The Second Silesian War (1744–1745) was a conflict between Prussia and
Austria which confirmed Prussia's control of Silesia (now in south-
western Poland). The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Bohemia, and
Upper Saxony and formed one theatre of the wider War of the Austrian
Succession. The Habsburg Monarchy's fortunes had improved since the end
of the First Silesian War two years earlier. Prussia entered an alliance
with Austria's enemies and rejoined the war, invading Habsburg Bohemia
in mid-1744 to prevent a resurgent Austria from taking back Silesia. The
war ended in a Prussian victory with the Treaty of Dresden in
December 1745. Continuing conflict over Silesia would draw Austria and
Prussia into the Third Silesian War a decade later. The Second Silesian
War repeated the earlier defeat of the Habsburg Monarchy by a lesser
German power and contributed to the Austria–Prussia rivalry that would
shape German politics for more than a century. (This article is part of
a featured topic: Silesian Wars.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Silesian_Wars>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1782:
The Badge of Military Merit, the precursor to the U.S. Purple
Heart, was established as a military decoration of the Continental Army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badge_of_Military_Merit>
1946:
The Soviet Union informed Turkey that the way in which the
latter was handling the Turkish Straits no longer represented the
security interests of its fellow Black Sea nations, escalating the
Turkish Straits crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Straits_crisis>
1970:
Jonathan Jackson kidnapped Harold Haley, a judge in Marin
County, California, to coerce the release of the Soledad Brothers,
including Jackson's brother George.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marin_County_Civic_Center_attacks>
1985:
Five members of the Bamber family were found murdered at a
farmhouse in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Farm_murders>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
calabash:
1. A tree (known as the calabash tree; Crescentia cujete) native to
Central and South America, the West Indies, and southern Florida,
bearing large, round fruit used to make containers (sense 3); the fruit
of this tree.
2. The bottle gourd (calabash vine, Lagenaria siceraria), a vine
believed to have originated in Africa, which is grown for its fruit that
are used as a vegetable and to make containers (sense 3); the fruit of
this plant.
3. A container made from the mature, dried shell of the fruit of one of
the above plants; also, a similarly shaped container made from some
other material.
4. A calabash and its contents; as much as fills such a container.
5. (music) A musical instrument, most commonly a drum or rattle, made
from a calabash fruit.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/calabash>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The primary issue is how seriously we take our chosen obligations
to people in the developing world who do not have Internet connections.
… Frankly, and let me be blunt, Wikipedia as a readable product is not
for us. It's for them. It's for that girl in Africa who can save the
lives of hundreds of thousands of people around her, but only if she's
empowered with the knowledge to do so.
--Jimmy Wales
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales>