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. (Full article...)
... that a small fish, the California grunion, buries its eggs in sand high on a beach?
... that one historian described the family relationships of Alan de Neville (floruit 1168) as "a veritable labyrinth into which many a genealogical enquiry has vanished without trace"?
... that the National Education Association started a teacher legal defense fund with monies left over from collections for Kate Frank's case to be rehired by Muskogee schools?
... that some trainee pilots of Project Waterpump had to sit on cushions to fly?
1920s jazz standards are musical compositions written in the decade that are widely known, performed and recorded by jazz artists as part of the genre's musical repertoire. Some of the tunes were already well-known standards by the 1930s, while others were popularized later. A period known as the "Jazz Age" started in the United States in the 1920s. Jazz had become popular music in the country, although older generations considered the music immoral and threatening to old cultural values. Dances such as the Charleston and the Black Bottom were popular during the period. In the early years of jazz, record companies were often eager to decide what songs were to be recorded by their artists. Standards from the 1920s include pop hits such as "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Dinah" and "Bye Bye Blackbird". The first jazz artist to be given some liberty in choosing his material was Louis Armstrong(pictured), whose band helped popularize many of the early standards in the 1920s and 1930s. (Full list...)
Eight Bells is an 1886 oil painting by the American artist Winslow Homer which depicts two sailors determining their boat's position. Though Eight Bells only sold for $400, it was praised by critics at its first exhibition in 1888. The painting is now held by the Addison Gallery of American Art.
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