American Tragedies

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. On January 27, 1967 the NASA space program suffered its first major tragedy. During a routine test, a fire broke out inside the Apollo I space capsule and all three astronauts were killed. Which of the following were NOT members of that crew? Virgil Grissom Roger Chaffee Ed White James McDivitt

2. The most famous tragedy in US history was the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In the attack, the battleship USS Arizona was sunk and more than 1,100 sailors died in the tragedy. Three other battleships were sunk during the attack. Which of the following was NOT one of them? USS Oklahoma USS West Virginia USS California USS Nevada

3. On May 4th, 1970, National Guard troops opened fire on college students protesting President Nixon's invasion of Cambodia. On what college campus did this shooting take place? Jackson State South Carolina State Memphis State Kent State

4. On November 8th, 1978, a religous cult known as "The People's Temple" which was led by controversial preacher Jim Jones took part in what would become one of the largest mass suicides in history. A US Congressman by the name of Leo Ryan was murdered at an airport near the temple site while attempting to free some cult members who claimed they were brainwashed and being held against their will. In what South American country did the tragedy take place? Guyana Uraguay Brazil Ecuador

5. The date was January 28th, 1986 and the Space Shuttle Challenger was launched on its mission to outer space. It never made it. About 73 seconds into the launch, the shuttle exploded over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven crew members. Among the crew members was a woman who was to become the first teacher in space. Who was this famous lady? Eileen Collins Sally Ride Christa McAuliffe Judith Resnik

6. In another college campus tragedy, Charles Whitman killed 13 people in a sniper attack while at the top of a 27 story observation tower on August 1st, 1966. At what university did this shooting take place? Tennessee Alabama Oklahoma Texas

7. On April 17th, 1995, a man by the name of Timothy McVeigh reportedly picked up a Ryder truck at a body shop and drove the truck to a federal building where he parked it on the street. Two days later on April 19th at approximately 9:02 am, the truck exploded blowing out the front of the federal building killing 168 people and wounding 800. In what US city did this bombing take place? Detroit St Louis Tulsa Oklahoma City

8. On April 20th, 1999, tragedy struck Columbine High School when two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, wearing trenchcoats entered the school and began to open fire on the students and faculty. When the shooting stopped, 12 students and a teacher were dead and 24 others were wounded. In what state was this high school? California Colorado Wyoming Utah

9. In the most shocking and deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil, members of the terrorist group known as al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet liners on September 11th, 2001. They crashed two of them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and a third into the Pentagon. What was the airline and flight number of the fourth plane which crashed in a field in Pennsylvania? United Flight 93 American Flight 11 United Flight 175 American Flight 77

10. On April 16th, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia, a student went on a shooting rampage which became the deadliest shooting in US history. Including the perpetrator, how many people were killed? 38 27 33 41