April 11 is celebrated:
International Day “Be Kind to Lawyers” – this day is celebrated annually on the second Tuesday of April in honor of countering negative stereotypes about lawyers and creating a more positive image of the legal profession.
World Parkinson’s Day – the date of the event is chosen in honor of the birthday of James Parkinson – the English doctor who first described the disease, which occurs due to the loss of nerve cells in the substantia nigra. Parkinson’s disease is chronic and incurable, progresses slowly. It is most common in the elderly.
Submarine Day – this date was chosen in honor of the first submersion of an American submarine in 1900.
Events on this day:
1992 – The presidents of Russia and Ukraine suspended the decrees on the transfer of the Black Sea Fleet under the jurisdiction of their countries, after which protracted Russian-Ukrainian negotiations began regarding the status of the fleet and its deployment;
2017 – The Council of Ministers of the European Union decided to cancel short-term visas for citizens of Ukraine during visits to 32 EU countries and the Schengen area.
On May 11, 1857, Eugène Francois Vidoc, one of the first modern private detectives and the “father” of criminal investigation in its modern form, died.
Vidok served in the army, participated in 15 duels, joined a band of robbers. While behind bars, he was called the “king of risk”.
In addition to criminal investigation, Vidok made a great contribution to the birth and development of traceology and criminology, having developed a permanent ink and plaster casting of shoe traces. He also developed a system of operational registration of offenders, which later became widespread and has survived to this day with minor changes.
Vidok was the first of the police chiefs to turn to representatives of science to carry out a scientific and technical examination of discovered material evidence and items from the crime scene (in particular, the first ballistic examination in history), and began to conduct investigative experiments to reproduce the picture of the crime.
After his final dismissal from the police, he organized the world’s first own “Investigation Bureau”. He was approached by the first persons of the state, he knew many secrets, participated in the investigation of strange and mysterious cases.
Vidok is the main character of the adventure novel. In “Mysteries of Paris” Eugene Xu used many of his stories. Jean Valjean and at the same time Inspector Javert in Victor Hugo is also Vidok. Edgar Poe mentions the name of a former criminal who became a detective in his works. Vidocq is also called the prototype of convict Vautrin – a character in several works of Balzac.
On May 11, 1812, John Bellingham, a Liverpool merchant who filed a complaint against the government, assassinated British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
Before becoming prime minister, Perceval was a lawyer, first lord of the treasury, royal adviser, attorney general. An opponent of hunting, gambling and adultery, he did not drink as much as most members of Parliament, gave generously to charity and enjoyed spending time with his twelve children. At the head of the government, he was able to overcome economic depression and riots, quite successfully conducted the war on the Iberian Peninsula, despite the defeat of the opposition, and won the support of the prince regent. However, a person angry with the government shot him in the lobby of the House of Commons … When the murderer was caught, someone asked why he did it and he answered: “The government did not satisfy my claims. They treated me badly.”
On May 11, 1720, Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Munchhausen was born near the German city of Hanover.
It is believed that the Munchausen family was founded in the 12th century by the Knight of Heino, who participated in the Crusades under the leadership of Frederick Barbarossa himself. “Munchausen” means “monk’s house”. That is why the coats of arms of all Munchausens depict a monk with a staff and a book.
Munchausen was not only a character in fairy tales, but also a real person. In February 1738, the young Baron Munchausen arrived in St. Petersburg, where he had to serve the Prince of Braunschweig. After retiring as captain and returning to his homeland, the baron became bored, and he began to entertain his landlord neighbors with his spectacular adventures in a hunting lodge built by himself and hung with the heads of wild animals.
It is written that in life the baron was a man of strong and proportional physique, with a round and regular face, but as a literary hero he is depicted as a dry old woman with a skillfully curled mustache and a Spanish woman. This image was created by the illustrations of Gustave Dory in 1862.
