What Happened in the World on 6th August? Multiple Choice Quiz | History

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. On 6th August 1914 Denis Patrick Dowd Jr. enlisted in a fighting regiment and became the first American to fight in WWI. What was this regiment?

Answer: French Foreign Legion

Dowd was a graduate of Columbia University and due to a loophole was not obliged to forfeit his American citizenship because at that time in the FFL you were not obliged to swear an oath to France only to the Legion. Sadly, Dowd was killed in August 1916 after an aeroplane accident.
The other three regiments fought in WWI

2. On this day in 1661 the north-eastern part of Brazil was sold to Portugal for the equivalent of 63 tonnes of gold. Which country sold this area of Brazil to Portugal?

Answer: The Netherlands

The area was known as Dutch Brazil or New Holland and the sale took place at the Treaty of The Hague. The Dutch and Portuguese had been at war for many years and their failure to capture important ports like Salvador led Dutch politicians to believe that in this area commerce would a more profitable enterprise than maintaining territories. They therefore negotiated a treaty ceding the territory to Portugal.

3. On August 6, 1819 the first private military college was established at which university in the USA?

Answer: Norwich University (Vermont)

There are only six senior military colleges in the USA that offer Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs. All of the above fit this category plus Virginia Military Institute (Virginia) and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia).

4. On this day in 1911 an American comedienne was born. With her Cuban husband of 20 years they starred together in a much loved TV series in the 1950s. Who was this lady?

Answer: Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball starred with her husband Desi Arnaz in the TV classic "I Love Lucy" for many years. Gracie Allen (1895-1964) played opposite her husband George Burns in the TV comedy "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show".

Phyllis Diller (1917-2012) and Betty White (born 1922) were also comediennes.

5. Name the artist who was born on this day in 1928 who coined the expression "15 minutes of fame" and was a leading figure in the visual art movement (also known as pop art)?

Answer: Andy Warhol (USA)

Andy Warhol ((1928 - 1987) and George Segal (1924-2000) both painted pop art, whereas Dali (1904-1989) painted surrealism and Demuth (1883-1935) painted 'precisionism' (sometimes also called 'Cubist-Realism'). After a successful career as a commercial illustrator he turned his attention to art and became a somewhat controversial artist. The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh is the largest museum in the USA dedicated to a single artist.

6. On this day in 1945 a dramatic event happened that precipitated the end of WWII. What was this event?

Answer: Bombing of Hiroshima

An atomic bomb named "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima by the B-29 bomber flown by Colonel Paul Tibbets. After a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki Japan surrendered on 2nd September bringing an end to WWII. The D-Day landings at Normandy occurred on 6th June 1944, Hitler's suicide took place on 30th April 1945 and Berlin fell to the Red Army 2nd May 1945.

7. On this day in 1948 Bob Mathias (USA) at 17 years of age became the youngest Olympic Gold medallist in Track and Field. Which event did he win the gold medal?

Answer: Decathlon

Robert "Bob" Mathias (1930-2006) also won gold in the same event at the Helsinki Olympics 1952. He also spent two and half years in the US Marine Corps and in 1966 was elected to the US House of Representatives, serving four two-year terms.

8. On this day in 1972 name the golfer who won the US PGA tournament?

Answer: Gary Player (South Africa)

Gary Player also won the tournament in 1962. Jack Nicklaus won this tournament five times (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1980). David Graham won the tournament in 1979. This is the only" major" of golf that Arnold Palmer did not win.

9. On this day in 1989, which production stopped performing at the Edison Theatre (New York City) after 5,959 performances at the same location?

Answer: Oh! Calcutta!

Oh! Calcutta! opened at the theatre on September 24, 1976. The other three productions also appeared on Broadway but none with the same longevity at the
same theatre as Oh! Calcutta!. The production attracted plenty of media controversy and criticism as many of the sketches/scenes were sex related topics with total nudity at times for both male and female actors and actresses.

10. I was born on 6th August 1917 and was a film actor, author, compose and singer. However, I am best known for my film roles in "River of No Return" opposite Marilyn Monroe, "Not as a Stranger", "The Enemy Below", "Cape Fear", "The Longest Day", "Ryan's Daughter" and many more. Who am I?

Answer: Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum (1917-1997) is lesser-known for his musical talents. He recorded two albums and a few singles and he sang the title song in the western "Young Billy Young" (1969).

All of these actors' paths crossed in the movie industry during the 1950s to the 1970s.

Source: Author zambesi

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

What Happened in the World on 6th August? Quiz

The 6th August is my birthday so why not recall some of the happenings on this day in history?

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