The König class was a group of four battleships built for the Imperial
German Navy on the eve of World War I. The class was composed of
König, Grosser Kurfürst, Markgraf, and Kronprinz (pictured). The
Königs were an improvement over the preceding Kaiser class, mounting
ten 30.5 cm (12 in) SK L/50 guns in five twin turrets. Two turrets
were mounted forward of the main superstructure in a superfiring pair,
the third was placed on the centerline amidships, and the fourth and
fifth turrets were aft, also in a superfiring pair. This allowed all 10
guns to fire in a large arc. The most powerful warships of the German
High Seas Fleet at the outbreak of war in 1914, the class operated as a
unit throughout World War I. The ships took part in the Battle of
Jutland, where they acted as the German vanguard. They survived the war
and were interned at Scapa Flow in November 1918. All four ships were
scuttled on 21 June 1919. (This article is part of a featured topic:
Battleships of Germany.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Battleships_of_Germ…>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1896:
French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered the principle of
radioactive decay when he exposed photographic plates to uranium salts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Becquerel>
1936:
Hoover Dam, straddling the Arizona–Nevada border on the
Colorado River, was completed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam>
1950:
In a trial lasting less than 90 minutes, German–British
physicist Klaus Fuchs was convicted of violating the Official Secrets
Act by supplying information from the Manhattan Project to the Soviet
Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Fuchs>
2014:
A group of knife-wielding terrorists attacked passengers at
Kunming railway station in Kunming, China, leaving 31 victims dead and
more than 140 others injured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kunming_attack>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
pendragon:
Also capitalized as Pendragon: a title assumed by the ancient British
chiefs when called to lead other chiefs: chief war leader, dictator, or
king.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pendragon>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am neither a saint nor a theologian. To me, good works are
more important than theology. We all know that religion has been
historically, and still is today, a cause of great evil as well as great
good in human affairs. We have seen terrible wars and terrible
persecutions conducted in the name of religion. We have also seen large
numbers of people inspired by religion to lives of heroic virtue,
bringing education and medical care to the poor, helping to abolish
slavery and spread peace among nations. Religion amplifies the good and
evil tendencies of individual souls. Religion will always remain a
powerful force in the history of our species. To me, the meaning of
progress in religion is simply this, that as we move from the past to
the future the good works inspired by religion should more and more
prevail over the evil.
--Freeman Dyson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson>