On This Day: V Trivia Quiz

Answer: Parking meters

Exclusive Mayfair had meters placed to help ease the growing traffic problems in London. The trial scheme had slot machine meters, and if a car was parked illegally then the owner would be liable for a fine. Meters were first used in the USA in 1935. However, the fine was nothing new as one Mr William Marshall had found out in 1896 when he parked his car illegally in the City of London.

Answer: Klaus Barbie

Barbie was alleged to have deported hundreds of French resistance fighters and Jews to the Nazi death camps, he was also alleged to have tortured and murdered resistance leader Jean Moulin (and others).
Barbie was tracked down in Bolivia by the French Nazi hunters Serge and Beate Klarsfeld in 1971, but was not extradited to France until February 1983. His lawyer claimed that US intelligence had in fact protected Barbie after the war. In 1987 Barbie was sentenced to life in prison where he died four years later of cancer at the age of 77.

Answer: Charles II

The "merry monarch" died in strange circumstances. Some people thought he had died of poisoning, but other said they thought he'd died of apoplexy which is uncontrolled bleeding into an organ. Charles loved women, horses, gambling and good times. He was much loved by his people on his return, following the dreary years of Puritan rule under Oliver Cromwell.

He was less popular with the politicians, he took bribes and had no shame when lying and cheating to get his way. He even secretly took money from France to restore Catholic in England. Following the execution of his father Charles I, he spent eleven years in exile in France, constantly plotting, and failing, to win back the throne.

He was restored to the throne in 1660 after Robert Cromwell's death and dissolved parliament in 1681.

His love for women was legendary and his most famous 'mistress' was Nell Gwynne, who when on his death bed he said to his brother James, "Don't let poor Nelly starve".

Answer: Shergar

Shergar was the winner of the 1981 Derby which he had won by a then record distance of 10 lengths. A ransom of £2 million ($3.7 million) was demanded from the owner, the Aga Khan. Alas, the horse was never seen again.

Answer: John Lennon

1964 was a big year for music and the Beatles. 'Beatlemania' had swept Britain and the US was next on the hit list. The Beatles released many singles of which the majority hit number one on both sides of the Atlantic. Their style had millions captivated and their fame was to become a legend. "The fab four" comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Richard Starkey (aka Ringo Starr).

Answer: The removal of 60,000 black people to a different township

Thousands of armed police began evicting 60,000 black people from their homes in Sophiatown near Johannesburg, with bulldozers flattening the township in their wake. The angry residents were being forced off the land and moved to a new area called the Meadowlands, as they had no land rights.

The ANC (African National Congress) staged a series of protests against the all-white government's racist apartheid policy.

Answer: Nelson Mandela

Mandela was freed on this date. The quote in the question was stated in both 1964 at his trial and on the day of his release from prison.

Answer: Lady Jane Grey

The 16 year old Lady Jane was executed after Queen Mary, her cousin, ordered the act. The protestant King Edward VI had proclaimed his cousin Jane, fifth in line to the throne, as his successor above his half-sister Mary, a Catholic, since Jane would kept England beyond the reach of Catholic Spain. Jane ascended the throne in July 1553 with her husband Lord Guildford Dudley. Mary deposed them nine days later and condemned them to death for treason. Mary had delayed the execution, but changed her mind when Jane's father was involved in an attempted rebellion. Dudley was beheaded first, and Jane was led past his body on her way to the block.

It is said that Jane was beautiful and intelligent, and had ambitious plans to restore the English economy and return land to farmers dispossessed by Henry VIII.

Answer: Tyson claimed that Douglas had stayed down to the count of 12 in the eighth round

Tyson had floored Douglas in the 8th round of the fight in Tokyo, Japan. The Tyson camp claimed that the count was in fact 12 and therefore the fight should of been made void, this then led to the titles being frozen for two days for investigation purposes.
However, on closer inspection, it turned out that Douglas actually was counted down to eight and therefore able to fight on. In the tenth, Douglas caught Tyson and floored him and therefore caused one of the biggest sporting shocks of all time.

Answer: A native's spear in Hawaii

Cook was a peaceful man, not given to brutalising the native peoples he encountered on his epic voyages. But some of his men started trouble with a local chief, and the villagers retaliated by stealing the ship's cutter. Cook took 12 armed marines ashore to take a hostage to swap for the cutter, but the villagers had never seen guns and were not afraid of Cook's men.

They attacked , killing the captain.