On This Day August 28th

 OTD 

August 28th is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 125 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

1565 – Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sights land near St. Augustine, Florida, and finds the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental United States.

1609 – Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay.

1830 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's new Tom Thumb steam locomotive races a horse-drawn car, presaging steam's role in U.S. railroads.

1845 – The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published.

1859 – The Carrington event is the strongest geomagnetic storm to strike the Earth. Electrical telegraph service is widely disrupted.

1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: The British captured Cetshwayo, the last king of the Zulus.

1898 – Caleb Bradham's beverage "Brad's Drink" is renamed "Pepsi-Cola."

1914 – World War I: The Royal Navy defeats the German fleet in the Battle of Heligoland Bight.

1937 – Toyota Motors became an independent company.

1955 – Black teenager Emmett Till is lynched in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman, galvanizing the nascent civil rights movement.

1988 – Ramstein air show disaster: Three Frecce Tricolori demonstration team aircraft collide, and the wreckage falls into the crowd. Seventy-five were killed and 346 seriously injured.

1993 – NASA's Galileo probe performs a flyby of the asteroid 243 Ida. Astronomers later discovered the first known asteroid moon in pictures from the flyby and named it Dactyl.


Birthdays

1728 – John Stark, American general (d. 1822)

1749 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German novelist, poet, playwright, and diplomat (d. 1832)

1801 – Antoine Augustin Cournot, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1877)

1833 – Edward Burne-Jones, English artist of the Pre-Raphaelite movement (d. 1898)

1859 – Matilda Howell, American archer (d. 1938)

1878 – George Whipple, American physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)

1910 – Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch-American mathematician and economist Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)

1918 – L. B. Cole, American illustrator and publisher (d. 1995)

1921 – John Herbert Chapman, Canadian physicist and engineer (d. 1979)

1931 – Roger Williams, English hepatologist and academic (d. 2020)

1942 – Wendy Davies, Welsh historian and academic.

1954 – George M. Church, American geneticist, chemist, and engineer

1969 – Jack Black, American actor and comedian

1982 – LeAnn Rimes, American singer-songwriter and actress


Holidays and Observances

August Bank Holidays

 Way back in the groovy year of 1871, the Bank Holidays Act was like a burst of confetti, creating four national holidays in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and a whopping five in Scotland. These included Easter, the first Monday in August, Christmas Day, Whit Monday, and New Year's Day. But hold up, the August Bank Holiday wasn't tied to any religious shindig – it was all about soaking up the summer vibes!

 Picture this: 1871, Sir John Lubbock, and a cricket match showdown. The catch? It's during a holiday he championed! This holiday was all about letting folks have one last hurrah before the grind leading up to Christmas hit. Smart move, Sir John! 

 Fast forward to the fab '60s, when Edward Heath, the Secretary of State for Industry, had a genius idea. He suggested shifting the August Bank Holiday in England and Wales to the end of the month. Why, you ask? Because the earlier date clashed with the big summer shutdown of industries, and nobody wants to miss out on holiday fun! 

 By 1971, the switcheroo was complete in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland – the last Monday of August became the official day to party. Scotland, though, was still strutting to its beat. And speaking of moments, enter the Notting Hill Carnival! In 1966, this sensational celebration spotlighted London's vibrant Caribbean community, culture, and traditions. 

 So there you have it, a whirlwind trip through time to unravel the tale of the August Bank Holiday shuffle. From cricket matches to cultural carnivals, this holiday's history is as vibrant as its festivities!


Others Include

Crackers Over the Keyboard Day

Emirati Women’s Day

National Bow Tie Day

National Cherry Turnover Day

National Heroes Day of the Philippines

National Power Rangers Day

Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day

Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day

Summer Bank Holiday (England and Wales)


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