The August calendar has loads of special days! The following list is made up of August’s holidays, observances, food themes, awareness days , famous birthdays, science and historic based anniversaries, and more. So, if you want an occasion to celebrate, pick up some trivia, or add foods to your menu, this is the right place for you. And, of course you’ll find multiple opportunities for “on the calendar” themed studies for your classroom, homeschool, co-op/support group, or club.
Resources for teaching throughout the month, including a free PDF of Special Days in August, can be found at the end of this list.
August Awareness and Observance Themes
- Admit You’re Happy
- American Adventures
- Artist Appreciation
- Back To School
- Black Business Month
- Breastfeeding
- Cactus
- Child support Awareness
- Children’s Eye Health and Safety
- Crayon Collection
- Edinburgh Fringe Festival
- Family Fun
- Get Ready for Kindergarten
- Glenn Miller Festival (UK)
- Golf
- Happiness Happens
- Hug
- Immunization Awareness
- Inventors
- Minority Donor Awareness
- Motorsports
- Mutt-i-grees Rescue
- National Parks
- Psoriasis Awareness
- Read a Romance Novel
- Reading Festival (UK)
- Romance Awareness
- Science, Medicine, and Technology
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness
- Tomboy Tools
- Traffic Awareness
- Truancy Prevention
- Water Quality
- What Will Be Your Legacy
- Win with Civility
August Food Themes
- Catfish
- Celery
- Coffee
- Family Meals
- Fennel
- Kiwifruit
- Orange
- Panini
- Papaya
- Peach
- Picnic
- Sandwich
August Special Days with Varying Dates
- Family Day (1st Sun.)
- Forgiveness Day (1st Sun.)
- Friendship Day (1st Sun.)
- Assistance Dog Week (1st Sun.)
- Kids Day (1st Sun.)
- Sisters’ Day (1st Sun.)
- Farmers’ Market Week (1st full week)
- Fraud Awareness Week (1st full week)
- Psychic Week (1st full week)
- Bargain Hunting Week begins * (1st Mon.)
- Night Out (1st Tues.)
- Braham Pie Day (1st Fri.)
- Mustard Day (1st Sat.)
- Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week (2nd week)
- Smile Week (2nd week)
- Resurrect Romance Week (2nd full week)
- Umpire Appreciation Day (2nd Sun.)
- Weird Contest Week begins (2nd Mon.)
- Garage Sale Day (2nd Sat.)
- Kool-Aid Days (2nd weekend)
- Elvis Week (week with the 16th)
- Aviation Week (week with the 19th)
- Chef’s Appreciation Week (3rd week)
- Cupcake Day (3rd Mon.)
- Hug Your Boss Day (3rd Fri.)
- Men’s Grooming Day (3rd Fri.)
- Geocaching Day (3rd Sat.)
- Homeless Animals Day (3rd Sat.)
- World Honey Bee Day (3rd Sat.)
- Daffodil Day (4th Fri.)
- Bat Weekend begins (last full weekend)
- Neighborhood Day (last Sat.)
August Special Days with Set Dates
Aug. 1
- Armed Forces Day
- Clown Week begins
- Colorado Statehood 1876
- Dahomey Independence Day 1960
- GI Joe action figure introduced 1964
- Girlfriend’s Day
- Francis Scott Key born 1779
- Anne Frank made her last diary entry 1944
- Lammas Day
- Lughnasa
- Author Herman Melville born 1819
- Oxygen Discovered
- Raspberry Cream Pie Day
- Respect For Parents Day
- Rounds Resounding Day
- Scrabble Week begins
- Simplify Your Life Week begins
- Spiderman Day
- Switzerland Independence Day 1291
- US Air Force Day
- Yorkshire Day
Aug. 2
- Escalator Patented 1892
- Author Holling C. Holling born 1900
- Ice Cream Sandwich Day
- Engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant born 1754
Aug. 3
- Columbus Set Sail 1492
- Panama Canal opened 1914
- Watermelon Day
Aug. 4
- Musician Louis Armstrong born 1901
- Gallop International Tribal Indian Powwow
- Mathematician Sir William Rowan Hamilton born 1805
- President Barack Obama born 1961
- Rock for Life Week begins
- US Coast Guard Day
- US Dept. of Energy created 1977
- World War 1 began 1918
Aug. 5
- Astronaut Neil Armstrong born 1930
- Little Orphan Annie comic strip first appeared 1924
- Upper Volta Independence Day 1960
- Work Like A Dog Day
Aug. 6
- Actress/Comedian Lucille Ball born 1911
- Bolivia Independence Day 1825
- Scientist Alexander Fleming born 1881
- Fresh Breath Day
- Hiroshima Day
- Jamaica Independence Day 1962
- Root Beer Float Day
- Sandwich invented 1762
- Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson born 1808
- Wiggle Your Toes Day
Aug. 7
- Ivory Coast Independence Day 1960
- Spy Marta Hari born 1876
- Lighthouse Day
- Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day
- Professional Speakers Day
- Purple Heart Day
- Sea Serpent Day
Aug. 8
- Ornithologist Florence Merriam Bailey born 1863
- The Date to Create
- Frozen Custard Day
- Great Train Robbery 1963
- Happiness Happens Day
- Mimeograph Machine patented 1876
- Odie Day (Garfield’s dog)
- Smokey the Bear Ad Campaign begins 1944
- Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night
Aug. 9
- Book Lover’s Day
- Chinese Valentine’s Day / Daughter’s Festival
- Electric Washing Machine patented 1910
- Indigenous People Day
- International Art Appreciation Day
- Scientist/Inventor Marvin Minsky born 1927
- Singapore Independence Day 1965
- Veep Day
Aug. 10
- Duran Duran Appreciation Day
- Ecuador Independence Day 1822
- President Herbert Hoover born 1874
- Lazy Day
- Missouri Statehood 1821
- Mount Rushmore Construction began 1927
- President Richard Nixon resigned 1974
- Smithsonian Day (Institute established 1846)
- S’mores Day
- Snoopy’s Birthday
- World Lion Day
Aug. 11
- Daughters and Sons Day
- Play In The Sand Day
- Presidential Joke Day
Aug. 12
- Echo 1 launched 1960
- Glorious 12th/ Grouse Season begins
- Middle Child Day
- 1st PC introduced 1981
- Model T Ford went on sale 1908
- Phonograph invented 1877
- Vinyl Record Day
- World Elephant Day
- Youth Day
Aug. 13
- Bambi first premiered 1934
- Author/Film Director Alfred Hitchcock born 1899
- Lefthander’s Day
- Annie Oakley born 1860
Aug. 14
- Creamsicle Day
- Navajo Code Talkers Day
- Pakistan Independence Day 1947
- V-J Day/World War 2 ends 1945
- Wiffle Ball invented 1953
- Wizard of Oz premiered 1939
- Woodstock Music Festival 1969
- World Lizard Day
Aug. 15
- Napoleon Bonaparte born 1769
- Chauvin Day
- Chef Julia Child born 1912
- Chocolate Chip Day
- India Independence Day 1947
- Panama Canal opened 1914
- Relaxation Day
- Republic of Congo Independence Day 1960
- South Korea Independence Day 1945
Aug. 16
- Airborne Day
- Cyprus Independence Day 1960
- Gold discovered in the Yukon 1896
- Roller Coaster Patented 1898
- Tell a Joke Day
Aug. 17
- Berlin Wall Construction begins 1961
- Black Cat Appreciation Day
- Missionary William Carey born 1761
- Davy Crockett born 1786
- Gabon Independence Day 1960
- Indonesia Independence Day 1945
- Meaning of “Is” Day
- Thrift Shop Day
- Wrench patented 1835
Aug. 18
- Afghanistan Independence Day 1919
- Bad Poetry Day
- Virginia Dare born 1587
- Explorer Meriwether Lewis born 1744
- Mail Order Catalog Day
Aug. 19
- Aviation Day
- “Black Cow” Root Beer Float Day
- President Bill Clinton born 1946
- Hot and Spicy Food Day
- Potato Day
- Inventor Orville Wright Born 1867)
- World Humanitarian Day
- World Orangutan Day
Aug. 20
- Civil War ends 1866 (US)
- President Benjamin Harrison born 1833
- Radio Day
- Viking 1 launched 1975
- Voyager 2 launched 1977
- World Mosquito Day
Aug. 21
- Gemini 5 launched 1965
- Hawaii Statehood 1959
- Mona Lisa Stolen 1911
- Poet’s Day
- Senior Citizen’s Day
Aug. 22
- Be an Angel Day
- Eat a Peach Day
- Hoodie Hoo Day (Southern Hemisphere)
- Tooth Fairy Day
Aug. 23
- Day For The Remembrance of The Slave Trade & Its Abolition
- Ride the Wind Day
- Valentino Day
Aug. 24
- St. Bartholomew’s Day
- US Capitol Building and White House burned 1814
- Knife Day
- Mt. Vesuvius Erupted 79 AD
- Pluto Demoted 2006
- Strange Music Day
- Waffle Iron Patented 1869 / Waffle Day
Aug. 25
- Banana Split Day
- Be Kind to Humankind Week begins
- Inventor Joshua Lionel Cowen born 1877
- Ivan the Terrible born 1530
- Kiss and Make Up Day
- Notting Hill Carnival
- Second-hand Wardrobe Day
- Uruguay Independence Day 1825
Aug. 26
- Inventor Lee DeForest born 1873
- Dog Day
- Chemist Antoine Lavoisier born 1743
- Mother Teresa born 1910
- Women’s Equality Day – 19th Amendment Ratified 1920
Aug. 27
- Julius Caesar lands in Britain 55 BC
- Chemist/Engineer Carl Bosch born 1909
- The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day (Author Margaret Wolfe Hungerford)
- Global Forgiveness Day
- President Lyndon B. Johnson born 1908
- Just Because Day
- 1st Tarzan story published 1912
Aug. 28
- Bow Tie Day
- Cherry Turnover Day
- Crackers Over the Keyboard Day
- Dream Day (Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech 1963)
- Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day
- Radio Commercials Day
- Author Leo Tolstoy born 1828
Aug. 29
- According to Hoyle Day
- Day Against Nuclear Tests
- Engineer Charles Franklin Kettering born 1876
- More Herbs, Less Salt Day
- Sarcoidosis Awareness Day
Aug. 30
- Author/Illustrator Donald Crews born 1938
- Frankenstein Day (Author Mary Shelly born 1797)
- Holistic Pet Day
- Slinky Day
- Toasted Marshmallow Day
- Whale Shark Day
Aug. 31
- Kinetoscope patented 1887
- Love Lawyers Day
- Malaysia Independence Day 1957
- Pony Express Day
- Princess Diana killed 1997
- 1st Solar Power Car demonstrated 1955
- Trail Mix Day
- Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day 1962
Free PDF – Special Days in August
August Resources for teaching and learning suggestions with August’s themes, holidays, and daily specials!
My “Go-To” list of calendar based teaching resources for every month.
Special Days – Blog Series
Special Days and the Evolution of Morning Calendar Time
Special Days Archive – Direct links to the most recent Special Days and Resource Lists for every month.
I make my monthly Special Days lists by using several sources including old calendars, holiday books, newspapers, and the web. If you know of a special day that I do not have listed, please comment and let me know what it is so I can add it in. Below are the links to my favorite online calendar resources for August.
http://www.se7en.org.za/se7ens-august
http://food.unl.edu/fnh/august
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/august.htm
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/august.html
https://whatismyspiritanimal.com/animal-holidays-celebrations/
http://projectbritain.com/calendars/aug.html
http://aglobalworld.com/international-independence-days/country-independence-day.php
Happy August!
betty jo
Still Learning Something New 