The deaths of Franz Joseph's brother, Maximilian I of Mexico (1867), and his only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, made the Emperor's nephew, Franz Ferdinand, next in line to the crown. On 28 June, 1914, the heir visited the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. Bosnian Serb militants of the group Mlada Bosna attacked Franz Ferdinand's motorcade and assassinated him.
Some members of the government, such as Conrad von Hötzendorf had wanted to fight the Serbian nation for many years. The leaders of Austria-Hungary decided to attack Serbia before it could start a revolt. They used the assassination as an excuse. They gave Serbia a list of ten demands called the July Ultimatum. They expected Serbia would not accept. Serbia accepted nine of the ten demands but only partially accepted the other one. Austria-Hungary declared war.
These events brought the Empire into conflict with Serbia. Russia moved its army to help Serbia. This set off troop movements on both sides and started World War I.
Near the end of the war, it was understood that the allied powers would win. Part of the empire started declaring independence from the monarch. They formed their own countries.
The following countries were formed from the former Habsburg lands:
Some Austro-Hungarian lands were also given to Romania and Italy.
Wisdom
Wisdom is knowing things that help a person to live sensibly and make good decisions. Wisdom is defined differently by many cultures. Some say that wisdom is something a person learns as they grow older. Other cultures expect people to complete certain rituals in order to get wisdom.
If someone has wisdom, they are called wise. Most cultures from the past have had special people who were supposed to be wise. People asked them for advice when they had problems because they knew things that ordinary people did not know or could not know. They were often called "sages".
There are many stories in Western culture in which the owl is supposed to be a wise bird.
Skate (fish)
"For the act of skating, see skating."
Skates are cartilaginous fish. They are the family Rajidae in the order Rajiformes. They are chondrichthyes, and closely related to the rays. There are more than 200 species in 27 genera.
There are two subfamilies, the hardnose skates and the softnose skates.
Skates are a bit like stingrays (they are in the same group), but they are usually smaller with shorter, thicker tails. There is also a difference: skates do not have stings. Instead, their tails are thicker, with small "thorns" along the edges. At the base of the tail is a set of extra fins.
Skates and rays are also different in the way the give birth. Most rays are ovoviviparous (the eggs develop inside a mother's body), but skates lay their eggs. This means they are oviparous.
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 1927 – 23 May 2017) was an English actor and a UNICEF ambassador. He is probably the most well known for playing fictional spy James Bond in seven movies from 1973 to 1985. He played James Bond more times than any other actor. He was also well known for playing Simon Templar in the television show "The Saint". He began his career by becoming a male model.
Moore was the only child of policeman, George Moore, and housewife, Lilian "Lily". He attended Battersea Grammar School, but was evacuated to Holsworthy, Devon, during the Second World War. He was then educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. He then attended the College of the Venerable Bede at the University of Durham, but never graduated. Moore served in the Royal Army Service Corps, commanding a small depot in West Germany.
Moore left his first wife, skater Doorn Van Steyn, for singer Dorothy Squires. Squires was 12 years older than him. She was also, at that time, much more famous than he was. They lived together for a short time in Dafen, Llanelli, South Wales. While making a movie in Italy in 1961, Moore left Squires for Italian actress Luisa Mattioli. Moore has a daughter and two sons with Mattioli. Moore ended this marriage in 1993. His current marriage is to the Danish-Swedish multi-millionaire Kristina 'Kiki' Tholstrup.
When Moore married Kiki Tholstrup, he began spending winters in Crans-Montana, Valais (Switzerland) and summers at his apartment in Monaco.
In 1999, Moore was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on 14 June 2003. He was proud the honor was for his charity work rather than his acting.
On 11 October 2007, three days before he turned 80, Moore was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Moore's Star was the 2,350th star. It is appropriately located at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard.
In 2008, the French Government appointed Moore a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
His autobiography "My Word is My Bond" was published the same year.
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major horse race. It happens once a year. People say it is "The race that stops a nation", it is for horses three-years-old and over, and it is 3200 metres long. The event has been held on the first Tuesday in November since 1861 (except on one year during the Second World War) by the Victoria Racing Club, on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. Many people say it is the most important "two-mile" horse race in the world.
The race was first held over two miles, about 3,218 metres, but after Australia changed to the metric system in 1972 it was changed to 3,200 metres. This made it 61 ft 6in shorter, and Rain Lover's 1968 race record of 3min.19.1sec was changed to 3min.17.9sec. Now, the record holder is the 1990 winner Kingston Rule with a time of 3min 16.3sec.
The race starts at 3.00pm Melbourne (AEST) time.
The event is one of the most popular events to watch in Australia. Over 110,000 people attend the race. Some people dress in traditional formal raceday clothing. Other people dress in different kinds of strange and amusing costumes,
In 2005 a total of 383,784 race fans went to the Melbourne Cup Carnival annual event
Seventeen horses raced in the first Melbourne Cup in 1861. The prize was a gold watch and 170 pounds cash. Some people say Archer (the winner) walked 800 km to the course from Nowra, New South Wales. However, it is possible he travelled by ship. Four thousand people watched the race.
Archer won again the next year. However, because the owner's application form arrived late the next year, Archer was unable to try for a third cup. Many owners boycotted (did not race in protest) the race, so it started with only seven horses. That is the smallest number in the history of the cup.
The winner of the Melbourne Cup last year was Rekindling, from Great Britain.
'Fashions On The Field' is a major focus of the day. Raceday fashion sometimes draws almost as much attention as the race itself. The miniskirt received worldwide attention when model Jean Shrimpton wore one on Derby Day during Melbourne Cup week in 1965.
In Melbourne, the race day is a public holiday. In the rest of Australia most people watch the race on television and gamble. Some people bet at the TAB (the Australian betting office). Other people bet in workplace cup "sweeps". (In "sweeps" each person pays a small amount [e.g. $3] and draws a random horse. First, second, and third place then share the money.) In 2000 it was estimated that 80 percent of the adult Australian population placed a bet on the race that year.
Betting on the Melbourne Cup has become more and more popular over the years, with one time a year punters having a crack at picking the winning horse.
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (Metacom's War) was a war between Native Americans and English colonists. King Philip's War was fought between 1675 and 1676 in the area of the United States that is now New England.