SMS Nassau was the first dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial German Navy, in response to the launching of the British battleship HMS Dreadnought. Nassau was laid down in 1907 at the Imperial Shipyard in Wilhelmshaven and launched on 7 March 1908. Three more battleships followed in the same class: Posen, Rheinland, and Westfalen. Assigned to the First Battle Squadron of the German High Seas Fleet, Nassau saw service in the North Sea in the beginning of World War I. In August 1915 the ship engaged the Russian battleship Slava in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in the eastern Baltic Sea. Nassau took part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916, suffering a total of 11 killed and 16 injured. After World War I, the bulk of the High Seas Fleet was interned in Scapa Flow, but the Nassau-class ships, the oldest German dreadnoughts, were initially permitted to remain in German ports. After the German fleet was scuttled, Nassau and her sister ships were surrendered to the victorious powers as replacements for the sunken ships. Nassau was ceded to Japan, then sold to a British wrecking firm for scrapping.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Nassau
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1573:
A peace treaty brought the Ottoman–Venetian War to an end, transferring Cyprus from Venetian hands to Ottoman control. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Venetian_War_(1570%E2%80%931573)
1862:
American Civil War: Union forces engaged Confederate troops in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, fighting to a victory one day later that essentially cemented their control in Missouri. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pea_Ridge
1871:
José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco, became Prime Minister of the Empire of Brazil, starting a four-year rule, the longest in the state's history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Paranhos,_Viscount_of_Rio_Branco
1945:
World War II: At the beginning of the Battle of Remagen, Allied forces unexpectedly seized the Ludendorff Bridge, possibly hastening the war's conclusion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Remagen
1985:
The charity single "We Are the World" by the supergroup United Support of Artists for Africa was released, and would go on to sell more than 20 million copies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
soul-searching: Probing introspection; a critical consideration of one's conscience; also, an instance of such consideration. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/soul-searching
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all. --Aristotle https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aristotle