A postcard of Petropavlovsk

Petropavlovsk was the lead ship of her class of three pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy during the last decade of the 19th century. Named for the successful Russian defense during the 1854 Siege of Petropavlovsk, the ship was sent to the Far East almost immediately after entering service in 1899. She participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion the next year and served as the flagship of the First Pacific Squadron. Petropavlovsk played a minor role in the Battle of Port Arthur, the Japanese surprise attack on the Russian squadron that opened the Russo-Japanese War, in February 1904. The ship sank on 13 April after striking one or more mines near Port Arthur, in northeast China. Casualties numbered 27 officers and 652 enlisted men, including Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov, the commander of the squadron, and the war artist Vasily Vereshchagin. (This article is part of a featured topic: Petropavlovsk-class battleships.)

Van Sickle in 2026

• ... that before she became one of Delaware's top golfers, Lori Van Sickle (pictured) had to choose between golfing and her job at a newspaper?
• ... that one of the first naval engagements of World War I took place in Africa?
• ... that a lawsuit over one block in New York City cost a museum millions of dollars in legal fees?
• ... that Aaron Titus proposed to his future wife by having her solve questions whose answers spelled out "Will you mar²y me"?
• ... that the Battle of Mons Lactarius marked the end of the Ostrogothic kingdom with the death of their last king, Teia?
• ... that the English Heritage charity stores a third of its architectural salvage at Wrest Park, including items made to impress Elizabeth I?
• ... that Vietnamese cattle herder Sô Y Tiết won a Latin Grammy Award?
• ... that only five words are known from the extinct Tabancale language of Peru and Ecuador?
• ... that when Chris Williams showed Elizabeth II his church's narwhal tusk, she reportedly said that she had a longer one?

Earthquake damage

• About 60,000 migrants cross the Morocco–Spain border at Ceuta, leading to at least 83 deaths.
• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake (damage pictured) strikes Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, leaving at least 38 people dead.
• In Gaelic football, the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship concludes with Mayo defeating Kerry in the final.
• In cycling, Tadej Pogačar wins the Tour de France.

August 3

James II of Scotland

• 1460 – James II of Scotland (pictured) was killed by an exploding cannon at Roxburgh Castle.
• 1903 – Macedonian rebels in Kruševo established a republic, which existed for ten days before Ottoman forces destroyed the town.
• 1936 – African-American athlete Jesse Owens won the first of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, dashing Nazi leaders' hopes of Aryan domination at the games.
• 1971 – Fighting Dinosaurs, a fossil specimen featuring a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops in combat, was unearthed in the Djadochta Formation of Mongolia.
• 2005 – Mauritanian president Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was overthrown in a military coup while he attended the funeral of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.