- Aug 1 Korey Stringer, American NFL football tackle, 1995-2000 (Minnesota Vikings), dies of complications from heat stroke at 27
- Aug 2 Edward Gardner, British barrister and Conservative Party politician (British Nationality Act 1981), dies at 89
- Aug 2 Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension - "Up, Up and Away"), dies of kidney failure at 68
- Aug 3 Christopher Hewett, British actor (Mr. Belvedere; The Producers) and theater director, dies of complications from diabetes at 80
- Aug 3 Lars Johan Werle, Swedish avant-garde composer (Pentagram; Resan - The Journey), singer, and jazz musician, dies at 75
- Aug 4 Lorenzo Music, American writer, actor and voice actor (Rhoda - "Carlton, the doorman"; Garfield), dies at 64
- Aug 5 Otema Allimadi, Prime Minister of Uganda (b. 1929)
- Aug 6 Dorothy Tutin, British actress (Importance of Being Ernest, Cromwell), dies at 71
- Aug 6 Jorge Amado de Faria, Brazilian writer (O Pais do Carnaval), dies at 88
- Aug 6 Larry Adler, American pop and classical harmonica player, and composer, dies of cancer at 87
- Aug 6 Wilhelm Mohnke, one of the original 120 members of the Nazi SS-Staff Guard (b. 1911)
- Aug 10 Lou Boudreau, American Baseball HOF shortstop (8 × MLB All-Star; World Series & AL MVP 1948; AL batting champion 1944; Cleveland Indians) and manager (Cleveland, Boston RS, KC A's, Chicago Cubs), dies at 84
- Aug 13 Jimmy Knapp, British trade unionist (National Union of Railwaymen), dies at 60
- Aug 13 Otto Stuppacher, Austrian racing driver, dies at 54
Earl Anthony (1938-2001)
Aug 14 American professional bowler (PBA money champ 1974-6, 1981-3), dies at 63
- Aug 15 Richard Chelimo, Kenyan athlete (b. 1972)
- Aug 16 Floyd Spence, American attorney and politician (Rep-R-SC, 1971-2001), dies at 73
- Aug 17 Flip Phillips [Joseph Filippelli], American jazz and swing tenor saxophonist and clarinet player (Jazz at the Philharmonic; Woody Herman), dies at 86
- Aug 18 David Peakall, British scientist (b. 1931)
- Aug 19 Betty Everett, American southern soul singer and pianist ("Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)"), dies at 61
- Aug 19 Donald Woods, South African journalist, anti-apartheid activist and author (Biko, Asking for Trouble), dies at 67
- Aug 20 Fred Hoyle, English astronomer (Steady State Theory, coined phrase 'Big Bang') and sci-fi writer, dies at 86
- Aug 20 Kim Stanley [Patricia Reid], American actress (Séance on a Wet Afternoon, The Chase, Right Stuff), dies at 76
- Aug 21 Calum MacKay, Canadian NHL ice hockey player, 1947-55 (Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens), dies at 74
- Aug 22 Tatyana Averina, Russian speed skater 1K, 3K (Olympic gold 1976), dies at 61
- Aug 23 Eric Allandale [Dubuisson], West Indian-British rock and soul trombonist, and songwriter (The Foundations - "Baby Now That I've Found You"), dies at 65
- Aug 23 Kathleen Freeman, American actress (Beverly Hillbillies, 3 Ring Circus), dies of lung cancer at 82
- Aug 23 Peter Maas, American novelist (b. 1929)
- Aug 24 Bettejane "Jane" Greer, American actress (Out of the Past, Prisoner of Zenda, Clown), dies at 76
- Aug 24 Hank Sauer, American baseball left fielder (NL MVP, HR leader, RBI leader 1952; MLB All Star 1950, 52; Chicago Cubs), dies from a heart attack at 84
- Aug 24 Raymond Wilding-White, American composer, dies at 78
- Aug 25 Aaliyah [Haughton], American singer and actress, dies in a plane crash in the Bahamas at 22
- Aug 25 Carl Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
- Aug 25 Ken Tyrrell, English race driver and founder of Tyrrell Racing, dies at 77
- Aug 25 Madge Adam, English solar astronomer (1st solar physicist at Oxford university's observatory), dies at 89
- Aug 25 Philippe Léotard, French actor and singer (b. 1940)
- Aug 26 Louis Muhlstock, Canadian painter, dies at 97
- Aug 27 Abu Ali Mustafa, leader of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (assassinated) (b. 1938)
- Aug 27 Michael Dertouzos, Greek internet pioneer, Director of the M.I.T. Laboratory for Computer Science (b. 1936)
- Aug 29 (Graeme) "Shirley" Strachan, Australian singer (Skyhooks - "Ego Is Not A Dirty Word"; "Jukebox in Siberia"), TV host (Shirl's Neighbourhood), and carpenter (Our House), dies as pilot in a helicopter crash at 49
- Aug 29 Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor (Holy Innocents, Camorra), dies at 76
- Aug 30 Govan Mbeki, South African leader (Head of the ANC, imprisoned with Mandela, father of Thabo Mbeki), dies at 91
- Aug 30 Ivor Spencer-Thomas, English farmer, entrepreneur and inventor, dies at 94
- Aug 30 Julie Bishop [Jacqueline Wells], American actress (My Hero, Northern Pursuit, Threat), dies of pneumonia at 87
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide