USA No.1 on this day in 1964: The Beatles - Love Me Do youtu.be/0JWl_wUOQc4?si… via YouTube

UK No.1 on this day in 1980: Johnny Logan - What’s Another Year youtu.be/-b3XTj5G_SA?si… via YouTube

30 May 1968. The Beatles began recording the double “White Album” at EMI’s Abbey Road studios. It was released in November with a white sleeve and no graphics or text other than the band’s name embossed on it. It was intended as a contrast to the cover artwork of Sgt. Pepper.

30 May 2020. The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA, to become the first crewed orbital spacecraft to launch from the United States since 2011.

30 May 1989. The 33-foot high “Goddess of Democracy” statue was unveiled in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China by student demonstrators. It was destroyed on 4 June 1989, by Chinese soldiers clearing protesters from Tiananmen Square.

30 May 1984. Liverpool beat AS Roma 4-2 on penalties in Rome to win the European Cup for the 4th time, and became the 1st English club to complete a Treble (Division 1 (now Premier League), Milk Cup (now EFL Trophy) and European Champions Cup (now European Champions League).

30 May 1980. Steven Gerrard was born in Whiston, Merseyside. He’s regarded as one of Liverpool’s greatest players. He played 710 times for LFC and scored 186 goals between 1998 and 2015. He also played 114 times for England and scored 21 goals.

30 May 1979. Nottingham Forest won the European Cup by beating Malmo 1-0 in Munich. The winning goal was scored by Trevor Francis. Forest, managed by Brian Clough, became only the 3rd English side to win the trophy.

30 May 1963. Helen Sharman was born in Sheffield. She was the 1st Briton to go into space as part of a Soviet space mission, and also the first British woman to visit the Mir space station.

30 May 1960. Boris Pasternak died (aged 70). He was the author of Doctor Zhivago which later became a successful Hollywood film. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, which enraged the Soviet government, which forced him to decline the prize.

30 May 1949. Bob Willis was born in Sunderland. He was a fast bowler with a notably long run-up. He played in 90 Test Matches for England and took 325 wickets, making him England’s 4th leading wicket taker. He took 899 first-class wickets overall.

30 May 1929. The Labour Party, led by Ramsay MacDonald, won the most seats (287) in the House of Commons for the 1st time in a general election, but fell short of an overall majority. Even so, Labour took power with Liberal Party support.

30 May 1914. The new and then largest Cunard ocean liner, RMS Aquitania, began its maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York City, USA. It was designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland.

30 May 1842. John Francis fired a gun shot at Queen Victoria as she was travelling in a horse-drawn carriage with Prince Albert on Constitution Hill, London. Francis missed from close range. His attempt was one of 8 failed assassination attempts during her long reign.

30 May 1631. Gazette de France, the first French weekly magazine, was published for the first time. It was founded by Théophraste Renaudot and the paper became a firm supporter of a royalist faction known as the Legitimists. It ceased publication in 1915.

30 May 1431. Joan of Arc (aged 19), was burned at the stake in Rouen, France, for heresy by an English-dominated French tribunal. She became a French folk hero and martyr. The Roman Catholic Church remembers this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc.

30 May 1381. The English Peasants’ Revolt began. It grew out of a gradual build up of socio-economic tensions, but the final trigger was the attempt to collect unpaid poll taxes in Brentwood. The revolt then spread across the south-east region.

Wear a tall hat like a Druid in the old days.