- Aug 5 Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian military officer and the 1st President of Brazil (1889-91), born in Vila Madalena, Brazil (d. 1892)
- Aug 20 Josef Strauss, Austrian composer (Dorfschwalben aus Austria), born in Mariahilf, Austria (d. 1870)
- Aug 22 Edouard Silas, Dutch composer, born in Amsterdam (d. 1909)
- Aug 22 Ezra Butler Eddy, Canadian businessman (E.B. Eddy Company) and politician, born in Vermont (d. 1906)
- Aug 22 Joseph Anthony Mower, American Major General (Union Army), born in Woodstock, Vermont (d. 1870)
- Aug 24 Walter Husted Stevens, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Penn Yan, New York (d. 1867)
- Aug 28 Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1894)
- Aug 28 Teresa Milanollo, Italian composer, born in Savigliano, Italy (d. 1904)