The König class was a group of four battleships built for the Imperial German Navy on the eve of World War I. The class was composed of König, Grosser Kurfürst, Markgraf, and Kronprinz (pictured). The Königs were an improvement over the preceding Kaiser class, mounting ten 30.5 cm (12 in) SK L/50 guns in five twin turrets. Two turrets were mounted forward of the main superstructure in a superfiring pair, the third was placed on the centerline amidships, and the fourth and fifth turrets were aft, also in a superfiring pair. This allowed all 10 guns to fire in a large arc. The most powerful warships of the German High Seas Fleet at the outbreak of war in 1914, the class operated as a unit throughout World War I. The ships took part in the Battle of Jutland, where they acted as the German vanguard. They survived the war and were interned at Scapa Flow in November 1918. All four ships were scuttled on 21 June 1919. (This article is part of a featured topic: Battleships of Germany.).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Battleships_of_Germany

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1896:

French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered the principle of radioactive decay when he exposed photographic plates to uranium salts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Becquerel

1936:

Hoover Dam, straddling the Arizona–Nevada border on the Colorado River, was completed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam

1950:

In a trial lasting less than 90 minutes, German–British physicist Klaus Fuchs was convicted of violating the Official Secrets Act by supplying information from the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Fuchs

2014:

A group of knife-wielding terrorists attacked passengers at Kunming railway station in Kunming, China, leaving 31 victims dead and more than 140 others injured. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kunming_attack

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

pendragon: Also capitalized as Pendragon: a title assumed by the ancient British chiefs when called to lead other chiefs: chief war leader, dictator, or king. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pendragon

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I am neither a saint nor a theologian. To me, good works are more important than theology. We all know that religion has been historically, and still is today, a cause of great evil as well as great good in human affairs. We have seen terrible wars and terrible persecutions conducted in the name of religion. We have also seen large numbers of people inspired by religion to lives of heroic virtue, bringing education and medical care to the poor, helping to abolish slavery and spread peace among nations. Religion amplifies the good and evil tendencies of individual souls. Religion will always remain a powerful force in the history of our species. To me, the meaning of progress in religion is simply this, that as we move from the past to the future the good works inspired by religion should more and more prevail over the evil.   --Freeman Dyson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson