Four Score and Seven Years Ago Quiz

Answer: 1787

The US Constitution was drafted at the Constitutional Convention that was held between May and September 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Delegates from 12 of the original 13 states participated in the negotiations and drafting process (Rhode Island was the only one not represented). Signatories of the document included the future Presidents, George Washington and James Madison; the first US Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton; and the statesman and inventor, Benjamin Franklin.

Although Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey all ratified the Constitution in December 1787, it wasn't fully ratified until June 1788 and came into force in 1789.

Answer: 1287

St. Lucia's Flood was so called because it took place on December 14th, 1287, one day after the Feast of St. Lucia. The flood resulted from a storm tide in the North Sea which inundated low-lying areas of what is now the modern-day Netherlands and Germany's East Frisia region. Many towns and villages were completely destroyed at the cost of somewhere between 50,000 and 80,000 lives. The coastline of northern Europe was also significantly changed thanks to massive erosion of outlying dunes and islands and the creation of a large inland sea known as the Zuiderzee.

The flood also caused significant damage to other North Sea coastlines, including the Suffolk area of England where a large swathe of the former port city of Dunwich was swept away.

Answer: 1987

The Canadian one-dollar coin was introduced in 1987 to replace the one-dollar bill. On its initial release, the coin was made from nickel with bronze plating, had 11 sides and the image of a common loon swimming through water on the reverse - hence the coin's nickname. Other versions of the loonie have since been circulated, including commemorative editions such as the "Lucky Loonie" Olympic coins. In 2012 the composition of the coins was changed to steel with a brass coating.

The Canadian two-dollar coin, featuring the image of a polar bear, was first released in 1996 and swiftly became known as the "toonie" thanks to the fame of the lower-value coin.

Answer: 1487

Bartolomeu Dias lived from around 1450 to 1500 and is the explorer noted for becoming the first European to sail around the tip of Africa (then thought to be the Cape of Good Hope). His efforts in his ship, the Saint Christopher, helped prove the viability of a shipping trade route to India and the Far East - an important discovery considering the time and expense of sending goods overland.

After setting off in August 1487, Dias and his crew landed in what is now South Africa in March 1488 before returning to Portugal in December 1488 to report the good news to King John II.

Answer: 1087

Several churches and cathedrals have stood on the site of London's St. Paul's Cathedral over the centuries. The medieval St. Paul's Cathedral that occupied it from 1087 until 1666 is believed to have been the fourth such building. Ironically, the most famous victim of the 1666 Great Fire of London had only come into existence itself because of the destruction caused by a major fire in the city in 1087, shortly after the death of William the Conqueror.

The lost medieval St. Paul's Cathedral is generally referred to as "Old St. Paul's", as its full name is now associated with its replacement - Sir Christopher Wren's domed masterpiece.

Answer: 1687

The full title of Sir Isaac Newton's work is 'Philosophić Naturalis Principia Mathematica', which in English means 'Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'. It is considered to be one of the great scientific works from history as it details the various laws of physics formulated by Newton, particularly his three Laws of Motion and his law of universal gravitation.

The first edition of the 'Principia' dated from 1687, but Newton also published two revised editions of the work during his lifetime (in 1713 and 1726), all of which were written in Latin.

It wasn't until after Newton's death in 1727 that the first English translation of the 'Principia' appeared.

Answer: 1187

The Saladin (or Salah ad-Din) was the first Sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty and the military leader who succeeded in overthrowing the Christian states that had sprung up in the Holy Land in the late 11th century as a result of previous western victories during the First Crusade.

In 1187, Saladin won a number of important military battles, including the Battles of Cresson and Hattin, which allowed him to reach the city of Jerusalem (then part of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem). The city was then forced to surrender in October 1187 after a siege and its inhabitants given the choice of paying a ransom for their freedom or being forced into slavery.

Answer: 1387

The Battle of Castagnaro took place during a period of Italian history that is generally referred to as the "Condottieri Age" after the name given to the largely foreign mercenary leaders who were often hired by individual city states to wage war on their neighbours. Modern day Castagnaro is a town located between the cities of Verona and Venice in northern Italy, but in the 14th century it was a handy site close to Verona's borders that proved to be a good place for Sir John Hawkwood and the Paduan forces to attack the Veronese army.

Hawkwood is believed to have fought in the English army during the Hundred Years' War before setting himself up as a mercenary, but there are few records of his existence. In Italy he became known by the nickname 'Giovanni Acuto', or "John the Sharp'.

Answer: 1587

Mary, Queen of Scots gained that title when she was six days old, after the death of her father King James V of Scotland. She spent much of her childhood in France and was briefly married to the French King Francis II. Her cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley became her second husband in 1561 and the father of her son and heir, James.

After Darnley was murdered in suspicious circumstances in 1567, Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her son and eventually fled to England where she sought sanctuary from her cousin Queen Elizabeth I.

However, Elizabeth imprisoned her for nearly 20 years, before signing her death warrant when evidence came to light that Mary had been involved in a plot to assassinate her fellow queen.

Answer: 1887

'A Study in Scarlet' - the first of four novels and over 50 short stories involving the famous "consulting detective" Sherlock Holmes - first appeared in 'Beeton's Christmas Annual' in 1887. It was then reprinted in book form in 1888. In it, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle established the friendship between Holmes and Dr. Watson, described Holmes' unique methods of solving crime and his uncanny ability to deduce facts about people's lives from minor details of their appearance or behaviour.

Conan Doyle continued writing Sherlock Holmes stories until 1927, although he did originally intend to end the series much earlier. He killed off Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls in 1893's 'The Adventure of the Final Problem' but later brought him back after pressure from fans.