August 3

Events

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 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.
• 2023 – Worst floods hit major parts of Slovenia.

Births

Pre-1600

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

1601–1900

• 1622 – Wolfgang Julius, Count of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, German field marshal (died 1698)
• 1692 – John Henley, English minister and poet (died 1759)
• 1724 – Alvise Foscari, Venetian admiral (died 1790)
• 1766 – Aaron Chorin, Hungarian rabbi and author (died 1844)
• 1770 – Frederick William III of Prussia (died 1840)
• 1803 – Joseph Paxton, English gardener and architect, designed The Crystal Palace (died 1865)
• 1808 – Hamilton Fish, American lawyer and politician, 26th United States Secretary of State (died 1893)
• 1811 – Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (died 1861)
• 1817 – Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen (died 1895)
• 1823 – Thomas Francis Meagher, Irish-American revolutionary and military leader, territorial governor of Montana (died 1867)
• 1823 – Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, Spanish clarinetist, composer, and musicologist (died 1894)
• 1832 – Ivan Zajc, Croatian composer, conductor, and director (died 1914)
• 1837 – Julien Reverchon, French botanist (died 1905)
• 1840 – John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, English jurist and politician (died 1929)
• 1850 – Reginald Heber Roe, English-Australian swimmer, tennis player, and academic (died 1926)
• 1856 – Alfred Deakin, Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Australia (died 1919)
• 1860 – William Kennedy Dickson, French-Scottish actor, director, and producer (died 1935)
• 1863 – Géza Gárdonyi, Hungarian author and journalist (died 1922)
• 1867 – Stanley Baldwin, English businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1947)
• 1871 – Vernon Louis Parrington, American historian and scholar (died 1929)
• 1872 – Haakon VII of Norway (died 1957)
• 1886 – Maithili Sharan Gupt, Indian poet and playwright (died 1964)
• 1887 – Rupert Brooke, English poet (died 1915)
• 1887 – August Wesley, Finnish journalist, trade unionist, and revolutionary (died ?)
• 1890 – Konstantin Melnikov, Russian architect, designed the Rusakov Workers' Club (died 1974)
• 1894 – Harry Heilmann, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 1951)
• 1895 – Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley, English politician (died 1942)
• 1896 – Ralph Horween, American football player and coach (died 1997)
• 1899 – Louis Chiron, Monegasque race car driver (died 1979)
• 1900 – Ernie Pyle, American soldier and journalist (died 1945)
• 1900 – John T. Scopes, American educator (died 1970)

1901–present

• 1901 – John C. Stennis, American lawyer and politician (died 1995)
• 1901 – Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal (died 1981)
• 1902 – Regina Jonas, German rabbi (died 1944)
• 1902 – David Buttolph, American film composer (died 1983)
• 1903 – Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian journalist and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Tunisia (died 2000)
• 1904 – Dolores del Río, Mexican actress (died 1983)
• 1904 – Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author (died 1988)
• 1905 – Franz König, Austrian cardinal (died 2004)
• 1907 – Lawrence Brown, American trombonist and composer (died 1988)
• 1907 – Ernesto Geisel, Brazilian general and politician, 29th President of Brazil (died 1996)
• 1907 – Yang Shangkun, Chinese politician, and President of China (died 1998)
• 1909 – Walter Van Tilburg Clark, American author and educator (died 1971)
• 1911 – Alex McCrindle, Scottish actor and producer (died 1990)
• 1912 – Fritz Hellwig, German politician (died 2017)
• 1913 – Mel Tolkin, Ukrainian-American screenwriter and producer (died 2007)
• 1916 – Shakeel Badayuni, Indian poet and songwriter (died 1970)
• 1916 – José Manuel Moreno, Argentinian footballer and manager (died 1978)
• 1917 – Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader (died 1995)
• 1918 – James MacGregor Burns, American historian, political scientist, and author (died 2014)
• 1918 – Sidney Gottlieb, American chemist and theorist (died 1999)
• 1918 – Larry Haines, American actor (died 2008)
• 1918 – Eddie Jefferson, American singer-songwriter (died 1979)
• 1920 – Norman Dewis, English test driver and engineer (died 2019)
• 1920 – Max Fatchen, Australian journalist and author (died 2012)
• 1920 – P. D. James, English author (died 2014)
• 1920 – Charlie Shavers, American trumpet player and composer (died 1971)
• 1920 – Elmar Tampõld, Estonian-Canadian architect (died 2013)
• 1921 – Richard Adler, American composer and producer (died 2012)
• 1921 – Hayden Carruth, American poet and critic (died 2008)
• 1921 – Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (died 1972)
• 1922 – John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (died 2013)
• 1923 – Jean Hagen, American actress (died 1977)
• 1923 – Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (died 2012)
• 1924 – Connie Converse, American musician and singer-songwriter (disappeared 1974)
• 1924 – Leon Uris, American soldier and author (died 2003)
• 1925 – Marv Levy, American-Canadian football player, coach, and manager
• 1925 – Lewis Rowland, American neurologist (died 2017)
• 1926 – Rona Anderson, Scottish actress (died 2013)
• 1926 – Tony Bennett, American singer and actor (died 2023)
• 1926 – Anthony Sampson, English journalist and author (died 2004)
• 1926 – Gordon Scott, American actor (died 2007)
• 1926 – Rushdy Abaza, Egyptian actor (died 1980)
• 1928 – Cécile Aubry, French actress, director, and screenwriter (died 2010)
• 1928 – Henning Moritzen, Danish actor (died 2012)
• 1930 – James Komack, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1997)
• 1933 – Pat Crawford, Australian cricketer (died 2009)
• 1934 – Haystacks Calhoun, American wrestler and actor (died 1989)
• 1934 – Michael Chapman, English bassoon player (died 2005)
• 1934 – Jonas Savimbi, Angolan general, founded UNITA (died 2002)
• 1935 – John Erman, American actor, director, and producer (died 2021)
• 1935 – Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (died 1997)
• 1935 – Vic Vogel, Canadian pianist, composer, and bandleader (died 2019)
• 1936 – Jerry G. Bishop, American radio and television host (died 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 (died 2016)
• 1939 – Jimmie Nicol, English drummer
• 1939 – Apoorva Sengupta, Indian general and cricketer (died 2013)
• 1940 – Lance Alworth, American football player
• 1940 – Martin Sheen, American actor and producer
• 1940 – James Tyler, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2010)
• 1941 – Juanita Helms, American politician (died 2009)
• 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 (died 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 (died 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 (died 2021)
• 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 (died 2025)
• 1952 – Osvaldo Ardiles, Argentinian footballer and manager
• 1953 – Ian Bairnson, Scottish guitarist, songwriter and saxophonist (died 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 (died 2013)
• 1956 – Dave Cloud, American singer-songwriter and actor (died 2015)
• 1956 – Balwinder Sandhu, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1956 – Ian Crichton, Canadian guitarist
• 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 (died 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
• 1966 – Robert Laimer, Austrian politician
• 1967 – Mathieu Kassovitz, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1967 – Skin, English singer and guitarist
• 1968 – Rod Beck, American baseball player (died 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 (died 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 (died 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 (died 2010)
• 1994 – Todd Gurley, American football player
• 1994 – Younghoe Koo, South Korean-born American football player
• 1995 – Zac Gallen, American baseball player
• 1995 – Victoria Kan, Russian tennis player
• 1996 – Alec Bohm, American baseball player
• 1996 – Bokondji Imama, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1996 – Derwin James, American football player
• 1997 – Luis Robert Jr., Cuban baseball player
• 1999 – Zach Wilson, American football player
• 1999 – Brahim Díaz, Spanish-Moroccan footballer
• 1999 – Yoo Yeon-jung, South Korean singer

Deaths

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 (born 929)
• 1355 – Bartholomew de Burghersh, 1st Baron Burghersh, English nobleman
• 1460 – James II, king of Scotland (born 1430)
• 1527 – Scaramuccia Trivulzio, Italian cardinal
• 1530 – Francesco Ferruccio, Italian captain (born 1489)
• 1546 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect, designed the Apostolic Palace (born 1484)
• 1546 – Étienne Dolet, French scholar and translator (born 1509)

1601–1900

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

1901–present

• 1913 – William Lyne, Australian politician, 13th Premier of New South Wales (born 1844)
• 1916 – Roger Casement, executed Irish poet and activist (born 1864)
• 1917 – Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, German mathematician and academic (born 1849)
• 1920 – Peeter Süda, Estonian organist and composer (born 1883)
• 1922 – Ture Malmgren, Swedish journalist and politician (born 1851)
• 1924 – Joseph Conrad, British novelist (born 1857)
• 1925 – William Bruce, Australian cricketer (born 1864)
• 1929 – Emile Berliner, German-American inventor and businessman, invented the phonograph (born 1851)
• 1929 – Thorstein Veblen, American economist and sociologist (born 1857)
• 1936 – Konstantin Konik, Estonian surgeon and politician, 19th Estonian Minister of Education (born 1873)
• 1942 – Richard Willstätter, German-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1872)
• 1943 – Frumka Płotnicka, Polish resistance fighter during World War II (born 1914)
• 1949 – Ignotus, Hungarian poet and author (born 1869)
• 1954 – Colette, French novelist and journalist (born 1873)
• 1958 – Peter Collins, English race car driver (born 1931)
• 1959 – Herb Byrne, Australian footballer (born 1887)
• 1961 – Hilda Rix Nicholas, Australian artist (born 1884)
• 1963 – Signe Salén, Swedish doctor (born 1871)
• 1964 – Flannery O'Connor, American short story writer and novelist (born 1925)
• 1966 – Lenny Bruce, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1925)
• 1968 – Konstantin Rokossovsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union during World War II (born 1896)
• 1969 – Alexander Mair, Australian politician, 26th Premier of New South Wales (born 1889)
• 1972 – Giannis Papaioannou, Turkish-Greek composer (born 1913)
• 1973 – Richard Marshall, American general (born 1895)
• 1974 – Edgar Johan Kuusik, Estonian architect and interior designer (born 1888)
• 1975 – Andreas Embirikos, Greek poet and photographer (born 1901)
• 1977 – Makarios III, Cypriot archbishop and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Cyprus (born 1913)
• 1977 – Alfred Lunt, American actor and director (born 1892)
• 1979 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899)
• 1979 – Angelos Terzakis, Greek author and playwright (born 1907)
• 1983 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (born 1930)
• 1992 – Wang Hongwen, Chinese labor activist and politician, member of the Gang of Four (born 1935)
• 1995 – Ida Lupino, English-American actress and director (born 1918)
• 1995 – Edward Whittemore, American soldier and author (born 1933)
• 1996 – Jørgen Garde, Danish admiral (born 1939)
• 1997 – Pietro Rizzuto, Italian-Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1934)
• 1998 – Alfred Schnittke, Russian composer and journalist (born 1934)
• 1999 – Rod Ansell, Australian hunter (born 1953)
• 1999 – Byron Farwell, American historian and author (born 1921)
• 2000 – Joann Lõssov, Estonian basketball player and coach (born 1921)
• 2001 – Christopher Hewett, English actor and director (born 1922)
• 2003 – Roger Voudouris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1954)
• 2004 – Henri Cartier-Bresson, French photographer and painter (born 1908)
• 2005 – Françoise d'Eaubonne, French author and poet (born 1920)
• 2006 – Arthur Lee, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1945)
• 2006 – Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German-English soprano and actress (born 1915)
• 2007 – John Gardner, English author (born 1926)
• 2007 – Peter Thorup, Danish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1948)
• 2008 – Skip Caray, American sportscaster (born 1939)
• 2008 – Erik Darling, American singer-songwriter (born 1933)
• 2008 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist, dramatist and historian, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
• 2009 – Nikolaos Makarezos, Greek soldier and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece (born 1919)
• 2010 – Bobby Hebb, American singer-songwriter (born 1938)
• 2011 – William Sleator, American author (born 1945)
• 2011 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (born 1945)
• 2012 – Frank Evans, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1921)
• 2012 – Martin Fleischmann, Czech-English chemist and academic (born 1927)
• 2012 – Paul McCracken, American economist and academic (born 1915)
• 2012 – John Pritchard, American basketball player (born 1927)
• 2012 – George Shanard, American politician and agribusinessman (born 1926)
• 2013 – John Coombs, English-Monegasque race car driver and businessman (born 1922)
• 2013 – Jack English Hightower, American lawyer and politician (born 1926)
• 2013 – Jack Hynes, Scottish-American soccer player and manager (born 1920)
• 2014 – Miangul Aurangzeb, Pakistani captain and politician, 19th Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (born 1928)
• 2014 – Edward Clancy, Australian cardinal (born 1923)
• 2014 – Dorothy Salisbury Davis, American author (born 1916)
• 2014 – Kenny Drew, Jr., American pianist and composer (born 1958)
• 2014 – Lydia Yu-Jose, Filipino political scientist and academic (born 1944)
• 2015 – Robert Conquest, English-American historian, poet, and academic (born 1917)
• 2015 – Mel Farr, American football player and businessman (born 1944)
• 2015 – Coleen Gray, American actress (born 1922)
• 2015 – Margot Loyola, Chilean singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1918)
• 2015 – Johanna Quandt, German businesswoman (born 1926)
• 2015 – Jef Murray, American artist and author (born 1960)
• 2020 – John Hume, Northern Irish politician (born 1937)
• 2022 – Jackie Walorski, American politician (born 1963)
• 2023 – Mark Margolis, American actor (born 1939)
• 2023 – Bram Moolenaar, Dutch software engineer (born 1961)
• 2024 – Yamini Krishnamurthy, Indian dancer (born 1940)
• 2025 – Loni Anderson, American actress (born 1945)

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)

External links

• "On This Day". BBC.
• Template:NYT On this day
• "Historical Events on August 3". OnThisDay.com.