Episode #66: The Attempted Kidnapping of Kaiser Wilhelm II & the 1919 Zodiac Back

Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1902

5/7/2025: On today’s episode, Valerie tells the story of a group of 114th Field Artillery Regiment men, who shortly after the close of WWI, set out for retribution by kidnapping the most sought after man of the day. They were led by Colonel Luke Lea (yes - that’s his real name), and armed with confidence, a Sam Brown Belt, fake papers, and a Cadillac. While the mission failed, we think it makes for one entertaining story. Next, Amy Jo’s Zodiac Back covers the astrology of 1919, which included 4 fiery mercury retrogrades, the eclipse that made Einstein a household name, as well as a special “comet me, bruh” featuring the founder of the Lick Observatory Archives who discovered interstellar bands before retiring to raise her kids and host astrophysicists for tea. And, Caravaggio can paint perspective!

Luke Lea Senator Portrait

Lea at the 1912 Democratic Convention

A 1919 photo of the group from the 114th U.S. Field Artillery who participated in the attempt to kidnap German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm in January 1919. Front row: Captain Leland S. “Larry” MacPhaill, Capt. Luke Lea, Capt. Thomas P. Henderson, and 1st Lt. Ellsworth Brown. Back row: Sgt. Dan Reilly, unidentified artilleryman believed to be Egbert Hail, Sgt. Owen Johnston, and Sgt. Marmaduke Clokey. (image from the Tennessee State Library and Archives, and the Williamson Herald)

1917 Winton Six. The model used by the kidnappers may have had an enclosed cab.

1918 Cadillac 57

Kasteel Amerongen, +/-1920-1940

A Sam Browne belt as worn by Canadian officers during the First World War

Newspaper article about Lea's trip

Kaiser Wilhelm II and his dog in exile. Doorn, 1938

1919 Retrograde Chart

Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto-Caravaggio (c.1597-1600)

September 24, 1919 Chart - Jupiter Neptune Conjunction

Solar eclipse of May 29, 1919: From the report of Sir Arthur Eddington on the expedition to the island of Principe (off the west coast of Africa).

May 29, 1919 Chart

Comet 22P/Kopff imaged with 0.41-m Ritchey-Chrétien reflector + CCD remotely at Tzec Maun observatory (near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.)

A photograph, reproduced from Campbell, of the original Mills spectrograph on the 36-inch refractor at Lick Observatory as used by Mary Lea Heger  for her observations of the first DIBs. The image of Heger, from the 1919 Blue & Gold Yearbook, is courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley.

Sources/Photo Sources

Intro Sources:

https://wordsmith.org/words/apple_knocker.html 

The Attempted Kidnapping of Kaiser Wilhelm II Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_II#Abdication_and_exile

https://www.historyonthenet.com/did-kaiser-wilhelm-start-world-war-1 

https://storyboardmemphis.org/history/the-tennesseans-who-tried-to-kidnap-the-kaiser/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Lea_(American_politician,_born_1879)#Attempt_to_kidnap_Kaiser_Wilhelm_II 

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/senator-tried-to-kidnap-kaiser/ 

https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2023/11/kidnap-kaiser.html 

https://www.williamsonherald.com/features/w_life/the-story-of-the-wwi-kaiser-caper/article_b122ac42-24dd-11e9-8d7a-e7d70144f398.html

The Attempted Kidnapping of Kaiser Wilhelm II Photo Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_II#Abdication_and_exile 

https://storyboardmemphis.org/history/the-tennesseans-who-tried-to-kidnap-the-kaiser/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Lea_(American_politician,_born_1879)#Attempt_to_kidnap_Kaiser_Wilhelm_II 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerongen#/media/File:NIMH_-_2011_-_0805_-_Aerial_photograph_of_Amerongen,_The_Netherlands_-_1920_-_1940.jpg

https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2023/11/kidnap-kaiser.html 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Browne_belt

1919 Zodiac Back Sources:

https://www.astronomy.com/science/a-timeline-of-famous-eclipses/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter,_Neptune_and_Pluto 

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.2020.0040#:~:text=It%20was%20the%20determination%20that,and%20made%20Einstein%20a%20global https://mooncalendar.astro-seek.com/solar-and-lunar-eclipses-1919 https://cafeastrology.com/aspects/jupiter-conjunct-neptune.html 

https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1919PASP...31..281J/0000282.000.html 

https://www.mindat.org/reference.php?id=3495914 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40692078?seq=1

1919 Zodiac Back Photo Sources:

astro-seek.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_May_29,_1919

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22P/Kopff#/media/File:Comet_22P_Kopff.jpg

https://150w.berkeley.edu/celestial-observers-first-sixteen-berkeley-women-doctoral-graduates-astronomy-1913-1952 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Jupiter%2C_Neptune_and_Pluto-Caravaggio_%28c.1597-1600%29.jpg/500px-Jupiter%2C_Neptune_and_Pluto-Caravaggio_%28c.1597-1600%29.jpg