History Trivia Questions — page 34

Why is July 4th, 1776 considered the birthday of the United States?

• Abecause the signing of the Declaration of Independence began on that day
• Bbecause on that day the British recognized US independence
• Cbecause on that day all thirteen former colonies finally agreed to a constitution for their new government
• Dbecause on that day the Americans had their first victory over the British at Boston

What year is considered to be the year that the British Empire ended?

• A1971
• B1981
• C1986
• D1997

Which of these refers to the lower house of the Russian Parliament ?

• AReichstag
• BStorting
• CDuma
• DRed House

On 23 March 1961, Valentin Bondarenko was training in a special low pressure chamber filled with pure oxygen. An unexpected occurrence killed Bondarenko, making him the first space related casualty. What caused his death?

• ABondarenko dropped an alcohol soaked cloth onto an electric hotplate
• BThe oxygen in the chamber was suddenly sucked out
• CThe chamber suddenly collapsed
• DThe pressure suddenly became too high

The seed drill was invented by which British inventor?

• AJethro Tull
• BIsaac Newton
• CCharles Babbage
• DJ.J Thomson

What was the last state to secede from the Union?

• ALouisiana
• BTexas
• CTennessee
• DArkansas

What General was named Commander of the UN forces in Korea on July 8, 1950?

• AGeorge Patton
• BOmar Bradley
• CMatthew Ridgway
• DDouglas MacArthur

Where did General Mark Wayne Clark die?

• AMunich, Germany
• BNaples, Italy
• CCharleston, South Carolina, USA
• DLondon, England

Which of the following describes a key change in hominids beginning at least as early as Homo erectus that is probably related to increasingly larger brain size?

• Asupraorbital cortex
• Bneoteny
• Cmicrocephaly
• Dprognathism

In 1453, which important city fell?

• AHamburg
• BAthens
• CRome
• DConstantinople

What does Australia have in common with the rest of the world during the Holocene epoch?

• Aa growth in cultural diversity
• Bexploitation of new food resources
• Cthe independent domestication of wheat and cattle
• Ddrastic environmental changes

The Little Entente was an alliance formed against which nation?

• AHungary
• BGermany
• CFrance
• DPrussia

What is the name of the centurion who assassinated Caligula?

• ACassius Longinus
• BSeptimus Severus
• CJulius Nerva
• DCassius Chaerea

This ancient Greek philosopher, a teacher of Aristotle, was the founder of the Academy in Athens.

• ADemocritus
• BSocrates
• CParmenides
• DPlato

Which of the following was described as "the slow agency of existing causes"?

• Acatastrophism
• Bnatural selection
• Cuniformitarianism
• Dunilineal evolution

Who was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte and the first Empress of the French?

• ALouise Catherine Eléonore Denuelle de la Plaigne
• BJoséphine de Beauharnais
• CMarie, Countess Walewski
• DMarie Louise of Austria

In 1994, which political party won the majority in the US congress for the first time in 40 years?

• ADemocratic Party
• BRepublican Party
• CConstitution Party
• DLibertarian Party

Specialization of labor:

• Aall the above.
• Bcan only exist in a society which produces a food surplus.
• Cis a characteristic of civilization.
• Dallows for sophisticated craft work (e.g., weaving, metalworking, pottery manufacturing).

What was Tsarskoye Selo?

• AThe true last name of the members of the Romanov dynasty
• BThe residence of the imperial family south of St. Petersburg
• CThe Tsarist legislature
• DThe site of a famous Russian battle

Artifacts must be carefully exposed and initially left in place in order to record:

• Athe possible presence of faunal assemblages or bone.
• Bspatial contexts and associations.
• Cthe presence, morphology, and species of surrounding pollen.
• Dthe composition of the artifacts and surrounding soil.

This actor, who starred in the movie Good Morning, Vietnam, also acted in the TV series Walker: Texas Ranger.

• ANoble Willingham
• BJohn McGinty
• CR. Lee Ermey
• DChuck Norris

Who invented the "Flying Shuttle" in 1738; one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving?

• AJohn Kay
• BJohn Deere
• CRichard Arkwright
• DJames Hargreaves

Who was the patron of Athens during its Golden Age?

• APlato
• BSocrates
• CAlexander the Great
• DPericles

Don Quixote de la Mancha is a fictional knight from the self-titled novel, written by this author.

• AGiuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
• BMiguel de Cervantes
• CDante Alighieri
• DArthur Conan Doyle

When did Aborigines occupy the harsh interior of Australia?

• A20,000–25,000 years ago
• B35,000–40,000 years ago
• C10,000–12,000 years ago
• D40,000–45,000 years ago

Napoleon Bonaparte usually wore a uniform of the following rank.

• AKing
• BMarshal
• CColonel
• DGeneral

This is the code name of the bombing operation in North Vietnam, carried out by the US armed forces, which lasted between 1965 and 1968.

• AOperation Rolling Thunder
• BOperation Arc Light
• COperation Farmgate
• DOperation Urgent Fury

What were Washingtons passwords for the crossing of the Delaware River and the attack on Trenton?

• AVictory or Death
• BVictory and Liberty
• CLiberty or Death
• DLet Us Roll

Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I led this campaign.

• AAlbigensian Crusade
• BChildrens Crusade
• CFourth Crusade
• DThird Crusade

The idea that processes like weathering and erosion are responsible for the present condition of the earth is known as:

• Anatural selection.
• Buniformitarianism.
• Cadaptation.
• Dcreationism.

Magellan set out on his voyage around the world on this day.

• ASeptember 20, 1519
• BJanuary 21, 1532
• COctober 12, 1512
• DMarch 3, 1522

Which general commanded the Confederate forces at the Battle of Gettysburg, that started on July 1, 1863?

• AGeorge Pickett
• BJames Longstreet
• CRobert E. Lee
• DGeorge Meade

Shakespeares theater, The Globe, was destroyed by fire in 1613. Which Queen saw its reopening?

• AElisabeth II
• BAnne
• CVictoria
• DElisabeth I

Which one of these actors was not in the Academy Award winning Oliver Stone film Platoon?

• ATom Cruise
• BTom Berenger
• CJohnny Depp
• DCharlie Sheen

In the Seven Wonders of the World, which wonder is the only that has survived to this day?

• AStatue of Zeus at Olympia
• BGreat Pyramid of Giza
• CColossus of Rhodes
• DLighthouse of Alexandria

What is the other name of the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915, which resulted in a major victory of the Ottoman Empire against combined British and French forces?

• ABattle of Gallipoli
• BBattle of Sarikamis.
• CBattle of Sari Bair
• DBattle of Megiddo

On August 17, 1999 this disaster took the lives of 15 000 and injured 23 000 people in western Turkey.

• AVolcano eruption
• BEarthquake
• CAvalanche
• DTsunami

This union, made up of European countries, was established by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. Starting as a trade body it is now an economic and political partnership between its members.

• AThe European Union
• BAmerican Labor Union
• COxford Union
• DEuropean Trade Union

How many civilians were killed in the Battle of Gettysburg?

• A1
• B2
• C3
• D4

When did the Inca begin their military expansion across South America?

• A1650 A.D.
• B1450 A.D.
• C200 A.D.
• D900 A.D.

In what year was the M1911 pistol designed?

• A1911
• B1917
• C1899
• D1907

Which of the following Presidents of the United States was assassinated?

• AChester Arthur
• BFranklin Roosevelt
• CLyndon Johnson
• DWilliam McKinley

On September 1, 1985, at a depth of 2 miles (3,8 km), south-east of Newfoundland, the wreck of the Titanic was discovered. Jean-Louis Michel was one of the two people who led the expedition. He was the other one.

• ADr. Robert Ballard
• BEvan Forde
• CJacques-Yves Cousteau
• DCharles David Keeling

A continuous, projecting ridge of bone above and across the eye orbits is called the:

• Aoccipital bone.
• Bmaxilla.
• Csagittal crest.
• Dsupraorbital torus.

What year was the United States Declaration of Independence signed?

• A1776
• B1777
• C1775
• D1774

One ceremony was extremely important for every samurai - Genpuku. In this ceremony, a samurai changed his child name to an adult one and received his first swords. Only then the samurai could marry. Genpuku would be held as early as this age.

• A12
• B9
• C18
• D15

In this month the USA celebrates its Independence Day.

• AApril
• BJune
• COctober
• DJuly

How many days did it take the Mayflower to make the crossing from England to America?

• A66 days
• B70 days
• C77 days
• D80 days

Which is the odd one out?

• ADragon
• BTALON
• CPredator
• DSWORDS

Where did the pilgrims aboard the Mayflower intend to settle?

• Ain Pennsylvania
• Bin Virginia
• Cin Ohio
• Din New York