Cities of Dreaming Spires Trivia Quiz

Answer: University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne was established in 1853 and was the second university, after the University of Sydney, to be established in Australia. Whilst it doesn't have the dreaming spires of Oxford it does have an underground car park that was used to great cinematic effect in the first 'Mad Max' movie.

Answer: F W de Klerk University

F W de Klerk was the last President of South Africa under apartheid. He was succeeded as president by Nelson Mandela, a transition which saw the end of white minority rule in that country. Whilst there is no university named for de Klerk, there is a Nelson Mandela University located in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

As I was writing this quiz I kept thinking how the University of Witwatersrand would be a name that might not be out of place in 'Game of Thrones'.

Answer: University of St Andrews

Prince William, Duke of York, met his future wife Catherine Middleton at St Andrews where they were both students. Both Prince William and Catherine graduated with Master of Art degrees. Whilst Oxford and Cambridge are very real universities, the Unseen University can only be found in the works and very vivid imagination of Terry Pratchett.

Answer: University of Regina

The other universities are Canadian universities with queenly/regal names,
but none of them are located in Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan.

Answer: University of Canterbury

It was in Canterbury Cathedral in England that Thomas Becket, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in 1170. The lovely New Zealand has eight universities including the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. The other three are also universities in New Zealand.

Answer: Abertay University, Scotland

There are some unusual courses on offer in the UK. At Cornwall College they offer a course in 'surf science and technology' (as of 2019). For those musically minded you could have studied 'DJ practice' at the University of Central Lancashire. And for all you fans of Mary Berry, the London South Bank University offered a course on 'baking science and technology'.

Answer: France

The origins of the University of Paris, usually known as the Sorbonne, do go back to the 12th century, but it was abolished during the French Revolution in 1793, before being re-established by Napoleon in 1806. The Sorbonne again went through a period of shut-down due to student protests in 1968 resulting in its dis-aggregation into separate universities in 1970.

The University of Bologna (Italy) was first established in 1088. Oxford University (England) is considered to have started as early as 1096 but no later than 1167.

The University of Salamanca (Spain) is considered to have commenced in 1134.

Answer: Columbia College, New York

Specifically, Columbia College is an undergraduate college of Columbia University. Barack Obama completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in political science in 1983. Jimmy Cagney attended for one semester in 1918 but dropped out after his father died during the Spanish Flu pandemic. Art Garfunkel completed a Bachelor of Arts in art history in 1965.

Kendall College is a cooking and hospitality management college. Heisei focuses on massage therapy. The California Institute of the Arts provides education in the visual and performing arts.

Answer: Ohio

Monday 4 May 1970 was the fourth day of protest by students at Kent State University, Ohio. They were protesting against the bombing of Cambodia by the USA. The national guards attempted to disperse the demonstrators and at some point in the day it is alleged that one guard fired on some protesters and a few more guards subsequently joined in. Four unarmed college students were killed and another nine were injured. Alabamba, Philadelphia and LA are all songs written by Neil Young but are unconnected with the events at Kent State University.

Answer: Kyoto

Japan is the Asian country in question. Japan defeated Russia in the war of 1904-05 but in WWII surrendered to the USA. Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over a thousand years but the Emperor moved to Tokyo in 1869. There is some conjecture that the move of capital to Tokyo has resulted in much of the architecture of the old capital of Kyoto being preserved.