Good morning. It's August 30th — let's begin where we always do: on this very date in history.
📅 On This Day — August 30
🔥 (It's also National Toasted Marshmallow Day — a last taste of summer.)
1963 — The Moscow–Washington "hotline" went into service — a direct link between the superpowers, born of the Cuban Missile Crisis, to keep a crisis from becoming a catastrophe.
1967 — Thurgood Marshall was confirmed as the first Black justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
1975 — Florida's KC and the Sunshine Band scored their first #1 with "Get Down Tonight," kicking off the disco era in earnest.
1983 — Guion Bluford became the first African American in space, launching aboard the shuttle Challenger on its first night flight.
1993 — David Letterman's "Late Show" premiered on CBS, remaking late-night television with its gap-toothed, off-the-wall charm.
Now, let's set the dial back to 1985…
⏪ REWIND: 1985 Ronald Reagan is president, a first-class stamp is 22 cents, gas is about $1.20 a gallon — and two miles down in the Atlantic, a ghost is about to be found.
📰 The Headlines In just a couple of days (September 1), a joint American-French team led by Robert Ballard will locate the wreck of the RMS Titanic — lost since 1912, and found at last more than two miles beneath the North Atlantic. The photos will mesmerize the world.
🎬 At the Movies Owning the summer: Back to the Future — Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown, and a DeLorean that hits 88 miles per hour. The #1 movie of the year, and an instant classic.
🎵 On the Charts At #1 is "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News — the driving, joyful hit straight off the Back to the Future soundtrack.
🏆 In Sports In Cincinnati, player-manager Pete Rose is closing in on the most hallowed record in baseball: Ty Cobb's 4,191 career hits. He'll break it in less than two weeks, on September 11.
🏰 The Disney Vault In theaters from Disney: The Black Cauldron — an ambitious, darker animated fantasy that famously overreached at the box office. A noble misfire, and a fascinating chapter in the studio's story.
— a couple of quick things before you go —
👟 Step Challenge: the Summer 2026 Step Challenge is rolling — grab the free Pacer app and walk with us: Join the challenge (already have Pacer? Club code E42727228). Every step counts.
💡 Health Snap: no DeLorean required to feel a little younger — a regular walk is about the closest thing we've got to a time machine for the body. More easy wellness reading is at ourfreehealthreport.com.
🎉 Born on an August 30th — or know someone who was?
Forward this to them right now — there's no better "this is the day you were born" gift than a little time travel.
🎂 In good company: August 30 babies include Frankenstein author Mary Shelley (1797), baseball's Ted Williams (1918), investor Warren Buffett (1930), Michael Chiklis (1963), and Cameron Diaz (1972).
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