History Around the World 10 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Haiti

Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola in December 1492 and claimed the territory for Spain. Haiti became a French colony in 1697 as part of the Treaty of Ryswick, which ended hostilities between France and Spain. On January 1 1804, Haiti declared independence, although France refused to recognize its independence until 1825. Haiti thus became the first independent nation in Latin America and the first black-led republic in the world.

It remains today the only nation to be born from a slave revolt.

Answer: Lesotho

Letsie III became king in 1990 when his father, Moshoeshoe II, was forced into exile. His father's monarchy was restored in January 1995, but Letsie III became King again a year later when his father was killed in a motoring accident. Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy, so most of the King's royal duties are purely ceremonial.

Answer: 4

King George VI reigned from the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, in December 1936 until his death at the age of just 56 in February 1952. He was the last Emperor of India and the first 'Head of the Commonwealth'. There were four different Prime Ministers during his reign, Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain, Sir Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee.

Answer: 250th

A sestercentennial celebrates the 250th anniversary of something. In Latin, 2½ would be expressed as 'half-three' -- meaning 'being halfway from the second to the third integer. This is 'Sestertius', a contraction of 'semis' (halfway) and 'tertius' (third). Adding 'centennial' to make sestercentennial means halfway from the second 100 to the third, ergo 250.
Alternative descriptions for a 250th anniversary are semiquincentennial, bicenquinquagenary and quarter-millennial.

Answer: South Korea

Born in 1875, Syngman Rhee was already 73 years old when he became the President of the Republic of Korea in 1948, shortly after liberation at the end of WWII. The Korean War, which began in June 1950, dominated most of his almost 12 years in office. Although the 84-year old won a fourth term in office in 1960, Rhee was forced to flee the country soon after.

He died in exile in Hawaii in 1965.

Answer: Harold Macmillan

Harold Macmillan was born on February 10, 1894 and died on December 29, 1986, 43 days before his 93rd birthday. Edward Heath, who also died in 2005, lived to be 89 years old and holds the record amongst modern PMs for living the longest after leaving office (31 years 135 days), although the 18th Century PM, the 3rd Duke of Grafton, lived more than 41 years after his tenure as PM ended. Margaret Thatcher was born on October 13 1925 and died in April 2013, more than five years short of Callaghan's record.

Answer: Namibia

The area that now comprises Namibia became the German colony of German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika) in 1884. South Africa occupied the territory in 1915 during WWI and at the end of the war continued to administer the region under a League of Nations mandate. Namibia gained full independence from South Africa on March 21, 1990.

Answer: Drowning

They all drowned. Buckley died accidentally while swimming in a channel of the Mississippi River. Jones, a member of the '27 Club' (the age at which they all died), was found at the bottom of a swimming pool. Gilbert suffered a heart attack while trying to rescue a young girl from a lake. Shelley died while sailing in a storm, although there are theories both that he was murdered and that he committed suicide.
Other famous people who have drowned include actress Natalie Wood, Nazi Josef Mengele, publishing magnate Robert Maxwell and writer Virginia Wolff.

Answer: 2

By far the oldest serving US President was Ronald Reagan, who left office in 1989 just 16 days before his 78th birthday. The only other member of the 70-year old Presidents club is Dwight Eisenhower, whose eight years as President ended three months after his 70th birthday.

He left office in 1961 aged 70 years and 98 days. George H W Bush would have passed his 70th birthday in office if he had won a second term - he was 68 years and 222 days when his term in the White House ended in January 1993.

Answer: 15th

Merchant, diplomat, writer and printer William Caxton was born in Kent, England sometime between 1415 and 1422. Caxton's first production in England was a version of Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' printed in 1476. In 1484, he produced the earliest verses of The Bible known to be printed in English. He died in 1492.