August 6: Atomic bombing of Hiroshima: A United States B-29 Superfortress, the Enola Gay, drops an atomic bomb, codenamed "Little Boy", on Hiroshima, Japan, at 8:15 a.m. (local time).

August 7: President Harry Truman announces the successful bombing of Hiroshima with the atomic bomb, while returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

August 8: The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States Senate, and this nation becomes the third one to join the new international organization. - The Soviet Union declares war on Japan.

August 9: Atomic bombing of Nagasaki: A United States B-29 Bomber, Bockscar, drops an atomic bomb, codenamed "Fat Man", on Nagasaki, Japan, at 11:02 a.m. (local time). - The Soviet Union begins its army offensive against Japan in the northern part of the Japanese-held Chinese region of Manchuria.

August 10: Japan offers to surrender to the Allies, "provided this does not prejudice the sovereignty of the Emperor".

August 11: The Allies reply to the Japanese surrender offer by saying that Emperor Hirohito will be subject to the authority of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces.

August 11-25: Soviet troops complete occupation of Sakhalin.

August 13: The Zionist World Congress approaches the British government to discuss the founding of the country of Israel.

August 14: Emperor Hirohito accepts the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.

August 15: Emperor Hirohito announces Japan's surrender on the radio. The United States calls this day Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day). This ends the period of Japanese expansionism and begins the period of Occupation of Japan. Korea gains independence. - Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization founded as a specialized agency of the United Nations.

August 17: President José P. Laurel issues an Executive Proclamation putting an end to the Second Philippine Republic, thus putting an end to his term as President of the Philippines. - Indonesian nationalists Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta declare the independence of the Republic of Indonesia, with Soekarno as president. Dutch colonial authorities do not approve. - The novel Animal Farm by George Orwell is first published by Fredric Warburg in London.

August 19: Chinese Civil War: Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek meet in Chongqing to discuss an end to hostilities between the Communists and the Nationalists.

August 30: Veitnam's capital Hanoi is overthrown by the Viet Minh which ends the French occupation in what becomes North Vietnam and thus the southern provinces become South Vietnam.

August 31: Allied troops arrest German field marshal Walther von Brauchitsch. - A team at American Cyanamid's Lederle Laboratories, Pearl River, New York, led by Yellapragada Subbarao, announces they have obtained folic acid in a pure crystalline form. This vitamin is abundant in green leaf vegetables, liver, kidney, and yeast. (source: Wikipedia)