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Washington History Trivia

Washington History Trivia Quizzes

It Happened in Washington State best quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

How much do you know about these historical events which occurred in the State of Washington?

Average, 10 Qns, FatherSteve, Feb 04 14

Average
FatherSteve

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Washington History Trivia Questions

1. On Sunday, 18 May 1980, there was a tremendous explosion in Washington State. What blew up?

From Quiz It Happened in Washington State

Answer: Mount Saint Helens

The eruption of Mount Saint Helens was the largest volcanic eruption in the continental United States since Lassen Peak erupted in California in 1915. Fifty seven people were killed. The ash cloud spread over eight states and into Canada. The volcano remains active and could erupt again.

2. Two men attending a hydroplane race on the Columbia River in 1996 discovered a human skull which turned out to be part of a body dubbed "Kennewick Man." Who was this Kennewick Man?

From Quiz It Happened in Washington State

Answer: a prehistoric man dating from circa 7500 BC

The Umatilla Native American tribe brought a lawsuit to obtain custody of Kennewick man but scientific evidence showed that he was genetically dissimilar to Native Americans and more similar to both the Ainu of Japan and the Polynesians. Custody was therefore given to the Burke Museum at the University of Washington.

3. Out of what larger territory was the Washington Territory (which became the State of Washington in 1889) created in 1863?

From Quiz It Happened in Washington State

Answer: The Oregon Territory

The original Oregon Territory included what is now Washington, Oregon, Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming. The first Washington Territory (1853) included Washington, Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming.

4. From 1859 until 1872, two nations "fought" The Pig War on San Juan Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Which two nations participated in this "war"?

From Quiz It Happened in Washington State

Answer: The United States and Great Britain

Three islands -- Orcas, Lopez and San Juan -- lay in disputed waters between what would later become British Columbia and what would later become the State of Washington. Despite the Oregon Treaty of 1846, the islands remained in dispute. On 15 June 1859, Lyman Cutler (an American settler) shot a large pig belonging to Charles Griffin (an Irish settler) while it was trespassing in Cutler's potato patch. The argument grew to involve marines encamped on the island and five British warships. Fortunately, the pig was the only casualty and a negotiated resolution was achieved.

5. In September of 1962, Elvis Presley arrived in Seattle. What was the purpose of his visit?

From Quiz It Happened in Washington State

Answer: To film "It Happened At The World's Fair"

The Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair) ran from 21 April until 21 October 1962 and was a great success. "It Happened at the World's Fair" was released by MGM on 3 April 1963 and was a much more modest success.

6. On 29 November 1847, Cayuse and Umatilla Native Americans carried out the Whitman Massacre near present-day Walla Walla. Who was killed in this incident?

From Quiz It Happened in Washington State

Answer: Protestant medical missionaries

Dr. Marcus Whitman, a medical missionary, and his wife Narcissa were killed by Native Americans angry that his medical treatment of them did not cure a measles epidemic to which they had no immunity. It was their custom to kill a medicine man who failed to heal the sick. Whitman was hacked to pieces, eleven others were killed and 53 women and children were taken hostage. This massacre led to the Cayuse War (1847 to 1855).

7. By what geographical designations are the explorers Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark remembered in Washington State?

From Quiz It Happened in Washington State

Answer: Clark County and Lewis County

The Voyage of Discovery occurred between May 1804 and September 1806. The Lewis and Clark Bridge crosses the Columbia River between Longview, Washington and Rainier, Oregon. Lewis and Clark College is located in Portland, Oregon. Lewis and Clark National Historical Park is located in both Washington and Oregon.

8. What was the name (or the supposed name) of the man who hijacked a Boeing 727 jetliner on 24 November 1971 and parachuted into the dark somewhere in southwestern Washington with $200,000 in ransom?

From Quiz It Happened in Washington State

Answer: D.B. Cooper

Cooper was never found but a small portion of the $200,000 was discovered by a small boy playing on the banks of the Columbia River near Vancouver in February of 1980. A 1975 novel ("Rainbow's End" by James M. Cain) and a 1980 novel ("Free Fall" by J.D. Reed) inspired a 1981 movie called "The Pursuit of D.B.Cooper." A Washington artist named Judy Sword produced the song "D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?" in 1971 and Chuck Brodsky wrote and sang the song "The Ballad of D. B. Cooper" in 2006.

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