The First Silesian War was a conflict between Prussia and Austria
lasting from 1740 to 1742, which resulted in Prussia's seizure of most
of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland). The war was
fought mainly in Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia and was part of the wider
War of the Austrian Succession. The war commenced in late 1740 with an
invasion of Habsburg Silesia when Maria Theresa's contested succession
to the Habsburg Monarchy provided an opportunity for Prussia to expand.
It ended in a Prussian victory with the 1742 Treaty of Berlin. The War
of the Austrian Succession continued, and would draw Austria and Prussia
into the Second Silesian War only two years later, which also ended in
Prussian control of Silesia. The First Silesian War marked the
unexpected defeat of the Habsburg Monarchy by a lesser German power and
initiated 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>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1847:
Prince Afonso died at the age of two, leaving his father
Pedro II, the last emperor of Brazil, without a male heir.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afonso,_Prince_Imperial_of_Brazil>
1920:
During their national convention in Chicago, Republican Party
leaders gathered in negotiations at The Blackstone Hotel to select their
presidential candidate, leading to the phrase "smoke-filled room".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blackstone_Hotel>
1955:
Two cars collided during a running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans,
resulting in 84 deaths making it the deadliest accident in motorsport
history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster>
2007:
Mudslides caused by heavy monsoon rainfall and exacerbated by
hill cutting killed at least 128 people in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Chittagong_mudslides>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
esquamulose:
(botany, mycology) Not covered in scales or scale-like objects; having a
smooth skin or outer covering.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/esquamulose>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Thy praise or dispraise is to me alike; One doth not stroke me,
nor the other strike.
--Ben Jonson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ben_Jonson>