A Historic Journey Through Time Trivia

1. The earth is estimated to be around 4.5 billion years of age, and around 3 billion years ago, the first life forms are believed to have surfaced. What name do we give to the smallest unit of life?

From Quiz Back in Time

Answer: Cell

The first life-forms are thought to be have been single-celled organisms, and rather basic/primitive lifeforms. Nobody can be sure where they came from or how they came to exist, and it is believed that they did not develop into larger, more complex lifeforms for many billions of years. Around 530 million years ago, a period called the Cambrian explosion is believed to have occurred, where multi-celled organisms began to develop. Yet, there is limited evidence to suggest exactly why that might have occurred after such a long period without change. History still holds many secrets, after all. We, as humans, are built up of many of these cells. In fact, we are made of an estimated 50-100 trillion cells, and we replace millions of these cells every day. The numbers are mind-boggling even to think of.

From Quiz Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Answer: Duke of Wellington

The Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon Bonaparte during the Battle of Waterloo. Before this, Napoleon seemed unbeatable. The Battle of Waterloo was fought on June 18, 1815, on a Sunday. It was part of the War of the Seventh Coalition.

From Quiz Right Time, Wrong Place

Answer: Hastings

The Battle of Hastings is considered to be the culmination of the Norman invasion of England. The Normans were victorious and it is generally accepted that this was the turning point, where William, the Duke of Normandy gained control. William was the cousin of the previous king, Edward the Confessor, and believed that he was the rightful heir to the throne. When Harold II was crowned, he considered this an act of war and started to gather troops. William invaded England on 28th September 1066 and the Battle of Hastings took place less than three weeks later on October 14th.

From Quiz Mixed Up Western History

Answer: Fourteenth

The fourteenth century was the heyday of the Black Death. In tenth-century Europe, it was the Viking invasions that made people want to get out of town. In the nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing. In the eighth century, the Battle of Tours (732) halted the Muslim incursion into western Europe.

From Quiz History: Things You Need To Know

Answer: Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was not in fact the first European to discover America. Vikings came centuries earlier, but they did not settle in or colonize the continent. Columbus's discovery was really an accident; he was trying to find a new trade route to the East Indies, but his calculations drove him to the actual Bahamas. He made more journeys and further discoveries in what is now Latin America. Columbus died on May 20, 1506 believing that he had discovered a new route to India.

From Quiz The Question Is Still "When?".

Answer: 264 BC

And the end of the third Punic War was in 146 BC, when Scipio Aemilianus destroyed Carthage.

From Quiz The Question Is: When?

Answer: 1491-1547

Well, even if I could have doubts about his life span, I swear I know his six wives' names by heart, expecially thanks to a couple of tv movies and Rick Wakeman's monster album.

From Quiz Across Time and Place

Answer: 430

In 410, the Visigoths (led by Alaric) sacked Rome, and Roman troops withdraw from Britain to protect Rome thus, de facto, Britain was then independent - and abandoned. In 430, the Saxons had settled in Kent, round London and on the coast near the Wash and the Humber estuary. In 432, St Patrick is made a bishop at Auxerre (in Burgundy, France) and is sent on a mission to convert the Irish to Christianity. His ministry in Ireland lasts for 29 years. In 436, The Burgunds are trounced by the Huns (this event was retold in the medieval epic, the "Nibelungenlied" - and inspired part of the Wagner's fourth opus of his tetralogy). In 451, Attila is defeated by a coalition formed of a Roman army and of Germanic tribes (Visigoths, Burgunds, Alans and some Franks). In 496, Clovis King of the Franks - the first French king - was baptized. (The names Louis, Lewis, Luigi, Luis, Ludovic, Lodwick, Ludwig, Lodewijk etc. are all derived from the name Clovis (in germano-latin : Hlodovicus)). He was the first Catholic King. Previously all the converted Germanic tribes (Visigoths, Burgundians, etc.) were considered heretics since they were Arians, that is, followers of the the doctrines of Arius which did not accept the equality of all three persons of the Holy Trinity. Clovis eventually won against the other barbarians in France, allowing the Catholicism to flourish. That's why, later, France was nicknamed 'the oldest daughter of the church'.

From Quiz History Tidbits

Answer: Philippe Petain

Petain was a respected war hero in France after World War I for his service during the Battle of Verdun. He even earned the nickname "Lion of Verdun". As Chief of State of Vichy France, Petain tried to remain publicly neutral toward Nazi Germany while advocating against a French-German alliance in private. However, he reinstated Pierre Laval as Vice Premier on Hitler's orders and Petain soon lost all real control despite remaining technically in charge. After France was liberated from Germany in 1944, Petain went into exile. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to death after the war but that sentence was commuted to life in prison where he died at age 95 in 1951.

From Quiz Carnival Atmosphere

Answer: Dandy Horse

Karl Drais invented the first bicycle, which was called the Laufmaschine, which was also called the dandy horse, the velocipede, or the running machine. It was invented around 1820, in Germany, and was the first two-wheeled vehicle. Since each seat is meant for two people on this Ferris Wheel, I can't help but sing "Bicycle Built For Two" whenever I am rotating on one.

From Quiz Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Answer: Archimedes

Archimedes had uttered these words when he discovered that the Golden Crown was less dense than solid gold. He had perhaps put the golden crown in liquid, seeing that it was more buoyant than solid gold. Archimedes had discovered that the water level rose when he got in the tub, and he used that on the Golden Crown. He was so excited that he ran in the streets, still naked and wet from just having gotten out of the tub.

From Quiz Right Time, Wrong Place

Answer: Palos de la Frontera

Columbus started his first voyage in Palos de la Frontera, a small village which lies opposite the modern day Port of Huelva. After a delay in the Canary Islands, land was sighted on October 12th, 1492. It was the Bahamas, named San Salvador by Columbus.

From Quiz History: Things You Need To Know

Answer: An absolute monarchy

The French Revolution took place between 1789 and 1795. It was an uprising of the people against the injustices embodied in and supported by the absolute monarchy, which had also shown itself incompetent. The French Revolution inspired Latin Americas like Simon Bolivar to fight for independence.

From Quiz Across Time and Place

Answer: 476

476 : Final fall of the Western Roman Empire. 800 : Coronation of Charlemagne. 955 : The Magyars (Hungarians) were defeated in the Battle of Lechfeld by the Germans, led by Otto I. 1099 : Jerusalem is taken by the Frankish Crusaders.

From Quiz History Tidbits

Answer: Song

The Song Dynasty was the first government of its kind to do many of things we still see today. It was the first to issue official paper money of any kind and the first Chinese dynasty to have a standing navy. It was during the Song Dynasty that gunpowder was first perfected and used in war. The Song Dynasty, for the most part, reigned during a period of prosperous economic times and saw an increase in artistic and cultural focus. Emperor Taizu was the founder and first emperor of the Song Dynasty. He became emperor when he overthrew Emperor Gong of the Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Qinzong was the ruler during the Jingkang Incident, which saw Jin forces invade the Song capital and force the royal family into exile. That ended the Northern Song Dynasty. Emperor Bing was the last Southern Song emperor.

From Quiz Right Time, Wrong Place

Answer: Nicaea

The Council of Nicaea is significant as it was the first attempt to govern or steer the Christian church by a majority rule or consensus. The Nicene Creed stems from this first council. Throughout the Christian world, the creed is considered a profession of faith: it outlines beliefs, but is not an exhaustive statement of them.

From Quiz History: Things You Need To Know

Answer: Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria

On paper, Italy was also supposed to be an ally of Germany, but it entered the War against Germany in 1915. France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States constituted the Allied Powers.

From Quiz The Question Is Still "When?".

Answer: 1804

Well, of course the expedition started during Jefferson's presidency and shortly after the Lousiana Purchase. The set off on May 14, 1804 and came back to St. Louis, Missouri, on September 23, 1806. Only one man died, of illness, during the dangerous task.

From Quiz Across Time and Place

Answer: Louis IX

Louis IX (1214-1270), aka Saint Louis was canonized in 1297. It was under his patronage that Robert of Sorbon founded the "Collège de la Sorbonne" in 1257, which became the seat of the theological faculty of Paris. (The University of Paris is older, having been founded c. 1150). He was renowned for his charity. The peace and blessings of the realm come to us through the poor, he would say. Beggars were fed from his table, he ate what they left over, washed their feet, ministered to the wants of the lepers, and daily fed over one hundred poor. He founded many hospitals. St. Louis also led two crusades - the 7th and 8th - but died of the plague during the last one in Tunis, in what his modern Tunisia).

From Quiz History Tidbits

Answer: Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela spent about 18 years in prison at Robben Island, though he was imprisoned for 28 years in total. Beginning in 1961, Robben Island became primarily a prison for political dissidents. Prior to that in the late 19th century, it was mainly a leper colony. Mandela was imprisoned, for among other things, belonging to the MK or Umkhonto we Sizwe, an organization that sought to fight against the oppressive government of apartheid South Africa.

From Quiz Traveling Through History with Walter Cronkite

Answer: 66

Jimmy Carter was United States President during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The hostages weren't released until Ronald Reagan was sworn in in 1981. The hostages were held in Tehran, Iran.

From Quiz Right Time, Wrong Place

Answer: Philadelphia

The U.S. Declaration of Independence is a powerful statement of the right of a young emerging nation to govern itself. The text of the document was long debated and there is a great deal of interest in the text itself, its ideas and influences.

From Quiz History: Things You Need To Know

Answer: Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, five years after Franz Ferdinand's assassination. From the armistice to the signing of this treaty took six months. The treaty was harsh; Germany was not allowed to negotiate and signed only under protest.

From Quiz The Question Is Still "When?".

Answer: 1746

On April 16, the Jacobite forces with the Young Pretender Charles Edward Stuart, were crushed by the English Army led by the Duke of Cumberland who in the aftermath of the struggle earned the nickname of "Butcher".

From Quiz Across Time and Place

Answer: 800

Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus in Latin) means Charles (Karl) the tall in Old French. He was about 1.90 meters tall (6'3") what was very unusual and impressive at that time. It is also taken to mean "Charles the Great". He was crowned emperor on the Christmas Day of 800 by pope Leo III. Charlemagne was the grandson of Charles Martel who had stopped the Islamic invasion of south-west Europe in 732.

From Quiz Out of Time and Out of Place

Answer: George Vancouver

Frobisher lived from the 1530s until 1594 and was one of the many explorers to search for the Northwest Passage. Drake was born in around 1540 and lived until 1596. He became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world, and defeated a few Spaniards during his lifetime. Raleigh was a little later, living from the mid sixteenth century until he was executed in 1618. He concentrated on South America, in particular searching for El Dorado. Vancouver lived in the eighteenth century and explored the Pacific coast of the northern parts of America and Canada. He gave his name to various place in the region, in particular the city of that name in British Columbia.

From Quiz History Tidbits

Answer: Augusto Pinochet

Salvador Allende was democratically elected in 1970 in a runoff. However, his Marxist policies caused tension with the predominantly right-wing Congress. He was overthrown in a coup in 1973 by his own appointed Commander and Chief of the Army, Augusto Pinochet. There was some confusion of how Allende died. He was either assassinated or committed suicide, the latter of which is more widely accepted by the public and Allende's family and is the official cause of his death as ruled by a court in 2012.

From Quiz Right Time, Wrong Place

Answer: Rosetta Stone & The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone is on dispay in The British Museum in London, England. It was discovered by a French army engineer during construction on Fort Julien. After fighting between British and French troops in Egypt, it was appropriated by the British, although stories are not clear on how exactly this happened. The Reverend Stephen Weston is credited as the first to make early translations of the stone, however it was a French linguist, Jean-François Champollion, who is credited with deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs.

From Quiz History: Things You Need To Know

Answer: Vladimir Lenin

Lenin was born 1870 in Russia. A Marxist, he was sent to Siberia for revolutionary activities. He later fled to Switzerland, where he studied. When Czar Nicholas II was overthrown in World War I, he realized he had to come back to Russia. Germany allowed him to travel to Russia in a sealed train. On November 8, 1917 Lenin seized power in Russia. He died in 1924.

From Quiz Out of Time and Out of Place

Answer: Georgy Zhukov

Foch was a French general who ended World War I as the overall commander of the French, British, Italian and American troops. Kitchener was the Secretary pf State for War in the British government from 1914 until 1916, when he died. His ship hit a German mine and he drowned. John Pershing, often referred to as 'Black Jack', was the commander of the American Expeditionary Force from 1917-1918. Zhukov is a figure from World War II, although he did fight as a conscript during World War I. He was the leader of the Soviet troops when Berlin was taken, in 1945, turning to politics after the end of the war.

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