Years Almost Everyone Knows! Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1066

On 14th October 1066 almost 10,000 men led by Duke William II of Normandy met the Anglo-Saxon forces of King Harold II. The decisive conflict took place seven miles outside of Hastings near the present-day Sussex town of Battle. King Harold was killed, giving the crown to William the Conqueror and thus beginning centuries of Norman rule.

Trouble began with the childless death of King Edward the Confessor in January of 1066. A succession struggle began leading to Harold's coronation. Harold was forced to fight at Stamford Bridge in the north of England against his brother Tostig and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada. Meanwhile, William landed an invasion force on the Southern coast of England. After earning victory at Stamford Bridge, Harold marched south at a furious pace to meet William's threat. This hurried campaign exhausted Harald's troops and is often cited as a reason for William the Conqueror's relatively easy triumph. A pictorial depiction of the 1066 Battle of Hastings is recorded on the historic Bayeux tapestry.

Answer: Thomas Becket

The 12th century is characterized by power struggles and religious conflict throughout Europe. Around 1119, the Knights Templar were created to protect Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Two major crusades followed the First Crusade of the late 11th century. Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury cathedral in cold blood by four knights of King Henry II's court. Becket had served as Archbishop of Canterbury since 1162 but had fallen out of favor with the king.

His death was considered a martyrdom and the pope canonized Thomas Becket in 1173.

Answer: Magna Carta

The Magna Carta Libertatum was signed by King John at Runnymede near Windsor. John was an unpopular king and signing this charter guaranteed him support from the rebel barons. The charter promised protection of church rights, clear laws on land rights, and limitations on feudal payments that were mandated to be made to the King. In the years that followed both sides reneged on their respective commitment and the Great Charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III which initiated the First Barons' War. King John died and his son Henry III ascended to the throne. The Magna Carta was reissued in 1216 and again in 1217. The document was again revised and re-released in 1225 and was followed by a repeated release in 1297 by Edward I which ensured the document and its contents would become a part of England's statute law as it was passed by Parliament.

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Please do NOT send corrections to the effect that King John only had his seal attached to Magna Carta and didn't actually sign it. In normal English usage it has become standard practice to say that he signed it.

Answer: Battle of Bannockburn

King Edward I of England was determined to not concede Scottish lands. Although the Scots had won an important battle at Stirling Bridge in 1297, Edward's forces crushed the Scottish army at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. By 1304, Scotland was once more under the thumb of the English. However, Robert the Bruce took the Scottish throne in 1306 and amassed a significant army of Scottish supporters. Robert the Bruce laid siege to Stirling castle and despite being smaller in number destroyed the English forces at Bannockburn thus ensuring Scottish independence.

Answer: 1492

Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy, the son of a middle-class wool weaver. He was largely self-educated and fascinated by the ocean and exploration. This fascination took him to the Spanish court where he petitioned the King and Queen of Spain to sponsor his voyage to find a Western route to the Orient. It took him over two years to win the favor of the Spanish monarchs. But in 1492, he sailed out of Palos de la Frontera on the Santa Maria. The two accompanying ships were named the Nina and the Pinta.

Answer: Martin Luther

Martin Luther is often cited as the man who kick-started the Reformation in Europe which in turn heralded the advent of the Renaissance. Luther lived in Germany and attended the University or Erfurt to study law. He dropped out of law school and chose instead to follow studies in theology.

He enrolled at Wittenberg University and would ultimately earn his doctorate in theology. His religious convictions saw him ordained to the priesthood in 1507. Ten years later, he grew continually frustrated at the practice of selling indulgences.

This led to authoring a public document on the subject and the demonstrative nailing of 95 theses to the Church door at Wittenberg.

Answer: 1666

On Sunday September 2nd 1666, at a bakery on Pudding Lane, the Great Fire of London began. Powerful winds, dry wooden structures, and the indecisiveness of Sir Thomas Bloodworth (Lord Mayor of London) all contributed to the fire burning out of control. Three days later the fire had destroyed over 13,000 homes and businesses, 87 churches, and made almost 80,000 people homeless.

Some historians argue that the Great Fire of London was in fact a great blessing. Just a year earlier, the Bubonic Plague had taken the lives of over 75,000 Londoners.

The fire is believed to have wiped out the rats that carried the plague. The fire also caused the City of London to be rebuilt, and beautiful churches and buildings courtesy of the brilliant architect Christopher Wren dot the city background today. One last interesting fact, the fire started in Pudding Lane but was stopped finally in Pye Corner.

Answer: 1776

In Philadelphia on July 4th 1776 the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress. This document declared that thirteen of the original American states (colonies) were no longer going to recognize sovereignty of the British Empire but rather would combine to form a new nation - "The United States of America." Although John Adams led the charge for Independence it was Thomas Jefferson who drafted the original document.

Interestingly, the term "Declaration of Independence" is not used anywhere in the document, although this is precisely what the manuscript was. Signing this declaration was an act of treason punishable by death, yet 56 signatories placed their "John Hancock" on the dotted line. John Hancock was actually a signatory who had the largest signature.

Answer: United States and United Kingdom

The War of 1812 is scarcely a footnote in the history textbooks of children in the United Kingdom. However, American patriots remember the 2 1/2 year conflict as an important reinforcement to the Declaration of Independence of 1776. The War of 1812 was initiated on June 18th of 1812 when the United States of America declared war on Britain, their North American colonies, and their Indian allies. Battles were fought at sea on important trade routes and on land in the North and in the South.

The war officially ended on December 24th, 1814 with the signing of a treaty with Britain officially recognizing U.S. sovereignty to lands and borders in North America.

It took some weeks for news of the Treaty of Ghent to reach North America and fighting continued till January 18th 1815.

Answer: 1945

World War II lasted from 1939 until 1945 and, in Europe, it was arguably a continuation of the unrest that impacted the continent following the conclusion of World War I in 1918. From 1937, Japan was at war with China. However, the accepted date for the start of World War II is September 1st 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.

This act of aggression caused Britain and France to declare war on Germany. Over the course of the next six years all of the world powers would become involved. The main protagonists included the Allied Powers led by Stalin (Soviet Union), Churchill (Britain), and Roosevelt (America).

The enemy leadership included the Axis powers of Germany (Adolf Hitler), Italy (Benito Mussolini), and Japan (Hirohito). The conflict would eventually end after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Germany surrendered May 8th 1945 and Japan followed on August 15th thus ending one of the bloodiest conflicts - possibly the bloodiest - that the world had ever seen.