The Battle of Leyte Gulf was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought in the seas around the island of Leyte in the Philippines from October 23 to October 26, 1944. The Japanese intended to repel or destroy the Allied invasion of Leyte. Instead, the Allied navies inflicted a major defeat on the outnumbered Imperial Japanese Navy which finished it as a strategic force in the Pacific War. The battle is often considered to be the largest naval battle in history. Leyte Gulf was also the scene of the first use of kamikaze aircraft by the Japanese. The Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia was hit on 21 October, and organized suicide attacks by the "Special Attack Force" began on 25 October.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf

Today's selected anniversaries:

1558 Elizabeth I ascended the English Throne. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England)

1869 The Suez Canal was inaugurated in an elaborate ceremony. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal)

1969 The SALT I negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States began in Helsinki. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SALT_I)

1970 Douglas Engelbart received the patent for the first computer mouse. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/computer_mouse)

1973 Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, US President Richard Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal)

Wikiquote of the day:

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." ~ Jimi Hendrix (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix)