Basic Dates Trivia Quiz

Answer: June 18, 1815

Napoleon's forces were defeated and he fled back towards Paris. On June 22nd he surrendered to allied forces. Napoleon Bonaparte spent the rest of his life as a prisoner on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic.

Answer: 1867

Secretary of State Seward negotiated the US purchase of Alaska from Russia for the sum of $7 million. The purchase was not universally popular and the treaty was approved by a vote of 27 to 12, only one vote more than the two-thirds needed to approve the treaty.

Answer: 1066

The Battle of Hastings was the last time England was conquered by a foreign army. It brought greater (though enforced) unity and strength to a country which was dynastically insecure.

Answer: 1924/1925

The book was originally entitled "Four Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice". The book is a mixture of autobiography, political ideas and an explanation of the techniques of propaganda.

Answer: 1410

Despite the victory, at the Peace of Thorn signed in 1411, the Poles failed to gain access to the sea.

Answer: 1961

On August 13, the Berlin Wall went up, dividing East and West Berlin and ending the flow of refugees out of East Germany. (In the early stages of the construction of the Berlin Wall, much of the new physical division consisted of barbed wire fences).

Answer: June 28, 1919

On June 29, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, thereby officially ending World War I. The peace of Versailles bore little resemblance to Wilson's "Fourteen Points."

Answer: 1859

John Brown led a group of 18 to attack the arsenal in Harper's Ferry. His goal was to forment a slave rebellion. The revolt was subdued by the US army under the command of Robert E Lee. Brown was hanged.

Answer: 1984

While walking home from her office, Indira Gandhi was killed by two of her bodyguards. Her assassins were Sikh extremists retaliating for the raid she ordered on the Sikh shrine in Amritsar, which had resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 Sikh separatists. Hindu rioting after the assassination killed more than 2,000 Sikhs.

Answer: May 2, 1972

J. Edgar Hoover was a U.S. director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He died in his sleep at the age of 77. Despite criticism from several sources, he retained his post for 48 years until his death.

Answer: 1942

The Japanese planned to attack the island of Midway, expanding their grip on the Central Pacific. American intelligence intercepted Japanese plans and knew of the impending Japanese attack. The Americans succeeded in sinking four Japanese aircraft carriers, losing only the "Yorktown."

Answer: 1985

Gorbachev represented a younger generation of Soviet leaders, and began a series of reforms aimed at invigorating the communist system in the Soviet Union, while at the same time improving relations with the West. The changes he began soon developed a momentum of their own.

Answer: 1397

Margaret Queen of Sweden completed the conquest of Denmark and Norway. She then went on to form the Kalamar League, which became a Union of all three countries.

Answer: 41 AD

Caligula was considered by many to be insane. He was assassinated by Cassius Chaerea, a member of the Praetorian Guard on January 24th in the year 41 A.D.

Answer: 1929

The 1920s had been years of speculation on Wall Street. This all came to an end, however, on October 29th 1929, on what became known as "Black Tuesday." By November 13th, the stock market had lost $30 billion in its market value - a total of 40% of its value. Moreover, it continued to fall until July 1932, when the Dow fell to 48 (yes, forty-eight) points.

Answer: April 30, 1945

Hitler committed suicide on 30 April, 1945, but some people dispute how he died. The Nazi leader is generally believed to have used potassium cyanide to poison himself, but others claim he shot himself.

Answer: 1793

Louis XVI was accused of treason. On December 26, 1792 Louis XVI went on trial for treason, and on January 15, 1793 the National Convention found him guilty of treason by a near unanimous vote. On January 21, 1793 the death sentence was carried out when the king was guillotined.

Answer: 1581

Stepen Bathory led the Poles to a victory over the forces of Ivan the Terrible at the battle of Pskov. The Polish victory forced Ivan to agree to a peace accord in which he ceded Livonia on the Baltic to Poland-Lithuania.

Answer: 1978

John Paul II became the first non-Italian Pope since the 16th century. He is the first Polish Pope, and at 58, was the youngest Pope of the 20th century. His predecessor, John Paul I, died within 33 days of becoming Pope.

Answer: 1996

Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep, was euthanized on 14th February 2003 after being diagnosed as suffering from progressive lung disease. The decision was taken to end her life at the age of 6 after a veterinary examination confirmed the lung disease.

Answer: August 6, 1945

On August 6, the USAAF dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The city was destroyed and over 70,000 were killed immediately from the effects of the blast. Three days later, a second bomb destroyed Nagasaki.

Answer: 1953

His real name was Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, died of a stroke at the age of 73. He was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev after a power struggle.

Answer: 1940

The British successfully evacuated about 225,000 British and 103,000 French troops from the beaches of Dunkirk. The British and French troops were forced to abandon their equipment, but these soldiers were available to fight another day.

Answer: 49 BC

By crossing the Rubicon, Caesar broke Roman law and made himself guilty of treason. It is believed that during the crossing of the Rubicon Julius Caesar said: "Alea iacta est" ("The die is cast").

Answer: 1779

James Cook was killed by natives in Hawaii. Cook was considered the preeminent explorer of his time, and by introducing a regime of fresh fruit he eliminated scurvy from his ships.