- Aug 1 Ismar Elbogen, German-American rabbi and scholar (Encyclopedia Judaica), dies at 68
- Aug 3 Edward "Corky" Cornelius, American jazz trumpeter (Benny Goodman; Gene Krupa), dies of kidney failure at 28
- Aug 5 Adam Kuckhoff, German writer and resistance fighter, is executed during WWII at 55
- Aug 6 Tom Garrett, Australian cricket all-rounder (19 Tests, TS 51no, 34 wickets; NSW CA), dies at 85
- Aug 7 Gustav Schmidt, German army general, commits suicide to avoid capture by the Russian army at 49
- Aug 10 C. Bergsma, Dutch resistance fighter (Waalsdorpervlakte), dies
- Aug 10 J. Janzen, Dutch resistance fighter (Waalsdorpervlakte), dies
- Aug 10 J. Posthuma, Dutch resistance fighter (Waalsdorpervlakte), dies
- Aug 12 Georges Martin Witkowski, composer, dies at 76
- Aug 14 Joe Kelley, American Baseball HOF left fielder (NL stolen base leader 1896 Baltimore Orioles) and manager (Cincinnati Reds, Boston Doves), dies at 71
- Aug 18 Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general, dies at 78
- Aug 18 Hans Jeschonnek, German air force general/chief-staff, commits suicide
- Aug 21 (Abraham) A. Merritt, American magazine editor and sci-fi author (The Moon Pool; Burn, Witch, Burn!), dies from a heart attack at 59
- Aug 21 Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish writer (Peter Gelukkige, Nobel 1917), dies at 86
- Aug 23 Paul Zilcher, German pianist, composer, and piano teacher, dies at 88
- Aug 24 Ernst Ottwalt [pen name for Ernst Gottwalt Nicolas], German writer and playwright, dies in a Soviet gulag at 41
- Aug 24 Simone Weil, French philosopher and social activist, dies from cardiac failure at 34
- Aug 25 Johan Petter Johansson, Swedish inventor and industrialist (modern adjustable spanner), dies at 86
- Aug 26 Ted Ray, British golfer (British Open 1912, US Open 1920), dies at 66
- Aug 27 Otto Selz, German psychologist, dies at 62
Boris III (1894-1943)
Aug 28 Tsar of Bulgaria (1918-43), dies of heart failure at 49; likely caused by poisoning but by whom remains a mystery
- Aug 30 Eustáquio van Lieshout, Dutch priest and missionary in Brazil, dies at 52
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide