The First of July, August and September Quiz

Answer: Battle of the Somme

World War I, which occurred from 1914 to 1918, had several major battles, such as Gallipoli, Tannenberg, the First and Second Battles of the Marne, Jutland and Verdun. The Battle of the Somme, which took place near the Somme River, saw tanks used for the first time in warfare. On the first day of the battle, the British Army suffered 57,000 casualties, which shows how violent this particular battle was. German casualties in the Somme are estimated to be between 465,000 and 600,000.

Answer: Egypt

July 1 is a very important date for many African countries. On July 1, 1960, Somalia became an independent nation after its both parts, British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland, became the Somali Republic. On July 1, 1962, both Rwanda and Burundi (which was a part of Rwanda under the name of Urundi) gained independence from Belgium, a country which was overseeing them as a UN trust territory. Egypt gained independence from the United Kingdom long before, on February 28, 1922, but this independence was nominal until the early 1950s as Britain continued to station a large number of troops in Egypt.

Answer: International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court is based on the Rome Statute, a document that recognized genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression as four core international crimes with no statute of limitations. The ICC's officers include a President, a Chief Prosecutor and a Registrar.

Some notable figures that have been indicted by the ICC are Libyan Muammar Gaddafi and Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony. The United Nations and individual states can refer cases to the Court.

Answer: Philippines

Manuel L. Quezon was a career politician who held several titles, including Majority Leader of the Philippine House of Representatives, Senator for the Philippines, President of the Senate, and finally President of the Philippines. He also briefly was Secretary of National Defense during his presidency. Quezon died while in exile in the USA.

Corazon Aquino was the eleventh President of the Philippines, and made history as the first Asian female president. She became the leader of the country after Ferdinand Marcos, a dictator who ruled for twenty-one years, was overthrown. Aquino suffered from colorectal cancer and died at the age of 76.

Answer: Olympic Games

The Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics were held from the 1st to the 16th of August. The city beat Barcelona as a host. However, the alternative People's Olympiad was proposed for the Spanish city as a protest against holding the Olympics in Hitler's Nazi Germany. The alternative games were never held because they coincided with the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. African-American athlete Jesse Owens, who competed in track and field events, won four gold medals, much to the dismay of a Hitler who intended to use the Games to prove Aryan supremacy.

These were the last Olympic Games until the 1948 London Olympics, since there was a hiatus due to World War II.

Answer: Islamabad

Islamabad was named the capital of Pakistan on August 1, 1960, four years after the country became an Islamic Republic. The city is located in the northern part of Pakistan, and its name translates to "City of Islam." Islamabad replaced Karachi as the capital city. The city is host to the Pakistan Monument, which symbolizes national unity.

Answer: Poland

Also known as the September Campaign, the invasion of Poland was completed in about a month. Slovakia assisted Germany in the invasion, and the Soviet Union joined them shortly after the beginning of the invasion. One of the most significant events during the invasion was the Siege of Warsaw, the capital of Poland.

The city remained under Nazi control until January of 1945, when it was liberated by the Soviets.

Answer: Georgia

On September 1, 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 entered restricted Soviet airspace in what is believed to be both a pilot error and a navigation error. Since this happened during the Cold War, Soviets believed that the plane was a United States spy plane and after firing warning shots, the plane was shot down. All 269 people on board, most of whom were South Koreans and Japanese, perished. The flight departed from New York and, after stopping in Anchorage, Alaska, it was headed for Seoul, South Korea.

Representative Larry McDonald was one of the passengers of the flight. McDonald was a Democrat who was fiercely opposed to Communism. He was an admirer of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who became famous for "McCarthyism" (a practice of unmasking Communists inside the USA.)

Answer: RMS Titanic

The Titanic was a cruise ship owned by the White Star Line, and was the largest ship of its kind at that time. It began her maiden voyage on April 10, 1912, departing from Southampton, with its final destination being New York City. The ship's captain was Edward Smith.

On September 1, 1985, the expedition led by American maritime archaeologist Robert Ballard found the wreck. This allowed for further exploration of the ship and the items found in it.

Answer: Trade agreement NAFTA went into effect for Mexico, the US and Canada

"O Canada", a song with music composed by Calixa Lavallée and lyrics written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier, was officially adopted as Canada's national anthem on July 1, 1980. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, which provides aerial defense for North American skies, was announced on August 1, 1957. NORAD does an annual, well-known event called "NORAD Tracks Santa" on Christmas Eve. On September 1, 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan became part of the Canadian confederation, which is now formed by 10 provinces.

The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, is a trilateral trade agreement signed between Mexico, the United States and Canada. The treaty eliminates tariffs on many goods and services that cross these borders, facilitating and encouraging trade. Signed by Presidents Bill Clinton and Carlos Salinas, and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, NAFTA went into effect on January 1, 1994.