Decade Dents Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1971

1970s

In March of 1971, the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed which changed the minimum voting age from 21 years old to 18 years of age. It was ratified and signed into law by President Richard Nixon in July of 1971. The thinking behind the change was "old enough to fight, old enough to vote". It was a victory for the 'youth movement' which arose in the 1960s, with the motto "Never trust anyone over 30".

Answer: 1945

1940s -

Where could you find the world leaders Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Premier Josef Stalin and President Franklin D. Roosevelt all in the same place in February 1945? The Yalta Conference took place between February 4th through February 11, 1945. The 'Big Three' held their second World War II conference (the first was in Tehran), also known as the Crimea Conference, in the former Russian czar's summer palace at Yalta, USSR. The main topic was the reorganization of Europe after the war.

Answer: 1925

For the 1920s -

Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934) returned to public life in 1925 and became Germany's second president. He was a military officer and statesman who was president of Germany from 1925 to August 1934, succeeding Friedrich Ebert. In February 1933, Hindenburg signed the Reichstag Fire Decree, limiting civil liberties; in March he signed the Enabling Act of 1933, increasing Hitler's power. On Hindenburg's death in 1934, the presidency and chancellorship were combined into the single office of 'Fuehrer'.

Answer: 1994

1990s -

In 1962, Nelson Mandela was arrested for 'conspiring to overthrow the state', and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He served his time on Robben Island, Pollsmoor Prison and, finally, Victor Verster Prison. In 1990, after serving 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was released by President F.W. de Klerk. Mandela served as President of the ANC from 1991 to 1997, and became South Africa's first black President from 1994 to 1999. He helped defeat apartheid and was described as "Father of the Nation".

Answer: 1901

1900s -

At the turn of the century, the 25th president, President William McKinley (1843-1901), was shot by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York, Illinois on September 6, 1901. He died 8 days later. McKinley served as President from March 4, 1897 until his assassination in September, i.e., six months into his second term in office. He was succeeded by his Vice-President, Theodore Roosevelt, who became the youngest man to serve as president (at 42 years old). McKinley was the last president to have fought in the American Civil War.

Answer: 1961

1960s -

On April 17, 1961 there was a failed CIA invasion of Cuba. However, the 'Bay of Pigs' idea was actually, initially, supported by President Eisenhower who authorized the CIA to recruit almost 1,500 Cuban exiles in Miami to try to overthrow the Communist-led government of Prime Minister Fidel Castro. The invaders were defeated within three days by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces led by Castro himself. The victory strengthened Castro's power and, eventually, led to the "Cuban Missile Crisis" of 1962.

Answer: 1914

1910s -

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot to death in Sarajevo, Bosnia by Gavrilo Princip. Archduke Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His death, by a Serbian member of the secret military group "the Black Hand", was the trigger which set off World War I or "The Great War". The conflict did not end until November 11, 1918 - which is observed as Armistice/Veteran's Day. The war claimed the lives of over nine million soldiers and seven million civilians.

Answer: 1952

1950s -

King George VI (1895-1952), served as king from December 11, 1936 until his death on February 6, 1952 and thus during World War II. George VI had the distinction of being the "last Emperor of India and the first Head of the Commonwealth". He became king when his older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne. He was succeeded by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, whose coronation was on June 2, 1953. George VI's life was depicted in "The King's Speech", a 2010 biopic.

Answer: 1984

1980s -

Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. Years later she also became Prime Minister, serving from 1966 to 1977, and again from 1980 to 1984 when she was assassinated. During her tenure, Gandhi was acclaimed for her country's success in agricultural improvements and in the Pakistani War. After three terms, she was voted out of office, but then re-elected in 1980. She was assassinated by her own bodyguards in 1984.

Answer: 1938

1930s -

On September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940), along with the French Prime Minister Daladier and Hitler signed the Munich Pact, an agreement that ceded a large area of Czechoslovakia to Germany in order to avoid war. It is "Springtime for Hitler and Germany" (an aside from "The Producers") with Chamberlain allowing Hitler to continue creating a "greater Germany". Less than a year later, on September 1, 1939, German forces invaded Poland, and World War II had begun.