1920 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cork, Ireland

The Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force was recruited largely from British war veterans. Outfitted initially in dark blue tunics and khaki trousers, they were dubbed "Black and Tans" after a well-known pack of hunting dogs in Limerick. The Black and Tans were involved in numerous violent clashes with local residents and became a hated element of British rule in Ireland.

Answer: She was Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia

The woman, who became known as Anna Anderson, insisted to the end of her days that she was Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, and that she had miraculously survived the murder of the imperial family in 1918. Evidence, however, indicates that Anastasia died with the rest of her family. DNA testing has shown conclusively that Anna Anderson was not related to the Tsar.

Answer: Henry Cabot Lodge

Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was not an isolationist, but objected to the potential subordination of congressional war-making powers to an international body. William E. Borah of Idaho and Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin both voted against ratification from strongly isolationist stances. (La Follette was outspoken in his opposition to U.S. entry into World War I). Ohioan Robert A. Taft was also a famous isolationist, but he did not enter the Senate until 1938.

Answer: Finland

The "Flying Finns", led by Paavo Nurmi and Hannes Kolehmainen, won gold medals in the 10,000 meter run, marathon, individual cross-country, and team cross-country events.

Answer: Wadowice

Karol Jozef Wojtyla studied in and became archbishop of Krakow, led masses at the shrine of Czestochowa, and had strong ties to the Solidarity labor movement in Gdansk, but he was born in the southern Polish town of Wadowice.

Answer: Poland

Poland, risen anew as a country after World War I, clashed with Russia during 1919 and 1920 over the extent of its eastern borders. Early Polish gains were followed by a retreat to the edge of Warsaw, where the Poles, led by General Pilsudski, counterattacked and drove the Russians back. Russia had already fought with Germany and Turkey in World War I and with Japan in 1904-05.

Answer: Wall Street

A horse-drawn cart loaded with dynamite and fragmented steel stopped in front of the J. P. Morgan Company offices on Wall Street and exploded amidst a lunch-hour crowd. Anarchists were blamed for the attack, but no individual was ever charged with the crime.

Answer: The Planets by Gustav Holst

The Planets, what Gustav Holst called a series of mood pictures, was written in 1914-16, but not performed in public until 1920. Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Marches were first performed in London in 1901; Stravinsky's Rite of Spring was first performed in Paris in 1913; Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was first performed in New York in 1924.

Answer: Eugene V. Debs

Labor activist Eugene V. Debs was arrested in 1918 under the Sedition Act of that year for his anti-war speeches. While still in prison, he was nominated as the presidential candidate of the Socialist Party. His sentence was commuted in 1921 by President Harding. Big Bill Haywood, who, like Debs, was an early leader of the International Workers of the World, was also indicted for sedition, but fled to Russia, where he lived the rest of his life. Samuel Gompers, the first president of the American Federation of Labor, was not a radical like Debs and Haywood, and did not run for office. Gangster Al Capone, who went to federal prison on tax evasion charges in 1932, was not involved in politics (at least not legitimately).

Answer: The Mark of Zorro

The Mark of Zorro established Douglas Fairbanks as a swashbuckling hero, a type of role he reprised in films such as The Three Musketeers (1921) and Robin Hood (1922). The Sheik (1921) starred Rudolph Valentino; Ben-Hur (1925) starred Ramon Novarro; The Gold Rush (1925) starred Charlie Chaplin.