| August 12 in recent years |
August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 141 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
Pre-1600
1601–1900
1901–present
- 1914 – World War I: The United Kingdom and the British Empire declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1914 – World War I: The Battle of Halen a.k.a. Battle of the Silver Helmets a clash between large Belgian and German cavalry formations at Halen, Belgium.
- 1944 – Waffen-SS troops massacre 560 people in Sant'Anna di Stazzema.
- 1944 – Nazi German troops end the week-long Wola massacre, during which time at least 40,000 people are killed indiscriminately or in mass executions.
- 1944 – Alençon is liberated by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, the first city in France to be liberated from the Nazis by French forces.
- 1953 – First thermonuclear bomb test: The Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of "RDS-6s" (Joe 4) using a "layered" scheme.
- 1953 – The 7.2 Ms Ionian earthquake shakes the southern Ionian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 445 and 800 people are killed.
- 1960 – Echo 1A, NASA's first successful communications satellite, is launched.
- 1964 – South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country's racist policies.
- 1969 – Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside.
- 1976 – Between 1,000 and 3,500 Palestinians are killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the Lebanese Civil War.
- 1977 – The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.
- 1981 – The IBM Personal Computer is released.
- 1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, to become the worst single-plane air disaster.
- 1990 – Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date, is discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.
- 1992 – Canada, Mexico and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
- 1994 – Major League Baseball players go on strike, eventually forcing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.
- 2000 – The Russian Navy submarine Kursk explodes and sinks in the Barents Sea during a military exercise, killing her entire 118-man crew.
- 2016 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Births
Pre-1600
1601–1900
- 1604 – Tokugawa Iemitsu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1651)
- 1626 – Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer (d. 1690)
- 1629 – Archduchess Isabella Clara of Austria, Austrian archduchess (d. 1685)
- 1644 – Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Bohemian-Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1704)
- 1686 – John Balguy, English philosopher and author (d. 1748)
- 1696 – Maurice Greene, English organist and composer (d. 1755)
- 1762 – George IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1830)
- 1773 – Karl Faber, Prussian historian and academic (d. 1853)
- 1774 – Robert Southey, English poet and author (d. 1843)
- 1831 – Helena Blavatsky, Russian theosophist and scholar (d. 1891)
- 1852 – Michael J. McGivney, American priest and founder of the Knights of Columbus (d. 1890)
- 1856 – Diamond Jim Brady, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1917)
- 1857 – Ernestine von Kirchsberg, Austrian painter and educator (d. 1924)
- 1859 – Katharine Lee Bates, American poet and author (d. 1929)
- 1860 – Klara Hitler, Austrian mother of Adolf Hitler (d. 1907)
- 1866 – Jacinto Benavente, Spanish playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
- 1866 – Henrik Sillem, Dutch target shooter, mountaineer, and jurist (d. 1907)
- 1867 – Edith Hamilton, German-American author and educator (d. 1963)
- 1870 – Henry Reuterdahl, Swedish-American artist (d. 1925)
- 1871 – Gustavs Zemgals, Latvian politician, 2nd President of Latvia (d. 1939)
- 1876 – Mary Roberts Rinehart, American author and playwright (d. 1958)
- 1877 – Albert Bartha, Hungarian general and politician, Hungarian Minister of Defence (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Radclyffe Hall, English poet, author, and activist (d. 1943)
- 1880 – Christy Mathewson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1925)
- 1881 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director and producer (d. 1959)
- 1883 – Martha Hedman, Swedish-American actress and playwright (d. 1974)
- 1883 – Marion Lorne, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1885 – Jean Cabannes, French physicist and academic (d. 1959)
- 1885 – Keith Murdoch, Australian journalist (d. 1952)
- 1885 – Juhan Simm, Estonian composer and conductor (d. 1959)
- 1887 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
- 1889 – Zerna Sharp, American author and educator (d. 1981)
- 1891 – C. E. M. Joad, English philosopher and academic (d. 1953)
- 1891 – John McDermott, American golfer (d. 1971)
- 1892 – Alfred Lunt, American actor and director (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Maurice Fernandes, Guyanese cricketer (d. 1981)
- 1899 – Ben Sealey, Trinidadian cricketer (d. 1963)
1901–present
- 1902 – Mohammad Hatta, Indonesian statesman, 1st Vice President of Indonesia (d. 1980)
- 1904 – Idel Jakobson, Latvian-Estonian NKVD officer (d. 1997)
- 1904 – Tamás Lossonczy, Hungarian painter (d. 2009)
- 1904 – Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1906 – Harry Hopman, Australian tennis player and coach (d. 1985)
- 1906 – Tedd Pierce, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1972)
- 1907 – Gladys Bentley, American blues singer (d. 1960)
- 1907 – Joe Besser, American actor (d. 1988)
- 1907 – Boy Charlton, Australian swimmer (d. 1975)
- 1907 – Benjamin Sheares, Singaporean physician and politician, 2nd President of Singapore (d. 1981)
- 1909 – Bruce Matthews, Canadian general and businessman (d. 1991)
- 1910 – Yusof bin Ishak, Singaporean journalist and politician, 1st President of Singapore (d. 1970)
- 1910 – Jane Wyatt, American actress (d. 2006)
- 1911 – Cantinflas, Mexican actor, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1993)
- 1912 – Samuel Fuller, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
- 1913 – Richard L. Bare, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1914 – Gerd Buchdahl, German-English philosopher and author (d. 2001)
- 1914 – Ruth Lowe, Canadian pianist and songwriter (d. 1981)
- 1915 – Michael Kidd, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2007)
- 1916 – Ioan Dicezare, Romanian general and pilot (d. 2012)
- 1916 – Edward Pinkowski, American writer, journalist and Polonia historian (d. 2020)
- 1917 – Oliver Crawford, American screenwriter and author (d. 2008)
- 1917 – Ebba Haslund, Norwegian writer (d. 2009)
- 1918 – Sid Bernstein, American record producer (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Guy Gibson, Anglo-Indian commander and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1944)
- 1919 – Margaret Burbidge, English-American astrophysicist and academic (d. 2020)
- 1919 – Vikram Sarabhai, Indian physicist and academic (d. 1971)
- 1920 – Charles Gibson, American ethnohistorian (d. 1985)
- 1920 – Percy Mayfield, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
- 1922 – Fulton Mackay, Scottish actor and playwright (d. 1987)
- 1922 – Miloš Jakeš, Czech communist politician (d. 2020)
- 1923 – John Holt, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Derek Shackleton, English cricketer, coach, and umpire (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistani general and politician, 6th President of Pakistan (d. 1988)
- 1925 – Dale Bumpers, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Governor of Arkansas (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Guillermo Cano Isaza, Colombian journalist (d. 1986)
- 1925 – Donald Justice, American poet and writing teacher (d. 2004)
- 1925 – Norris McWhirter, Scottish publisher and activist co-founded the Guinness World Records (d. 2004)
- 1925 – Ross McWhirter, Scottish publisher and activist, co-founded the Guinness World Records (d. 1975)
- 1925 – George Wetherill, American physicist and academic (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Douglas Croft, American child actor (d. 1963)
- 1926 – John Derek, American actor, director, and cinematographer (d. 1998)
- 1926 – Joe Jones, American R&B singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Porter Wagoner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2007)
- 1928 – Charles Blackman, Australian painter and illustrator (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Bob Buhl, American baseball player (d. 2001)
- 1928 – Dan Curtis, American director and producer (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Buck Owens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
- 1930 – George Soros, Hungarian-American businessman and investor, founded the Soros Fund Management
- 1930 – Kanagaratnam Sriskandan, Sri Lankan engineer and civil servant (d. 2010)
- 1931 – William Goldman, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1932 – Dallin H. Oaks, American lawyer, jurist, and religious leader
- 1932 – Charlie O'Donnell, American radio and television announcer (d. 2010)
- 1932 – Sirikit, Queen mother of Thailand
- 1933 – Parnelli Jones, American race car driver and businessman
- 1933 – Frederic Lindsay, Scottish author and educator (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Robin Nicholson, English metallurgist and academic
- 1935 – John Cazale, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1936 – Kjell Grede, Swedish director and screenwriter (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Walter Dean Myers, American author and poet (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Jean-Paul L'Allier, Canadian journalist and politician, 38th Mayor of Quebec City (d. 2016)
- 1939 – George Hamilton, American actor
- 1939 – David Jacobs, American television writer and producer (d. 2023)
- 1939 – S. Jayakumar, Singaporean politician, 4th Senior Minister of Singapore
- 1939 – Pam Kilborn, Australian track and field athlete
- 1939 – David King, South African chemist and academic
- 1939 – Sushil Koirala, Nepalese politician, 37th Prime Minister of Nepal (d. 2016)
- 1939 – Roy Romanow, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Saskatchewan
- 1940 – Eddie Barlow, South African cricketer and coach (d. 2005)
- 1940 – John Waller, English historical European martial arts (HEMA) revival pioneer and fight director (d. 2018)
- 1941 – L. M. Kit Carson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1941 – Réjean Ducharme, Canadian author and playwright (d. 2017)
- 1941 – Dana Ivey, American actress
- 1942 – Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, German physician and author
- 1943 – Javeed Alam, Indian academician (d. 2016)
- 1945 – Dorothy E. Denning, American computer scientist and academic
- 1945 – Ron Mael, American keyboard player and songwriter
- 1946 – Terry Nutkins, English television host and author (d. 2012)
- 1947 – John Nathan-Turner, English author and television director, producer, and writer (d. 2002)
- 1948 – Siddaramaiah, Indian lawyer and politician, 22nd Chief Minister of Karnataka
- 1948 – Graham J. Zellick, English academic and jurist
- 1949 – Panagiotis Chinofotis, Greek admiral and politician
- 1949 – Mark Knopfler, Scottish-English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1949 – Lou Martin, Northern Irish pianist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2012)
- 1949 – Alex Naumik, Lithuanian-Norwegian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Rick Ridgeway, American mountaineer and photographer
- 1950 – Jim Beaver, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1950 – August "Kid Creole" Darnell, American musician, bandleader, singer-songwriter, and record producer
- 1950 – George McGinnis, American basketball player (d. 2023)
- 1951 – Klaus Toppmöller, German football manager and former player
- 1952 – Daniel Biles, American associate justice of the Kansas Supreme Court
- 1952 – Sitaram Yechury, Indian politician and leader of CPI(M)
- 1954 – Rob Borbidge, Australian politician, 35th Premier of Queensland
- 1954 – Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong businessman and politician, 3rd Chief Executive of Hong Kong
- 1954 – Ibolya Dávid, Hungarian lawyer and politician, Minister of Justice of Hungary
- 1954 – François Hollande, French lawyer and politician, 24th President of France
- 1954 – Sam J. Jones, American actor
- 1954 – Pat Metheny, American jazz guitarist and composer
- 1956 – Lee Freedman, Australian horse trainer
- 1956 – Bruce Greenwood, Canadian actor and producer
- 1956 – Sidath Wettimuny, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1957 – Friedhelm Schütte, German footballer
- 1957 – Amanda Redman, English actress
- 1958 – Jürgen Dehmel, German bass player and songwriter
- 1959 – Kerry Boustead, Australian rugby league player
- 1960 – Laurent Fignon, French cyclist and sportscaster (d. 2010)
- 1960 – Greg Thomas, Welsh-English cricketer
- 1961 – Roy Hay, English guitarist, keyboard player, and composer
- 1961 – Mark Priest, New Zealand cricketer
- 1963 – Kōji Kitao, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 60th Yokozuna (d. 2019)
- 1963 – Campbell Newman, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Queensland
- 1963 – Sir Mix-a-Lot, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1964 – Txiki Begiristain, Spanish footballer
- 1964 – Michael Hagan, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1965 – Peter Krause, American actor
- 1966 – Tobias Ellwood, American-English captain and politician
- 1967 – Andy Hui, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor
- 1967 – Andrey Plotnikov, Russian race walker
- 1967 – Regilio Tuur, Dutch boxer
- 1968 – Thorsten Boer, German footballer and manager
- 1969 – Aga Muhlach, Filipino actor and politician
- 1969 – Stuart Williams, Nevisian cricketer
- 1969 – Tanita Tikaram, British pop/folk singer-songwriter
- 1970 – Aleksandar Đurić, Bosnian footballer
- 1970 – Charles Mesure, English-Australian actor and screenwriter
- 1970 – Toby Perkins, English businessman and politician
- 1970 – Jim Schlossnagle, American baseball player and coach
- 1970 – Anthony Swofford, American soldier and author
- 1971 – Michael Ian Black, American comedian, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Yvette Nicole Brown, American actress, comedian, and talk show host
- 1971 – Rebecca Gayheart, American actress
- 1971 – Pete Sampras, American tennis player
- 1972 – Demir Demirkan, Turkish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1972 – Mark Kinsella, Irish footballer and manager
- 1972 – Takanohana Kōji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 65th Yokozuna
- 1972 – Gyanendra Pandey, Indian cricketer
- 1972 – Del the Funky Homosapien, American rapper
- 1973 – Jonathan Coachman, American sportscaster and wrestler
- 1973 – Mark Iuliano, Italian footballer and manager
- 1973 – Todd Marchant, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1974 – Matt Clement, American baseball player and coach
- 1974 – Karl Stefanovic, Australian television host
- 1975 – Casey Affleck, American actor
- 1976 – Pedro Collins, Barbadian cricketer
- 1976 – Mikko Lindström, Finnish guitarist
- 1976 – Henry Tuilagi, Samoan rugby player
- 1976 – Antoine Walker, American basketball player
- 1977 – Plaxico Burress, American football player
- 1977 – Jesper Grønkjær, Danish footballer
- 1977 – Park Yong-ha, South Korean actor (d. 2010)
- 1978 – Chris Chambers, American football player
- 1978 – Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – D. J. Houlton, American baseball player
- 1979 – Ian Hutchinson, English motorcycle racer
- 1979 – Cindy Klassen, Canadian speed skater
- 1979 – Austra Skujytė, Lithuanian pentathlete
- 1980 – Javier Chevantón, Uruguayan footballer
- 1980 – Maggie Lawson, American actress
- 1980 – Dominique Swain, American actress
- 1980 – Matt Thiessen, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Tony Capaldi, Norwegian-Northern Irish footballer
- 1981 – Djibril Cissé, French footballer
- 1982 – Boban Grnčarov, Macedonian footballer
- 1982 – Alexandros Tzorvas, Greek footballer
- 1983 – Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Dutch footballer
- 1983 – Kléber Giacomance de Souza Freitas, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Manoa Vosawai, Italian rugby player
- 1984 – Bryan Pata, American football player (d. 2006)
- 1985 – Danny Graham, English footballer
- 1985 – Franck Moutsinga, German rugby player
- 1986 – Andrei Agius, Maltese footballer
- 1986 – Kyle Arrington, American football player
- 1987 – Vanessa Watts, West Indian cricketer
- 1988 – Tyson Fury, English boxer
- 1988 – Matt Gillett, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Tom Cleverley, English footballer
- 1989 – Hong Jeong-ho, South Korean footballer
- 1989 – Sunye, South Korean singer
- 1990 – Mario Balotelli, Italian footballer
- 1990 – Marvin Zeegelaar, Dutch footballer
- 1990 – Martin Zurawsky, German footballer
- 1991 – Jesinta Campbell, Australian model
- 1991 – Sam Hoare, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – LaKeith Stanfield, American actor and musician
- 1992 – Cara Delevingne, English model and actress
- 1992 – Jacob Loko, Australian rugby player
- 1992 – Teo Gheorghiu, Swiss pianist and actor
- 1993 – Ewa Farna, Czech singer-songwriter
- 1993 – Luna, South Korean singer, actress and presenter
- 1996 – Choi Yu-jin, South Korean singer and actress
- 1996 – Julio Urías, Mexican baseball player
- 1996 – Arthur Melo, Brazilian footballer
- 1996 – Samuel Moutoussamy, Congolese footballer
- 1998 – Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greek tennis player
- 1999 – Matthijs de Ligt, Dutch footballer
- 1999 – Dream, American YouTuber
- 1999 – Jule Niemeier, German tennis player
- 2000 – Tristan Charpentier, French racing driver
- 2001 – Dixie D'Amelio, American social media personality and singer
Deaths
Pre-1600
- 30 BC – Cleopatra, Egyptian queen (b. 69 BC)
- 792 – Jænberht, archbishop of Canterbury
- 875 – Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 825)
- 960 – Li Gu, chancellor of Later Zhou (b. 903)
- 961 – Yuan Zong, emperor of Southern Tang (b. 916)
- 1222 – Vladislaus III, duke of Bohemia
- 1295 – Charles Martel, king of Hungary (b. 1271)
- 1319 – Rudolf I, duke of Bavaria (b. 1274)
- 1315 – Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick, English nobleman
- 1335 – Prince Moriyoshi, Japanese shōgun (b. 1308)
- 1399 – Demetrius I Starshy, Prince of Trubczewsk (in battle) (b. 1327)
- 1424 – Yongle, emperor of the Ming Empire (b. 1360)
- 1484 – Sixtus IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1414)
- 1546 – Francisco de Vitoria, Spanish theologian (b. 1492)
- 1577 – Thomas Smith, English scholar and diplomat (b. 1513)
- 1588 – Alfonso Ferrabosco the elder, Italian-English composer (b. 1543)
1601–1900
- 1602 – Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, Mughal vizier and historian (b. 1551)
- 1612 – Giovanni Gabrieli, Italian organist and composer (b. 1557)
- 1638 – Johannes Althusius, German jurist and philosopher (b. 1557)
- 1674 – Philippe de Champaigne, Belgian-French painter and educator (b. 1602)
- 1689 – Pope Innocent XI (b. 1611)
- 1778 – Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire (b. 1714)
- 1809 – Mikhail Kamensky, Russian field marshal (b. 1738)
- 1810 – Étienne Louis Geoffroy, French pharmacist and entomologist (b. 1725)
- 1822 – Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Irish-English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (b. 1769)
- 1827 – William Blake, English poet and painter (b. 1757)
- 1829 – Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie, French general (b. 1760)
- 1848 – George Stephenson, English engineer and academic (b. 1781)
- 1849 – Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, and politician, 4th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1761)
- 1861 – Eliphalet Remington, American inventor and businessman, founded Remington Arms (b. 1793)
- 1864 – Sakuma Shōzan, Japanese scholar and politician (b. 1811)
- 1865 – William Jackson Hooker, English botanist and academic (b. 1785)
- 1891 – James Russell Lowell, American poet and critic (b. 1819)
- 1896 – Thomas Chamberlain, American colonel (b. 1841)
- 1900 – Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian chess player and theoretician (b. 1836)
1901–present
- 1901 – Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Finnish-Swedish botanist, geologist, mineralogist, and explorer (b. 1832)
- 1904 – William Renshaw, English tennis player (b. 1861)
- 1914 – John Philip Holland, Irish engineer, designed HMS Holland 1 (b. 1840)
- 1918 – William Thompson, American archer (b. 1848)
- 1921 – Pyotr Boborykin, Russian playwright and journalist (b. 1836)
- 1922 – Arthur Griffith, Irish journalist and politician, 3rd President of Dáil Éireann (b. 1871)
- 1924 – Sándor Bródy, Hungarian journalist and author (b. 1863)
- 1928 – Leoš Janáček, Czech composer and educator (b. 1854)
- 1934 – Hendrik Petrus Berlage, Dutch architect, designed the Beurs van Berlage (b. 1856)
- 1935 – Friedrich Schottky, German mathematician and academic (b. 1851)
- 1940 – Nikolai Triik, Estonian painter, illustrator, and academic (b. 1884)
- 1941 – Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, English soldier and politician, 56th Governor General of Canada (b. 1866)
- 1941 – Bobby Peel, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1857)
- 1943 – Vittorio Sella, Italian photographer and mountaineer (b. 1859)
- 1944 – Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1915)
- 1952 – David Bergelson, Ukrainian author and playwright (b. 1884)
- 1955 – Thomas Mann, German author and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
- 1955 – James B. Sumner, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1959 – Mike O'Neill, Irish-American baseball player and manager (b. 1877)
- 1964 – Ian Fleming, English spy, journalist, and author (b. 1908)
- 1966 – Artur Alliksaar, Estonian poet and author (b. 1923)
- 1967 – Esther Forbes, American historian and author (b. 1891)
- 1973 – Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
- 1973 – Karl Ziegler, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- 1976 – Tom Driberg, British politician/journalist (b. 1905)
- 1978 – John Williams, English motorcycle racer (b. 1946)
- 1979 – Ernst Boris Chain, German-Irish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- 1982 – Henry Fonda, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1982 – Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer (b. 1959)
- 1983 – Theodor Burchardi, German admiral (b. 1892)
- 1984 – Ladi Kwali, Nigerian potter (b. 1925)
- 1985 – Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 1985 – Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver (b. 1951)
- 1986 – Evaline Ness, American author and illustrator (b. 1911)
- 1988 – Jean-Michel Basquiat, American painter (b. 1960)
- 1989 – Aimo Koivunen, Finnish soldier and corporal (b. 1917)
- 1989 – William Shockley, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- 1990 – Dorothy Mackaill, English-American actress (b. 1903)
- 1992 – John Cage, American composer and theorist (b. 1912)
- 1996 – Victor Ambartsumian, Georgian-Armenian astrophysicist and academic (b. 1908)
- 1996 – Mark Gruenwald, American author and illustrator (b. 1953)
- 1997 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Jean Drapeau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1916)
- 2000 – Gennady Lyachin, Russian captain (b. 1955)
- 2000 – Loretta Young, American actress (b. 1913)
- 2002 – Enos Slaughter, American baseball player and manager (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Godfrey Hounsfield, English biophysicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1919)
- 2005 – John Loder, English sound engineer and producer, founded Southern Studios (b. 1946)
- 2006 – Victoria Gray Adams, American civil rights activist (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Merv Griffin, American actor, singer, and producer, created Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Mike Wieringo, American author and illustrator (b. 1963)
- 2008 – Christie Allen, English-Australian singer (b. 1954)
- 2008 – Helge Hagerup, Norwegian playwright, poet and novelist (b. 1933)
- 2009 – Les Paul, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1915)
- 2010 – Isaac Bonewits, American Druid, author, and activist; founded Ár nDraíocht Féin (b. 1949)
- 2010 – Guido de Marco, Maltese lawyer and politician, 6th President of Malta (b. 1931)
- 2010 – Richie Hayward, American drummer and songwriter (b. 1946)
- 2010 – André Kim, South Korean fashion designer (b. 1935)
- 2011 – Robert Robinson, English journalist and author (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Jimmy Carr, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Jerry Grant, American race car driver (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Joe Kubert, Polish-American illustrator, founded The Kubert School (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Édgar Morales Pérez, Mexican engineer and politician
- 2012 – Alf Morris, English politician and activist (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Tereza de Arriaga, Portuguese painter (b. 1915)
- 2013 – Hans-Ekkehard Bob, German soldier and pilot (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Pauline Maier, American historian and academic (b. 1938)
- 2013 – David McLetchie, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Vasiliy Mihaylovich Peskov, Russian ecologist and journalist (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Lauren Bacall, American model, actress, and singer (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Futatsuryū Jun'ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1950)
- 2014 – Kongō Masahiro, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Jaakko Hintikka, Finnish philosopher and academic (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Stephen Lewis, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Meshulim Feish Lowy, Hungarian-Canadian rabbi and author (b. 1921)
- 2015 – John Scott, English organist and conductor (b. 1956)
- 2016 – Juan Pedro de Miguel, Spanish handball player (b. 1958)
- 2017 – Bryan Murray, Canadian ice hockey coach (b. 1942)
- 2019 – DJ Arafat, Ivorian DJ and singer (b. 1986)
- 2020 – Bill Yeoman, American college football player and coach (b. 1927)
- 2021 – Una Stubbs, English actress, TV personality, and dancer (b. 1937)
Holidays and observances
See also
In Spanish: 12 de agosto para niños
