Indian cricketer
 * 1961 – Molly Hagan, American actress
 * 1961  – Nick Harvey, English politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
 * 1961  – Lee Rocker, American bassist
 * 1963 – Tasmin Archer, English pop singer
 * 1963  – Frano Botica, New Zealand rugby player and coach
 * 1963  – James Hetfield, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1963  – David Knox, Australian rugby player
 * 1963  – Ed Roland, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
 * 1963  – Lisa Ann Walter, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1963  – Isaiah Washington, American actor and producer
 * 1964 – Lucky Dube, South African singer and keyboard player (d. 2007)
 * 1964  – Ralph Knibbs, British rugby union player
 * 1964  – Nate McMillan, American basketball player and coach
 * 1964  – Kevin Sumlin, American football player and coach
 * 1964  – Abhisit Vejjajiva, English-Thai economist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Thailand
 * 1966 – Brent Butt, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1966  – Gizz Butt, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1966  – Eric Esch, American wrestler, boxer, and mixed martial artist
 * 1967 – Mathieu Kassovitz, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1967  – Creme Puff, tabby domestic cat, oldest recorded cat (d. 2005)
 * 1967  – Skin, English singer and guitarist
 * 1968 – Rod Beck, American baseball player (d. 2007)
 * 1969 – Doug Overton, American basketball player and coach
 * 1970 – Stephen Carpenter, American guitarist and songwriter
 * 1970  – Gina G, Australian singer-songwriter
 * 1970  – Masahiro Sakurai, Japanese video game designer
 * 1971 – Forbes Johnston, Scottish footballer (d. 2007)
 * 1971  – DJ Spinderella, American DJ, rapper, producer, and actress
 * 1972 – Sandis Ozoliņš, Latvian ice hockey player and politician
 * 1973 – Jay Cutler, American bodybuilder
 * 1973  – Nikos Dabizas, Greek footballer
 * 1973  – Michael Ealy, American actor
 * 1973  – Chris Murphy, American politician
 * 1975 – Wael Gomaa, Egyptian footballer
 * 1975  – Argyro Strataki, Greek heptathlete
 * 1976 – Troy Glaus, American baseball player
 * 1977 – Tom Brady, American football player
 * 1977  – Justin Lehr, American baseball player
 * 1977  – Óscar Pereiro, Spanish cyclist and footballer
 * 1978 – Joi Chua, Singaporean singer-songwriter and actress
 * 1978  – Mariusz Jop, Polish footballer
 * 1978  – Jenny Tinmouth, English motorcycle racer
 * 1978  – Dimitrios Zografakis, Greek footballer
 * 1979 – Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actress
 * 1980 – Nadia Ali, Libyan-American singer-songwriter
 * 1980  – Dominic Moore, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1980  – Tony Pashos, American football player
 * 1980  – Brandan Schieppati, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1980  – Hannah Simone, Canadian television host and actress
 * 1981 – Fikirte Addis, Ethiopian fashion designer
 * 1981  – Travis Bowyer, American baseball player
 * 1981  – Pablo Ibáñez, Spanish footballer
 * 1982 – Kaspar Kokk, Estonian skier
 * 1982  – Jesse Lumsden, Canadian bobsledder and football player
 * 1982  – Damien Sandow, American wrestler
 * 1983 – Ryan Carter, American ice hockey player
 * 1983  – Mark Reynolds, American baseball player
 * 1984 – Yasin Avcı, Turkish footballer
 * 1984  – Sunil Chhetri, Indian footballer
 * 1984  – Matt Joyce, American baseball player
 * 1984  – Ryan Lochte, American swimmer
 * 1984  – Chris Maurer, former bassist of ska band Suburban Legends
 * 1985 – Georgina Haig, Australian actress
 * 1985  – Brent Kutzle, American bass player and producer
 * 1985  – Ats Purje, Estonian footballer
 * 1985  – Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand rugby player and boxer
 * 1986 – Charlotte Casiraghi, Monégasque journalist, co-founded Ever Manifesto
 * 1986  – Darya Domracheva, Belarusian biathlete
 * 1987 – Kim Hyung-jun, South Korean singer and dancer
 * 1987  – Chris McQueen, Australian-English rugby league player
 * 1988 – Denny Cardin, Italian footballer
 * 1988  – Leigh Tiffin, American football player
 * 1988  – Sven Ulreich, German footballer
 * 1989 – Jules Bianchi, French race car driver (d. 2015)
 * 1989  – Sam Hutchinson, English footballer
 * 1989  – Tyrod Taylor, American football player
 * 1989  – Nick Viergever, Dutch footballer
 * 1990 – Jourdan Dunn, English model
 * 1990  – Kang Min-kyung, South Korean singer
 * 1992 – Gamze Bulut, Turkish runner
 * 1992  – Gesa Felicitas Krause, German runner
 * 1992  – Diāna Marcinkēviča, Latvian tennis player
 * 1992  – Aljon Mariano, Filipino basketball player
 * 1992  – Lum Rexhepi, Finnish footballer
 * 1992  – Karlie Kloss, American fashion model
 * 1993 – Ola Abidogun, English sprinter
 * 1993  – Yurina Kumai, Japanese singer
 * 1994 – Kwon Alexander, American football player
 * 1994  – Manaia Cherrington, New Zealand rugby league player
 * 1994  – Esther Earl, American author, vlogger, and online personality. (d. 2010) Celebrated annually as Esther day
 * 1994  – Todd Gurley, American football player
 * 1995 – Zac Gallen, American baseball player
 * 1995  – Victoria Kan, Russian tennis player
 * 1996 – Derwin James, American football player
 * 1997 – Luis Robert Jr., Cuban baseball player

Pre-1600

 * 908 – Burchard, duke of Thuringia
 * 908  – Egino, duke of Thuringia
 * 908  – Rudolf I, bishop of Würzburg
 * 925 – Cao, Chinese empress dowager
 * 979 – Thietmar, margrave of Meissen
 * 1003 – At-Ta'i, Abbasid caliph (b. 929)
 * 1355 – Bartholomew de Burghersh, 1st Baron Burghersh, English nobleman
 * 1460 – James II, king of Scotland (b. 1430)
 * 1527 – Scaramuccia Trivulzio, Italian cardinal
 * 1530 – Francesco Ferruccio, Italian captain (b. 1489)
 * 1546 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect, designed the Apostolic Palace (b. 1484)
 * 1546  – Étienne Dolet, French scholar and translator (b. 1509)

1601–1900

 * 1604 – Bernardino de Mendoza, Spanish commander and diplomat (b. 1540)
 * 1621 – Guillaume du Vair, French lawyer and author (b. 1556)
 * 1712 – Joshua Barnes, English historian and scholar (b. 1654)
 * 1720 – Anthonie Heinsius, Dutch politician (b. 1641)
 * 1721 – Grinling Gibbons, Dutch-English sculptor and woodcarver (b. 1648)
 * 1761 – Johann Matthias Gesner, German scholar and academic (b. 1691)
 * 1773 – Stanisław Konarski, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1700)
 * 1780 – Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, French epistemologist and philosopher (b. 1715)
 * 1792 – Richard Arkwright, English engineer and businessman (b. 1732)
 * 1797 – Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, English field marshal and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1717)
 * 1805 – Christopher Anstey, English author and poet (b. 1724)
 * 1835 – Wenzel Müller, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1767)
 * 1839 – Dorothea von Schlegel, German author and translator (b. 1763)
 * 1857 – Eugène Sue, French author and politician (b. 1804)
 * 1866 – Gábor Klauzál, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1804)
 * 1867 – Philipp August Böckh, German historian and scholar (b. 1785)
 * 1877 – William B. Ogden, American businessman and politician, 1st Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
 * 1879 – Joseph Severn, English painter (b. 1793)
 * 1894 – George Inness, American painter (b. 1825)

1901–present

 * 1913 – William Lyne, Australian politician, 13th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1844)
 * 1916 – Roger Casement, Irish poet and activist (b. 1864)
 * 1917 – Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, German mathematician and academic (b. 1849)
 * 1920 – Peeter Süda, Estonian organist and composer (b. 1883)
 * 1922 – Ture Malmgren, Swedish journalist and politician (b. 1851)
 * 1924 – Joseph Conrad, Polish-born British novelist (b. 1857)
 * 1925 – William Bruce, Australian cricketer (b. 1864)
 * 1929 – Emile Berliner, German-American inventor and businessman, invented the phonograph (b. 1851)
 * 1929  – Thorstein Veblen, American economist and sociologist (b. 1857)
 * 1936 – Konstantin Konik, Estonian surgeon and politician, 19th Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1873)
 * 1942 – Richard Willstätter, German-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1872)
 * 1943 – Frumka Płotnicka, Polish resistance fighter during World War II (b. 1914)
 * 1949 – Ignotus, Hungarian poet and author (b. 1869)
 * 1954 – Colette, French novelist and journalist (b. 1873)
 * 1958 – Peter Collins, English race car driver (b. 1931)
 * 1959 – Herb Byrne, Australian footballer (b. 1887)
 * 1961 – Hilda Rix Nicholas, Australian artist (b. 1884)
 * 1964 – Flannery O'Connor, American short story writer and novelist (b. 1925)
 * 1966 – Lenny Bruce, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
 * 1968 – Konstantin Rokossovsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union during World War II (b. 1896)
 * 1969 – Alexander Mair, Australian politician, 26th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1889)
 * 1972 – Giannis Papaioannou, Turkish-Greek composer (b. 1913)
 * 1973 – Richard Marshall, American general (b. 1895)
 * 1974 – Edgar Johan Kuusik, Estonian architect and interior designer (b. 1888)
 * 1975 – Andreas Embirikos, Greek poet and photographer (b. 1901)
 * 1977 – Makarios III, Cypriot archbishop and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Cyprus (b. 1913)
 * 1977  – Alfred Lunt, American actor and director (b. 1892)
 * 1979 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
 * 1979  – Angelos Terzakis, Greek author and playwright (b. 1907)
 * 1983 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (b. 1930)
 * 1992 – Wang Hongwen, Chinese labor activist and politician, member of the Gang of Four (b. 1935)
 * 1995 – Ida Lupino, English-American actress and director (b. 1918)
 * 1995  – Edward Whittemore, American soldier and author (b. 1933)
 * 1996 – Jørgen Garde, Danish admiral (b. 1939)
 * 1997 – Pietro Rizzuto, Italian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1934)
 * 1998 – Alfred Schnittke, Russian composer and journalist (b. 1934)
 * 1999 – Rod Ansell, Australian hunter (b. 1953)
 * 1999  – Byron Farwell, American historian and author (b. 1921)
 * 2000 – Joann Lõssov, Estonian basketball player and coach (b. 1921)
 * 2001 – Christopher Hewett, English actor and director (b. 1922)
 * 2003 – Roger Voudouris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1954)
 * 2004 – Henri Cartier-Bresson, French photographer and painter (b. 1908)
 * 2005 – Françoise d'Eaubonne, French author and poet (b. 1920)
 * 2006 – Arthur Lee, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1945)
 * 2006  – Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German-English soprano and actress (b. 1915)
 * 2007 – John Gardner, English author (b. 1926)
 * 2007  – Peter Thorup, Danish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1948)
 * 2008 – Skip Caray, American sportscaster (b. 1939)
 * 2008  – Erik Darling, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
 * 2008  – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist, dramatist and historian, Nobel Prize laureate  (b. 1918)
 * 2009 – Nikolaos Makarezos, Greek soldier and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1919)
 * 2010 – Bobby Hebb, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
 * 2011 – William Sleator, American author (b. 1945)
 * 2011  – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (b. 1945)
 * 2012 – Frank Evans, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1921)
 * 2012  – Martin Fleischmann, Czech-English chemist and academic (b. 1927)
 * 2012  – Paul McCracken, American economist and academic (b. 1915)
 * 2012  – John Pritchard, American basketball player (b. 1927)
 * 2013 – John Coombs, English-Monegasque race car driver and businessman (b. 1922)
 * 2013  – Jack English Hightower, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
 * 2013  – Jack Hynes, Scottish-American soccer player and manager (b. 1920)
 * 2014 – Miangul Aurangzeb, Pakistani captain and politician, 19th Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (b. 1928)
 * 2014  – Edward Clancy, Australian cardinal (b. 1923)
 * 2014  – Dorothy Salisbury Davis, American author (b. 1916)
 * 2014  – Kenny Drew, Jr., American pianist and composer (b. 1958)
 * 2014  – Lydia Yu-Jose, Filipino political scientist and academic (b. 1944)
 * 2015 – Robert Conquest, English-American historian, poet, and academic (b. 1917)
 * 2015 – Mel Farr, American football player and businessman (b. 1944)
 * 2015 – Coleen Gray, American actress (b. 1922)
 * 2015 – Margot Loyola, Chilean singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
 * 2015 – Johanna Quandt, German businesswoman (b. 1926)
 * 2015 – Jef Murray, American artist and author (b. 1960)
 * 2020 – John Hume, Northern Irish politician (b. 1937)
 * 2022 – Jackie Walorski, American politician (b. 1963)
 * 2023 – Mark Margolis, American actor (b. 1939)
 * 2023 – Bram Moolenaar, Dutch software engineer (b. 1961)

Holidays and observances

 * Anniversary of the Killing of Pidjiguiti (Guinea-Bissau)
 * Armed Forces Day (Equatorial Guinea)
 * Christian feast day:
 * George Freeman Bragg, W. E. B. Du Bois (Episcopal Church)
 * Lydia of Thyatira
 * Myrrhbearers (Lutheran Church)
 * Nicodemus
 * Olaf II of Norway (Translation of the relic)
 * Stephen (Discovery of the relic)
 * Waltheof of Melrose
 * August 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Flag Day (Venezuela)
 * Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Niger from France in 1960.
 * Arbor Day (Niger)
 * National Guard Day (Venezuela)