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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 UK History
| Who was the first monarch after James I to be crowned in both England and Scotland? | England in the 17th Century: A Miscellany (bloomsby) |
Charles I. He was crowned in 1633 in Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh. The abbey has in the meantime become a ruin. On 24 June 1953, Elizabeth II took part in a formal procession from Holyroodhouse Palace to St. Giles' Cathedral (in other words, the full length of the 'Royal Mile' in Edinburgh) and the 'Honours (regalia) of Scotland' were carried before her. However, there was no Scottish coronation.
| Who was the English King who was killed by 'the little gentleman in the black velvet'? | Facts and Trivia from British History (Flem-ish) |
William III. William of Orange fell off his horse when stumbling on a molehill.
William III ruled England jointly with Mary II - from 1689 till 1702.
William IV was King from 1830 till 1837.
George I (1714-1727) and George II (1727-1760) were the two first of the Hanoverian Kings. They both had been born in Germany and had been educated as German rather than English princes.
| Who is Edinburgh's Princes Street was named after?
| Fun Facts on Scottish History (gacia) |
Prince George. The main street in Edinburgh, on its south side you can find the Scott Monument.
| Who brought Christianity to Scotland? | Fun Facts on Scottish History (gacia) |
St. Ninian. St Ninian (known also as Ninius or Ninus) lived in 3rd/4th century. He was born in Galloway and educated in Rome. He spent some time in France, but after the death of St Martin of Tours in 397 he went to Scotland to build St Martin's church there and spread the word of Christ among southern Picts. The church he built is said to have been the first stone church in Britain and because of its whitewashed walls was called Candida Casa - the White House. St Ninian, who was well known for his miracles, is buried in the church at Whithorn in Wigtownshire.
| Who - at least indirectly - caused the British Expeditionary Force to call themselves "the Old Contemptibles"? | Facts, Names And Events From British History (Flem-ish) |
Kaiser Bill by calling them a contemptible little army. Joffre (1852-1931) was the French chief of Staff during WW1. Sir John French(1852-1925) was his English counterpart. His evident incapability to collaborate with the French, and his emotional instability, made his replacement in 1915 by Douglas Haig a necessity.
Kaiser William (1859-1941), once an adored leader in Germany, lost all his credibility in the course of the war. He was lucky enough to be given shelter in the Netherlands, which had stayed out of the World War and refused to hand him over to the victors. Recent history gives some support to his claim that he had not wanted the war. It cannot be denied however that he played a major role in the build-up of a German Navy and of a submarine fleet, and in the outrageous behaviour of that Navy, as was shown in the case of the execution of Captain Fryatt.
| Which part of the British Isles was once ruled by the Kings of Alba? | Facts and Trivia from British History (Flem-ish) |
Scotland. Originally Alba was the name for the territory of the Picts in what is now Scotland. Dal Riata was another Kingdom in the South West of Scotland. Dal Riata could be called the Kingdom of the "Scoti" or "Irish Scots". In medieval names,such as Johannes Scotus Erigena, "Scotus" did refer to what now would be an Irishman.
In 843 AD the Dal Riata King Kenneth Mc Alpine took over the territory of the Picts. The whole new entity was now called Alba.Kenneth Mc Alpine died in 858 AD. As was traditional, the new King was now "democratically chosen" from among Kenneth Mc Alpine's family and closest acquaintances.
| Which of the cities located near the borders region officially remained at war with Russia for from 1856-1966? | Fun Facts on Scottish History (gacia) |
Berwick. Berwick is a borders town and changed hands between England and Scotland thirteen times. Berwick upon Tweed had the status of a "Free Burgh" until the Reform Act of 1885. It meant that the town enjoyed a high degree of independence and if an Act of Parliament was passed Berwick had to be mentioned separately. Such was the case when the Crimean War was declared in 1853 in the name of Great Britain, Ireland and Berwick. But when the peace treaty was signed the town's name somehow was omitted.
| Which King was killed together with most of his nobles on the 9th of September 1513 at the battle of Flodden Field? | Some Scottish History Facts (LindaG) |
James IV. Flodden was a disastrous defeat for Scotland depriving the country of most of the nobility and leaving a two year old King on the throne.
| Which famous Englishman was killed by a musket-ball fired from aboard the French ship "Redoutable" on 21st of October 1805? | Facts and Trivia from British History (Flem-ish) |
Lord Nelson. Lord Nelson won the Battle of Trafalgar(1805) but did not survive it. William Pitt the Elder (1708-1778) was Earl of Chatham and became Prime Minister of England on 30 July 1766. He stayed in office till 14 October 1768.
Arthur Wellesley,the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) first served as a general in India, became Chief Secretary for Ireland (1807-1809), fought against the French in Portugal. He represented Britain at the Congress of Vienna. He won a decisive victory over Napoleon at Waterloo (1815) and later was asked to become Prime Minister of England (1828).
Nicholas Hawksmoor,(1661-1736) first worked for Sir Christopher Wren and was involved in the re-building of St. Paul's Cathedral, and the building of Greenwich Hospital and Hampton Court Palace. With van Brugh he built Blenheim Palace.Was also involved in the building of Kensington Palace. He designed the great towers which were added to the western front of Westminster Abbey.
| Which battle occurred in 1066? | UK and Irish History '66 (parnasse) |
Battle of Hastings. William, Duke of Normandy, led the Normans to victor over King Harold II of England, thus beginning Norman rule in England. William was crowned King William I of England on Christmas Day iin 1066.
| Where was William Wallace finally defeated by the English? | Some Scottish History Facts (LindaG) |
Falkirk. William Wallace, after being betrayed and captured, was taken to London where he was tried and found guilty of treason. He was hanged, drawn and quartered, his head was spiked on London Bridge and the four quarters of his corpse displayed at key points in Scotland to try and quell any further treason against the English crown.
| When did England finally lose its last territorial possession in what is now France? | England in the 17th Century: A Miscellany (bloomsby) |
1662. The loss of Calais by Mary I in 1558 is well known. However, England acquired Dunkirk (previously part of the Spanish Netherlands) in 1658 after the Battle of the Dunes. At the time, England was fighting against Spain as an ally of France. The English troops, together with a French contingent, were commanded by Marshal Turenne, who was most impressed by the good discipline of the Cromwellian forces. In 1662 Charles II sold Dunkirk to France.
| What was the first capital of the Scots? | Fun Facts on Scottish History (gacia) |
Dunadd. The Dunadd fort in Argyll was the capital of the western Scots from the 6th to 9th centruries AD. The western Scottish kingdom, known in Gaelic as Dal Riata or Dalriada, defeated the eastern Picts in the middle of the 9th century AD and that's how a unified Scotland was formed.
| What was the collective name to describe the ports of Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich? | Facts, Names And Events From British History (Flem-ish) |
Cinque Ports. Later Winchelsea and Rye were added. Their role was to "defend" the English Coast. In exchange for the expenses they had to incur, they got certain privileges.
They are not all Kentish, and "Channel Ports" applies to more than just those five on the British side of the Channel.
| What was signed in 1266? | UK and Irish History '66 (parnasse) |
Treaty of Perth. The present-day western isles were ceded to Scotland by the Norse under this treaty. Scotland had defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Largs three years earlier.
| What situation during the reign of Queen Victoria was described as "the Bedchamber Crisis"? | Facts, Names And Events From British History (Flem-ish) |
The Queen refused to accept the new "ladies of the household" the government had appointed for her. It was the Peel government that got into this spot of 'domestic trouble' at court.
| What is meant by the "Peterloo Massacre"? | Facts, Names And Events From British History (Flem-ish) |
Soldiers attacking a meeting at St. Peter's Fields, Manchester. The event took place in 1819. The high number of people attending a meeting had made the authorities very nervous.Their decision to use cavalry to arrest the "ringleaders" and to "disperse the crowd" of some 50,000 people led to a completely unnecessary bloodbath. Later it was claimed that the soldiers had been drunk. The 'victory' of the soldiery over the unarmed crowd of civilians was mockingly named Peterloo after the Battle of Waterloo.
| What happened on 8th August 1963 that shocked public opinion in Britain? | Facts and Trivia from British History (Flem-ish) |
Great Train Robbery. The Great Train Robbery happened on August 8, 1963, in Cheddington, Buckinghampshire, UK. A 15-member gang, led by Bruce Reynolds got away with £ 2.6 million. Bad luck however : their hide-out was discovered and all of them soon were arrested. Later Bruce Reynolds and Ronald Biggs managed to escape. They finally reached Brazil. Another member of the gang, Charlie Wilson, escaped to Canada. A long time later Ronald Biggs returned to Britain and gave up himself to the authorities.
On 3d of July 1969 the founder member of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones died at the age of 27.
The Profumo Affair was a political scandal in 1963. John Profumo was a high-ranking Conservative cabinet minister who had got involved with one Christine Keeler. Keeler herself was involved with an attaché of the Soviet Embassy.Profumo's lying about the whole affair was his downfall.On June 5th he finally decided to resign.
A month later the Prime-Minister Harold Mac Millan also resigned.
The next year, in 1964, Labour won the elections and Harold Wilson (°1916-1995),their party leader, became Prime Minister. Wilson unexpectedly resigned in 1976.
| What disaster ravaged London in 1666? | UK and Irish History '66 (parnasse) |
A fire. The Great Fire of London, as it has come to be known, began on September 2 and raged for five days. The damage included the destruction of 13,200 houses and 87 churches in an area of over 400 acres.
| What did the Act of Settlement "settle"? | Facts, Names And Events From British History (Flem-ish) |
British monarchs must be Church of England. It was the Irish-born victor of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington, who as Tory Prime Minister, decided to support Catholic emancipation. The Bill was passed in 1829. The Sovereign also being Head of the Church dates back to the Act of Supremacy (1534). The Act of Settlement dates back to 1701.
| What did English chemist Henry Cavendish discover in 1766? | UK and Irish History '66 (parnasse) |
Hydrogen. Cavendish was the first to isolate 'inflammable air,' as he called it. He showed that it produced a dew, which appeared to be water, upon being burned.
| Under whose reign was the Court of Star Chamber first given its role as a powerful judicial body separate from the King's Council, with a mandate to hear petitions of redress? | Facts, Names And Events From British History (Flem-ish) |
House of Tudor. The Court of Star Chamber (1487-1641) was named for the star pattern painted on the ceiling of the room at Westminster Palace, where its meetings were held. It did not have the power to impose the death sentence.
| The legend has it that the wizard Merlin is buried in which Scottish village? | Fun Facts on Scottish History (gacia) |
Drumelzier. Merlin was not only king Arthur's adviser, but also that of his father, Uther Pendragon. Other sources state as Merlin's burial place Marlborough (Wiltshire), Bardsley Island or surroundings of Tombeau de Merlin, two megaliths in the woods of Paimpont, the remnant of the legendary Forest of Broceliande, in Brittany.
| The last native High King of Ireland was born in 1166. What was his name? | UK and Irish History '66 (parnasse) |
Rory O'Connor. O'Connor's quarrel with Dermot McMurrough, who brought the English to Ireland, led to his submission as vassal to Henry II of England by the Treaty of Windsor in 1175. He continued on as High King in name only, but his power declined and he later retired to a monastery.
| The ancient settlement of Skara Brae is thought to date from when? | Some Scottish History Facts (LindaG) |
3500bc. The Skara Brae Neolithic village was discovered in the middle of the last century after a terrible storm shifted huge quantities of sand from the well preserved stone age village.
| Some English Parliaments have had nicknames. How on earth did the "Barebones Parliament" (or "Barbebone's Parliament") acquire its extraordinary name? | England in the 17th Century: A Miscellany (bloomsby) |
One of the MPs was called Praise-God Barbon (or Barebone). In an attempt to turn England into a "godly republic" the "Barebones Parliament" (1653) did, indeed, legislate with Puritan zeal against the "sins of the flesh" and turned many activities that had previously been regarded as sins into criminal offences, for example, fornication. It derived its nickname from one of the MPs for the City of London, apparently called Barbon. There are various spellings of his name, including "Barebone". The name "Barebone's Parliament" is of course satirical. Some Puritans referred to this Parliament as the "Parliament of Saints".
| Scottish Lords of the Isles were members of which clan? | Fun Facts on Scottish History (gacia) |
Donald. Clan Donald had enormous power and influence from the middle of the 12th century until 1493 when they became such a threat to the Crown that king James IV put an end to it, making them forfeit some of their lands.
The Donalds started calling themselves Lords of the Isles in the middle of the 14th century and later on the title was officially recognised by the Crown. It survived the Donalds however and today is held by the Prince of Wales.
| Ramsay MacDonald was born in Scotland in 1866. MacDonald later became the first what? | UK and Irish History '66 (parnasse) |
Labour Prime Minister. A group of socialists formed the Independent Labour Party in 1893 and MacDonald joined them one year later. He first ran for office as the candidate for Southampton in 1895 and was soundly defeated, along with other members of the ILP. However, over the years, the ILP merged with other socialist groups, became more moderate, and grew in popularity. MacDonald first became Prime Minister in 1923.
| Kenneth McAlpin united two tribes or states in c.843ad thus founding the ancient state of Scotia, which two did he unite? | Some Scottish History Facts (LindaG) |
Dalriada and the Picts. Kenneth McAlpin, the first king of a united Scotland, ruled between c.825-860ad. He moved the capital to Scone in Perthshire where he installed the stone of destiny which was used to crown all Scottish kings.
| James VI of Scotland became James I of England after Elizabeth I's death in 1603, who was James' father? | Some Scottish History Facts (LindaG) |
Henry, Lord Darnley. Mary had only one child, fathered by Henry Lord Darnley. She was rumoured to have been two months pregnant when she was captured and imprisoned and was said to have either miscarried or had a stillbirth but no documented proof has ever been found.
| In whose reign was the famous Declaration of Arbroath drafted and sent to Pope John XXII? | Some Scottish History Facts (LindaG) |
Robert the Bruce. The declaration read: For as long as one hundred of us remain alive, we shall never in any wise consent to submit to the rule of the English, for it is not for glory we fight, for riches or for honours, but for freedom alone, which no good man loses but with his life.
 Frequently Asked Questions about UK History
- What are skinheads in the UK? ( goto )
- What is the history of Rice Krispies? ( goto )
- What is the history of the bubblegum machine? ( goto )
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- What is the history of tea in England? ( goto )
- Which war was the shortest in history? ( goto )
- When is Tough Enough 2 on in the UK? ( goto )
- What UK class ceased to be in 1956? ( goto )
- What is the name of the flag of the UK? ( goto )
- Is the Isle of Mann part of the UK? ( goto )
- When was quarantine established in the UK? ( goto )
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- In the UK where is the smallest city? ( goto )
- In Carribean history who was Queen Nanny? ( goto )
- What is the history of M&M's candy? ( goto )
- What is the significance of 24th December in the history? ( goto )
- The luge made history in the 1980's by becoming what? ( goto )
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- Of the nine muses, which is the muse of history? ( goto )
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