Day Tripping: April 11
Abdication, Abduction, and Aborted Mission
Dethronement In Paris
After more than a decade of war waged against the world, the Treaty of Fontainebleau is signed in 1814 and Napolean Bonaparte unconditionally abdicates his role as Emperor of France. He is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba where the former commander of France’s military begins to assemble a new army while in exile.
Napolean will escape Elba in March the following year to reclaim his throne, but will ultimately lose again in the bloody Battle of Waterloo.
Highland Heist
The iconic Stone of Scone which had been used to crown the monarchs of Scotland since the ninth century, and stolen by students the Christmas Eve previous, was found on this day in 1951 on the altar site of the Arbroath Abbey. The student nationalists had broken into Westminster Abbey and pilfered the stone from a place it had rested for more than 600 years.
The Scottish abbey’s custodian alerted authorities of the stone’s whereabouts, but the legendary Stone of Destiny had been damaged during the robbery and broke in two. The artefact went back to Westminster Abbey after it was discovered, but in 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland where it now rests at Edinburgh Castle.
Problem Houston
The famously trouble-plagued flight of Apollo 13 was launched on this day in 1970. Intended to be NASA’s third moon landing, the mission took an ominous turn when Oxygen Tank #2 exploded and seriously depleted the crew’s air supply for the remainder of the trip. The moon landing had to be scrubbed for the far more important, and dangerous mission of returning Commander James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert and Fred W. Haise safely back to Earth.
Though Apollo 13 never reached the moon, the ill-fated flight became a testimony to the perseverance and fortitude of skilled astronauts in the face of imminent peril. The Lunar Module was jettisoned and the capsule returned to Earth with a crew that was a little worse for wear, but alive and well.
Musical Milestones
A founding member and driving creative force of early success for his band, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green announces he is quitting the band in 1970 to pursue “what God would have me do.” Four years later, the band would become a commercial juggernaut with the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
Narratives
London police forcibly remove Julian Assange from the Embassy of Ecuador in 2019. The founder of WikiLeaks was arrested for failure to appear in a British court for extradition charges to the US.
Remembrance
Kurt Vonnegut was arguably the most influential author of his time. His distinct stylings, moving freely from science-fiction to narrative adventures make him a personal favourite of myself, and indeed, my friend Liam Ireland. Vonnegut passed away in 2007 at the age of 84.
Notable Births
1914 — Norman McLaren was an innovative animation filmmaker for the National Film Board of Canada during the middle of the 20th century. Many of his award-winning short films for the NFB were created by physical manipulation of film celluloid or through the use of stop-frame photography.
Mclaren won an Oscar for his short anti-war narrative called Neighbours in 1952. I highly recommend the provided links to see his genius for yourself.
K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster
Be sure to stop by my comprehensive Directory of all past Day Trips.
The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present