SMS Pommern was aDeutschland-classpre-dreadnought battleship built for theImperial German Navy at theAG Vulcan Stettin yard atStettin, Germany. Named after thePrussian province ofPomerania, she waslaid down on 22 March 1904,launched on 2 December 1905, and commissioned into the navy on 6 August 1907. The ship was armed with four28 cm (11 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).Pommern was assigned toII Battle Squadron of theHigh Seas Fleet. At the start ofWorld War I, she was stationed at theElbe to support the defenses of theGerman Bight. She participated in sorties into the North Sea in attempts to destroy portions of the BritishGrand Fleet. These offensive operations culminated in theBattle of Jutland, where she was hit by torpedoes, which detonated one of her 17-centimeter (6.7 in) gunmagazines. The resulting explosion broke the ship in half and killed the entire crew.(This article is part of afeatured topic:Battleships of Germany.)
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 | Pedro II of Brazil (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), also known as Pedro the Magnanimous, was thesecond and last monarch of theEmpire of Brazil, reigning for more than 58 years. Born inRio de Janeiro as the seventh son ofPedro I andMaria 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 functionalrepresentative parliamentary monarchy. Pedro pushed through theabolition 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 asCharles Darwin,Victor Hugo, andFriedrich Nietzsche, and was a friend toRichard Wagner,Louis Pasteur, andHenry Wadsworth Longfellow, among others. Historians have regarded Pedro positively and several have ranked him as the greatest Brazilian. This 1872 painting byPedro Américo depicts Pedro II delivering thespeech from the throne in theGeneral Assembly and wearing theImperial Regalia. Painting credit:Pedro Américo Recently featured: |
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