Events of the 20th Century -- Did You Know? Quiz

Answer: 1st quarter (1901-1925)

In the last years of the 19th century, there was a growing unrest in China aimed at missionaries and foreign influence. The protestors became known as Boxers because of their reliance on traditional Chinese martial arts. Supported by Empress Dowager Cixi, the rebellion escalated into full-blown civil war by mid-1900. An alliance of eight colonial powers sent a total of over 50,000 soldiers and more than 50 warships to quell the rebellion.

The war finally ended in September 1901 with the Boxer protocol or Xinchou treaty, which stipulated massive reparations in gold to the invaders, executions of many rebellion leaders and various diplomatic apologies, but preserved the independence of China as a nation without any territorial losses.

Answer: 1st quarter (1901-1925)

The first cinema - a theater solely intended to show motion pictures - opened in Pittsburgh in 1905 under the name "Nickelodeon", derived from the admission price of five cents. The concept quickly spread and, at the heyday, over 8000 such theaters operated in the United States, usually in stores converted for this purposes. Most films shown were under fifteen minutes in length. By 1915, however, these small theaters had again all but vanished, replaced with larger ones as the audience demand for movies was just too high.

Answer: 1st quarter (1901-1925)

You might be forgiven if you placed this event later, because between the formal annexation of Korea in 1910 and Japan's entry into World War II in 1941, the change of rule had relatively little impact on Koreans. Except for the Royal Palace which was razed by 1915, Korean culture was preserved under Japanese rule.

It was only around 1940 that Koreans were pressed into forced labor for Japan, particularly women who were officially taken for light work, but rather forced to become prostitutes, often euphemistically called "comfort women". Koreans were only conscripted to the Japanese military from 1944.

The occupation finally ended in 1945 with the defeat and capitulation of Japan.

Answer: 1st quarter (1901-1925)

At a length of over 80 kilometers (50 miles) with six sets of locks, each having three chambers (two of which were built with the canal itself, the third, larger, one added in the 2010s), the Panama Canal is one of the greatest construction projects ever completed.

The successful American construction took over equipment and infrastructure from an unsuccessful late 19th century French attempt. Altogether, well over 100 million cubic meters of material had to be moved by over 100 massive steam shovels. Even in spite of the mechanization, 75,000 workers were required, of which over 5,000 died from diseases and accidents during the US-led construction.

Answer: 1st quarter (1901-1925)

Today, the Pulitzer Prize is awarded in 21 different categories, most of which are related to journalism. In 1917, however, there were only seven categories - editorial writing, reporting, biography, history, public service, drama and novel - and only the first four of these were actually awarded (although there had been nominees selected in the other three, no actual prize was given).

In spite of its great prestige, the Pulitzer only carries a relatively small monetary award, $15,000 in 2021. The prize is strictly an American award - only US-based news publications and US authors are eligible.

Answer: 2nd quarter (1926-1950)

Born in 1880, Leon Trotsky first came into contact with Marxist ideology during his university years. He quickly joined revolutionary forces against the Tsarist regime and was arrested for his activities in 1899. He escaped from Siberia in 1902 and lived in various European countries until the Russian February revolution in 1917.

Returning to his homeland, he became one of the key figures of the October revolution. After the Soviet Union was established, he held various government posts under Lenin, most prominently that of People's Commissar of Military and Naval Affairs of the Soviet Union - supreme commander of the Red Army. After Lenin's death, he however found himself swiftly removed from power under Stalin and finally expelled from the country in 1929. His citizenship was revoked in 1932, and a Soviet court handed down a death sentence on him in 1936, which could not be officially enforced as Trotsky was, by that time, living in Mexico. Instead, several assassination attempts were made on him by Stalinist agents, with one in August 1940 finally successful.

Answer: 2nd quarter (1926-1950)

Alfonso XIII was the only son of Alfonso XII, the previous King of Spain, who had died in 1885 aged only 27, six months before his son was born. He thus became king at birth, but assumed the power and duty of the office only at age 16. Initially, he was a liberal monarch, but his ideas of liberal democracy, marred by wars and social unrest, ended with the coup of Miguel Primo de Rivera, whom Alfonso supported at the time. De Rivera held power until 1930 and, after his reign, the Spanish people voted to end the monarchy in 1931. Officially, the Spanish monarchy was reinstated in 1947 by dictator Franco, who had claimed power in the Spanish Civil War, but the throne remained vacant until Franco's death in 1975, when Alfonso's grandson Juan Carlos was proclaimed king.

Answer: 2nd quarter (1926-1950)

Discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928, penicillin was not immediately recognized as the powerful antibiotic it was, mostly because it was extremely difficult to isolate and purify the active compound. First penicillin treatments, with mold extract instead of the pure drug, date to the very early 1930s, but it took until 1940 until the drug could actually be extracted in a pure form.

After Fleming was able to use the minimal pure stock he had to cure a patient of meningitis in early 1942, it quickly became clear that having the drug available in large quantities would be of massive benefit to the many wounded of World War II. By mid-1942, the entire US stock was still only enough for ten patients, but then the process evolved quickly: 2.3 million doses were available for the 1944 D-Day invasion and by March 1945, production exceeded wartime demand so the drug became available to civilians as well.

In spite of many bacteria having developed resistance, penicillin is still one of the most important and widely prescribed antibiotics and remains the first choice for many common infections.

Answer: 2nd quarter (1926-1950)

Since it is pretty much impossible to summarize Mahatma Gandhi in a single paragraph, I shall let him speak for himself in some of his most memorable quotes:

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world."
"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love."
"Silence is the best answer to anger."
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
"Nobody can hurt me without my permission."

Answer: 2nd quarter (1926-1950)

George Orwell's influential dystopian novel "1984" (originally written out as "Nineteen Eighty-Four") was begun in the last years of World War II and grimly extrapolates the split of the world into warring "blocks", seen as axis powers and allies during the war and the already emerging split among the victors to be into the American-led and the Soviet-led spheres of influence. It was ultimately finished and published in 1949.

Several terms of his work have found entry into the everyday language, primarily of course "Big Brother" as the embodiment of constant surveillance. The way news and historical records are manipulated in the book are also rather eerily evocative of actual practices in the 2020s where out of context facts and quotes found regular use in influencing public opinions (in all directions).

Answer: 3rd quarter (1951-1975)

Miss World is the oldest of the four major international beauty pageants, preceding the current Miss Universe one by a year (although a different event under the Miss Universe name existed in the 1920s and 1930s). It was first held in the United Kingdom in 1951, partially as a promotion for the then-new bikini swimsuit and intended as a one-time event but was so successful that it was made into an annual feature. Over time, additional contests were added which allowed some entrants who excelled in other areas than only beauty, such as sports and music, an immediate advancement to the semifinal.

Answer: 3rd quarter (1951-1975)

Color television is almost as old as television itself with the first patent dating back to 1908, but, just as for the black and white version, practical applications were first demonstrated in the late 1920s. Television became a widespread medium in the United States by the 1940s and while, by that time, it was also possible to transmit color pictures, the required bandwidth to send these signals did not permit its introduction into the market.

This changed with the NTSC color standard, which was finalized in 1951 and first used in broadcasting 1953. The key development was to encode a reduced resolution color signal on top of the nearly unmodified black and white one, allowing monochrome sets to show the broadcasts as well - color televisions were still prohibitively expensive at the time. As one of the US' prime sporting events, the World Series was first shown in color in 1955, ending in a 4-3 victory of the Brooklyn Dodgers over the New York Yankees.

Answer: 3rd quarter (1951-1975)

"Moon River" was composed for the 1961 movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" where it appeared both as the instrumental main title theme as well as in-picture, the latter version sung by Audrey Hepburn. The song initially saw a poor reception during previews and was almost cut from the movie, but stayed mostly due to Hepburn's insistence.

After the film's release, the orchestral version was released as a single and became a moderate success, peaking at #11 in the Billboard Hot 100. The version sung by Audrey Hepburn was not released as an audio record until 1993 and was voted the number four entry in AFI's "100 Years..." list of the most influential songs of 20th century cinema.

Answer: 3rd quarter (1951-1975)

No trick question here - the entire activity period of the Beatles, including their predecessor band the Quarrymen falls into the third quarter. John Lennon and Paul McCartney met in 1957 and formed the core of the band. George Harrison joined a year later. With all three members being guitarists, they had to rely on varying drummers to perform.

They would, however, probably have remained a semi-famous touring band if it had not been for Brian Epstein, at the time a record store owner. With him as manager, the Beatles managed to terminate their unfavorable Polydor recording contract for one with EMI, which also gave them access to the well equipped EMI Studio at Abbey Road (later renamed Abbey Road Studios).

The rest, as they say, is music history.

Answer: 3rd quarter (1951-1975)

Secretariat's Triple Crown victory in 1973 was one of the greatest race performances of any horse in history. Not only did he convincingly win all three races - the Kentucky Derby and Preakness by 2 1/2 lengths and the Belmont by an incredible 31 lengths - but set record times in all three races that still stand 49 years later.

In his two years as an active racer (he was retired from racing after the three-year season), Secretariat ran 21 times, winning 16 races and finishing no lower than fourth (in his first race, after getting bumped). Uniquely, he was a horse that accelerated all the way through the race, usually starting slowly and then taking the field from the rear with the last quarter mile often being the fastest.

Answer: 4th quarter (1976-2000)

The Episcopal Church split from the Church of England after the American Revolution of 1776, because the Church of England recognizes the British monarch as its leader, which was not acceptable to republicans. It shares many of the same values although it has, in several aspects, moved somewhat closer to the Roman Catholic church. In particular, like the latter, it claims Apostolic succession, tracing all its bishops back to St. Peter via an uninterrupted chain of valid ordinations.

Like the Church of England, the Episcopal Church long resisted the ordination of women as priests although no canonical law prevented such an ordination. In 1974, eleven women were ordained as priests in Philadelphia, but that ordination was declared invalid by church leadership until a General Convention could properly authorize it. The next such convention took place in 1976 and approved female ordination to all offices beginning January 1977. All women ordained prior to that date were, in early 1977, recognized with full priestly authority, in a special "completion" liturgy.

Answer: 4th quarter (1976-2000)

Like Mahatma Gandhi, Desmond Tutu was a proponent of nonviolent resistance and activity to further equality - in his case, the equality of people of all colors during South Africa's apartheid period. He became the first black cleric to hold many of the influential positions in the South African church and used this influence to become a strong leader in the struggle against racial inequality.

He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his leadership, several years before apartheid was finally abolished (for which, in turn, Nelson Mandela and William de Klerk were honored with the same prize in 1993).

Answer: 4th quarter (1976-2000)

Seat belt laws were introduced in the United States beginning as early as 1968, but these laws only concerned the required installation of seat belts in new cars, not their actual use. The first state to actually enforce wearing seat belts was New York, introducing this requirement in December 1984. Since 1997, seat belt laws exist in all 50 states, although New Hampshire only requires seat belts for minors. Also, not all states provide for seat belt law primary enforcement - if this is missing, you cannot actually be stopped just for not wearing a belt, but you will be fined if you are stopped for another reason.

In spite of many other safety advances - primarily of course airbags - properly wearing a seat belt is still one of the most important safety measures while driving, since the belt ensures that, in case of an accident, drivers and passengers, will be restrained in a suitable position for the airbags to have the maximum protective effect.

Answer: 4th quarter (1976-2000)

River Phoenix was a rising star both in acting and music and, in spite of dying at the young age of 23, was quoted as an important influence on their career by several current acting superstars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and James Franco. His career began in television when he was 12 with a recurring role in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and he quickly found success on the big screen where his performances were met with both critical and popular acclaim.

His sudden death derailed several film projects where he was due to play leading roles; some of them were only realized more than a decade later.

Answer: 4th quarter (1976-2000)

While hot air balloons are an 18th century invention, their lack of propulsion makes it very difficult to travel long distances while keeping control over the destination. To achieve a round the world flight in a balloon, the pilots had to travel at a very high altitude (mostly over 10,000 m/33,000 ft) where constant, strong westerly winds prevail.

This, in turn, of course required advanced technology for cabin pressurization as well as very significant stocks of fuel and food for a lengthy flight.

In the end, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones completed the historic flight in 1999, on their third attempt, taking just under 20 days for their complete trip.