History Schmistory: April 11. Napoleon abdicates.

1814. Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated as emperor of France and was banished to the island of Elba. On the island, Napoleon tried to get everyone to vote for Pedro.

History Schmistory, April 11: Hey, Babe, Wanna Start a College?

1689 – William III & Mary II crowned as joint rulers of Britain. To celebrate, they have dinner, then found a college in the new fangled colony of Virginia.  Jon Stewart went there!

History Schmistory: April 10. Great Gatsby published.

1925. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published. A popular sequel to the far lesser known and poorly selling “The Pretty Good Gatsby” and “The Not So Bad Gatsby.”

History Schmistory: April 10. Robert the Bruce.

1307: The Battle of Loudoun Hill: Robert the Bruce is victorious over English forces. Robin the Bruce Wayne was nowhere to be found.

History Schmistory: April 9. Lee Surrenders to Grant.

On April 9, 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Grant allows Confederate soldiers to keep their rifles, horses, and Lynyrd Skynyrd albums.

History Schmistory: April 8. Picasso dies.

1973. Artist Pablo Picasso dies at age 91. Friends and relatives experience a blue period.

History Schmistory: April 8. France Goes Metric.

1790: France adopts the metric system. US announces plans to adopt the same system, in about 300 years.

History Schmistory: April 7. First cancelled TV show.

1927. Commerce secretary Herbert Hoover is first TV guest. Good news: The first successful long-distance demonstration of television. Bad news: The show featured Herbert Hoover.

History Schmistory: April 6. After 1500 Years…Boring Sports are Back!

1896. Athens, Greece–The Olympics are back for the first time since 369 AD when Emperor Theodosius abolished the Games as he considered them pagan. Finally, sports so boring that you’re only willing to watch them every four years are back!

History Schmistory: April 5. Harvard weeps.

1649. Elihu Yale, the English philanthropist for whom Yale University is named, was born in Boston. Dave Harvard, in the next crib, is immediately jealous.

Team Marco Polo Presents: History Schmistory

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