22nd November 1963: Dallas and Other News Trivia Quiz | History

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 22nd November 1963: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th president of the USA, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. That news probably overshadowed the death of one of the most influential science fiction writers of the 20th Century, a man who predicted a brave new world. Who was he?

Answer: Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley was born in Surrey, England, in 1894 and was known as a writer of fiction and non-fiction. His most noted work was the novel "Brave New World". Published in 1932, it was the tale of a future world in which society was very different from what we know. In BNW science and efficiency were key. Family life was a thing of the past, all people 'belonged' to the state and there was a common world state that revered a new god, Henry Ford.

In 2009, Dick Meyer of National Public Radio in the USA placed "Brave New World" at number five in his feature "100 Years, 100 Novels, One List".

2. To be famous may be great, but not if your death is overshadowed by the death of someone even more famous. Which Irish author noted for a mystical world he created for children had the misfortune to die on 22nd November 1963, the same day as President John F. Kennedy?

Answer: C. S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast in 1898. He was best known for his "The Chronicles of Narnia" series of books. The seven fantasy novels were published between 1950 and 1956 and were later adapted for the silver screen. In it the young protagonists entered a mystical land of talking animals and strange leaders. Many reviewers have pointed out Christian symbolism and themes in the tales. C. S. Lewis has been included in lists of the 'best' Irish writers of all time.
(Pedantic note: Although born in Belfast, Lewis lived in England from the age of 10.)

3. The eyes of the world turned to Dallas, Texas, on 22nd November 1963, with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Meanwhile, almost 5,000 miles away in London, England, The Beatles released their second album. What was it called?

Answer: With The Beatles

"With The Beatles" topped the albums chart in the UK. The tracks were a mixture of covers along with songs written by Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison. While "All My Loving" is the stand-out original song, it was not released as a single in the UK.

In the USA, the tracks were divided between two albums on the Capitol label, "Meet the Beatles!" and "The Beatles' Second Album". In Canada the UK track listing was released under the title "Beatlemania! With the Beatles."

4. Walt Disney was the ultimate showman, but even he must have regretted choosing 22nd November 1963, to decide on the location of his second Disneyland theme park, only to have it overshadowed by "other news". Where was that location?

Answer: Orlando, Florida

Red herrings time: Anaheim was the first first WD theme park; it opened in 1955. Orlando Florida was announced in 1963 and opened 1971. Meanwhile, Tokyo opened in 1983 and European Disneyland near Paris opened in 2005.

In the years that followed, Disney-themed parks were to become the world's most visited in the genre. In 2018, for example, seven out of 10 "Most Popular Amusement Parks in the World" were associated with Disney.

5. On 22nd November 1963, William Clay Ford Sr completed the purchase of an American Football team, only to have the news overshadowed by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Appropriately, perhaps, for a scion of the innovative motor industry family, which NFL franchise was it?

Answer: Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions franchise was formed as the Portsmouth Spartans in Ohio and joined the National Football League in 1930. A move to Detroit followed four years later, and with it a new name.

William Clay Ford Sr bought the franchise for $6m - he had been shareholder from 1961. But the 50 years of Ford's ownership that followed could not engineer major success: the Lions: the team never reaching a Superbowl. William Clay Ford was a grandson of Henry Ford, founder of the eponymous motor company. He held management roles at the company at various levels from 1948 to 2005.

6. There was much excitement in November 1963 when plans were laid for the first television signals between the USA and a far-flung land then rising out of the shadows of war, on the 22nd of that month. In which of these places was it an event reduced to a footnote in history by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy?

Answer: Japan

A pre-recorded message from Kennedy had to be hastily removed after his death just an hour before the scheduled broadcast time. Incidentally, the first serving US president to broadcast on television was Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939.

7. In November 1963, while all eyes were focussed on the death of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, Nino Tempo and April Stevens were just seeing the end of a week at the top of the Billboard charts. Their hit shared the name of a British rock band. Which of these was it?

Answer: Deep Purple

"When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls
And the stars begin to twinkle in the night
In the mist of a memory you wander all back to me
Breathing my name with a sigh..."

"Deep Purple" hit number one on November 16th. Antonino and Carol Vincinette LoTempio, birth names, were a brother and sister act from Niagara Falls, New York. "Deep Purple" was their sole top ten hit in a career from 1960 to 1980.

Deep Purple, meanwhile, were an English rock band that was formed in 1967, Roundabout, but took a new name in 1968 in tribute to the favourite song of Ritchie Blackmore's grandmother.

8. Hours after President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas, on 22nd November 1963, his successor was sworn in. When no Bible could be found on Air Force One, what book did Vice-President Lyndon Johnson use to take the oath to become the 36th President?

Answer: Saint Joseph Sunday Missal

To be precise, Air Force One was at at Dallas Love Field airport when Johnson was sworn in. Because a Bible could not be found, he took the oath on a Roman Catholic liturgical book, the "Saint Joseph Sunday Missal". The Missal had been on a side table in JFK's bedroom on the plane. On this momentous occasion, Judge Sarah Hughes became the first woman to administer the presidential oath.

9. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy, in Dallas, Texas, on 22nd November 1963, came on the birthday of a European president who had himself survived an assassination attempt just over a year before. Who was that leader of military bearing?

Answer: General Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille, France, on 22nd November 1890 and died at Colombey-les-deux-�glises, France, on 9th November 1970. A member of an upper middle class family, de Gaulle showed an interest in military affairs from a young age and was to serve his country with distinction in World Ward One. His service continued after the war and he rose through the ranks. At the outset of WW2, he basin command of a tank brigade and then was undersecretary of state for defence and war.

After the fall of France, de Gaulle was in London and became a figurehead of the Free French forces. He dipped his toes into politics at the end of the war, before becoming dissatisfied and retreating to his home at Colombey-les-deux-�glises to write. In the mid 1950s he returned to the political fray and in December 1958, was elected president and remained in office for over 10 years until his resignation in April 1969. On August 22nd 1962, Charles de Gaulle survived a murder bid after his car was strafed by machine-gun fire. It was one of around 30 attempts on his life.

The three wrong answers were also armed forces veterans who led their country's government: O'Neill in Northern Ireland; Blanco in Portugal; and Mannerheim in Finland.

10. Lost in the mists of time is the fact that President John F. Kennedy was not the only person, shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, to die on 22nd November 1963. What was the name of the police officer who was shot and fatally injured when he stopped Oswald less than an hour after the president was killed?

Answer: J. D. Tippit

Born in Texas in 1924, J. D. Tippit saw service as a US Army paratrooper in Europe in World War 2. After several other post-war jobs, he joined the Dallas Police Department in 1952.

(Despite some other claims, he was named J. D. at birth after a character in a book his father had read while on a hunting trip. Source: Tippit family web site - a useful source that dispels many myths.)

On the day of President Kennedy's visit to Dallas, Tippit was assigned to his usual beat area in a residential area of Dallas. Within a quarter of an hour of the fatal shooting, Tippit and other officers were ordered to move out of their usual areas. They were give a description of a suspect. Tippit, in a patrol car, saw a man who matched the description. This was Lee Harvey Oswald. No one knows why Tippit decided to talk to Oswald. After they spoke, Tippit got out of his car and Oswald shot him four times with a handgun. Tippit was taken to hospital (not the same one as Kennedy), but was declared dead just over an hour after the first shots that killed the president.

The wrong answers were all fictional police officers.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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22nd November 1963: Dallas and Other News Quiz

Older people sometimes say they can remember where they were "the day JFK died". That was not the only news on that date, find some others in these questions.

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