Historical Mixed bag Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Sumerian version of the "Epic of Gilgamesh" dates from around 2100 BC and relates the adventures and travels of a fabled Mesopotamian king. According to the Sumerian list of kings, Gilgamesh was the 5th king of Uruk. There is a lack of direct evidence but most historians consider Gilgamesh to have been an actual as opposed to mythical figure. He is believed to have reigned in the 26th century BC.

The "Book of the Dead" is an Egyptian text dating from around 1240 BC and relates to funery rights and the souls journey to the afterlife.

"The Necronomicon" is a fictional book of magic spells invented by H. P. Lovecraft in 1923.

"The Grand Grimoire" is a book written in Italian in the 13th century which contains instructions on how to summon Lucifer.

Answer: Granicus

The Battle of Granicus River in 334 BC was Alexander's first major battle against the Persian Empire. Fought in modern day Turkey near the site of Troy, Alexander defeated an army of Persians and Greek mercenaries under the Greek general, Memnon. Each army had roughly 30,000 soldiers.
In the Battle of Issus (again modern Turkey) in 333 BC Alexander defeated Darius III and his army of some 120,000 with a force of around only 30,000. It was here he captured Darius' harem including a large part of his treasury, his mother, wife and children.
At Gaugamela (modern Iraq) in 331 BC Alexander's 45,000 strong army faced a Persian horde of around 250,000 with 200 chariots. Here Alexander finally defeated Darius and declared himself King of Asia.
The battle of the Hydaspes River was fought in 326 BC against the Indian king Purushotthama (better known as Porus) in present-day Pakistan. The armies were closely matched at 55,000 under Alexander compared to 35,000 under Porus, however, Porus deployed 200 war elephants. Alexander won but his army refused to go any further into India. It was considered Alexander's bloodiest battle; he himself was seriously wounded and his famous horse, Bucephalus was killed.

Answer: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Nero was the last of the dynasty, ruling from 55-68AD when he was deposed and committed suicide.

Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus was better known as Caligula, a nickname meaning 'little boots' from when the army adopted him as a child mascot and dressed him in a miniature soldier's outfit including small boots.

Imperator Caesar Augustus or Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus as he was previously known was the adopted son of (Gaius) Julius Caesar and the first Emperor of Rome. Tiberius Caesar Augustus was the adopted son of Augustus and second Emperor of Rome. He spent much of his rule in solitude on the island of Capri.

Answer: Amerigo Vespucci

Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian merchant and cartographer who made numerous voyages to the New World between 1499 and 1504. His explorations along the east coast of South America convinced him that a new continent had been discovered, although most people still believed it to be East Asia.
The role of Vespucci in exploring the Americas has been disputed and some claim his accounts are exaggerated or even fabricated. However, it appears that the widespread circulation of his claims led Martin Waldseemüller to name the new continent America (Latin for of Amerigo) on his world map in 1507.
Portuguese navigator, Magellan (1480-1521) lead an expedition which was the first to circumnavigate the globe although he died en-route in the Philippines, killed in a skirmish with Cebuano tribesmen under King Lapu Lapu.
Spaniard, Cortes (1485-1547) conquered and enslaved the Aztecs.
Quesada (1509-1579) was a Spanish conquistador who searched for mythical El Dorado. He is believed to have inspired Cervantes' Don Quixote.

Answer: Carried a detachment of Marines

Evidence suggests that there were plenty of fresh rations on HMAV (His Majesty's Armed Vessel) Bounty and that the then Lieutenant Bligh in fact was less draconian in handing out punishment than his peers in the Royal Navy. In fact he had three deserters flogged when the accepted punishment was hanging and during his command only 19% of his crew were flogged at an average rate of 1.5 lashes per man.

The Navy average was 22% at a rate of 5 lashes per man. Bligh allowed the crew of Bounty extended shore leave on Tahiti whilst collecting breadfruit plants.

Many of them developed relationships with the local women and the Ship's Mate, Fletcher Christian actually married one. A desire to return to the luxurious life of sun, sea, sand and sex on Tahiti may have been a major factor in the mutiny of the sailors. Unusually, Bligh had no Marines on the Bounty and he made sure he had them on future voyages to protect the interests of the ship.

Answer: Sir Henry Pottinger

Born in Belfast, Sir Henry Pottinger was a British soldier and colonial administrator. He joined the British East India Company in 1809 and later explored much of the land between India and Persia. He became the second British Administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 and the first Governor in 1843.
Sir John Davis was Governor 1844-8, Sir Samuel Bonham 1858-54 and Sir John Bowring 1854-59. Captain Elliot was the first Administrator in 1841.

Answer: Spanish Flu

The Spanish Flu Pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza Pandemic, was a strain of influenza (a virus as opposed to "plague", which is caused by bacteria). It killed somewhere between 30 to 50 million people world-wide in 1918-9. It was frequently called Spanish Flu as during the Great War the pandemic received greater press attention in Spain than in the rest of the world. This was because Spain was not involved in the war and there was no censorship. In Spain it was called The French Flu.

The Black Death (bubonic plague) was an epidemic that struck Europe in the mid-14th century and is estimated to have killed about a third of the population - equivalent to about 30 million people.

The Italian Plague of 1629-1631 was a series of outbreaks of bubonic plague which claimed about one-third of a million lives.

The Third Pandemic began in China in 1855 and spread bubonic plague to all inhabited continents killing more than 12 million people in India and China alone. According to the World Health Organization the pandemic was considered active until 1959.

Answer: Mosquito

The de Havilland Mosquito was a twin engine aircraft made of plywood, spruce and balsa at a time when wood construction was considered obsolete. The Mosquito was conceived as an extremely fast bomber that could outrun fighters and hence dispense with defensive armament, however, due to its speed, agility and durability it was also used as a fighter.

It had the lowest loss rate of any aircraft in RAF Bomber Command. The RAF found that it had proved four times cheaper than the Lancaster in terms of useful damage done, and they have never specified a defensive gun on a bomber since.

Answer: Eagle

"Eagle" comic was created by the Reverend Marcus Morris who intended it as an alternative to American post-war comics. He produced a high quality comic involving teams of graphic artists such as Frank Hampson and Frank Bellamy. The "Eagle", featuring spaceman character Dan Dare, became the most popular comic in British history, selling over 2 million copies per week.

Answer: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

SARS is an atypical form of pneumonia with a 10% mortality rate. It appeared in November 2002 in Guangdong Province, China. The disease spread rapidly across the World via international travellers. There were 8,069 recorded cases of SARS and 775 deaths.