Frederick III (1831–1888) was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99
days in 1888 during the Year of the Three Emperors. Following the
unification of Germany in 1871 his father, William I, then King of
Prussia, became the German Emperor, and on William's death at the age
of 90 on 9 March 1888, the throne passed to Frederick, having by then
been the Crown Prince for 27 years. Frederick was suffering from cancer
of the larynx and died on 15 June 1888, aged 56, following unsuccessful
medical treatments for his condition. The timing of Frederick's death,
and the length of his reign, are important topics among historians. The
reign of Frederick III is considered a potential turning point in
German history; many historians believe if Frederick succeeded to the
throne sooner, he would have transformed Germany into a liberal state.
They argue this would have averted the events preceding World War I.
Other historians contend that Frederick's influence and political
leanings were greatly exaggerated, noting that he tended to defer to
his father and Bismarck when confronted, and would not have dared to
challenge their conservatism even as ruler.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_III%2C_German_Emperor>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1893:
The USS Indiana , the lead ship of her class and the first battleship
in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the
time, was launched.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indiana_%28BB-1%29>
1914:
In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Greeks living in southern Albania
proclaimed the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_Republic_of_Northern_Epirus>
1972:
The ten-day siege of a mountain lodge near Karuizawa, Nagano
prefecture, Japan, where members of the paramilitary group United Red
Army held a woman hostage, ended when police stormed the building, an
event that became the first marathon live broadcast in the country,
lasting 10 hours and 40 minutes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asama-Sans%C5%8D_incident>
1997:
GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, struck the Earth for
80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well
beyond the Milky Way.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRB_970228>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Stockholm syndrome (n):
A psychological condition in which a hostage emotionally bonds to his
or her captor
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Virtue refuses facility for her companion ... the easy, gentle, and
sloping path that guides the footsteps of a good natural disposition is
not the path of true virtue. It demands a rough and thorny road.
--Michel de Montaigne
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michel_de_Montaigne>