King Bird

The smug looking fellow above is one Ahmet Zogu, later King Zog I of Albania, born this day 1895 in Castle Burgajet, Albania. He was educated in Istanbul which was at the time the heart of the Ottoman Empire that controlled Albania. During World War I, he volunteered on the side of Austria-Hungarian Empire, and spent some time in Vienna where he was apparently a big hit with the ladies. Returning to Albania after the war, he became involved in the politics of his newly created nation. Holding various governmental jobs, he eventually became president of Albania in 1925. Sometime in 1922 he changed his named to Zogu which means "bird" in Albanian. Once he became president he invoked some serious crackdowns on opposition, censoring the press, and taking dissidents for long walks in the woods from which they did not return. He was proclaimed king of Albania on September 1st, 1928, taking the name King Zog I. During his reign he was alleged to have survived over 55 attempts on his life, even once shooting back at an assailant with the gun that he always carried on him. This occasion is the only time in modern history that a Head of State has exchanged gunfire with potential assassins. How cool is that? Imagine the surprise of the potential assassin. Here you are got it all planned out to smoke some governmental slob, and the bastard has the gall to shoot back at you. This is not in the assassin's guidebook. The Great Depression exacted a heavy toll on Albania, and it became extremely dependent on Italy. So much so that the national bank of Albania was located in Rome. Italy duly invaded Albania at the beginning of World War II, and Zog was forced into exile from which he would not return. Of course if your army is so shitty that you can't whip the Italians you probably deserve to be run out of the damn country. After trying exile in England, the United States, and Egypt, Zog eventually settled in the south of France (hard choice there). He had the quirk of hoarding gold, and precious stones, while in exile in England, a porter at the Ritz hotel was surprised at the weight of Zog's luggage, and asked if anything valuable was inside, Zog replied "Yes, gold." Good stuff lugging around a suitcase full of gold to ease your life in exile. But before all that exile stuff got in the way, for helping Albania take the first steps on the path to being a nation (and as an aside many moons ago I spoke to an actual Albanian, and she was a fan of King Zog, don't ask the details), King Zog I (October 8th, 1895-April 9th, 1961, at the age of 65), you are my hero of the day.