What Happened in August 1976

Historical Events

• Aug 1 Flash flood in Big Thompson Canyon, Colorado on Route 34 kills 139

Lauda Crashes

Aug 1 Reigning world F1 champion Niki Lauda of Austria suffers a near fatal crash during the German Grand Prix at The Nürburgring motorsports complex, Nürburg, Germany

• Aug 1 Seattle Seahawks take the field for the first time in pre-season game v SF 49ers at the newly constructed Kingdome in Seattle
• Aug 1 XXI Summer Olympic Games close at the Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Canada
• Aug 4 England beats Australia by 8 wickets in the limited overs cricket international at Lord's; first time women are permitted to play on the main square at 'the home of cricket'
• Aug 4 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
• Aug 6 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto lays the foundation stone of Port Qasim, Karachi
• Aug 7 Scientists in Pasadena, California, announce Viking I found strongest indications to date of possible life on Mars
• Aug 7 US Viking 2 goes into Martian orbit after 11-month flight from Earth
• Aug 8 Chicago White Sox suit up in shorts
• Aug 9 Clive Lloyd scores double-ton in 120 mins, WI v Glamorgan
• Aug 9 Pittsburgh Pirate John Candelaria no-hits the LA Dodgers, 2-0
• Aug 9 USSR launches Luna 24, last Lunar flight to date from Earth

Music History

Aug 10 Elton John performs the first of seven sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden, NYC, to conclude his North American tour

• Aug 10 Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer shot dead by the British Army as he drove in Belfast; his car out of control and kills 3 children, sparking "peace rallies" throughout the month by the 'Peace People'

Keith Moon Collapses

Aug 11 "The Who" drummer Keith Moon collapses and is hospitalized in Miami, Florida

• Aug 11 Race riot in Cape Town, South Africa; 17 die
• Aug 12 1st approach & lands test (ALT) of orbiter Enterprise
• Aug 12 Christian militia conquer Palestinian camp Tell al-Za'tar, 2000 killed
• Aug 13 South Africa pledges support for a negotiated settlement in Rhodesia
• Aug 14 10,000 Northern Ireland women demonstrate for peace in Belfast
• Aug 14 Stiff Records first release - single "So It Goes" by rocker Nick Lowe

• Aug 16 St. Louis Cardinals beat San Diego Chargers, 20-10 in Tokyo, Japan (NFL Expo)
• Aug 17 An earthquake & tsunami in the Philippines kills up to 8,000
• Aug 17 West Indies win big at The Oval with Michael Holding taking 14-149 in the match

Axe Murders Incident

Aug 18 Korean axe murder incident: 2 US soldiers tasked with cutting down a poplar tree blocking the view of UN observers are killed by North Koreans claiming it was planted by Kim Il-Sung in the Korean Demilitarized Zone

• Aug 18 USSR's Luna 24 soft-lands on Moon

Gerald Ford Wins Nomination

Aug 19 President Gerald Ford wins Republican presidential nomination at KC convention

• Aug 21 "Operation Paul Bunyan" begins in retaliation for the "Korean axe murder incident" 3 days prior. 110 troops, 27 helicopters, 3 B-52 bombers are deployed to the Korean Demilitarized Zone to cut down a poplar blocking the view of UN observers
• Aug 21 Al Bumbry hits 17th inside-the-park HR in Oriole history
• Aug 21 Battle, East Sussex: Mary Langdon becomes 1st British firewoman
• Aug 23 Heavy earthquake strikes China, 1,000s die
• Aug 24 Soyuz 21 returns to Earth
• Aug 25 Harm Wiersma becomes world checker champion
• Aug 25 Yanks beat Twins 5-4 in 19 innings
• Aug 27 Transsexual Renee Richards barred from competing in US Tennis Open
• Aug 28 Toronto Metros-Croatia beat the Minnesota Kicks to the win the 1976 North American Soccer League championship
• Aug 28 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan

Brokaw on The Today Show

Aug 30 Tom Brokaw starts as news anchor of NBC's "The Today Show"

• Aug 30 Turks & Caicos Islands adopts constitution
• Aug 31 Mexican peso devalued
• Aug 31 Trinidad & Tobago adopts constitution

Famous Birthdays

• Aug 1 David Nemirovsky, NHL right wing (Florida Panthers), born in Toronto, Ontario
• Aug 1 Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager (Galatasaray), born in Karataş, Turkey
• Aug 1 Ivan Duque Márquez, Colombian politician, President of Colombia (2018-), born in Bogotá, Colombia
• Aug 1 Kevin Joseph, American baseball player, born in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
• Aug 1 Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian soccer player (Ajax), born in Owerri, Imo, Nigeria
• Aug 1 Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer, born in Horsens, Denmark
• Aug 2 Reyes Estévez, Spanish athlete, born in Cornellà de Llobregat, Spain

• Aug 3 Troy Glaus, American baseball infielder (Olympic bronze 1996), born in Tarzana, Los Angeles
• Aug 4 Andrew McLeod, Australian footballer
• Aug 4 Jock Zonfrillo, Scottish chef (Masterchef Australia judge), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2023) [1]
• Aug 5 Kwon Sang-woo, South Korean actor (Stairway to Heaven), born in Daejeon, South Korea
• Aug 5 Marians Pahars, Latvian footballer, born in Chornobai, Ukraine
• Aug 6 Soleil Moon Frye, American actress (Punky Brewster; Sabrina, the Teenage Witch - "Roxie"), and documentary film maker, born in Glendora, California
• Aug 6 Travis Kalanick, American entrepreneur (Red Swoosh, Uber), born in Los Angeles, California
• Aug 7 Cathy Park Hong, American Korean poet (Dance Dance Revolution), born in Los Angeles, California
• Aug 7 Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos, Greek footballer, born in Piraeus, Greece
• Aug 7 Shane Lechler, American football player, born in East Bernard, Texas
• Aug 8 (Joshua) "JC" Chasez, American pop singer (*NSYNC - "Bye Bye Bye"), born in Bowie, Maryland
• Aug 8 Drew Lachey, American pop singer (98 Degrees - "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)", "Because of You"), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Aug 8 Jeff Simmons, American race car driver
• Aug 8 Seung-Yeop Lee, Korean baseball player
• Aug 8 Tawny Cypress, American stage and screen actress (Unforgettable), born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey
• Aug 9 Aled Haydn Jones, Welsh radio producer (head of BBC Radio One), born in Aberystwyth, Wales
• Aug 9 Audrey Tautou, French actress (Venus Beauty Institute, Amélie), born in Beaumont, Puy-de-Dôme, France
• Aug 9 Jessica Capshaw, American actress (Grey's Anatomy), born in Columbia, Missouri
• Aug 9 Leigh Kakaty, Canadian-American rock singer (Pop Evil), born in Kingston, Ontario
• Aug 9 Rhona Mitra, English actress, born in London, England
• Aug 10 Roadkill [Michael Depoli], American professional wrestler, born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Aug 11 Ben Gibbard, American singer-songwriter (Death Cab for Cutie; The Postal Service), born in Bremerton, Washington
• Aug 11 Brendan Bayliss, American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Umphrey's McGee), born in Annapolis, Maryland
• Aug 11 Erick Lindgren, American poker player (WSOP Player of the Year 2008), born in Burney, California
• Aug 11 Ľubomír Višňovský, Slovak ice hockey defenseman (Team Slovakia, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers), born in Topoľčany, Czechoslovakia
• Aug 11 Will Friedle, American actor (Eric-Boy Meets World, Gift of Love), born in Hartford, Connecticut
• Aug 12 Antoine Walker, American NBA forward (Boston Celtics), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Aug 12 Henry Tuilagi, Samoan rugby player
• Aug 12 Mikko "Linde" Lindström, Finnish gothic rock guitarist and songwriter (HIM), born in Klaukkala, Finland
• Aug 12 Pedro Collins, West Indian cricket fast bowler (29 Tests, 106 wickets; 30 ODIs, 39 wickets; Barbados, Middlesex), born in St. Peter, Barbados
• Aug 12 Richard McCourt, English children's television presenter (Dick and Dom), born in Sheffield, England
• Aug 12 Wednesday 13 [Joseph Poole], American punk rock musician (Wednesday 13, Murderdolls), born in Lexington, North Carolina
• Aug 14 Alex Albrecht, American actor, born in Vienna, Virginia
• Aug 14 Jericho Brown, American poet and writer (The Tradition - 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry), born in Shreveport, Louisiana
• Aug 14 Maya Nasri [Asmar], Lebanese actress and singer, born in Minyara, Lebanon
• Aug 14 Steve Braun, Canadian actor, born in Winnipeg, Canada

• Aug 15 Boudewijn Send, Dutch soccer player (PSV), born in Maastricht, Netherlands
• Aug 15 Robert Macfarlane, English nature writer, born in Halam, England
• Aug 16 Dave Ockun, American concert producer, born in Syosset, New York
• Aug 16 Jonatan Johansson, Finnish soccer striker, manager (106 caps; Rangers, Charlton), born in Stockholm, Sweden
• Aug 18 Bryan Volpenhein, American rower, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Aug 18 Tom Malchow, American 200m swimmer (Olympic silver 1996), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Aug 19 Pablo Larraín, Chilean filmmaker (El Conde), born in Santiago, Chile
• Aug 20 Chris Drury, American ice hockey player (NY Rangers), born in Trumbull, Connecticut
• Aug 21 Jeff Cunningham, American soccer forward (14 caps; Columbus Crew SC, FC Dallas), born in Montego Bay, Jamaica
• Aug 23 Kate Sobrero, American soccer defender (201 caps; Olympic gold 2004, 08; FIFA Women's World Cup gold 1999; Boston Breakers, Michigan Hawks), born in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
• Aug 23 Scott Caan, American actor, born in Los Angeles, California
• Aug 24 Nordin Wooter, Dutch soccer player (Ajax), born in Breda, Netherlands
• Aug 25 Alexander Skarsgård, Swedish actor (True Blood, Big Little Lies), born in Stockholm, Sweden
• Aug 26 Amaia Montero, Spanish singer (La Oreja de Van Gogh - Guapa), born in Irun, Spain
• Aug 26 Carey Tally, American soccer midfielder (Olympic gold 1996), born in Memphis, Tennessee
• Aug 26 Mike Colter, American actor (Luke Cage in Marvel Universe), born in Columbia, South Carolina
• Aug 26 Zemfira [Ramazanova], Russian rock singer (Forgive Me My Love), born in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia, Soviet Union
• Aug 27 Carlos Moyá, Spanish professional tennis player, 1995-2010 (French Open, 1998; Davis Cup, 2006), born in Palma, Spain
• Aug 27 Milano Collection AT [Akihito Terui], Japanese professional wrestler, born in Morioka, Japan
• Aug 28 Federico Magallanes, Uruguayan footballer, born in Montevideo, Uruguay
• Aug 29 Jon Dahl Tomasson, Danish soccer striker (112 caps; Feyenoord, AC Milan) and manager (Malmö FF, Blackburn Rovers, Sweden), born in Copenhagen, Denmark
• Aug 29 Kasia Kulesza, Canadian synchronized swimmer (Olympic silver 1996), born in Warsaw, Poland
• Aug 29 Kevin Kaesviharn, American football player, born in Paramount, California
• Aug 29 Pablo Mastroeni, American soccer player, born in Mendoza, Argentina
• Aug 30 Mike Koplove, American baseball player (Team USA 2008), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Aug 30 Sarah-Jane Potts, English actress, born in Bradford, England
• Aug 31 Roque Júnior, Brazilian footballer (World Cup 2002), born in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, Brazil
• Aug 31 Vincent Delerm, French singer-songwriter, pianist and composer, born in Évreux, France

Famous Weddings

Harry Nilsson

Aug 12 American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (35) weds (for third, and final time) Ireland's Una O'Keeffe (22) at the Airport Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles, California; Ringo Starr serves as best man

Famous Divorces

Famous Deaths

• Aug 2 Fritz Lang, Austrian-German-American director (M, Metropolis, Fury, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse), dies from a stroke at 85
• Aug 4 Enrique Angelelli, Argentine bishop
• Aug 4 Roy Herbert Thomson, Canadian publisher (b. 1894)
• Aug 5 Adrian Roland Holst, Dutch poet (Past the Roads), dies at 88
• Aug 5 Betty Clooney, American singer (Jack Paar Show), dies at 45
• Aug 6 Gregor Piatigorsky, Ukrainian-American cellist, dies at 73
• Aug 7 Cecil Weston, South African-born actress (Dude Ranch, Huckleberry Finn), dies at 86
• Aug 8 John Roselli, hired by CIA to kill Castro, found murdered
• Aug 9 Jose Lezama Lima, Cuban poet and novelist, dies at 65
• Aug 9 Max Vredenburg, Dutch composer and music critic, dies at 72 [1]
• Aug 10 Bert Oldfield, Australian cricket wicketkeeper (54 Tests, 130 dismissals, 4 x 50; NSW CA), dies at 81
• Aug 10 Ray "Crash" Corrigan, American actor (Crash Corrigan's Ranch), dies at 74
• Aug 11 Robert L. May, American advertising copy writer and creator of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, dies at 71
• Aug 12 Tom Driberg, English journalist, politician and possible spy, dies at 71
• Aug 15 Jean Haesaert, Flemish lawyer and sociologist, dies at 84
• Aug 17 Murvyn Vye [Marvin], American actor (Road to Bali, Bob Cummings Show), dies of natural causes at 63

• Aug 17 William Redfield, American actor (Jimmy Hughes Rookie Cop, Marriage), dies of leukemia at 49
• Aug 19 Alastair Sim, Scottish actor (Christmas Carol, Green for Danger), dies at 75
• Aug 19 Jenö Kenessey, Hungarian conductor and composer, dies at 70
• Aug 19 Ken Wadsworth, New Zealand cricket wicket-keeper/batsman (33 Tests, 96 dismissals, 5 x 50s; Central Districts CA), dies from cancer at 29
• Aug 20 Phyllis Konstam, British actress (Murder, Skin Game), dies at 69
• Aug 21 Ken James, New Zealand cricket wicket-keeper (11 Tests, 16 dismissals; Wellington, Northamptonshire CCC), dies at 72
• Aug 22 Gina Bachauer, Greek classical pianist of Austrian heritage, dies at 63
• Aug 22 Juscelino Kubitschek, President of Brazil (1955-60), dies at 73
• Aug 22 Oskar Brusewitz, East German vicar, sets himself on fire in protest of repression of religion at 47
• Aug 24 Michael Head, British organist, pianist, and composer, dies at 76
• Aug 25 Eyvind Johnson, Swedish novelist (Return to Ithaca; Nobel Prize for Literature, 1974), dies at 76
• Aug 25 Perc Hornibrook, Australian cricket slow-medium bowler (6 Tests; 17 wickets; best 7-92 1930), dies at 77
• Aug 26 Lotte Lehmann, German soprano (Der Rosenkavalier, More than singing), dies at 88
• Aug 26 Warner Anderson, American actor (The Bubble, Destination Moon, Peyton Place), dies at 65
• Aug 27 Mukesh [Mathur], Indian "playback singer" for Bollywood films, dies of a heart attack at 53
• Aug 28 Anissa Jones, American child actress (Family Affair - "Buffy"), dies of multiple drug intoxication at 18
• Aug 29 Jimmy Reed, American blues singer ("Soulin'"; "Big Boss Man"), dies of epileptic seizure at 50
• Aug 29 Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, musician, revolutionary and philosopher, dies at 77
• Aug 31 Kornelis Heiko Miskotte, Dutch theologist (If the Gods Keep Silent), dies at 81

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