The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey.

The Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny or the Coronation Stone, holds a significant place in the history and tradition of the British Isles, particularly Scotland.

It is a large block of sandstone, roughly 26 inches long, 16 inches wide, and 10.5 inches tall, weighing around 336 pounds (152 kg). Its origin is shrouded in myth and legend, with some accounts suggesting it was brought to Scotland from Ireland, while others claim it was used by the ancient Scottish kings for coronations.

The stone became closely associated with the monarchy of Scotland and later with that of England and the United Kingdom. For centuries, it was used in the coronation ceremonies of Scottish monarchs, traditionally placed under the coronation chair.

In 1296, the Stone of Scone was seized by King Edward I of England during his invasion of Scotland and was subsequently installed in Westminster Abbey in London. From then on, it was used in the coronation ceremonies of English and later British monarchs.

The stone remained in Westminster Abbey for several centuries, serving as a symbol of English dominance over Scotland. However, in 1950, a group of Scottish nationalists managed to steal the stone from the abbey, but it was soon recovered and returned to London.

In 1996, amidst growing calls for its return to Scotland, the British government decided to return the Stone of Scone to Scotland on the condition that it would be used for future coronations of British monarchs. It was finally returned to Scotland and is now kept in Edinburgh Castle when not in use.

The Stone of Scone continues to symbolize the historic ties between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as the struggle for Scottish independence and identity.

The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.

The Ghriba synagogue bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on April 11, 2002, at the Ghriba synagogue in the resort town of Djerba, Tunisia. The attack was carried out by al-Qaeda and resulted in the deaths of 21 people, mostly tourists, and the injury of over 30 others.

The Ghriba synagogue is one of the oldest synagogues in Africa and is considered a sacred site by the Tunisian Jewish community. The attack took place during the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer when many Jewish pilgrims were visiting the synagogue.

The attackers drove a truck filled with explosives into the front of the synagogue, causing a massive explosion that destroyed part of the building and caused damage to nearby homes and businesses. The explosion was heard several kilometers away and left a large crater in the ground.

The victims of the attack included French, German, and Tunisian tourists, as well as members of the local Jewish community. The attack was one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in Tunisia’s history and had a significant impact on the country’s tourism industry.

Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack and stated that it was carried out in retaliation for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Tunisian government condemned the attack and launched an investigation into the incident. Several suspects were arrested in connection with the attack, including a Tunisian man who was later extradited to France and convicted of providing support to the attackers.

The Ghriba synagogue bombing was a stark reminder of the ongoing threat of terrorism in North Africa and the Middle East, and it highlighted the vulnerability of religious and cultural sites to attack. The attack remains a tragic event in Tunisia’s history and a reminder of the need for continued vigilance against terrorism.

United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.

Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.

Apollo 13 is launched.

[rdp-wiki-embed url=’https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13′]

The city of Tel Aviv is founded.

Tel Aviv was founded on April 11, 1909. On that day, several dozen families gathered on the sand dunes on the beach outside Yafo to allocate plots of land for a new neighborhood they called Ahuzat Bayit, later known as Tel Aviv. As the families could not decide how to allocate the land, they held a lottery to ensure a fair division. Akiva Arieh Weiss, chairman of the lottery committee and one of the prominent figures in the city’s founding, gathered 66 grey seashells and 66 white seashells. Weiss wrote the names of the participants on the white shells and the plot numbers on the grey shells. He paired a white and grey shell, assigning each family a plot, and thus Tel Aviv’s founding families began building the first modern, Hebrew city.

The time was at a peak wave of Jewish immigration – the Second Aliya. Neighborhoods in the ancient port city of Jaffa were becoming overpopulated and crowded. Many of the newcomers were Europeans of middle-class origin who sought to build surroundings that would give them a sense of what they had left behind. They wanted to build a modern suburb of Jaffa.

The true development of Tel Aviv took off with the arrival of Scottish urban planner, Sir Patrick Geddes. In response to the unplanned expansion of the city, Geddes was invited by the municipality in 1925 to present a comprehensive master plan for Tel Aviv. In his vision, Tel Aviv was to be a garden city, as foreseen by its founders. His plan called for a clear distinction between main streets, residential streets and vegetation filled pedestrian boulevards. An important element of his plan, reflecting the social climate of the time, was the creation of shared public spaces – in the form of parks and squares, as well as within residential blocks.

The city was again transformed starting in 1932 by a massive wave of immigration of Jews fleeing persecution in Europe whose arrival rapidly expanded a small town of 42,000 people into a flourishing city of 130,000 by 1936. In 1934, in the midst of this wave, Tel Aviv was declared a city, and Meir Dizengoff, the president of its council, as its first mayor.

The housing needs of this wave of immigration brought the rise of the Bauhaus, or Modern Movement, style of architecture. Many architects trained in the Modern style were among the refugees from Europe who began rapidly building to accommodate the population growth, resulting in what today is known as the White City. Influenced by the clean, functional lines of the Bauhaus School of Art and Design in Germany, they adapted the Modern style to suit Tel Aviv’s culture and climate, giving the city its special look. The White City of Tel Aviv, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, includes over 4,000 buildings in the Modern style.

In the 1930’s, Tel Aviv became the country’s largest economic center and had the highest concentration of social and cultural institutions. Tel Aviv was the center of the emergence of Hebrew culture and culture in Hebrew – and remains so to this very day. Tel Aviv became known for its modern cafes, hotels, concert halls and nightclubs. The city enjoyed a sense of international chic, which was rare for the region, especially at the time.

At the start of the 1948 War of Independence, the city and its periphery became the focal point of the conflict between Jews and Arabs. The fight over Jaffa’s future started immediately after the UN decision for partition. As in other areas where Jewish and Arab forces clashed in close quarters, civilian populations both in Tel Aviv and Jaffa suffered and ultimately many fled. In April 1950, Jaffa was formally merged with the Tel Aviv municipality and a unified city was established – Tel Aviv-Yafo.

The next several of decades maintained the city’s status as Israel’s cultural and economic center, yet Tel Aviv-Yafo was losing its vibrancy and its population was growing older. This trend changed in the 1980s as a gradual migration from all over the country back to Tel Aviv began. Over the next decades, there was massive renovation and development throughout Tel Aviv-Yafo, giving the city a makeover whose finishing touches are still being improved upon. Tel Aviv-Yafo of today has developed a unique style combining the best of both a relaxed Mediterranean seaside town with an edgy urban vibe. Tel Avivis are passionate about their city and are proud to live in a center of commerce, culture, style and entertainment.

With leafy boulevards filled with people at all hours, a thriving business sector, countless charming cafes and restaurants, a beautiful beachfront and rich cultural offerings, the vision of the city’s founders has come alive.

A Brief History of Jaffa: Jaffa is one of the oldest port cities in the world. The word Jaffa, which means “the beautiful” is derived from Japhfet, the name of one of Noah’s sons’ who built it after the Flood.

During the times of King Solomon, Jaffa’s port served as a gateway for cedars from Lebanon used to build the First Temple. It was also mentioned in the Old Testament as the port from which Jonah the Prophet embarked on his maritime journey, which resulted in him being swallowed by fish.

Over the years numerous conquerors passed through Jaffa’s gates and during the Ottoman Empire it was one of the region’s most important ports. In the late 1800’s, Jaffa’s ancient city wall was completely destroyed and the city expanded out into new areas.

Upon Israeli independence in 1948, Jaffa was a center of local Arab political, cultural and financial activity. In 1950, the Israeli government voted to merge the first Hebrew city and the ancient port city from which it had emerged. In 1999, the municipality founded the Jaffa Development Authority, aimed at improving infrastructure and all aspects of daily life.

Apollo 13 is launched.

Apollo 13, NASA’s third crewed mission to the moon, launched on April 11, 1970. Two days later, on April 13, while the mission was en route to the moon, a fault in the electrical system of one of the Service Module’s oxygen tanks produced an explosion that caused both oxygen tanks to fail and also led to a loss of electrical power. The Command Module remained functional on its own batteries and oxygen tank, but these were usable only during the last hours of the mission. The crew shut down the Command Module and used the Lunar Module as a “lifeboat” during the return trip to Earth. Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, and a shortage of potable water, the crew returned to Earth, and the mission was termed a “successful failure.”

This photograph of the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center at the Manned Spacecraft Center now Johnson Space Center, Houston, was taken on April 13, 1970, during the fourth television transmission from the Apollo 13 mission. Eugene F. Kranz foreground, back to camera, one of four Apollo 13 flight directors, views the large screen at front as astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., Lunar Module pilot, is seen on the screen.

The Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is overthrown.

The Apple I computer is created.