The Dhamara Ghat train accident kills at least 37 people in the Indian state of Bihar.
The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins.
Google Inc. has its initial public offering on Nasdaq.
A truck-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees.
In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The August Coup begins when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine.
Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist prime minister in 42 years.
Japanese prime minister Eisaku Satō becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa Prefecture.
Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, is launched. Two months later, it would enable live coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics.
August Revolution: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.
World War II: Liberation of Paris: Paris, France rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.
World War II: Operation Jubilee (The Dieppe Raid): The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division leads an amphibious assault by allied forces on Dieppe, France and fails.
First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
The Great Purge of the Soviet Union begins when the first of the Moscow Trials is convened.
The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for automobile racing. William Bourque and his mechanic are killed during the first day's events.
First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.
The First Sioux War begins when United States Army soldiers kill Lakota chief Conquering Bear and in return are massacred.
American Revolutionary War: Battle of Blue Licks: The last major engagement of the war, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Charles Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown.
J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137, a cantata setting the unchanged text of Neander's hymn.