From today's featured article
SMS Pommern was a Deutschland-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial German Navy at the AG Vulcan Stettin yard at Stettin, Germany. Named after the Prussian province of Pomerania, she was laid down on 22 March 1904, launched on 2 December 1905, and commissioned into the navy on 6 August 1907. The ship was armed with four 28 cm (11 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Pommern was assigned to II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. At the start of World War I, she was stationed at the Elbe to support the defenses of the German Bight. She participated in sorties into the North Sea in attempts to destroy portions of the British Grand Fleet. These offensive operations culminated in the Battle of Jutland, where she was hit by torpedoes, which detonated one of her 17-centimeter (6.7 in) gun magazines. The resulting explosion broke the ship in half and killed the entire crew. ( This article is part of a featured topic: Battleships of Germany .)
Did you know ...
- ... that the soprillo saxophone (example pictured) is about half the length of a soprano saxophone and pitched one octave higher?
- ... that Stalin told the Turkestan Autonomy to invade the Soviet Commissariat in Tashkent instead of asking him to dissolve it?
- ... that Josèphe Jacquiot founded a museum that was named in her honour ?
- ... that Serbia's smallest passenger airport has only one year-round scheduled flight — to Istanbul?
- ... that Brandon Saad was the first Saginaw Spirit alumnus to win the Stanley Cup?
- ... that a 2025 petition to the International Criminal Court alleges that 122 European politicians have committed crimes against humanity against migrants ?
- ... that "nobody among the secretaries of the Middle Ages could reach such a level of influence over kings" as Fernán Díaz de Toledo ?
- ... that the 2003 series Trouble frequently appears on lists of the worst or most controversial Spider-Man storylines?
- ... that in Māori culture a woman can end a speech during a pōwhiri by walking in front of the speaker?
In the news
- Flooding and landslides caused by Cyclone Ditwah leave at least 370 people dead across Sri Lanka and India.
- An apartment complex fire (pictured) in Hong Kong leaves at least 151 people dead.
- In Guinea-Bissau, armed forces seize power in a military coup , arresting President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and proclaiming Horta Inta-A Na Man as head of a transitional government.
On this day
- 1823 – U.S. president James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine , a proclamation of opposition to European colonialism in the New World.
- 1927 – The Ford Motor Company introduced the second version of the Model A (pictured), its first new model in 18 years.
- 1950 – Korean War: UN forces began a retreat from North Korea following defeat at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River .
- 1989 – The Malayan Communist Party and the Malaysian government signed a peace accord to end a 21-year communist insurgency .
- 2015 – In San Bernardino, California, a married couple carried out a mass shooting at a Christmas party before fleeing and dying in a shootout with police.
- Irene Vanbrugh (b. 1872)
- Allen Wright (d. 1885)
- Austen Deans (b. 1915)
- Inori Minase (b. 1995)
Today's featured picture
 | Pedro II of Brazil (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), also known as Pedro the Magnanimous, was the second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for more than 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro as the seventh son of Pedro I and Maria Leopoldina, Pedro II inherited an empire on the verge of disintegration, but he turned Brazil into an emerging power in the international arena. The nation grew to be distinguished from its Hispanic neighbors on account of its political stability, freedom of speech, respect for civil rights, vibrant economic growth, and form of government – a functional representative parliamentary monarchy. Pedro pushed through the abolition of slavery in Brazil despite opposition from powerful political and economic interests. He established a reputation as a vigorous sponsor of learning, culture, and the sciences, and he won the respect and admiration of people such as Charles Darwin, Victor Hugo, and Friedrich Nietzsche, and was a friend to Richard Wagner, Louis Pasteur, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, among others. Historians have regarded Pedro positively and several have ranked him as the greatest Brazilian. This 1872 painting by Pedro Américo depicts Pedro II delivering the speech from the throne in the General Assembly and wearing the Imperial Regalia. Painting credit: Pedro Américo Recently featured: |