This Day in History - 30th May

1536Eleven days after he had his second wife Anne Boleyn beheaded, King Henry VIII married Jane Seymour, former lady-in-waiting to Anne.

1588The last ship of the Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.

1656The formation of the Grenadier Guards, the senior regiment of the British Army.

1820 The death, aged 33, of William Bradley, often known as Giant Bradley or the Yorkshire Giant. He was the tallest recorded British man, measuring 7 feet 9 inches (2.36 m) tall.

1842An assassination attempt was made on Queen Victoria as she drove down Constitution Hill in London with her husband Prince Albert. The would-be assassin was John Francis.

1914The new, and at that time the largest Cunard ocean liner, RMS Aquitania weighing 45,647 tons, set sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York City. In her 36 years of service, Aquitania had the longest service career of any 20th century express liner, a record that stood until 2004, when the Queen Elizabeth 2 (with an ultimate career service of 40 years) became the longest-serving liner.

1929The Labour Party won the general election with 287 seats.

1942World War II: The RAF carried out its first 1,000 plus bombing raid of Germany, sending 1,047 aircraft to bomb Cologne.

1948The British Citizenship Act conferred the status of British subjects on all Commonwealth citizens.

1959The first full-size experimental hovercraft, the SR-N1, built by Saunders-Roe and designed by Sir Christopher Cockerell, was launched at Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Cockerell lived and died in Hythe.

1972The Angry Brigade, a small British anarchist group, went on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom.

1986England cricketer Ian Botham was banned from international matches for two months for possession of drugs.

1989English singer Cliff Richard released his 100th single record, entitled 'The Best of Me'.

2003The death of Mickie Most, record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Kim Wilde and Suzi Quatro, often issued on his own RAK Records label.