Famous people born in August include American actors Jason Momoa and Robert De Niro, actresses Amy Adams and Viola Davis, and Swiss former world number 1 tennis player Roger Federer. Jamaican sprinting legend Usain Bolt and late American singer Whitney Houston are also born in August.
Australian actor “Thor Odinson” Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence who is famous as the shapeshifting mutant “Mystique” on X-Men, Michael Jackson the “King of Pop“, 42nd and 44th presidents of the United States Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and the late Hulk Hogan are other celebrities with birthdays in August.
Celebs birthday in August
84 years old
Chilean-American writer awarded the 2010 Chile National Literature Prize, and 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama
Died aged 81
English-Irish actor who starred as T. E. Lawrence in 1962 epic historical drama film Lawrence of Arabia, Zaltar in Supergirl (1984)
65 years old
American actor, director, and musician most famous as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in The X-Files series franchise
53 years old
American actress famous as Vanessa Huxtable, daughter of Cliff and Clair Huxtable, on popular NBC sitcom The Cosby Show
62 years old
American actress who recently starred as Sarah Ross in action comedy films Red (2010) and Red 2 (2013) alongside Bruce Willis
44 years old
Portuguese footballer who played as a striker for Porto, Sporting CP, Tottenham Hotspur, and the Portugal national team
86 years old
American actor whose famous films include Badlands (1973), Apocalypse Now (1979), and as President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing TV series
57 years old
American actress famous as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in The X-Files, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Crown series
Died aged 96
Multi-award winning American jazz and traditional pop singer famous for his 1953 hit song I Left My Heart in San Francisco
Died aged 67
American physician who led the Guatemala syphilis experiments and was a pioneer in the treatment of syphilis with penicillin
August Historical Events
3rd August 1942: Italian explorer Christopher Columbus made his 1st voyage in a search of a new and better sea route to Asia. Departing from mainland Spain, Columbus went on a voyage to find a quicker route for trade with China.5th August 1962: Nelson Mandela was arrested. He was later sentenced to 5 years in prison. Mandela was one of the African nationalists under the South African Communist Party who were actively challenging the apartheid state. On June 12, 1964, He was added charges of sabotage against the apartheid South African government and sentenced to life in prison. He was released after 27 years in jail, on February 11, 1990.6th August 1945: The U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city known as Hiroshima. The weapon was created under the then top-secret program that was code-named "The Manhattan Project". This was during the 2nd World War. 9th August 1945: Another American B-29 bomber dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. The combined effects of the new American weapons forced the Japanese to formally surrender and bring to an end World War II the following week on August 14, 1945.14th August 1945: Japan surrenders to the allied powers. Japanese Emperor Hirohito formally announced the surrender the next day, and the surrender was signed the following month on 2nd September, 1945. This brought the end of World War II.15th August 1947:India gained independence from the United Kingdom. Indians celebrate their Independence Day every year on the 15th of August, which is a public holiday. Additionally, the country's constitution came into effect on the 26th of January, 1950, and the date is celebrated as the Indian Republic Day.
In total, the British Raj (the period of British rule of India) lasted for 100 years, beginning in 1858 and ending in 1947.
