- Aug 2 Thurman Munson, American baseball catcher (MLB All-Star 1971, 73–78; World Series 1977, 78; AL MVP 1976; NY Yankees), dies in a plane crash at 32
- Aug 2 Victor Raúl Haya de la Torre, Peruvian politician and author (founder of Peruvian Aprista Party), dies at 84
- Aug 3 Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and politician (1977 Nobel Prize for Economics), dies at 80
- Aug 3 Renato Fasano, Italian composer, dies at 76
- Aug 6 Kurt Kaszner [Serwicher], Austrian actor (Kiss Me Kate, Lili, Casino Royale), dies of cancer at 65
- Aug 8 Nicholas Monsarrat, British novelist (b. 1910)
- Aug 9 Allan Frank, American actor (Charade Quiz), dies at 64
- Aug 9 Raymond Washington, American gangster, founder of Los Angeles gang the Crips, murdered in drive-by shooting at 25
- Aug 9 Walter O'Malley, American Baseball HOF executive (owner Brooklyn/LA Dodgers 1950-79), dies of congestive heart failure at 75
- Aug 10 John Nicholas "Dick" Foran, American actor (OK Crackerby, Fort Apache, Winners of the West), dies at 69
- Aug 10 Walther Gerlach, German physicist who, with Otto Stern, co-discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field (Stern–Gerlach effect), dies at 90
- Aug 12 Ernst Chain, German-British chemist and bacteriologist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1945 - for his work on penicillin), dies at 73
John Diefenbaker (1895-1979)
Aug 16 13th Prime Minister of Canada (Conservative: 1957-63), dies at 83
- Aug 17 Vivian Vance [Jones], American stage and screen actress (I Love Lucy - "Ethel Mertz"; The Lucy Show - "Viv"), dies of cancer at 70
- Aug 19 Dorsey Burnette, American rockabilly singer (The Rock and Roll Trio), and songwriter ("It's Late"), dies of a heart attack at 46
- Aug 21 Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer, dies at 68
- Aug 22 Henry Beernink, politician, dies at 69
- Aug 22 James T. Farrell, American writer (Studs Lonigan trilogy), dies at 75
- Aug 22 John Lee Granderson, American Chicago-style blues guitarist, dies at 71
- Aug 23 Mian Mohammad Saeed, cricketer (1st Pakistan captain 1948-49), dies
- Aug 23 Richard Hearne, British actor (Tons of Trouble, The Time of His Life), dies at 71
- Aug 24 Hanna Reitsch, German aviator and WWII military test pilot, dies of a heart attack at 67
- Aug 24 Sampson Sievers, Russian Orthodox Christian monk, priest and wonder-worker, dies at 79
- Aug 25 Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, Mexican archaeologist who excavated Palenque, dies at 73
- Aug 25 Ray Eberle, American big band vocalist (Glenn Miller; Gene Krupa), and bandleader, dies of a heart attack at 60 [1]
- Aug 25 Stan Kenton, American musician, jazz pianist, arranger and bandleader (Artistry In Rhythm), dies at 67
- Aug 26 Mika Waltari, Finnish novelist (The Egyptian), dies at 70
- Aug 27 Bolesław Szabelski, Polish organist and composer, dies at 82
Lord Mountbatten (1900-1979)
Aug 27 British naval officer and statesman, last Viceroy of India (1947), assassinated by an IRA bomb on his boat in Ireland at 79
- Aug 27 Nicholas Mountbatten, Lord Mountbatten's grandson, murdered by the IRA at 14
- Aug 28 Konstantin Simonov, Soviet journalist and poet (Wait Foe Me), dies at 73
- Aug 29 Mary Marquet, French actress (Landru, Paris Canaille), dies at 84
- Aug 29 Samuel I. Newhouse Sr., American businessman and publisher (Parade, Vogue, Glamour), dies at 84
- Aug 30 Jean Seberg, American actress (Breathless, Airport), commits suicide at 40
- Aug 31 E J "Tiger" Smith, English cricket wicket-keeper (11 Tests, 20 dismissals; Warwickshire CCC) and umpire (8 Tests 1933-38), dies at 93
- Aug 31 Sally Rand, American burlesque dancer, vedette and actress known for her ostrich feather fan and balloon bubble dances, dies at 75
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide