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From today's featured article

Model of a Montana-class battleship

The Montana class was a planned class of battleships for the United States Navy; five ships were approved for construction during World War II, but none were built. With increased anti-aircraft capability and thicker armor in all areas, the Montanas would have been the largest and most heavily armed US battleships ever, and rivaled Japan's Yamato-class battleships in terms of displacement. The first two vessels were approved by Congress in 1939 following the passage of the Naval Act of 1938. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor delayed the construction of the Montana class. The importance of carrier combat at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway diminished the perceived value of the battleship, and the US Navy chose to cancel the Montana class before any keels were laid in favor of more urgently needed aircraft carriers as well as amphibious and anti-submarine vessels. Instead, the Navy continued production of Essex-class aircraft carriers and Iowa-class battleships. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Report on the Japanese surrender at Singapore in September 1945 by Brigadier J.D. Rogers

... that John David Rogers represented Australia at the Japanese surrender in Singapore in September 1945 (video featured)?
... that the lyricist of "Coffee Houser Sei Addata" wrote its last lyrics on a cigarette packet?
... that a John Robert Cozens painting set the record auction price for an 18th-century English watercolour at £2.4 million?
... that the design of the Moffat distillery building reflects the style of the surrounding farm buildings?
... that the Russian voice actress who portrayed the lead role in the top two highest-grossing Russian films of all time is also an accomplished ice skater?
... that a reviewer said that the musicians on the Christian music compilation 4-Way Noise Explosion would prompt a wave of people leaving Christianity?
... that Kurt Wright did not seek reelection to the Burlington City Council due to federal regulations that would have made him leave his radio show?
... that the Cheyenne Mountain Complex is the alternate command center for both the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the United States Northern Command?
... that a teacher was fired for reading Dawn McMillan's book I Need a New Butt! to his second-grade class?

In the news

Ali Khamenei

Israel and the United States launch strikes on Iran, killing its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei (pictured), along with other senior officials.
A Bolivian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashes into a road in El Alto, killing more than 20 people.
A military conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalates as the countries exchange cross-border strikes.
Floods in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, leave at least 70 people dead and thousands of others displaced.

On this day

March 4: Shushan Purim (Judaism, 2026); Feast day of Saint Casimir (Catholicism)

Władysław II Jagiełło

1386 – Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, was crowned King of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło (pictured), beginning the Jagiellonian dynasty.
1773 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart departed Italy after the last of his three journeys there.
1899 – Cyclone Mahina struck Bathurst Bay, Queensland, killing more than 300 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in Australian history.
1918 – A case of influenza was recorded at Camp Funston, Kansas, conventionally marking the beginning of the Spanish flu pandemic.
2017 – Construction began on a 69-metre (226 ft) statue of the Buddha at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Bangkok.

Hindal Mirza (b. 1519)
Rosalind Pitt-Rivers (b. 1907)
Aribert Reimann (b. 1936)
Gary Gygax (d. 2008)

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From today's featured list

Peyton Manning

Annual passing touchdown leaders in the National Football League (NFL) have been recorded since the inception of the NFL in 1932. Passing, along with running, is one of the two main methods in American football of advancing the ball down the field, and a touchdown pass is a pass thrown from a passer to a receiver that results in a touchdown being scored. In addition to the overall NFL passing touchdown leaders, league record books recognize the passing touchdown leaders of the American Football League, which operated from 1960 to 1969, and the All-America Football Conference, which operated from 1946 to 1949. Tom Brady has led the NFL in passing touchdowns five times, while the record for touchdown passes in a season is held by Peyton Manning (pictured), who had 55 passing touchdowns in the 2013 season. Only two other players, Brady and Patrick Mahomes, have recorded 50 or more passing touchdowns in a season. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Tancredo Neves (4 March 1910 – 21 April 1985) was a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and entrepreneur. He served as Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs from 1953 to 1954, President of the Council of Ministers from 1961 to 1962, and Minister of Finance in 1962. Neves also served in the Federal Senate from 1979 to 1983, and was Governor of Minas Gerais from 1983 to 1984. He was elected President of Brazil in 1985, but died before taking office. Neves was one of the most important Brazilian politicians in the 20th century and one of the major statesmen in the history of Brazil. In July 2012, he was chosen one of the 100 greatest Brazilians of all time in a competition organized by Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão. This photograph shows Neves during his time in the Federal Senate.

Photograph credit: Federal Senate of Brazil; restored by Adam Cuerden

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