1915 Quiz | 19th, 20th & 21st Centuries

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. On May 23rd, which of these countries entered World War I on the side of the Allies?

Answer: Italy

Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. Greece joined the war on the Allied side in 1917. Spain was a non-combatant, and Turkey fought against the Allies.

2. The Class of 1915 at West Point became known as "The Class the Stars Fell On." Out of 164 graduates, 59 achieved the rank of brigadier-general or higher. Which of these generals did not graduate with this class?

Answer: George S. Patton

Patton graduated from West Point in the Class of 1909. Bradley, Eisenhower, Patton, and Van Fleet all served as generals in the European Theater in World War II.

3. During 1915, Albert Einstein completed the logical structure of the General Theory of Relativity. Which university was he a member of at the time?

Answer: University of Berlin

Einstein left Zurich in 1914 to become a professor in Berlin. In 1932, he was appointed professor at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton. In 1929, Einstein delivered a famous speech at the Sorbonne in which he stated, "If my theory of relativity is proven correct, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew."

4. Born on April 7th, which of these singers became known as "Lady Day"?

Answer: Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday, one of the great jazz and blues singers of the 1930s and 40s, was born Eleanore Fagan Gough in Baltimore, according to her memoirs. Many sources believe her birth certificate states she was born Elinor Harris in Philadelphia. She died in 1959.

5. On May 7th, the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland. The Lusitania was the pride of what shipping company?

Answer: Cunard Line

The Cunard liners Lusitania, Mauretania, and Aquitania were requisitioned for wartime service, but the Lusitania was continuing its regular trans-Atlantic passenger service when it was struck. The ship sank in about 20 minutes, and some 1,200 people died. Diana Preston has written an informative book on the sinking, "Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy."

6. On April 23rd, what World War I poet died of blood-poisoning on a hospital ship in the Aegean?

Answer: Rupert Brooke

Brooke's cycle of sonnets, written early in the war, was inspirational in tone, in contrast to the ironic and bitter verses penned later by Owen, Graves, and Sassoon. Owen was killed in action in November, 1918. Graves and Sassoon survived the war.

7. On February 8th, D.W. Griffith's epic film, "The Birth of a Nation," premiered in Los Angeles under what original title?

Answer: "The Clansmen"

Griffith's film, controversial even in 1915, glorified the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War. The film opened later in New York under its more famous title.

8. On the morning of July 24th, over 800 people lost their lives when what passenger steamer rolled over in the Chicago River?

Answer: The Eastland

The Eastland had been hired as a pleasure craft for a Western Electric Company picnic. Overloaded with passengers, it capsized literally upon casting off from its dock. The Edmund Fitzgerald, subject of the Gordon Lightfoot song, was an iron ore freighter that sunk in a gale in Lake Superior in 1975.

The General Slocum was a steamship that burned in a horrific fire in New York's East River in 1904 and killed over 1,000 people, mostly women and children. The Sultana, a steamboat carrying Union soldiers returning from the Civil War, suffered a boiler explosion in the Mississippi River. Approximately 1,700 people died.

9. On April 25th, soldiers from Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand landed at the Gallipoli Peninsula in a futile campaign against Turkey. Who led the Turks at Gallipoli?

Answer: Mustafa Kemal

Mustafa Kemal, later known as Ataturk ("Father Turk"), became the founder of the modern state of Turkey. He proclaimed himself president of a new, secularized republic in 1923 and died in 1938. Enver Pasha, one of the leaders of the "Young Turks" movement in the early 20th century, was Minister of War. Sultan Mehmed had no real power and did not play a military role.

Although Turkey received German assistance in its war effort, Ludendorff did not participate in the Gallipoli battles.

10. In the World Series that year, The Boston Red Sox defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 1. What outfielder hit two home runs in the clinching game?

Answer: Harry Hooper

Harry Hooper was part of a famous outfield that also included Duffy Lewis and Tris Speaker. Alexander, Ruth, and Shore also took part in the 1915 World Series. Shore and Alexander (who played for the Phillies) were pitchers. Ruth, a pitcher for the Red Sox during the regular season, did not pitch in the Series, but appeared once as a pinch hitter.

Source: Author lanfranco

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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1915 Trivia Quiz

My husband the history maven wanted to contribute a quiz about this interesting year. To keep the peace, I indulged him. Warning to non-Americans: includes baseball question.

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