The August bank holiday is almost upon us and it’s a day that always brings out a bit of sunshine, some of the biggest events of the year, and the perfect time for a family get together. Bank Holiday
This year will certainly be no different, with many of us taking a few hours away from our slingo bingo or mobile bingo play and getting out into the fresh air. And while we’ll all be doing different things, from barbecuing to days out, or perhaps just an afternoon indoors relaxing, we thought we’d celebrate the great day by looking back over some of the historical events and interesting things that have happened on August 30 down the years….
Births
If you’re lucky enough to be born on August 30, then you share a birthday with some very special people indeed. Mary Shelley, the novelist and writer of Frankenstein was born on this day in 1797, while many more who have completely changed the UK and the world culturally were also born on the day, including sculptor Anthony Gormley and radio legend John Peel.
More recently, Cameron Diaz and tennis star Andy Roddick were both born on the day.
Deaths
Of course, with life comes death and a number of famous people throughout history have sadly passed on during this day, from Nobel Prize winners to politicians, authors and more. Among the most notable are Sterling Morrison, guitar player for the Velvet Underground, US acting legend Charles Bronson, and founder of make-up brand Max Factor, Max Factor.
Number Ones
When it comes to music, there have been some fantastic number ones leading the charts on August 30. In the UK last year, Head & Heart by Joel Corry Ft MNEK took the number one spot.
Exactly a decade ago, you’d be listening to Olly Murs and Rizzle Kicks with Heart Skips A Beat, while dating back 20 years and you’d find Five leading the charts with Let’s Dance. Going further back to the 1960s,the Beatles were topping the charts with Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby, while Sonny and Cher, the Beach Boys, and Helen Shapiro all had number one records on this day.
In the 1970s, Elvis Presley was top of the charts twice on August 30, while there were notable hits for the Stylistics, the Osmonds and the Commodores.
Notable Events
There have also been a number of notable events on this day, a number related to the World Wars, while interestingly, on August 30 in 1835 Melbourne in Australia was founded and is celebrated annually as Melbourne Day.
August 30, 1936, also saw RMS Queen Mary delivering the fastest transatlantic crossing in history at the time, while in 1984, the Discovery space shuttle took off on its maiden voyage, successfully launching a number of satellites and landing safely a few days later.
There are also a number of holidays and observances across the world on this day, including Constitution Day in Kazakhstan, the International Day of the Disappeared and Victory Day in Turkey.
