Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. While the Congress of Vienna was trying to organise Europe's future after the Napoleonic wars, Napoleon (1769-1821) himself escaped from Elba and gathered together another famous army. The British troops lead by the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) met Napoleon's army in Belgium, near Waterloo, on June 18th, 1815. Napoleon lost this battle due to a number of factors, one of which was the weather. How did the weather contribute to Napoleon's defeat?
2. The Belgian Revolution of 1830 was a consequence of profound differences between the northern part of the Netherlands, and the southern part (that soon would secede as the state of Belgium). The north was mainly protestant, progressive, and trade oriented. The south was mainly Roman Catholic, conservative, and the economy was based upon (heavy) industry.
Daniel Auber's opera "La Muette de Portici" ("The Mute Woman of Portici", nowadays known as "Masaniello") ignited the spark that started the Revolution. A famous patriotic song performed in this opera play, lead to riots, which soon grew crescendo to a military revolt of a few hundred patriots. The inefficient reaction of the Dutch army and the political support of Great Britain and France did the rest: after a few weeks Belgium was declared independent.
But what was the opening line of the famous song that inspired this revolt?
3. Leopold of Saxony (1790-1865) accepted the Belgian throne in 1831 and was crowned on July 21st. A few months before, he had rejected the throne of another European country - for reasons that are still not clear. The throne of which country did Leopold reject?
4. In 1835, Belgium opened the first commercial railway for steam locomotives on the European Continent. Between Brussels and Mechelen, three steam locomotives opened the railway. One of these locomotives was named "Stephenson" after the British engineer having designed the locomotive. Another was called "The Arrow" - an allusion to the speed it could reach. What was the name of the third locomotive?
5. A Flemish author debuted in 1837 with the historical novel "In 't Wonderjaer 1566" ("The Wonder Year 1566"), about the iconoclast period. He published his major novel "De Leeuw van Vlaanderen" ("The Lion of Flanders") in 1838. This novel gave his impression of the Battle of the Golden Spurs (July 11th, 1302). Who was this author?
6. Karl Marx lived in Brussels from 1845 till 1848. Constantly on the move in order to evade creditors, he managed to find the time to write the "Communist Manifesto".
7. In 1853 a Belgian scientist organised the first International Conference on Statistics. This Belgian scientist had already inspired the founding of the Meteorological Institute in Uccle (near Brussels) in 1833, and evolved from an astronomer to a sociologist. He tried to apply statistics to sociological phenomena. Who was this Belgian scientist?
8. Belgium was and still is a constitutional monarchy. The Head of State is the King, but the most important politician is the chairman of the (national) government. In 1857 a Belgian politician started a third term as "chairman". As the term "Prime Minister" didn't apply in Belgium at that time, we'll call him the "chairman". This man was chairman of the Belgian government in total during 6,261 days (so, for over 17 years). Who was this chairman?
9. In 1858 the Belgian priest Guido Gezelle publishes his first poetry collection, named "Kerkhofblommen" ("Graveyard Flowers"). In which of the following cities was Gezelle born?
10. During the XIXth Century, Belgium was an asylum for French authors. A French author, known for his poetry collection "Les fleurs du mal" ("The Flowers of Evil"), has declared "I consider it useless and tedious to represent what exists, because nothing that exists satisfies me." According to a TV quiz show, he also said "Belgian cuisine and Belgian women are the worst on Earth". However, I found no evidence for this last quote. Who was this French author?
11. Two brothers started their first shop in 1867 near Charleroi. They expanded the shop to a chain that nowadays comprises supermarkets in North America, Europe and Asia. A typical innovation the two brothers introduced in Belgium, was that every product was sold at a fixed price - no matter in which branch of the chain you bought it. Who were these two brothers?
12. The French engineer Hippolyte Fontaine and a Belgian colleague of his founded in 1871 a company that produced industrial dynamos. The company was named after the Belgian engineer who is credited with having invented the dynamo. Who was this Belgian engineer?
13. In 1878 a painter born in Liège takes up realistic portraying of the working class. After a few paintings on this theme, he started sculpting the same subjects. His best known sculpture is that of the dock labourer which you'll find in Antwerp (next to the town hall). Who was this artist?
14. It was not an archaeologist that made one of the most important archaeological findings in Belgium, but a miner. Indeed: in 1878 a group of miners discovered the skeletons of 29 dinosaurs in a mine shaft near Bernissart (in the region of Charleroi). Which species did the miners discover?
15. The son of a pub owner in Sint-Eloois-Vijve (province of West Flanders) had a first artistic success in 1882 with his rather morose painting "Hanengevecht" ("Cock-Fight"). After moving to Astene (East Flanders), near Ghent, on the banks of the River Lys, he was inspired by the light in that region, and his paintings radiate much light. One of the best examples of this later work is "Fruit Garden in Flanders". Who is this painter?
16. In 1888, a violin player born in Liège gives his first concert at the "Cercle des XX", an association of about 20 Belgian composers. Who was this violinist and composer?
17. Jozef de Veuster died of leprosy in 1889. Although many people died of leprosy in that year, Jozef de Veuster is the only one who became famous. This Belgian was born in Tremelo (near Leuven) in 1840 and was ordained a priest in 1864. He worked as a missionary in Hawaii, where he became the only priest for the lepers' colony Molokai in 1873. What was the name he adopted as a priest, the name we still know him by (in English)?
18. In 1894 Lieven Gevaert opened a factory in Antwerp that produces photographical emulsions. About sixty years later, Gevaert's company was competing with Eastman Kodak and Fuji for the largest turnover in photographic products worldwide.
19. In 1899, the "Volkshuis" of a famous Belgian architect is opened in Brussels. This masterpiece is one of the most famous buildings in Art Nouveau style. Alas: the building was demolished in the XXth Century. The Belgian brewery Palm has opened a "grand café" ("great pub", this means a pub that also serves meals) named after this architect and in the construction of which some of the original elements of the "Volkshuis" are used. Who was this architect?
20. Camille Jenatzy was the first person ever to drive a car at more than 100km/h (more than 66mph). He achieved this world record in 1899 with a car he designed himself. What was the name of this car, which vaguely resembled a cigar on wheels?
Source: Author
JanIQ
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bloomsby before going online.
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