From the waters edge a New York policeman urges two young children to put their bathing costumes back on. (Photo by Ed Clarity/Keystone/Getty Images). July 1949

“The Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856) was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, but there were smaller campaigns in western Anatolia, Caucasus, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A vivandiere, a female soldier selling provisions and spirits, with the Allied forces during the Crimean War. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Australian comedian Barry Humphries, dressed as his most famous character Dame Edna Everage, modelling a stunning Ascot hat based on the Sydney Opera House on June 15, 1976. (Photo by Wesley/Getty Images)

Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler greets supporters at a May Day gathering in the Olympic Stadium, Berlin. (Photo by Keystone). 1st May 1938

With temperatures soaring and summer well underway, countless Americans will be spending their Independence Day weekend at the beach. Here we revisit some classic images from the turn-of-the-century to the 1930's of vacations by the sea, from Coney Island to Santa Monica.

British Liberal politician Cyril Smith relaxes on the beach at Margate, prior to the morning session of the annual Party Conference. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1979

Immigrants from the West Indies at Victoria Station in London, 1956. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

A four-year-old bulldog named Goldie wearing spectacles and a nightcap. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 9th January 1960