Days of the Year in Common Quiz | History

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. On which day of the year was the importation of slaves into the USA banned, the US Navy SEALs established and the Euro currency introduced?

Answer: January 1

On 1st January 1808, the importation of slaves into the USA was banned, but the internal slave trade continued along with slavery for another six decades. In 1962, the United States Navy Sea, Air and Land Forces were formed, commonly known as the Navy Seals.

In 1999, the Euro currency was introduced (as an accouNting currency) and three years later, also on 1st January, the Euro became legal tender in twelve European countries.

2. On which day of the year did the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion occur, the Apollo 13 rocket safely return to Earth and the Battle of Plymouth begin, and a major battle in the American Civil War, occur?

Answer: April 17

On 17th April, 1864, Confederate forces attacked Plymouth, South Carolina in an important battle in the US Civil War; the battle finished on the 20th. In 1961, again on the 17th April, American trained and equipped Cuban refugees landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba in a failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. Nine years later in 1970 America breathed a sigh of relief when the Apollo 13 mission returned safely to Earth.

3. This has been an important day of the year in German history. In 1989 the Berlin Wall was opened and passage between East and West Germany was permitted; in 1938 Nazi Germany's first large-scale anti-Jewish violence began in what was known as 'Kristallnacht' or the 'Night of Broken Glass'. On the same day in 1620, the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower first sighted land.

Answer: November 9

On 9th November 1620, pilgrims on the Mayflower first sighted land at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1938, Nazi Germany began its large-scale violence against the Jews. Every synagagogue in Germany was smashed or burnt, many Jews were killed and Jewish shops and businesses were vandalised.

The smashed shop windows led this night being nicknamed the 'Night of Broken Glass' or 'Kristallnacht' in German. Another crucial day in German history occurred exactly 51 years later when people began destroying the Berlin Wall as Communist-controlled East Germany began letting large numbers of people cross the border between East and West Berlin. (If one goes further back in German history one finds that it was on 9th November that Hitler's Munich putsch failed in 1923, and on 9th November 1918 that the monarchy ended. Going even further back one finds that Robert Blum, a leading radical, was executed on 9th November 1848).

4. On which date was it decided that the Channel Tunnel would be built in 1987, that NASA would be created in 1958? It is also the date that the first post World War II summer Olympics started in 1948.

Answer: July 29

On the 29th July 1987, the British Prime Minister and President of France met and agreed to build a tunnel between the countries, the Channel Tunnel. Just 29 years earlier President Eisenhower signed into law the 'National Aeronautics and Space Act', which created NASA.

A decade previously the London 1948 Olympics officially opened, ending the break in the Olympics during the Second World War. These were the first Summer Games since the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

5. On which day in 1844 did the Bah�'� calendar begin, marking the first day of the new year for members of the Bah�'� faith? Exactly 61 years later, in 1905, Albert Einstein published his paper on Special Relativity, and in 1963, on the same day, Alcatraz prison closed.

Answer: March 21

In 1963, on 21st March, the prison of Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay closed. On the same day in 1905, Albert Einstein published his ground-breaking paper on Special Relativity. The 21st March is also the first day of the Bah�'� calendar, the first day of the first year of the Bah�'� calendar was in 1844.

6. In 1928, on this day Alexander Fleming discovered the bacteria-killing mould, penicillin; on the same day the UK government passes the Dangerous Drug Act which criminalized the possession of cannabis. On the same day, over 900 years earlier, William the Conqueror invaded England at Hastings and the Norman Invasion began.

Answer: September 28

On 28th September 1928 the UK Parliament outlawed cannabis and Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the bacteria-killing mould which saved millions of lives. Back in 1066, also on the 28th September, William the Conqueror invaded England and the Norman Conquest began, which resulted in the reign of King William following the death of King Harold in the Battle of Hastings.

7. On which day in 1502 did Christopher Columbus set off on his final voyage to the New World and in 1955 Jim Henson first make a television appearance with what would later become the Muppets? Also on this day, formal impeachment hearings were begun against President Nixon in 1974.

Answer: May 9

On 9th May in 1502, Christopher Columbus left Spain on his fourth and final journey to the New World. Over 400 years later Jim Henson made an appearance on a local television network in the show 'Sam and Friends', which later became the Muppets. Also on 9th May but 19 years later, the United States House of Representatives Judicial Committee opened formal, public, impeachment hearings against President Nixon in relation to the Watergate Scandal.

8. On which day was the YMCA founded in 1844? In 1982 the Lebanon War began and in 1999, 345 prisoners escaped from a Brazilian prison by running out of the main gate?

Answer: June 6

On 6th June 1999, at the Putim Maximum Security Prison, 345 prisoners ran through the main gate marking the tenth (!) escape since the institution opened three years before. In the following man-hunt, only two prisoners were re-captured. In 1982, the Lebanon War began after Israeli troops invaded South Lebanon in their 'Operation Peace for the Galilee'.

They eventually reached as far north as the capital, Beirut. In 1844, the Young Men's Christian Association was founded in London. Within 11 years it became an international movement putting Christian values into practise.

9. On this day in 1975 Mozambique achieved independence and in 1947, Anne Frank's diary was first published. This was also the day in 2009 when Michael Jackson died.

Answer: June 25

On 25th June 2009 Michael Jackson died from a cardiac arrest as he prepared for his London concerts. In 1975, also on 25th June, Mozambique gained independence from Portugal. Unfortunately, soon after, in 1977, a bitter civil war began which lasted until 1992.

The 25th of June 1947 was the day that Anne Frank's diary describing her experiences while hiding from Nazi persecution was published.

10. Which day in 2003 saw the disappearance of the Beagle 2 Probe, shortly before its scheduled landing on Mars? In 1974 on this day Marshall Fields drove through the White House gates and caused a four-hour stand-off. Finally, this is also the day of a Christian festival.

Answer: December 25

People celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, every year on the 25th of December. This was also the day when the British Mars probe, Beagle 2, disappeared as contact was lost just as it reached its final approach. In 1974, Marshall Fields drove through the White House gates claiming to be carrying explosives.

After a four hour negotitiation he eventually surrendered and the 'explosives' were revealed to be flares.

Source: Author Spugsy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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Days of the Year in Common Trivia Quiz

Can you guess which is the common day of the year that three separate events all happened on?

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