August 21 — Leonardo da Vinci’s painting the Mona Lisa (“La Gioconda”) was stolen by a Louvre employee, Italian glazier Vincenzo Peruggia. The loss was discovered only the next day, after which the museum was closed and the search began. Through the press, the thief was promised a reward and complete secrecy, since there were fears that, unable to find a way to sell the masterpiece, the criminal might destroy it. No response to this announcement followed. Only two years later did the thief offer to sell the painting to the owner of one of the art galleries in Italy; the owner contacted the police, and the criminal was arrested. During interrogation, Peruggia confessed that he had stolen the painting because he wanted to return a national treasure to his homeland. The court sentenced him to one year in prison.
In September, Emperor Nicholas II, together with his family and close associates—including Prime Minister Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin—were in Kyiv for celebrations marking the unveiling of a monument to Emperor Alexander II, in connection with the 50th anniversary of the abolition of serfdom. On the evening of September 14, 1911, the imperial family and their entire entourage attended a performance at the Kyiv City Theater. During the performance, Okhrana agent Dmitry Bogrov, taking advantage of the trust of the gendarmerie leadership, entered the theater, where he shot Stolypin twice at point-blank range with a revolver. The wounded Stolypin lost consciousness. Everything happened before the eyes of the Tsar, his daughters, and everyone present. Everyone considered it a miracle that, in the presence of the head of state, the criminal fired at a minister. Bogrov was seized immediately and gave testimony for several days. The court found him guilty of the premeditated murder of the prime minister. Bogrov was sentenced to death and hanged on September 24. Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin died four days after the assassination attempt.
December 14 — Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. On January 13, the “Fram” moored at the Ross Ice Shelf. Amundsen’s team began preparing for the expedition—training, checking every detail again and again, and placing food depots along the planned route to the Pole. On October 19, Amundsen and his team set out. His party chose a time-tested means of travel: dog sled teams. On December 14, Amundsen reached his goal and raised the Norwegian flag at the South Pole. He beat Robert Scott’s British expedition by a month.