August 8 is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 145 days remaining until the end of the year.
- 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
- 1509 - The Emperor Krishnadeva Raya is crowned, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
- 1576 - The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven.
- 1585 - John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.
- 1588 - Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines - The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England.
- 1605 - The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.
- 1647 - The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungans Hill - English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.
- 1709 - Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the King of Portugal in Lisbon
- 1786 - Mont Blanc on the French- Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
- 1793 - The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.
- 1794 - Joseph Whidbey and George Vancouver lead an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
- 1810 - Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib marries Maaroof, daughter of Nawab Ilahi Baksh, and moves to Delhi.
- 1839 - Beta Theta Pi is founded in Oxford, Ohio.
- 1844 - The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS or Mormon Church).
- 1863 - American Civil War: following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).
- 1863 - American Civil War: Tennessee's "military" Governor Andrew Johnson frees his personal slaves. During the early 20th century, the day was celebrated by blacks in Tennessee as a holiday.
- 1870 - The Republic of Ploieşti, a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.
- 1876 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
- 1908 - Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers' first public flight.
- 1910 - The US Army installs the first tricycle landing gear on the Army's Wright Flyer.
- 1911 - The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire.
- 1911 - Public Law 62-5 sets the number of representatives in the United States House of Representatives at 435. The law would come into effect in 1913.
- 1918 - World War I: the Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).
- 1929 - The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.
- 1931 - Workers go on strike at the Hoover dam.
- 1938 - The building of Mauthausen concentration camp begins.
- 1940 - The "Aufbau Ost" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.
- 1942 - World War II: in Washington, DC, six German would-be saboteurs (Operation Pastorius) are executed.
- 1942 - The Quit India resolution was passed by the Bombay session of the AICC, leading to the start of a civil disobedience movement across India.
- 1945 - World War II: the Soviet Union declares war on Japan and begins the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.
- 1945 - The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, which becomes the third nation to join.
- 1946 - First flight of the Convair B-36.
- 1947 - Pakistan's National Flag is approved.
- 1949 - Bhutan becomes independent.
- 1960 - South Kasai secedes from the Congo.
- 1963 - Great Train Robbery: in England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.
- 1967 - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
- 1968 - Jurō Wada successfully performs Japan's first heart transplant.
- 1973 - U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew appears on television to denounce accusations he had taken kickbacks while governor of Maryland.
- 1973 - Kim Dae-Jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.
- 1974 - Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation, effective the next day.
- 1980 - The Central Hotel Fire, Bundoran occurs in Ireland.
- 1986 - Altaf Hussain's address at Nishtar Park Karachi, announcing the establishment of the MQM political movement.
- 1988 - The "8888 Uprising" occurs in Burma.
- 1988 - The lights are turned on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last major league stadium to host night games. (The game, against the Philadelphia Phillies, is rained out after three-and-a-half innings.)
- 1989 - Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission - Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
- 1990 - Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.
- 1991 - The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
- 1991 - John McCarthy, British journalist held hostage in Lebanon for more than five years by Islamic Jihad, is released.
- 2000 - Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor.
- 2007 - An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York State, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.
- 1079 - Emperor Horikawa of Japan (d. 1107)
- 1518 - Conrad Lycosthenes, French-born German humanist and encyclopedist (d. 1561)
- 1605 - Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, British colonial Governor of Maryland (d. 1675)
- 1646 - Godfrey Kneller, German-born painter (d. 1723)
- 1673 - John Ker, Scottish spy (d. 1726)
- 1693 - Laurent Belissen, French composer (d. 1762)
- 1694 - Francis Hutcheson, Irish philosopher (d. 1746)
- 1720 - Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish politician (d. 1796)
- 1807 - Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish novelist (d. 1892)
- 1814 - Esther Morris, American jurist (d. 1902)
- 1824 - Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse), Tsarina of Russia (d. 1880)
- 1839 - Nelson Miles, American general (d. 1925)
- 1857 - Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (d. 1944)
- 1875 - Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (d. 1955)
- 1879 - Bob Smith, American founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (d. 1950)
- 1879 - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1919)
- 1880 - Earle Page, Australian politician (d. 1961)
- 1881 - Albert Kesselring, German field marshal (d. 1960)
- 1881 - Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, German field marshal (d. 1954)
- 1882 - Ladislas Starevich, Polish animator (d. 1965)
- 1884 - Sara Teasdale, American poet (d. 1933)
- 1889 - Jack Ryder, Australian cricketer (d. 1977)
- 1891 - Adolf Busch, German violinist (d. 1952)
- 1892 - Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Spanish footballer (d. 1922)
- 1896 - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American author (d. 1953)
- 1898 - Alexis Minotis, Greek actor (d. 1990)
- 1901 - Ernest O. Lawrence, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1902 - Paul Dirac, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
- 1904 - Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (d. 1948)
- 1905 - André Jolivet, French composer (d. 1974)
- 1907 - Benny Carter, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1908 - Arthur Goldberg, U.S. Supreme Court justice (d. 1980)
- 1909 - Bill Voce, England cricketer (d. 1984)
- 1910 - Sylvia Sidney, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1911 - Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (d. 2002)
- 1915 - Jumbo Elliott, American track coach (d. 1981)
- 1919 - Dino De Laurentiis, Italian film producer
- 1920 - Leo Chiosso, Italian lyricist (d. 2006)
- 1920 - Carol Lambrino, son of Carol II of Romania and Zizi Lambrino (d. 2006)
- 1920 - Jimmy Witherspoon, American singer (d. 1997)
- 1921 - William Asher, American film producer
- 1921 - John Herbert Chapman, British physicist (d. 1979)
- 1921 - Webb Pierce, American singer (d. 1991)
- 1921 - Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian medical scientist (d. 2001)
- 1921 - Esther Williams, American actress and swimmer
- 1922 - Rory Calhoun, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1922 - Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-born fashion designer (d. 1985)
- 1922 - Gertrude Himmelfarb, American historian
- 1925 - Alija Izetbegović, Bosniak politician (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Richard Anderson, American actor
- 1927 - Johnny Temple, American baseball player (d. 1994)
- 1928 - Don Burrows, Australian musician
- 1929 - Ronald Biggs, British criminal
- 1929 - Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (d. 2004)
- 1931 - Sir Roger Penrose, British physicist
- 1932 - Luis García Meza Tejada, Bolivian dictator
- 1932 - Mel Tillis, American singer
- 1933 - Joe Tex, American singer (d. 1982)
- 1933 - Serena Wilson, American belly dancer (d. 2007)
- 1935 - Donald P. Bellisario, American television producer
- 1935 - John Laws, Australia radio personality
- 1936 - Keith Barron, English actor
- 1936 - Frank Howard, American baseball player
- 1937 - Dustin Hoffman, American actor
- 1938 - Jacques Hétu, French Canadian composer
- 1938 - Connie Stevens, American singer and actress
- 1939 - Alexander Watson, American ambassador and diplomat
- 1940 - Dennis Tito, American businessman and space tourist
- 1940 - Dilip Sardesai, Indian cricketer (d. 2007)
- 1944 - Brooke Bundy, American actress
- 1944 - John Renbourn, English musician
- 1946 - James W. Lewis, American convicted extortionist
- 1947 - José Cruz, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1947 - Ken Dryden, Canadian ice hockey player and parliamentarian
- 1947 - Larry Wilcox, American actor
- 1947 - Terangi Adam, Nauruan politician
- 1948 - Svetlana Savitskaya, Russian cosmonaut
- 1949 - Keith Carradine, American actor
- 1949 - Ricardo Londoño, Colombian racing driver
- 1950 - Ken Kutaragi, Founder of PlayStation
- 1951 - Mamoru Oshii, Japanese film director
- 1951 - Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
- 1951 - Phil Carlson, Australian cricketer
- 1952 - Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author
- 1952 - Robin Quivers, American radio personality
- 1952 - Sudhakar Rao, Indian cricketer
- 1953 - Nigel Mansell, English race car driver
- 1953 - Don Most, American actor
- 1953 - Mark Lazarowicz British Politician
- 1955 - Diddú, Icelandic soprano and songwriter
- 1955 - Herbert Prohaska, Austrian footballer
- 1956 - David Grant, English singer and vocal coach
- 1956 - Branscombe Richmond, American actor
- 1956 - Chris Foreman, English guitarist (Madness)
- 1958 - Deborah Norville, American television host
- 1958 - Cecilia Roth, Argentine actress
- 1960 - Ulrich Maly, German politician
- 1961 - The Edge, Irish guitarist (U2)
- 1961 - Daniel House, American music executive
- 1961 - Bruce Matthews, American football player
- 1961 - Rikki Rockett, American drummer (Poison)
- 1962 - Mike Zanier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 - Jon Turteltaub, American director
- 1963 - Stephen Walkom, Canadian ice hockey official and executive
- 1964 - Anastasia Ashman, American writer
- 1964 - Paul Taylor, England cricketer
- 1965 - Kate Langbroek, Australian media personality
- 1965 - Aaron Abeyta, American musician
- 1965 - Angus Fraser, England cricketer
- 1966 - Chris Eubank, English boxer
- 1966 - John Hudek, American baseball player
- 1967 - Eric Angle, American wrestler
- 1967 - Marcelo Balboa, American soccer player
- 1967 - Rena Mero, American wrestler
- 1967 - Jessica Moore, Italian actress
- 1967 - Lee Unkrich, American director and film editor
- 1968 - Abey Kuruvilla, Indian cricketer
- 1969 - Faye Wong, Hong Kong singer and actress
- 1969 - Dick Togo, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1969 - Yvie Burnett, British television vocal coach
- 1970 - Trev Alberts, American football player
- 1970 - Pascal Duquenne, Belgian actor
- 1972 - Axel Merckx, Belgian bicycle racer
- 1972 - Lüpüs Thünder, American musician (The Bloodhound Gang)
- 1973 - Toby Allen, Australian singer (Human Nature)
- 1973 - Shane Lee, Australian cricketer
- 1973 - Senta Moses, American actress
- 1973 - Scott Stapp, American singer (Creed)
- 1974 - Scott D'Amore, Canadian professional wrestler and manager
- 1974 - Brian Harvey, English singer
- 1974 - Andy Priaulx, British race car driver
- 1976 - JC Chasez, American singer (*NSYNC)
- 1976 - Tawny Cypress, American actress
- 1976 - Drew Lachey, American singer
- 1976 - Seung-Yeop Lee, Korean baseball player
- 1976 - Jeff Simmons, American race car driver
- 1977 - Kurt Bernard, Costa Rican footballer
- 1977 - Szilard Nemeth, Slovak footballer
- 1977 - Lindsay Sloane, American actress
- 1977 - Rocky Thompson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Mohammad Wasim, Pakistani cricketer
- 1978 - Alan Maybury, Irish footballer
- 1978 - Louis Saha, French footballer
- 1978 - Miho Shiraishi, Japanese actress
- 1978 - Countess Vaughn, American actress and singer
- 1979 - Richard Harwood, British cellist
- 1979 - Paris Latsis, Greek shipping heir
- 1979 - Rashard Lewis, American basketball player
- 1979 - Sam Totman, English musician (Dragonforce)
- 1980 - Mike Hindert, American musician
- 1980 - Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player
- 1980 - Pat Noonan, American footballer
- 1980 - Michael Urie, American actor and director
- 1981 - Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer and songwriter
- 1981 - Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
- 1981 - Meagan Good, American actress
- 1981 - Kaori Iida, Japanese singer and actress
- 1981 - Bradley McIntosh, British pop singer
- 1982 - David Florence, British canoeist
- 1983 - Guy Burnet, British actor
- 1984 - Martrez Milner, American football player
- 1984 - Devon McTavish, American footballer
- 1985 - Brayan Ruiz, Costa Rican football player
- 1986 - Peyton List, American actress
- 1987 - Katie Leung, Scottish actress
- 1988 - Princess Beatrice of York
- 1988 - Danilo Gallinari, Italian basketball player
- 1989 - Sesil Karatantcheva, Bulgarian tennis player
- 1995 - Malin Reitan, Norwegian singer
- 869 - Lothair II of Lotharingia (b. 825)
- 1445 - Oswald von Wolkenstein, Austrian composer
- 1553 - Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)
- 1555 - Oronce Finé, French mathematician (b. 1494)
- 1588 - Alonso Sánchez Coello, Spanish painter
- 1604 - Horio Tadauji, Japanese warlord (b. 1578)
- 1631 - Konstantinas Sirvydas, Lithuanian lexicographer (b. 1579)
- 1684 - George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer (b. 1622)
- 1747 - Madeleine de Verchères, New France heroine (b. 1678)
- 1759 - Carl Heinrich Graun, German composer (b. 1704)
- 1827 - George Canning, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)
- 1828 - Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish naturalist (b. 1743)
- 1863 - Angus MacAskill known as 'Giant MacAskill', circus performer (b. 1825)
- 1879 - Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1797)
- 1887 - Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and soldier (b. 1808)
- 1897 - Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss art historian (b. 1818)
- 1898 - Eugène Boudin, French painter (b. 1824)
- 1902 - James Tissot, French artist (b. 1836)
- 1911 - William P. Frye, American politician (b. 1830)
- 1928 - Stjepan Radić, Croatian politician (b. 1871)
- 1933 - Adolf Loos, Austrian architect (b. 1870)
- 1934 - Wilbert Robinson, American baseball player and hall-of-famer (b. 1863)
- 1940 - Johnny Dodds, American musician (b. 1892)
- 1944 - Chaim Soutine, Russian painter (b. 1894)
- 1944 - Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (b. 1881)
- 1944 - Michael Wittmann, German Tank ace and Knight's Cross holder, killed in action, Normandy. (b. 1914)
- 1947 - Anton Ivanovich Denikin, Russian general (b. 1872)
- 1950 - Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman (b. 1879)
- 1961 - Mei Lanfang, Chinese opera performer (b. 1894)
- 1965 - Shirley Jackson, American author (b. 1916)
- 1969 - Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German eugenicist and Nazi physician (b. 1896)
- 1972 - Andrea Feldman, American actor (b. 1948)
- 1973 - Dean Corll, American serial killer (b. 1939)
- 1973 - Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish author and historian (b. 1898)
- 1974 - Baldur von Schirach, Nazi youth leader (b. 1907)
- 1975 - Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1928)
- 1977 - Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1889)
- 1979 - Nicholas Monsarrat, British novelist (b. 1910)
- 1980 - Paul Triquet, French Canadian army officer (b. 1910)
- 1982 - Eric Brandon, British racing driver (b. 1920)
- 1984 - Ellen Raskin, American author(b. 1928)
- 1985 - Louise Brooks, American actress (b. 1906)
- 1987 - Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician (b. 1903)
- 1988 - Félix Leclerc, Quebec singer and songwriter (b. 1914)
- 1988 - Alan Napier, English actor (b. 1903)
- 1988 - Ramón Valdés, Mexican actor (b. 1923)
- 1991 - Julissa Gomez, American gymnast (b. 1972)
- 1991 - James Irwin, astronaut (b. 1930)
- 1992 - Grand Ayatollah Abul-Qasim Khoei, considered to be the Supreme Shi'ite authority at the time of his death
- 1992 - John Kordic, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1965)
- 1996 - Nevill Mott, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1905)
- 1998 - Mahmoud Saremi, Iranian journalist
- 2004 - Fay Wray, American actress (b. 1907)
- 2004 - Dimitris Papamichael, Greek actor (b. 1934)
- 2005 - Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (b. 1922)
- 2005 - Ahmed Deedat, Islamic scholar (b. 1918)
- 2005 - John H. Johnson, African-American publisher (b. 1918)
- 2005 - Gene Mauch, American baseball player (b. 1925)
- 2005 - Monica Sjöö, Swedish artist (b. 1938)
- 2005 - Ilse Werner, German actress (b. 1921)
- 2007 - Joybubbles, A notable phone phreak. (b. 1949)
- 2007 - Ma Lik, Chinese politician (b. 1952)
- 2007 - Melville Shavelson, American film director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1917)
- 2008 - Orville Moody, American golfer (b. 1933)
