Two Shōkaku-class aircraft carriers, Shōkaku and Zuikaku, were commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. They participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Indian Ocean Raid, and the battles of the Coral Sea, the Eastern Solomons, and the Santa Cruz Islands. Their air groups sank two of the four fleet carriers lost by the United States Navy during the war in addition to one elderly British light carrier. Returning to Japan after the Battle of the Coral Sea to repair damage and replace lost aircraft, they missed the Battle of Midway in June 1942. After the catastrophic loss of four carriers during that battle, they formed the bulk of Japan's carrier force for the rest of the war. Shōkaku was sunk by an American submarine during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 as the Americans invaded the Mariana Islands, and Zuikaku was sacrificed as part of a decoy force four months later in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, both with heavy loss of life. Historian Mark Peattie called them "arguably the best aircraft carriers" of the early 1940s.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dkaku-class_aircraft_carrier

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1436:

Swedish rebel and later national hero Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson was assassinated in the midst of his rebellion against Eric of Pomerania. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelbrekt_Engelbrektsson

1814:

Ferdinand VII abolished the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolutism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Constitution_of_1812

1836:

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish Catholic fraternal organization, was founded in New York City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Order_of_Hibernians

1945:

Second World War: Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands, northwest Germany, and Denmark. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_surrender_at_L%C3%BCneburg_Heath

1979:

Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following the defeat of James Callaghan's incumbent Labour government in the previous day's general election. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

skywalker: 1. (usually figuratively) One who walks in the sky. 2. (specifically) A member of the Mohawk group of Native Americans; especially one who is or was involved in steelworking on tall buildings in New York City. 3. (by extension from the previous) Any ironworker working at a height. 4. One who walks along a skywalk or skyway. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/skywalker

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The foundation of morality is to have done, once and for all, with lying; to give up pretending to believe that for which there is no evidence, and repeating unintelligible propositions about things beyond the possibilities of knowledge.   --T. H. Huxley https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T._H._Huxley