Yashima was a Fuji-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the 1890s. Yashima (a classical name for Japan) was designed and built in the United Kingdom, as Japan lacked the necessary industrial capacity. Her main battery consisted of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns. Commanded by Captain Hajime Sakamoto at the start of the Russo-Japanese War, the ship participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904 when Vice-Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led his battleships and cruisers in an attack on Russia's Pacific Squadron. Yashima was involved in war operations until May, when she struck two mines off Port Arthur. She did not sink immediately, but capsized while under tow later that day. The Japanese were able to keep her loss a secret from the Russians for over a year; as part of the deception, surviving crewmen who were guarding Port Arthur addressed their letters as if they were still aboard the battleship.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Yashima

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1914:

World War I: Off the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney sank SMS Emden, the last active warship of the Central Powers in the Indian Ocean. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cocos

1989:

East German official Günter Schabowski mistakenly announced the immediate opening of the inner German border, resulting in the fall of the Berlin Wall that night (border crossing pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Berlin_Wall

2016:

A tram derailed in Croydon, London, killing seven people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

trounce: 1. (transitive) To beat severely; to thrash. 2. (transitive) To beat thoroughly, to defeat heavily; especially (games, sports) to win against (someone) by a wide margin. 3. (transitive) To chastise or punish physically or verbally; to scold with abusive language. 4. (transitive, Britain, regional) To punish by bringing a lawsuit against; to sue. [...] 5. (intransitive, Britain, dialectal) To walk heavily or with some difficulty; to tramp, to trudge. 6. (intransitive, Britain, dialectal) To pass across or over; to traverse. 7. (intransitive) To travel quickly over a long distance. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trounce

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We stand again at an inflection point. We have the opportunity to defeat despair and to build a nation of prosperity and purpose. We can do it. I know we can. I've long talked about the battle for the soul of America. We must restore the soul of America. Our nation is shaped by the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses. It is time for our better angels to prevail. Tonight, the whole world is watching America. I believe at our best America is a beacon for the globe. And we lead not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.   --Joe Biden https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden