/year

August

eighth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

107 dated entries naming August, drawn from 104 separate years between 48 BCE and 1962 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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1st century BC

  • 48 BCEAugust – Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus, who flees to Egypt. Pompey's army by and large is pardoned.source
  • 8 BCESextilis, the eighth month of the early Julian calendar, is renamed Augustus (August) by a decree of the Roman Senate in honor of Augustus.source

3rd century

  • 231March – August – Battle of Mount Qi: The Chinese state of Shu Han gains a tactical victory, and the state of Cao Wei a strategic victory.source
  • 297August: Domitius Domitianus launches a usurpation against Diocletian in Egypt. He is perhaps aided by popular discontent with Diocletian's taxation reform.source

4th century

  • 378August – Gratian continues down the Danube to the "Camp of Mars" (frontier fortress near modern Niš), where he loses several men in an ambush by a band of Alans.source

5th century

  • 468August – Marcellinus is murdered in Sicily, probably at the instigation of his political rival, Ricimer. Heraclius is left to fight alone against the Vandals; after a 2-year campaign in the desert he returns to Constantinople.source
  • 468August – Emperor Ming of Song grants Lưu Bột the title of Jiaozhou governor, along with an army to retake Jiaozhou from Lý Trường Nhân. After landing in Jiaozhou, Lưu Bột is quickly defeated by Lý Trường Nhân, and dies shortly afterward.source
  • 476August – Basiliscus, Roman usurper, is deposed and Zeno is restored as emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. With the support of his adviser Illus, he besieges Constantinople, but the Senate opens the gates, allowing him to resume the throne. Basiliscus flees to sanctuary in a church, but surrenders himself and his family after extracting a solemn promise from Zeno not to shed their blood. Basiliscus is sent to a fortress in Cappadocia, where he later dies from starvation.source
  • 489August – Battle of Sirmium in Pannonia: The Ostrogoths under Theodoric the Great, moving to invade Northern Italy at the behest of Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno, defeat the Gepids attempting to stop their advance.source

6th century

  • 536August – Volcanic winter of 536: Snow falls in China, which causes the harvest to be delayed.source

7th century

  • 624August – Upon the death of Khunays ibn Hudhafa, a companion of Muhammad, Khunays's widow Hafsa bint Umar becomes eligible to marry Muhammad.source
  • 633August – Battle of Dumat Al-Jandal: A Muslim army (10,000 men) under Khalid defeats the rebel Arab Christians at Dumat Al-Jandal (Saudi Arabia).source

8th century

  • 746August or September – Battle of Kafartuta: Caliph Marwan II defeats and kills Al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani, leader of the Kharijites, in Upper Mesopotamia. The rebels withdraw across the River Tigris, escaping destruction.source
  • 763August – Byzantine troops invade the Papal States, in alliance with King Desiderius of the Lombards. King Pepin III ("the Short") intervenes, and begins negotiations between the Lombards and Pope Paul I. Desiderius promises to end the hostilities, but on condition that Pepin sends back Lombard hostages held by the Franks.source

9th century

  • 825August - This year, on the first day of Chingam month, Kerala’s Kollam Era ( Malayalam Era/Calendar, also known as Kollavarsham) commences.source
  • 867August – Treaty of Compiègne: King Charles the Bald cedes the Cotentin Peninsula to Salomon, duke ('king') of Brittany, after he had sent his son-in-law Pascweten to negotiate a peace. Charles orders the fortification of the cities of Tours, Le Mans and Compiègne.source
  • 877August – Siege of Syracuse: The Aghlabids begin raiding the Byzantine territories, in the east of the island of Sicily. They besiege Syracuse, and blockade the fortress city by sea and land.source
  • 897August – Stephen VI is removed from office, imprisoned and strangled in his cell. He is succeeded by Romanus as the 114th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 900August – Abdallah, son of the Aghlabid emir Ibrahim II, represses a revolt of his Muslim subjects, and then initiates a campaign against the last Byzantine strongholds in Sicily.source

10th century

  • 924August – In what is now South Korea, at Seorabeo (now Gyeongju in South Korea), Gyeongae becomes the new monarch of the Kingdom of Silla upon the death of his older brother, King Gyeongmyeong.source
  • 925August — In Spain, Fruela II, King of León and King of Galicia, dies and is temporarily succeeded by his son, Alfonso Fróilaz.source
  • 977August – Otto II appoints his cousin Charles, illegitimate son of the late King Louis IV (d'Outremer), as duke of Lorraine. King Lothair III – who claims the duchy as his own territory – declares war to the Holy Roman Empire. He leads an expedition into Lorraine accompanied by Hugh Capet. Lothair crosses the Meuse River and takes Aachen, sacking the imperial palace.source

11th century

  • 1038August – A battle occurs near the town of Alfuente, Andalucia, between the Taifa of Granada and the Taifa of Almeria, as described by the Jewish poet Samuel ibn Naghrela.source
  • 1100August – Battle of Melitene: Bohemond I of Antioch is captured by the Danishmends, leaving Tancred as regent of the Principality of Antioch for two years.source

12th century

  • 1153August – Stephen assemble troops to renew the siege of Wallingford Castle in a final attempt to take the stronghold. Henry of Anjou marches south to relieve the siege, arriving with a small army of mercenaries. He places Stephen's besieging troops under siege themselves. Stephen agrees to make a truce and accepts Henry as heir to the English throne.source
  • 1177August – Baldwin V, King of Jerusalem (d. 1186)source
  • 1182August – Andronikos Komnenos, a cousin of Maria's late husband, Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos), raises an army and enters the city, representing himself as the 'protector' of Alexios. He is proclaimed as co-emperor under the name Andronikos I, and has Maria imprisoned and later condemned to be strangled – forcing a signature from Alexios to put his mother to death.source
  • 1182July – August – Battle of Belvoir Castle: Saladin crosses into Palestine round the south of the Sea of Galilee. King Baldwin IV (the Leper) of Jerusalem marches with his army back from Oultrejordain and attacks Saladin's forces near Belvoir Castle (modern Israel). In a fierce battle, the Crusaders successfully repel Saladin's invasion. At the end of the day, each side retires, claiming the victory.source
  • 1185August – King William II of Sicily ("the Good") lands in Epirus with a Siculo-Norman expeditionary force of 200 ships and 80,000 men (including 5,000 knights) and marches as far as the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki, which he takes and pillages, massacring some 7,000 Greek citizens.source
  • 1186August – Baldwin V of Jerusalem (b. 1177)source

13th century

  • 1222August – After the death of John I of Sweden on March 10, 6-year-old Erik Eriksson is elected new King of Sweden (sometime between this time and July 1223).source
  • 1226August – At Xingqing in what is now China's Yinchuan province, Emperor Xianzong of the Western Xia Empire dies after a three-year reign, and is succeeded by his nephew, Li Xian. The Mongols under Genghis Khan force the surrender of Western Xia the following year, bringing an end to the Yinchuan province as a separate nation.source
  • 1233August – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, signs an alliance with Llywelyn the Great, to join forces to revolt against King Henry III. Richard is faced by demands from royal bailiffs in September – where the garrison of Usk Castle is forced to surrender.source
  • 1240August – Siege of Faenza: Frederick II lays siege to the town of Faenza during the war of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Meanwhile, Frederick makes an alliance with Pisa to support his campaign against the Papal States.source
  • 1270Before August – King Louis IX of France launches the Eighth Crusade, in an attempt to recapture the Crusader States from the Mamluk sultan Baibars; the opening engagement is a siege of Tunis.source
  • 1273August – Mongol forces surround the castle of Al-Bira. Baibars skirts around the enemy with camels and wagons. He launches a devastating attack and routes the Mongols.source
  • 1290August – Italian Crusaders massacre Muslim merchants and peasants, and some local Christians in Acre. Some claim it began at a drunken party – others that a European husband found his wife making love to a Muslim. The barons and local knights try to rescue a few Muslims and take them to the safety of the castle, while some ringleaders are arrested.source

14th century

  • 1303August – The 17-year-old King Ferdinand the Summoned, supervised by his mother, Queen-Regent María de Molina, signs a peace treaty at Córdoba with Granada for three years. In return, Muhammad III renews his vassalage with Castile and pays the same tribute given as to his father, the late King Sancho the Brave. The strategic port city of Tarifa remains in Castilian hands.source
  • 1319August – Magnus Eriksson, grandson of the recently deceased king Haakon V and already proclaimed King of Sweden, is recognized by the Norwegian assembly as King Magnus VII of Norway, thus establishing a personal union with Sweden and Norway.source
  • 1337August – Second War of Scottish Independence: English forces relieve Stirling Castle, ending Edward III of England's last campaign in Scotland.source
  • 1340August – Haakon VI, king of Norway 1355–1380 and of Sweden 1362–1364 (d. 1380)source
  • 1345August – Gascon campaign of 1345 - Battle of Bergerac, Gascony: English troops are victorious over the French.source
  • 1346August – Muhammad Aytimur, leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar (alternative date is September)source
  • 1355August – Battle of Nesbit Moor: The Scottish army decisively defeats the English.source
  • 1359August – Qulpa becomes Khan of the Blue Horde after the death of Berdi Beg.source
  • 1360August – Peace is concluded between Sweden and Denmark with the arbitration in Helsingborg. Magnus IV Eriksson cedes the Scanian lands except northern Halland to Denmark. In return, Valdemar IV Atterdag must help Magnus against his domestic enemies.source
  • 1363August – The Revolt of Saint Titus, against the rule of the Republic of Venice in the Kingdom of Candia (island of Crete), begins.source
  • 1377August – The Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty of China scraps the Office of Reports Inspection (established in 1370) for a new Office of Transmission, in his efforts to create a more efficient communicatory system in the empire. A month before this he noted that anyone could send memorials to the throne; commoners often did, although the only times their petitions were read aloud to the emperor were when they called for the impeachment of local officials who were not up to par with their official duties.Wilkinson, 534–535.source
  • 1381August – Kęstutis overthrows his nephew, Jogaila, as Grand Duke of Lithuania. Jogaila is allowed to remain as governor of eastern Lithuania. This marks the beginning of the Lithuanian Civil War (1381–84).source

15th century

  • 1423August – China's Emperor Cheng Zu launches his fourth campaign against the Northern Yuan.source
  • 1423August – Demetrios Chalkokondyles, Greek scholar (d. 1511)source
  • 1424August – Demetrios Chalkokondyles, Greek scholar (d. 1511)source
  • 1425August – (Tawthalin 787 ME); King Thihathu of Ava, the Burmese monarch in what is now Myanmar, is ambushed at Amarapura after being guided into a trap by one of his wives, Queen Shin Bo-Me. His 8-year-old nephew, Min Hla, becomes the new King while Shin Bo-Me seeks a way to take the throne for herself.source
  • 1434August – Portuguese explorer Gil Eanes and his crew sail around the dangerous Cape Bojador of North Africa (off of Western Sahara) and survive, becoming the first Europeans to make the voyage and ending the legends about what lies on the other side of the "Dark Sea". The achievement is a breakthrough in trade between Europe and Asia.source
  • 1444August – After making peace with the Karamanids, Ottoman Sultan Murad II abdicates in favor of his son Mehmed II.source
  • 1446August – Christopher of Bavaria undertakes a fruitless military campaign against Gotland to end Erik of Pomerania's piracy.source
  • 1464August – Sophronius I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and leader of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, dies after a reign of 11 years and is succeeded by the former Partriarch, Gennadius II.source
  • 1466August – Hacı I Giray, first ruler of the Crimean Khanate (b. 1397)source
  • 1478August – Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, Spanish historian (d. 1557)source
  • 1486August (day unknown) – Marco Barbarigo, the 73rd Doge of Venice, was said to have died in a dispute caused by his brother and successor, Agostino Barbarigo.source
  • 1487August – Bartolomeu Dias leaves Lisbon, on his voyage to the Cape of Good Hope.source
  • 1499August – Polydore Vergil completes De inventoribus rerum, the first modern history of inventions.source

16th century

  • 1520August – Martin Luther publishes To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation.source
  • 1539August – Vannoccio Biringuccio, Italian metallurgist (b. 1480)source
  • 1565August – Jacques Buus, Flemish composer and organist (b. 1500)source
  • 1581August – King Mayadunne of Sitawaka (b. 1501)source
  • 1592August – 1592–1593 London plague breaks out in England.source
  • 1596August – David Fabricius discovers the variable nature of the star Mira.source

17th century

  • 1606August (approx.) – Possible first performance of William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth in London.source
  • 1611August – Antoni Clarassó i Terès, Spanish priestsource
  • 1624August – Portuguese Jesuit priest António de Andrade becomes the first European to enter Tibet, arriving at Tsaparang.source
  • 1631August – Thirty Years' War: Running out of supplies, Tilly is forced to send his army into the Electorate of Saxony in order to secure supplies, as well as to force a reaction from John George, Elector of Saxony and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.source
  • 1634August (prob.) – Jean Nicolet becomes the first European to set foot in what becomes the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He is in search of a water-route to the Pacific, when he lands at Green Bay of Lake Michigan.source
  • 1635August (bur.) – Richard Whitbourne, English colonist of Newfoundland (b. 1561)source
  • 1648August – The Cambridge Platform, a new, localized system of Christian church governance, is agreed upon and written down in New England.source
  • 1650August – John Parkinson, English herbalist and botanist (b. 1567)source
  • 1655August – The governor of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, attacks the New Sweden (Delaware) colony.source
  • 1670mid-August – Three Spanish frigates from Spanish Florida, sailing from St. Augustine and under the command of Juan Menendez Marques, arrive at Charleston harbor, preparing to attack the English settlement in South Carolina. The English settlers have been warned in advance by Indians who had found out about the invasion. Because of a storm, and the English preparations for a siege, Captain Menendez abandons the colony without attempting an attack.source
  • 1677August – The French guild of the Maitresses bouquetieres is founded in Paris.source
  • 1684August – Edmond Halley goes to Cambridge to discuss the problem of planetary motion with Isaac Newton.source

18th century

  • 1708August – The future Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor weds Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.source
  • 1717August – William Cochrane, Scottish MP in the Parliament of Great Britainsource
  • 1731August – Henry Constantine Jennings, English gambler and collector (d. 1819)source
  • 1748August – The Camberwell beauty butterfly is named after specimens found at Camberwell in London.source
  • 1763August – Fire in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, destroys 2,600 houses.source

19th century

  • 1803August – Francesca Anna Canfield, American linguist, poet and translator (d. 1833)source
  • 1835August – H. Fox Talbot exposes the world's first known photographic negatives, at Lacock Abbey in England.source
  • 1843August – Sequoyah, Native American silversmith, creator of the Cherokee syllabary (b. c. 1767)source
  • 1847August – Yale Corporation establishes the first graduate school in the United States, as Department of Philosophy and the Arts (renamed Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1892).source
  • 1852August – Táhirih, Iranian Baha'i theologian, poet and feminist (b. 1814)source
  • 1856August – Pre-human remains are found in the Neanderthal Valley in Prussia.source
  • 1858August – The first aerial photography is carried out by Nadar, from a moored balloon in France.source
  • 1883August – King William's College is opened on the Isle of Man.source
  • 1885August – Aga Khan II, Iranian religious leader (b. 1830)source
  • 1887August – The earliest constituent of the U.S. National Institutes of Health is established at the Marine Hospital, Staten Island, as the Laboratory of Hygiene.source
  • 1890August – Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Alexander III meet at Narva.source
  • 1896August – The 1896 Eastern North America heat wave kills 1,500 people from Chicago, Illinois to Boston, Massachusetts.source

20th century

  • 1914March 29 – Katherine Routledge and her husband arrive on Easter Island, to make the first true study of it (they depart in August 1915).source
  • 1916August – Robert Baden-Powell publishes The Wolf Cub's Handbook in the U.K., establishing the basis of the junior section of the Scouting movement, the Wolf Cubs (modern-day Cub Scouts).source
  • 1918June–August – The "Spanish flu" becomes pandemic. Over 30 million people die in the following 6 months.source
  • 1928August – Margaret Mead's influential cultural anthropology text, Coming of Age in Samoa, is published in the U.S.source
  • 1930August – The volcanic island of Anak Krakatau begins to form permanently in the Sunda Strait.source
  • 1932August – A farmers' revolt begins in the Midwestern United States.source
  • 1938August – In the face of overwhelming Japanese military pressure, Chiang Kai-shek withdraws his government to Chungking.source
  • 1941January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Euthanasia Centre in Germany, in the first phase of mass killings under the Aktion T4 program here.source
  • 1961August – The United States founds the Alliance for Progress.source
  • 1962November 5 – A coal mining disaster in Ny-Ålesund kills 21 people; the Norwegian government is forced to resign in the aftermath of this accident, in August 1963.source

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