50 Fun Facts About August Fun Facts and

The month of August was renamed in 8 BC in honour of which Roman emperor?

It had previously been called Sextilis, meaning 'sixth', because it was the sixth month in the old ten-month Roman calendar.

What was August originally called in the Roman calendar?

March was the first month back then, which is why the name means 'sixth' even though it is now the eighth month.

Who invented the myth that August gained a 31st day so Augustus could match Julius Caesar's July?

Sextilis already had 31 days long before the renaming; Johannes de Sacrobosco made up the tale much later.

August's best-known birthstone is which yellow-green gem?

It is one of the very few gemstones that occur in only one colour, and some has even been found in meteorites.

Which flower is a birth flower of August?

The poppy is also associated with the month; the gladiolus is said to signify strength of character.

The two Western zodiac signs that fall in August are Virgo and which other?

The lion sign runs until 22 August, after which Virgo the maiden begins.

The Perseid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-August, comes from debris left by which comet?

The meteors seem to stream from the constellation Perseus, which gives the shower its name.

The hot, sultry 'dog days' of August are named after the rising of which star?

The Greeks called the Dog Star 'the Scorcher' and blamed it for summer heat, fever and even mad dogs.

In the Southern Hemisphere, August falls during which season?

It is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere.

On which day of August 1945 was the atomic bomb 'Little Boy' dropped on Hiroshima?

A second bomb, the plutonium 'Fat Man', fell on Nagasaki three days later.

The Woodstock music festival of August 1969 was held on the New York dairy farm of whom?

The festival was named after a town about 60 miles away, and the site was actually in Bethel.

From the steps of which landmark did Martin Luther King Jr. give his 'I Have a Dream' speech?

He departed from his script for the famous ending after gospel singer Mahalia Jackson called out, 'Tell 'em about the dream, Martin!'

Elvis Presley died at Graceland on 16 August 1977 at what age?

His January birthday and August death bookend a life that reshaped popular music.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the US Gulf Coast in late August 2005 after the failure of what?

It killed 1,392 people, making it the deadliest US hurricane since 1928.

Construction of the Berlin Wall began on which date in 1961?

It divided the city for 28 years until East Germany opened the border on 9 November 1989.

The 19th Amendment, giving American women the vote, took effect in August of which year?

Tennessee provided the decisive 36th state ratification, and the adoption was certified on 26 August.

In 79 AD, an August eruption of which volcano buried Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Roman sources record the eruption but not its exact day, so the traditional August date is debated.

The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, in late August, produced a sound heard how far away?

The blast was heard in Alice Springs, Australia and on Rodrigues Island near Mauritius; over 36,000 people died, mostly in the tsunamis.

India celebrates its Independence Day on which day of the month?

The prime minister traditionally raises the flag and speaks from the Red Fort in Delhi.

Richard Nixon became the first US president to do what, in August 1974?

The Watergate cover-up forced him out before the House could complete his impeachment.

MTV launched in August 1981 with a debut clip whose title proved ironic. What was it?

The channel's early presenters were called VJs, for video jockeys; the title reads as a joke at MTV's own expense.

Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a Paris car crash on which date in 1997?

The accident happened in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel.

The Panama Canal opened to shipping in August of which year?

The SS Ancon made the first official transit; the US had taken over the project a decade earlier.

The US Open tennis tournament starts in late August at a park in which New York borough?

It is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, played on hard courts in Flushing Meadows.

The Little League World Series is held in South Williamsport. In which state is that?

It has taken place in South Williamsport since 1947, for players aged 10 to 12.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held each August in which state?

It began in 1938 with a small group of Indian Motorcycle riders staging stunts and races.

The Edinburgh Fringe, held every August, holds what distinction?

It grew up alongside the official Edinburgh International Festival and now sprawls across the whole city.

The Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary is celebrated on which day of the month?

Pope Pius XII defined the dogma in 1950, and it is a public holiday in many Catholic countries.

Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, was born in August 1930 in which state?

He grew up near Wapakoneta and commanded Apollo 11 in 1969.

Which pop superstar, born on 16 August 1958 in Michigan, shares her first name with a religious figure?

She moved to New York in 1978 to pursue a dance career before conquering pop.

Which comedy legend, born on 6 August 1911, went on to star in I Love Lucy?

She was also a pioneering studio executive who ran Desilu Productions.

Jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong was born in August 1901 in which city?

He long claimed a 4 July 1900 birthday, but records later placed it on 4 August 1901.

The 'Master of Suspense', filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, was born in August 1899 in which country?

He was born above his family's greengrocer shop in Leytonstone, then part of Essex.

Mother Teresa, founder of the Missionaries of Charity, was born in August 1910 in which city?

Born in the Ottoman Empire to an Albanian family, she was canonised a saint in 2016.

Barack Obama, the 44th US president, was born on 4 August 1961 in which city?

He is the only US president born in Hawaii.

Fashion designer Coco Chanel was born in August 1883 in a charity hospital in which country?

Her mother was a laundrywoman, and the designer later reinvented her own origin story.

Michael Jackson, the 'King of Pop', was born on 29 August 1958 in which US city?

He began performing there with his brothers in the Jackson 5.

On which day of the month did actress Marilyn Monroe die in 1962?

Born Norma Jeane on 1 June 1926, she was one of the biggest film stars of her era.

Mount St. Helens erupted catastrophically in 1980, killing about 57 people. In which month?

An earthquake triggered the largest landslide in recorded history down its north face.

The Empire State Building opened in New York in May of which year?

Construction took just over thirteen months, and it was the world's tallest building for nearly 40 years.

How many days does August have?

It is one of seven months with the maximum length, and it never changes.

Whitney Houston was born in August 1963 in which state?

She was born in Newark to a gospel-singing family.

Which Roman king added two winter months to the calendar, pushing August to eighth place?

Under Romulus's original ten-month calendar the year began in March, which is why the month kept a name meaning 'sixth'.

Who added two days to the month in 46 BC, giving it its modern length of 31 days?

The month already had 31 days when it was renamed 22 years later, so the story that Augustus padded it to match July is a medieval invention.

Which country celebrates its national day on 1 August?

The same date is Yorkshire Day in England and Emancipation Day across much of the Caribbean.

Which country celebrates its Independence Day on 17 August?

Malaysia's independence day comes two weeks later on 31 August, a date it shares with Kyrgyzstan and Trinidad and Tobago.

On which date of the month is International Lefthanders Day observed?

The day before, 12 August, is World Elephant Day and the 'Glorious Twelfth' start of grouse shooting in Britain.

Besides peridot, which two gems are also August birthstones?

Spinel was the most recent addition, long mistaken for ruby in famous crown jewels.

Among the Guanches of Tenerife, the month was called Beñesmer, which was also the name of what?

The Guanches were the indigenous people of the Canary Islands before the Spanish conquest.

In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of which Northern Hemisphere month?

In many European countries it is the main holiday month, when whole cities seem to empty out.