History Through Song Trivia Quiz

Answer: Man will live for evermore

Christ's birth has been detailed by the Evangelists Luke and Matthew, and was mentioned by Josephus, a first century historian from Judea. Christmas carols became very popular during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and enjoyed a marked rise in popularity in the 19th century, with many new carols being written, and with the rediscovery of late medieval carols. Many famous groups and singers have continued to make Christmas carols an important addition to their repertoire.

'Mary's Boy Child' was written in 1956 and was first famously sung by Harry Belafonte.

Answer: Colonel Jackson

The Battle of New Orleans was the last major battle of the American-British War fought from 1812 to 1815. Andrew Jackson led the American forces of soldiers and militia against the much larger British army. Despite early successes, the British suffered heavy casualties and were eventually forced to withdraw, effectively handing victory to the Americans.

Answer: Three

The gunfight lasted only 30 seconds, and at the end of this period of intense firing, the cowboys Billy Clanton, and brothers Tom and Frank McLaury lay dead.
Of the lawmen, Doc Holliday, Virgil and Morgan Earp were wounded, with Wyatt Earp remaining unscathed.

Answer: Black Friday

In 1869 wealthy American businessmen began buying and stockpiling gold in an attempt to corner the market and drive gold prices up. However, the US Federal government did not want to have the price of gold manipulated to this extent and responded by "dumping" millions of dollars worth of gold onto the market - thereby dramatically forcing the price of gold down. Many investors were ruined, or suffered a worse fate, as is detailed in Steely Dan's lyrics :
"When Black Friday comes, I'll stand by the door
And catch the gray men when they dive from the fourteenth floor."

Answer: Seattle

Of the thousands that sailed north from Seattle to the Klondike, less than half actually made it to the goldfields, with only a very small number finding gold.
The combination of terrible mountainous conditions, and freezing weather drove many away. The gold rush on the Klondike lasted only 3 years (1896-99).

Answer: First World War

The satirical song 'Oh! What a lovely war' was written in 1917, at the very time when WWI was bogged down in the muddy killing fields of Europe. The war eventually resulted in the deaths of 10 million military and 7 million civilians (with another 20 million wounded).
The song's title was eventually used as the name of a play and movie musical (with the title "Oh! What a Lovely War") - both with strong anti-war themes.

Answer: Hood

In May 1941, the largest German battleship Bismarck was ordered into the North Atlantic to attack allied convoys carrying supplies to Britain.
However, the ship was spotted by British aircraft. On Winston Churchill's specific orders, several British warships began a major hunt for the German ship and eventually caught up with the Bismarck as the ship headed towards port.
During an exchange of gunfire between the two adversaries, a salvo from the Bismarck struck the Hood and penetrated the magazine. The resulting explosion blew the ship to pieces, with only three survivors from a total complement of 1,418 sailors.
Several days later, after the Bismarck had been disabled by carrier based aircraft, the remaining British warships attacked, and after several hours of intense bombardment sank the pride of the German Fleet. (According to some sources, the crew scuttled the ship).

Answer: Londonderry, Northern Ireland

On Sunday 30 January, a Civil Rights protest involving about 10,000 people took place in Derry. The main reason for the protest was the seeming loss of basic civil rights during the British Army policing of Northern Ireland during the "Irish Troubles" .

The British paratroopers involved in controlling the protest opened fire on the crowd after the troops had come under attack from bottle throwing protestors. After the gunfire had ceased, 13 protestors lay dead, and another 13 were wounded. Despite the Army's assertions that some of the protestors were armed, an official government enquiry found no evidence that this had been the case.

Answer: 29

The ship was the biggest one to carry ore on the North American Great lakes. Nobody survived the wreck, and the exact cause of the ship's sinking is unknown. However, the incident led to several safety features being mandated for ships sailing on the Lakes.

Answer: Little security to prevent people just walking in without paying.

Despite early projections that there would not be enough tickets sold to cover the cost of the event, a huge crowd of people turned up. Lack of adequate fencing and security allowed most of these attendees to simply walk into the area of the festival without paying.
Poor services such as water and toilets, few food outlets and little parking caused major issues - capped off with heavy rain which turned much of the site into a quagmire. However most people had a ball, and the Rock Concert era was definitely here to stay.