- Aug 1 35 countries (33 European nations, Canada, and the U.S.) sign the"Helsinki Final Act" agreement concerning boundary integrity; human rights; and economic co-operation
- Aug 1 41st Chicago Charities College All-Star Game: Pittsburgh 21, All-Stars 14 (54,103)
- Aug 1 CSCE Final Act creates the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe
- Aug 2 104°F (40°C) at Providence, Rhode Island (state record)
- Aug 2 107°F (42°C) at Chester/New Bedford, Massachusetts (state record)
- Aug 3 500 drown when 2 river boats collide and sink in China's West River
- Aug 3 Louisiana Superdome is dedicated
- Aug 3 Poland and West Germany reach accord about returning ethnic Germans
Music History
Aug 4 Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant is seriously hurt in a car crash in Rhodes, Greece
- Aug 5 Philadelphia Phillies create MLB record when first 8 batters get hits off Bill Bonham, beat Cubs 13-5
Contract of Interest
Aug 5 Stevie Wonder signs a 7-year, 7 album, with $13 million advance contract with Motown Records
- Aug 8 As a result of rainfall from Typhoon Nina, the Banqiao Dam in China fails, causing the collapse of almost 6 million buildings and 229,000 deaths
Music History
Aug 8 Hank Williams Jr. falls off the side of Ajax Peak in Montana
- Aug 9 1st NFL game in Louisiana Superdome, Houston beats Saints 13-7
- Aug 9 Dodger Davey Lopes steals record 32nd consecutive base without being caught
Film & TV History
Aug 10 David Frost purchases exclusive rights to interview former US President Richard Nixon
PGA Championship
Aug 10 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Firestone CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his 4th PGA crown by 2 shots from Australian Bruce Crampton
- Aug 11 Expos' Jose Mangual struck out 5 times in a game
- Aug 11 US vetoes proposed admission of North & South Vietnam to UN
Cricket History
Aug 13 Batsman Viv Richards out for 291 v England for the West Indies, at the cricket Oval, London
- Aug 13 Bayardo Bar attack: Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers carry out a gun and bomb attack on a pub in Belfast frequented by Ulster Volunteer Force commanders; 4 Protestant civilians and 1 UVF member are killed
- Aug 14 King of Norway Olav V opens Svalbard Airport near Longyearbyen, the northernmost airport in the world with scheduled public flights
Music History
Aug 14 Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich is buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow
Bangladesh Coup d'état
Aug 15 Army officers in Bangladesh stage a military coup d'état, assassinate elected President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most members of his family and install Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad as President
Sholay
Aug 15 Indian action-adventure film "Sholay" directed by Ramesh Sippy, starring Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan is released, highest-grossing Indian film ever
- Aug 15 Joanne Little acquitted of murdering her prison guard in North Carolina - 1st woman to successfully use defense of deadly force to resist rape
- Aug 15 Miki Takeo makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II
Music History
Aug 16 British singer Peter Gabriel announces his departure from the rock group Genesis
- Aug 16 Musical revue "Rodgers & Hart" closes at Helen Hayes Theater, NYC, after 108 performances
- Aug 20 Il-62 crashes south of Damascus, Syria, killing 126
- Aug 20 Viking 1 launched to orbit around Mars, soft landing
- Aug 21 3 truck pile up kills 10, injures 26 on French highway
- Aug 21 Rick & Paul Reuschel become 1st brothers to pitch a combined shut out
- Aug 21 US lightens trade embargo against Cuba
- Aug 22 McNichols Sports Arena in Denver opens
- Aug 23 British "Free" guitarist Paul Kossoff revived from dead after heart attack, dies for good in 1976
- Aug 23 Classical Way wins Championship Cup at Roosevelt Raceway
- Aug 23 Communists take over Laos
- Aug 23 Ethiopian junta under Mengistu Haile
- Aug 23 Philip Kapleau conducts 1st jukai ceremony in Poland
- Aug 23 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- Aug 24 Davey Lopes steals his 38th consecutive base, then thrown out stealing
- Aug 24 Papadopoulos, Pattakos and Makarezos sentenced to death in Athens
PGA Players Championship
Aug 24 PGA Tournament Players Championship, Colonial CC: Al Geiberger leads wire-to-wire to finish 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Dave Stockton
- Aug 24 SF Giant Ed Halick no-hits NY Giants, 6-0
- Aug 24 Tampa Bay Rowdies beat Portland 2-0 for NASL cup
Born To Run
Aug 25 Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen's landmark third album "Born To Run"
- Aug 27 1st night match at US Tennis Open (Parun defeats Smith)
- Aug 27 Veronica & Colin Scargill (England) complete tandem bicycle ride, a record 18,020 miles around the world
- Aug 29 Star in Cygnus goes nova becoming 4th brightest in sky
- Aug 30 KTW-AM in Seattle, Washington changes call letters to KYAC (now KKFX)
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists