- Aug 1 South African Natives Resettlement Act comes into being, empowers the Government to remove Africans from any area within and next to the magisterial district of Johannesburg
- Aug 1 Tour de France: Louison Bobet of France wins by 15' 49" from Ferdinand Kübler, for the second of his 3 consecutive wins
- Aug 1 WKBT TV channel 8 in La Crosse, WI (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Aug 2 Tahar Ben Ammar appointed premier of Tunisia
- Aug 3 1st VTOL (Vertical Take-off & Land) flown
- Aug 4 Boscombe Down 1st flight of supersonic P-1 Lightning
- Aug 4 The Government of Pakistan approves the National Anthem, written by Hafeez Jullundhry and composed by Ahmed G. Chagla
- Aug 6 WLAC (now WTVF) TV channel 5 in Nashville (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Aug 7 Charles Mahoney becomes 1st US black to serve as a full UN delegate
Sports History
Aug 7 Englishman Roger Bannister beats Australia’s John Landy in the mile at the Empire Games in Vancouver; first time 2 men run sub-4 minute mile in the same race
- Aug 7 Jerome Moross and John Treville Latouche's "Golden Apple", adapted from parts of Homer's "Illiad" and "Odyssey", closes at Alvin Theater, NYC after, 125 performances
- Aug 10 All-time great English jockey Sir Gordon Richards retires from the saddle with British record 4,870 winning rides
- Aug 10 At Massena, New York, the groundbreaking ceremony for the St. Lawrence Seaway is held.
- Aug 10 Dutch Indonesian Union breaks up
- Aug 11 Formal peace treaty ends over 7 yrs of fighting in Indochina between the French and the Communist Viet Minh
- Aug 12 Senator Eddie Yost draws his 100th walk for 5th year in a row
- Aug 13 21st NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Detroit 31, All-Stars 6 (93,470)
- Aug 14 WGR TV (now WGRZ) TV channel 2 in Buffalo, NY (NBC) begins
Appointment of Interest
Aug 15 Dictator Alfredo Stroessner names himself the 42nd President of Paraguay
- Aug 15 WCHS TV channel 8 in Charleston-Huntington, WV (ABC) begins
- Aug 16 200 pilgrims drown in Farahzad Iran rain storm flood
- Aug 16 American brand management company Authentic Brands Group first publishes sports magazine "Sports Illustrated"
- Aug 18 James E. Wilkins is 1st black to attend a US cabinet meeting
Event of Interest
Aug 19 American Ralph Bunche named undersecretary of the UN
- Aug 22 15th Venice Film Festival: "Romeo and Juliet" directed by Renato Castellani wins Golden Lion
F1 World Champion
Aug 22 Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina clinches his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by winning Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten in a Maserati
- Aug 22 WPTV TV channel 5 in Palm Beach, FL (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Aug 23 First flight of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.
Getulio Vargas Resigns
Aug 23 President Getulio Vargas of Brazil resigns temporarily
- Aug 24 International Amateur Athletic Federation recognizes Red China
Communist Control Act
Aug 24 US President Eisenhower signs Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party, at height of McCarthyism
- Aug 24 William Heatherton's "Reluctant Debutante" premieres in London
- Aug 25 Ivan Filin wins Berne marathon (2:25:26.6) (260m)
- Aug 29 San Francisco International Airport (SFO) opens
- Aug 30 BC Lions play franchise's first CFL game in Vancouver; lose to Saskatchewan Roughriders, 17-0
- Aug 30 Hurricane Carol kills 68 on the US East Coast
- Aug 31 Cincinnati 1st baseman Ted Kluszewski hits 2 HRs in a 9-3 loss v Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium, Philadelphia; 1st Redleg to ever hit 40 MLB HRs, en route to season total 49
- Aug 31 Hurricane Carol hits New England, 70 die. Costliest ever hurricane at the time and 1st storm name to be retired.
- Aug 31 Indians beat Yanks 6-1 for record tying 26 wins in August (1931 A's)
- Aug 31 WMTW TV channel 8 in Portland-Poland Spring, ME (ABC) begins
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists