In With The News: The Headlines for January 1st Quiz

Answer: Scotland

Charles II became king of England, Scotland and Ireland in May 1660 and the coronation took place in Scotland on January 1 1661 and in England on April 23 1661. Later that year a Scottish army led by Charles invaded England, but was defeated by Cromwell's forces at the Battle of Worcester on September 3. Charles went into hiding in England and eventfully fled to France.

Answer: Amazing Grace

"Amazing Grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me..."

John Newton had had a varied life before a spiritual experience turned him to the Church of England ministry. He had been a sailor and captain of slave ships and had once been held prisoner by an African princess.

As a priest, he was a noted hymn writer and the hymn we now call "Amazing Grace" was written for a sermon he delivered on New Year's Day in 1773. (The tune we now use was not one that he wrote.)

Answer: Massachusetts

During the Siege of Boston, the Grand Union Flag was raised by Washington in Somerville, Massachusetts, at a site now known as Prospect Hill Tower. The tower marks fortifications used by the American forces during the Revolutionary War. The flag showed 13 horizontal red and white stripes, with the Union Jack (of that time period) in the top left corner.

The flag had earlier been flown on a warship. It fell out of use in June 1777, when a new 'stars and stripes' banner came into use.

Answer: The Times

"The Daily Universal Register" was first published in 1775 before changing its name. From 1788, "The Times" became regarded as one of the most authoritative and influential newspapers in the United Kingdom. It is as one of the oldest daily newspapers still in production in Great Britain.

Answer: Cigarettes

For years concerns over the health issues associated with smoking had been growing. And yet the industry had been pushing its products intensely. By 1969, cigarette companies were the largest advertisers on American television.
President Richard Nixon, a pipe smoker, signed the legislation in April 1970 and it came into effect on January 2 1971. The strange date was to allow the tobacco companies a last hurrah of advertising during New Year's Day college bowl football games. The last commercial was aired during "The Johnny Carson Show" at 11.50pm on January 1, 1971.

Answer: Ellis Island

Between 1892 and 1954, the first landfall for some 12 million immigrants was Ellis Island in the harbour of New York City. In the facility details of the new arrivals were noted. They were then tested for a range of illnesses. All these requirements were completed within three to five hours. Just two percent were denied entry.

It has become something of an urban myth that some immigrants were required to change their names. Some did voluntarily, but there was no requirement to do so. Nowadays, Ellis Island is a tourist amenity, with some four million visitors each year.

Answer: Made first mobile phone call

The call made by Ernie Wise was from St Katherine's Dock in London. This was a publicity stunt for the fledgling Vodafone network. A few hours earlier, the first actual credited mobile call the UK was made by Michael Harrison to his father Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.

The first mobile call anywhere is believed to have been made by Martin Cooper of Motorola to Dr. Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs on April 3, 1973.

Answer: Fulgencio Batista

Batista was a soldier who came to power after a coup in 1933. He promoted himself to colonel and was elected president of Cuba in 1940. Between 1952 and 1959 he was de facto dictator, backed by the USA. By the late 1950s, Batista became convinced he was on the losing side against the Communist rebels led by Castro. Early on the morning of January 1, 1959, he and close relatives and supporters fled by air to the Dominican Republic. During his years of oppression, up to 4,000 Cubans were killed by government forces.

Answer: Townes Van Zandt

Steve Earle famously proclaimed "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the word and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and tell him that". To which, Van Zandt is said to have retorted that he had seen Dylan's bodyguard's and if Earle thought he could be so presumptuous, he was sadly mistaken.

John Townes Van Zandt was a troubled musical genius. In early life he had electro-shock treatment to the brain to "cure" perceived health issues. Van Zandt came from Texan oil money. His songs were musical, lyrical and very poignant - even if some were a little strange. His career suffered from bad management and lack of proper promotion. Van Zandt did not seem to mind: he was happy to take the royalty cheques, buy a jug of wine and go off drinking with his buddies.

Officially the cause of death was given as a heart attack. Van Zandt had been recovering from surgery on a hip he had broken months before on a tour of Europe. Unofficially, that was probably caused by a mixture of legal drugs for his condition and others he had been using throughout his career. The hero referred to in the 'headline'; was Hank Williams, who died on January 1 1953.

See "The Late Great Townes Van Zandt " on this quiz site.

Answer: United Kingdom

The Euro formally came into being in eleven nations. The new notes and coins had a unifying theme, while individual countries could add an image of their own; for example, the Republic of Ireland retained the traditional harp on one face of all coins. The UK stayed out of the Eurozone for the remainder of its time in the European Union, which ended in January 2020.