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From today's featured article
HMS Furious and a half-sister ship
The Courageous class was the first British multi-ship class of aircraft carriers
. The three ships Furious, Courageous and Glorious were originally laid down as batt
lecruisers to be used in the Baltic Project during the First World War. They wer
e very fast, but their minimal armour and guns limited their long-term utility i
n the post-war Royal Navy, until they were converted to aircraft carriers as per
mitted by the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. Furious, already partially converted
during the war, began reconstruction in 1921. As the first large carrier comple
ted by the Royal Navy, the ship was used to evaluate aircraft handling and landi
ng procedures, including the first-ever carrier night landing in 1926. During th
e Second World War, Courageous became the first British warship lost, torpedoed
in September 1939 by a German submarine. Glorious, sailing home with minimal esc
ort after the Norwegian Campaign, was sunk by two German battleships in June 194
0. Furious ferried aircraft, escorted convoys and launched air attacks in suppor
t of British forces until late 1944. (Full article...)
Part of the Courageous-class battlecruisers series, one of Wikipedia's featured
topics.
Recently featured: Allen Walker Sexuality after spinal cord injury Suillus salmo
nicolor
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Did you know...
Train of Tomorrow
Train of Tomorrow
... that the dome cars of the Train of Tomorrow (pictured) were inspired by a ri
de in the Rocky Mountains in either an F-unit or a caboose's cupola?
... that William T. Greenough is called a "towering figure in neuroscience" for
showing that the structure of the brain changes throughout one's entire life, an
d not just in infancy?
... that a documentary on Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen's troubled 19
72 concert tour was completed in 1974 but released theatrically in 2017?
... that Koh-i-Sultan volcano in Pakistan last erupted approximately 90,000 year
s ago and still displays fumarolic activity?
... that educational video game Opening Night allowed young players to direct th
eir own plays?
... that St. Peter's Church, Colombo, was previously used as a banquet hall by t
he Dutch?
... that Amy Richlin teaches ancient sex?
Recently improved articles Start a new article Nominate an article
In the news
Photograph of Alan Turing, seated
Alan Turing
Under the Alan Turing law (namesake pictured), more than 49,000 men in England a
nd Wales are pardoned for breaching historical legislation that outlawed homosex
ual acts.
Morocco is admitted to the African Union despite an ongoing dispute over Western
Sahara.
A gunman kills six people and injures eight others in a mass shooting at a mosqu
e in Quebec City, Canada.
The Winter X Games conclude with the United States winning seven gold medals.
A cold wave affects North India.
Ongoing: U.S. immigration suspension Battle of Mosul
Recent deaths: Rob Stewart Gordon Aikman Desmond Carrington Tokitenku Yoshiaki
On this day...
February 5
Bill Ponsford
Bill Ponsford
1783 The first of five strong earthquakes hit the region of Calabria on the Ital
ian Peninsula killing more than 32,000 people over a period of nearly two months
.
1818 Marshal of France Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte ascended to the thrones of Swede
n and Norway.
1909 Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announced the creation of Bakelite, the world
's first synthetic plastic.
1923 Australian cricketer Bill Ponsford (pictured) made 429 runs to break the wo
rld record for the highest first-class score.
2009 The United States Navy guided missile cruiser Port Royal ran aground on a c
oral reef off the island of Oahu.
More anniversaries: February 4 February 5 February 6
Archive By email List of historical anniversaries
Current date: February 5, 2017 (UTC) Reload this page
Today's featured picture
Beauty Revealed
Beauty Revealed is an an 1828 self-portrait by Sarah Goodridge (1788 1853), painte
d in miniature with watercolors on a piece of ivory. Depicting the artist's bare
d breasts surrounded by pale cloth, the 6.7-by-8-centimetre (2.6 by 3.1 in) pain
ting was gifted to statesman Daniel Webster, who was a frequent subject and poss
ibly a lover, following the death of his wife.
Recently featured: Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes Charles de Solier, comte de Morette E
urasian eagle-owl
Archive More featured pictures...
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