The Conte di Cavour-class battleships were a group of three dreadnoughts
built for the Royal Italian Navy. The ships were completed during World
War I, but did not see action. Leonardo da Vinci was sunk by a magazine
explosion in 1916 and later sold for scrap. Conte di Cavour (pictured)
and Giulio Cesare supported operations during the Corfu Incident in 1923
and were extensively reconstructed between 1933 and 1937 to add more
powerful guns, armor and speed. Both ships participated in the Battle of
Calabria in July 1940, when Giulio Cesare was lightly damaged. They were
both present when British torpedo bombers attacked the fleet at Taranto
in November 1940, and Conte di Cavour was torpedoed; repairs were not
completed before the Italian surrender in September 1943, and she was
scrapped in 1946. Giulio Cesare escorted convoys and participated in the
Battle of Cape Spartivento in late 1940 and the First Battle of Sirte in
late 1941. She was designated as a training ship in early 1942, and
escaped to Malta after Italy surrendered. The ship was transferred to
the Soviet Union in 1949 and used for training until she was sunk by a
mine in 1955 and scrapped.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conte_di_Cavour-class_battleship>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1641:
Irish Catholic gentry in Ulster tried to seize control of
Dublin Castle, the seat of English rule in Ireland to force concessions
to Catholics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Rebellion_of_1641>
1850:
The first National Women's Rights Convention, presided over by
Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis (pictured), was held in Worcester,
Massachusetts, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Women%27s_Rights_Convention>
1956:
The Hungarian Revolution began as a peaceful student
demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central
Budapest to the Parliament building.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956>
1989:
A massive explosion and fire ripped through the Phillips 66
Houston Chemical Complex, killing 23 employees and injuring 314 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_Disaster_of_1989>
2001:
The iPod, the line of portable media players designed and
marketed by Apple, was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
palatal:
1. (anatomy) Pertaining to the palate.
2. (dentistry, not comparable) Of an upper tooth, on the side facing the
palate.
3. (phonetics) Articulated at the hard palate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palatal>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is always darkest before the dawn.
--Anonymous
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anonymous>