August is the eighth month of the year (between July and September) in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere.
August symbols: The birthstones of August are the peridot and sardonyx. Its birth flower is the gladiolus or poppy, meaning beauty, strength of character, love, marriage and family. The zodiac signs for the month of August are Leo (until August 22) and Virgo (from August 23 onwards).
Historical Events for August, 1996
Day of Week 6th » NASA announces that the Allan Hills 84001 e.g ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
Day of Week 14th » Greek Cypriot refugee Solomos Solomou is murdered by Turkish forces while trying to climb a flagpole in order to remove a Turkish flag from its mast in the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus.
Day of Week 22nd » Bill Clinton signs Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act known as welfare reform into law, representing major shift in US welfare policy
Day of Week 28th » Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales divorce.
Day of Week 29th » Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801, a Tupolev Tu-154, crashes into a mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, killing all 141 aboard.