SMS Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand was an Austro-Hungarian Radetzky class
pre-dreadnought battleship commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy
on 5 June 1910. Although SMS Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand was laid down
and commissioned after the launching of the HMS Dreadnought in 1906,
her design was begun before and had the characteristics of a
Pre-Dreadnought battleship rather than later Post-Dreadnought
battleships. She was named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The first
ship of her class to be built, she preceded Radetzky by more than six
months. Her armament included four 30.5 cm (12 in) guns in two twin
turrets, and eight 24 cm (9.4 in) guns in four twin turrets. She
participated in an international naval protest of the Balkan Wars in
1913, during which she helped enforce a blockade of Montenegro. She
also was one of the first ships to deploy seaplanes for military use.
During World War I, she saw limited service in the 2nd Division of the
1st Battle Squadron, including mobilization to assist the escape of the
German ships SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau and the bombardment of Ancona
in 1915.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Erzherzog_Franz_Ferdinand>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1808:
German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Fifth Symphony,
currently one of the most popular and well-known compositions in all of
European classical music, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._5_%28Beethoven%29>
1885:
Itō Hirobumi , a samurai from Chōshū, became the first Prime Minister
of Japan.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%C5%8D_Hirobumi>
1984:
While riding a New York City Subway train, Bernhard Goetz shot four
African American youths who attempted to rob him, sparking a nationwide
debate on vigilantism, racism, and the legal limits of self-defense.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Goetz>
1990:
The Parliament of Croatia adopted the country's current constitution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Croatia>
2001:
Richard Reid unsuccessfully attempted to detonate a bomb in his shoe on
a transatlantic flight from Paris, France, to Miami, Florida, US.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Reid_%28shoe_bomber%29>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
altruistic (adj):
Regardful of others; beneficent; unselfish
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/altruistic>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
That's the thing with magic. You've got to know it's still here, all
around us, or it just stays invisible for you.
--Charles de Lint
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_de_Lint>