Einstein's Letter to FDR
Aug 2 Albert Einstein writes to US President FDR informing him of recent research on fission chain reactions making possible the construction of "extremely powerful bombs" [1]
- Aug 2 US Hatch Act prohibits political activity by federal workers
Ondine
Aug 3 Jean Genet's play "Ondine" premieres in Paris
Dinah Shore Show
Aug 6 1st broadcast of "Dinah Shore Show" on NBC-radio
Hughes Congressional Medal
Aug 7 Millionaire Howard Hughes is presented with a Congressional Gold Medal
7th Venice Film Festival
Aug 8 7th Venice Film Festival opens with a United States boycott due to Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italian regime
- Aug 10 2nd Dutch De Geer government forms (1st with Social Democrats)
- Aug 11 Sergei Rachmaninov's last appearance in Europe
- Aug 12 Sabotage suspected in 'City of San Francisco' train crash which derails near Harney, Nevada, killing 24
- Aug 13 Yankees set AL shutout margin with 21-0 victory over A's
- Aug 14 First night MLB game in the City of Chicago is played at Comiskey Park; White Sox beat St. Louis Browns, 5-2
The Wizard of Oz
Aug 15 "The Wizard of Oz", American musical fantasy film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's book, premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood; directed by Victor Fleming and King Vidor with cast featuring Judy Garland (Dorothy), Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Tin Man), Bert Lahr (Cowardly Lion), Frank Morgan (Wizard), Billie Burke (Glinda), and Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch); songs by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg
- Aug 15 13 Nazi Luftwaffe Stuka dive bombers crash into the ground during a disastrous practice-demonstration at Neuhammer-am-Queis, Silesia, Germany (now Świętoszów, Poland) . No survivors.
- Aug 15 First night game at baseball's Comiskey Park in Chicago, White Sox beat Cleveland Browns 5-2
The Wizard of Oz
Aug 17 Musical film "The Wizard of Oz", starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, and Margaret Hamilton opens at Loews Capitol Theatre, NYC
- Aug 19 37.6 cm rainfall at Tuckerton, NJ (state record)
- Aug 20 1st black bowling league formed (National Bowling Assoc)
- Aug 20 Russian offensive under General Zjoekov against Japanese invasion in Mongolia
- Aug 21 Attorney Samuel Tucker organizes a peaceful sit-in at the public library in Alexandria, Virginia, in effort to grant Black patrons equal access; five young men are arrested for disorderly conduct - no trial is ever held and charges officially dropped 80 years later, and community builds a separate facility nearby [1]
- Aug 22 Dutch border guards take positions for German invasion
- Aug 22 Premier De Geer recalls Dutch holidaymakers in Black Forest
- Aug 23 John Cobb (Britain) drives 365.85 MPH (593.48 KPH) at Bonneville Flats
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
Aug 23 Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree to the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression pact and secretly divide Poland between themselves, setting the stage for World War II
- Aug 24 Germany & USSR sign 10-year non-aggression pact
- Aug 26 1st major league baseball telecast on W2XBS- Cincinnati Reds defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn
- Aug 26 Belgium mobilizes
- Aug 26 Croatia gets autonomous status
- Aug 27 Erich Warsitz in a Heinkel He-178 makes the 1st manned jet-propelled flight, with a turbo engine designed by Hans von Ohain
- Aug 27 Nazi Germany demands Danzig & Polish corridor
Queen Receives German Ambassador
Aug 27 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands receives German ambassador Grave Zech
Monty Takes Command
Aug 28 Gen Bernard Montgomery ("Monty") becomes commander of 3rd "Iron" Infantry division
- Aug 28 Journalist Care Hollingworth observes the “large numbers of troops, literally hundreds of tanks, armored cars and field guns” Germany had aligned along the Polish border. Three days later, Hitler invades Poland and WWII begins.
- Aug 28 Netherland mobilizes
- Aug 28 Sammy Fain and Jack Yellen's musical "George White's Scandals" premieres in NYC
Palestine Jews in WWII
Aug 29 Chaim Weizmann informs England that Palestine Jews will fight in WW II
- Aug 30 6th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: NY Giants 9, All-Stars 0 (81,456)
- Aug 30 General Reijnders appointed supreme commander of Dutch army
Yamamoto Takes Command
Aug 30 Isoroku Yamamoto appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Imperial Navy combined fleet
- Aug 30 NY Yankee Atley Donald pitches a baseball a record 94.7 mph (152 kph)
- Aug 30 Poland mobilizes for war
- Aug 31 Japanese invasion army driven out of Mongolia
- Aug 31 Staged "Polish" assault on radio station in Gleiwitz
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists