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From today's featured article

Schwaben's sister ship, Wittelsbach

SMS Schwaben was the fourth of five ships of the Wittelsbach class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial German Navy. Built at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven, she was laid down in 1900 and completed in April 1904. Possessing a main battery of four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns, the ship had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Schwaben spent her early career as a gunnery training ship or participating in large-scale fleet exercises. At the start of World War I in August 1914, the sister ships were mobilized as IV Battle Squadron. Schwaben served in the North Sea and then the Baltic Sea until the threat from British submarines forced her to withdraw in 1916. For the remainder of the war, she was an engineering training ship for navy cadets. After the war, she was retained as a depot ship for F-type minesweepers in the Baltic from 1919 until June 1920, but was stricken from the navy list in March 1921 and sold for scrap. (This article is part of a featured topic: Battleships of Germany.)

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Did you know ...

Tian'e Longtan Bridge

... that the 600-metre (2,000 ft) arch span of the Tian'e Longtan Bridge (pictured) is the longest of any reinforced concrete bridge?
... that the original creator of Whisper Me a Love Song recalled listening to around 60 audition tapes to recommend a voice actress for a role?
... that a Korean immigrant to the U.S. contributed to numerous notable buildings in San Diego's skyline?
... that some Portuguese Americans in California practice bloodless bullfighting during religious festivals?
... that the sculpture Broadgate Venus has been described as a "large and threatening personification of voluptuous, ripe womanhood"?
... that Dora Brilliant built bombs to assassinate Russian officials, despite being personally uncomfortable with violence?
... that James Buchanan wrote his own presidential memoir despite paying a friend $7,000 to write a biography of him?
... that the "father of modern ice climbing" died on Nanga Parbat in 1934 after days of starvation and cold exposure?
... that Jackson Mac Low used A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates to write poetry?

In the news

Earthquake damage in East Manggarai, Indonesia

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake (damage pictured) strikes off the coast of Flores, Indonesia, causing at least 69 deaths.
Former premier of China Zhu Rongji dies at the age of 97.
A solar eclipse causes totality from Siberia to Iberia.
A ferry capsizes on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, leaving at least 93 people dead.

On this day

August 19: Afghan Independence Day; Qixi Festival in China (2026)

The Luck of Cumberland

1759 – Seven Years' War: Having damaged several French vessels, British ships pursued the remainder of the fleet to Lagos, Portugal, and continued the battle there in violation of Portuguese neutrality.
1905 – In a ceremony officiated by Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, The Luck of Cumberland (pictured) was presented to HMS Cumberland.
1950 – The 766th Independent Infantry Regiment of North Korea was disbanded after fighting for less than two months in the Korean War.
2002 – Second Chechen War: A Russian Mil Mi-26 was brought down by Chechen separatists with a man-portable air-defense system near Khankala, killing 127 people in the deadliest helicopter crash in history.
2017 – Around 250,000 farmed non-native Atlantic salmon were accidentally released into the wild near Cypress Island, Washington.

Coco Chanel (b. 1883)
Bill Clinton (b. 1946)
Otto Frank (d. 1980)
Levy Mwanawasa (d. 2008)

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From today's featured list

Map of the Hebrides, with the Inner Hebrides in pink

There are more than 30 inhabited islands and skerries in the Inner Hebrides, a chain of islands and skerries located off the west coast of mainland Scotland. Of these, Islay, Mull and Skye are the largest and most populous. The islands of Scotland's west coast are known collectively as the Hebrides; the Inner Hebrides are separated from the Outer Hebrides by the Minch to the north and the Sea of the Hebrides to the south. The northern Inner Hebrides, including Skye, the Small Isles and the Summer Isles, are part of the unitary council region of Highland. The southern group, including Islay, Jura, the Slate Islands and Gigha are part of the council region of Argyll and Bute. The islands of the Inner Hebrides had a population of 18,948 at the time of the 2011 census. In addition to the inhabited islands, there are 43 uninhabited islands with an area greater than 30 hectares (74 acres), as well as dozens of smaller islets and skerries. (This list is part of a featured topic: Islands of Scotland.)

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Today's featured video

The Kid is a 1921 American silent comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Charlie Chaplin, who stars alongside Jackie Coogan. Chaplin plays The Tramp, who finds an abandoned baby and raises him as his son. Five years later, the pair support themselves through a scheme in which the boy breaks windows and the Tramp repairs them. The film was Chaplin's first feature-length work as a director and made Coogan a major child star. A commercial and critical success, The Kid is considered one of the greatest films of the silent era. It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011.

Film credit: Charlie Chaplin

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