Every Four Years - 29 February Quiz

Answer: The Last Judgement

"The Last Judgement" is a fresco by Michelangelo covering the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel depicting the Second Coming and the final judgement of humanity. The work was originally commissioned by Pope Clement VII, but he died two years before work began, with the four years it took to complete being under the supervision of Paul III. The work was controversial at the time, with the Pope often coming under pressure to alter, if not completely remove the fresco following its completion.

Upon an inspection alongside the pontiff, Biagio da Cesena, the Papal Master of Ceremonies, is reported to have said "it was most disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully, and that it was no work for a papal chapel but rather for the public baths and taverns", which led to Michelangelo incorporating his face into the fresco itself as Minos descending to Hell. In response to Cesena's complaint, Paul III joked that his jurisdiction did not extend to Hell, and so the portrait would have to remain.

Answer: Sweden

In November 1699, the government of Sweden elected to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. However, rather than doing this in one go by simply removing a block of days from a particular month, they would undertake a gradual approach by introducing a unique "Swedish calendar", omitting all leap days between 1700 and 1740. This method was done in 1700 but, as a result of the Great Northern War, both 1704 and 1708 had a 29th February included in Sweden.

The plan to move to the Gregorian calendar was subsequently abandoned by King Charles XII in January 1711, owing to the fact that no other nation was undertaking this method, and Sweden returned to the Julian calendar. However, to make up for the day lost in 1700, February received an extra day in the next leap year, 1712, leading to the only known instance of 30th February taking place. Sweden eventually switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1753, when 17th February was followed by 1st March.

Answer: William Tell

Gioachino Rossini wrote a number of both comic and serious operas during his career, with his first to be produced being "La cambiale di matrimonio", which he composed when he was just eighteen years old. Possibly his best known, "The Barber of Seville", premiered on 20th February 1816, nine days before his actual birthday (1816 being a leap year), while "Otello" received its premiere just ten months later. Rossini was a prolific writer of opera for twenty years for a number of patrons and companies, including the French government, with whom he signed a contract in 1824 to write a grand opera for the Académie Royale de Musique and other work for the Théâtre-Italien in Paris.

During this period he produced a total of five works, with the last being the grand opera "William Tell" in 1829. The writing of "William Tell" left Rossini with exhaustion and, although he subsequently planned a new worked based on the story of Faust, his poor health, plus the loss of his lifetime annuity from the French government, led to his deciding to retire in 1830. Although he produced some work in the period between 1830 and 1855, including the pastiche opera "Robert Bruce", it was only from 1855 until his death in 1868 that Rossini began actively composing again, producing music for the weekly salons he and his wife hosted.

Answer: Shortstop

Dickey Pearce is regarded as one of the most famous of the early figures in professional baseball. He began his career in 1857 at the age of 21 with the Brooklyn Atlantics in the newly founded National Association of Base Ball Players, becoming one of the first players to be paid as a professional. During his career, Pearce was most associated with the shortstop position, and is regarded as the first to play shortstop as it would be recognised today.

In addition, he also perfected what he called his "tricky hit", where he struck the ball with his bat so lightly that it dropped close to home plate, requiring the pitcher (being the closest fielder) to have considerable skill in fielding the ball and throwing it to first base for an out. Pearce's "tricky hit" eventually came to be known as the bunt, where the batter loosely holds the bat and taps at the pitched ball to bring it into play. Dickey Pearce played professionally for 22 years, spanning the period of the beginning of baseball into the dawn of the Major League era, eventually retiring in 1877.

Answer: Australia

John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, was born in September 1860 as the eldest son of the Earl of Hopetoun. Although he attended the Royal military College at Sandhurst, he elected not to join the army upon completing his time there, as he had succeeded his father as Earl of Hopetoun at the age of 13, and saw his main responsibility as running the family estate. However, in 1883 he entered the political arena when he was appointed as a Conservative whip in the House of Lords. Between 1889 and 1895 he served as the Governor of Victoria, then one of the Australian colonies, serving as the Queen's representative. He served as a minister in the Marquess of Salisbury's government from 1895 to 1898, and was appointed as the Lord Chamberlain in January 1900.

However, following the decision by the Australian colonies to form a federation from 1 January 1901, Lord Hopetoun, who had been popular during his time in Victoria, was appointed to the new position of Governor-General of Australia, arriving in Sydney in December 1900. His period in office was fraught, as he was ill for much of it recovering from typhoid, while various issues, both due to Hopetoun himself and as a result of the rivalries between the states of the new nation, led to his resigning in 1902. Following his return from Australia, King Edward VII made him Marquess of Linlithgow. Although he returned to government as Secretary for Scotland in 1905, he attained no further significant position before his death in 1908.

Answer: Fred Haise

Jack Lousma was an aviator serving in the United States Marine Corps when, in 1966, he was one of 19 men to be selected as part of NASA's fifth group of astronauts. Following his selection as an astronaut, Lousma immediately went to work by being appointed to the support crews for Apollo 9, Apollo 10 and Apollo 13, before being slated for his own Apollo flight on one of the later missions. The cancellation of Apollo 18, 19 and 20 saw Lousma instead transferred to the Skylab programme, in which he served on the crew of the Skylab 3 flight, spending 59 days in orbit aboard Skylab. Following his Skylab mission, Lousma served as one of the backup crew on the final Apollo mission, ASTP, in 1975, before he was transferred to the Space Shuttle programme.

In 1977, Lousma was appointed as part of the two-man crew of mission STS-2, alongside his fellow Group 5 astronaut Fred Haise. This mission was scheduled for launch in July 1979, and was to use a piece of equipment called the Teleoperator Retrieval System to boost the orbit of Skylab, to allow for the space station's further use. However, delays in the completion of the first shuttle orbiter, Columbia, saw the mission scrubbed. Lousma eventually returned to space in March 1982 as the commander of STS-3, spending a further eight days in space. Lousma retired from NASA in October 1983.

Answer: Robert Donat

Clark Gable was one of Hollywood's biggest and most bankable movie stars when, in 1938, after an exhaustive negotiation, he was cast in David O. Selznick's production of "Gone With The Wind". His performance of the charming and cynical Rhett Butler was regarded as a critical triumph upon the release of the film, even in spite of Gable's own initial reservations. By that point in his career, Gable had been nominated for two Oscars as Best Actor, winning in 1935 for "It Happened One Night". He was one of four members of the cast of "Gone With The Wind" to receive nominations in 1939, as part of the film's overall total of thirteen. However, Gable was beaten to the award by English actor Robert Donat, who won for his leading role in "Goodbye, Mr Chips".

Following the ceremony, Gable is said to have been consoled by his wife, actress Carole Lombard, who reportedly told him "Don't worry, Pappy. We'll bring one home next year". When he replied that he thought "Gone With The Wind" was likely his last chance, his wife is then believed to have said "Not you, you self-centered bastard. I meant me." Despite this, Gable never received another Oscar nomination.

Answer: Hartford Whalers

Gordie Howe made his NHL debut playing for the Detroit Red Wings in October 1946 at the age of 18, having been scouted two years earlier. During the first years of his career, he led the Red Wings to seven consecutive first place regular season finishes and four Stanley Cups. Howe played as a regular in the Red Wings' line-up for 25 years, only retiring in 1971 as a result of a chronic wrist injury. However, although he took a front office job with the Red Wings organization, in 1973 he was offered a playing contract with the Houston Aeros of the newly formed World Hockey Association. Due to the lack of responsibility in his position with the Red Wings, Howe accepted the offer and, following surgery on his wrist, returned to competitive action, leading the Aeros to the WHA championship in 1974 and 1975.

In 1977, Howe moved to the New England Whalers, playing with them for two years before the WHA folded and merged with the NHL. The merger saw four WHA teams, including the renamed Hartford Whalers, move into the NHL. Howe's playing rights had remained with the Red Wings following his 1971 retirement, but they agreed not to recall him, allowing him to play for the Whalers in the NHL. Having missed the latter half of the 1979 season, he recovered and returned to action for the 1980 NHL season at the age of 52, becoming the oldest man to play in the league, scoring 15 goals and a total of 41 points, with his 800th career goal coming against the St Louis Blues in a 3-0 victory at Hartford Civic Center.

Answer: Ena Sharples

Davy Jones was born in Manchester in December 1945. In 1961, he made his acting debut in the 25th broadcast episode of the British soap opera "Coronation Street" on 6 March 1961. Credited as David Jones, he portrayed Colin Lomax, the grandson of the Street's busybody Ena Sharples. In the episode (Jones's only appearance in the series), Colin is pumped for information by his grandmother about what her family are saying behind her back.

Following his appearance in "Coronation Street", Jones had a number of other acting roles, before electing to train as a jockey. However, during his apprenticeship, he was encouraged by horse trainer Basil Foster to audition for the role of The Artful Dodger in the West End production of "Oliver!". He gained the role and played to wide acclaim in both London and New York, where he won a Tony Award. While in America he returned to television while at the same time releasing a single, which led to his becoming one of The Monkees, both in the vocal group and the associated sitcom.

Answer: Doha

Following 19 years of conflict, with NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan during almost the whole of that period, in February 2020 the United States, following a period of negotiation with the insurgent Taliban group, signed an agreement that would see the eventual withdrawal of all NATO forces from the country in return for the Taliban guaranteeing to prevent the Al-Qaeda terrorist group operating in areas it controlled, as well as the Taliban entering into dialogue with the government of Afghanistan. The agreement, undertaken under the administration of President Donald Trump, was signed in the Qatari capital of Doha by Zalmay Khalilzad on behalf of the United States and Abdul Ghani Baradar for the Taliban.

However, three days after the signing, the Taliban resumed insurgent attacks against Afghanistan's security forces. These attacks intensified in the period leading up to August 2021 and the final withdrawal of NATO forces. The Taliban assumed complete control of Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, which led to a major airlift of Afghan civilians seeking to flee the country. The last NATO troops departed on 30 August 2021.