HMS Agincourt was a British dreadnought built with more turreted heavy guns (fourteen) and more main turrets (seven) than any other battleship, before or since. Originally ordered by Brazil during a South American naval arms race, the ship was purchased from Brazil by the Ottoman Empire while under construction and renamed Sultan Osman I, after the empire's founder. When the dreadnought was nearly complete, World War I broke out. The British Admiralty, fearing an Ottoman–German alliance, seized the ship for the Royal Navy, together with another Ottoman dreadnought being built in Britain, the Reşadiye. This act contributed to the decision of the Ottoman government to join the Central Powers, as the payments for both ships were complete. The renamed Agincourt joined the Grand Fleet in the North Sea and, apart from the Battle of Jutland in 1916, spent most of the war on patrols and exercises. The dreadnought was put into reserve in 1919 and—after abortive attempts to sell the ship back to Brazil—was sold for scrap in 1922 to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Agincourt_(1913)

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1506:

The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards (modern soldier pictured) arrived at the Vatican in Rome to serve as security for the Pope. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Guard

1689:

The Convention Parliament convened to justify the overthrow of James II, the last Roman Catholic king of England, who had vacated the throne when he fled to France in 1688. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_England

1905:

Russian Revolution: Peaceful demonstrators, led by Father Gapon, a Russian Orthodox priest, were massacred outside the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1905)

1946:

Iran Crisis: The Republic of Mahabad declared its independence, seeking autonomy for the Kurds within Iran. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Mahabad

2006:

Aymaran Evo Morales was inaugurated as President of Bolivia, the country's first democratically elected, fully Amerindian leader. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

come out of the woodwork: (idiomatic) to appear or emerge unexpectedly or inexplicably, frequently in large numbers or quantity. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/come_out_of_the_woodwork

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Man, whence is he? Too bad to be the work of a god, too good for the work of chance.   --Gotthold Ephraim Lessing https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gotthold_Ephraim_Lessing