It happened on 3 August Trivia Quiz

Answer: Landed his plane near Red Square in Moscow

In May 1987 Rust, a 19-year-old West German amateur aviator, flew his rented Cessna from Finland to Moscow. He intended to land in the Kremlin, but due to insufficient landing space, he landed on Vasilevski Spusk, an open space near to St Basil's Cathedral, next to Red Square.

He was arrested and sentenced to 4 years in a labour camp but was released after 432 days. Some sources claimed that the fact that Rust landed freely in the centre of Moscow was proof that the Soviet Union had no credible air defences.

However, Rust was tracked for most of his flight path. The reason he was allowed to continue his flight was because Soviet air defences were forbidden to act aggressively towards a civilian aircraft

Answer: Cavern Club, Liverpool

The Beatles made their first appearance at the Cavern Club on Tuesday February 21, 1961 and it was at the Cavern that Brian Epstein first saw them on 9 November 1961. He became their manager at a time when they had been struggling without success for several years and was the major force behind their success. From late 1962 the Beatles were experiencing enormous success in Britain after getting a recording contract with Parlophone, and their slot at the Cavern Club was taken over by the Hollies in 1963.

Answer: France

Following the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo in June 1914, the system of alliances swung into action. The Austro-Hungarians feared that Russia would support the Serbs against Austria and so declared war against Russia. Germany was bound by alliance to support Austria, and France to support Russia. Germany therefore declared war on France on 3 August and invaded through Belgium. As a result the UK invoked their guarantee of Belgian neutrality and declared war on Germany on 4 August. Britain was also allied with France in the Entente Cordiale.

Answer: Waiting for Godot

Beckett (1906-1989) was an Irish dramatist, novelist and poet. His work is stark and pessimistic about the human condition. "Waiting for Godot" is his most renowned play, with two tramps waiting for a character (Godot) who never appears. Although the play had been a controversial success in Paris, it was not well received when it was first performed in London. Later it was to be considered a classic and is still performed today.

Answer: Spain

Columbus had tried to get support from Portugal, Genoa and Venice in Italy, and Henry VII of England. Finally it was Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain who agreed to sponsor him in his plan to find a route to the East by sailing westwards. On 12 October 1492, just over two months after the start of his voyage, he sighted land and named the island San Salvador. He also explored the northern coast of Cuba and Hispaniola. Columbus made 3 more voyages to the "Indies" but although he explored the coasts of Central and South America, he never realised that he had discovered a new continent.

Answer: Irish

Roger Casement was an Irish nationalist. In 1914, when the First World War broke out, Casement tried to secure German aid for Irish independence. The Germans saw the advantage they could gain from an uprising in Ireland. However, the weapons that they sent to Ireland never arrived as the ship carrying them was intercepted by the British. Casement returned to Ireland in a German submarine, but was arrested and charged with treason, sabotage and espionage against the Crown. He was hanged at Pentonville Prison in London.

Answer: Nautilus

USS Nautilus, launched in January 1954, was the first nuclear powered vessel of the US Navy and broke all submerged speed and distance records. On 23 July 1958, Nautilus left Pearl Harbour in Hawaii under top secret to conduct "Operation Sunshine," the first crossing of the north pole by a ship. At 11.15 pm on 3 August 1958, Nautilus' Commanding Officer announced to his crew "For the world, Our Country, and the Navy - the North Pole."

Answer: Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen (real name Ramon Gerardo Antonio Estevez) was born in Dayton, Ohio to a Spanish father and Irish mother. Determined from a young age to become an actor he moved to New York in 1959 and gradually won recognition, initially on stage and then in over seventy films since 1967. He played President Josiah Bartlet in the TV series "The West Wing" for seven seasons between 1999 and 2006.

Answer: Berlin

The Berlin Games were intended by Hitler and Nazi Germany to be a showcase of Aryan racial superiority. However the hero of the games was the African-American who won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4 x 100m relay. Although it was claimed that Hitler left the stadium early so that he did not have to present Owens with his medal, this 'myth' has now been discredited.

Answer: Calvin Coolidge

Coolidge was Vice President to Warren Harding who died suddenly in California on 2 August, while on a cross-country "Voyage of Understanding". At 2.30 on the morning of 3 August 1923, Calvin Coolidge received word that he was President. He was visiting his his family home in Vermont at the time, and came downstairs to greet the reporters who had assembled. By the light of a kerosene lamp, his father, who was a notary public, administered the oath of office as Coolidge placed his hand on the family Bible.

Answer: Cyprus

Makarios became Archbishop of Cyprus in 1950. He was an active supporter of "Enosis", the union of Cyprus with Greece. The British, however, were reluctant to lose Cyprus because of its important position at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Makarios was seen as a trouble-maker by the British and was exiled to the Seychelles for a year.

He was then persuaded by the British to abandon "Enosis" in favour of independence and when Cyprus became independent in 1960, he became its first President.

Answer: Joseph Paxton

Paxton was Head Gardener at the Duke of Devonshire's estate at Chatsworth in Derbyshire and designed several glasshouses, pioneering the use of cast iron and prefabricated glass in their structures. In 1850, the Commission appointed to organise the Great Exhibition had failed to find a suitable design for a building for the Exhibition. Paxton is said to have sketched his ideas on a sheet of blotting paper. When completed, his design was accepted. It was a revolutionary design with modular prefabricated iron structures and the use of glass, and took just eight months to build.

Answer: Edmonton

The British Empire Games started in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario. They became known as the Commonwealth Games in 1974. At Edmonton in 1978, the Queen was the first ever reigning monarch to open the Games.

Answer: Rupert Brooke

The lines are from Rupert Brooke's fifth War Sonnet, "The Soldier", written in 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War. Brooke joined the Navy in October 1914. He sailed with the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in February 1915, but developed septic pneumonia from an infected mosquito bite. He died on April 23, 1915 on his way to Gallipoli and was buried on the island of Skyros, Greece. His early death enhanced his reputation as a poet and his five idealistic War Sonnets inspired patriotism in the early days of the First World War.

Answer: Otis

In 1852 Elisha Graves Otis invented a safety device that prevented elevators from falling if the cable broke. This increased public confidence in elevators which were essential in the skyscrapers that were being built. The company he founded became the Otis Elevator Company.