History Around the World 7 Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Also known as 'The Temple of Diana', the Temple of Artemis was built over a 120-year period starting around 550 BC at Ephesus in ancient Anatolia in what is now Turkey. It was destroyed in a fire (probably arson) on July 21, 356 BC - before three of the others 'Seven Wonders' were even built. Of the alternatives, the Colossus of Rhodes was completed in 280 BC and was toppled by an earthquake only 54 years later.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which took more than 40 years to build, were completed in 562 BC.

They lasted about 500 years before they were destroyed by an earthquake. Work on the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus began just a couple of years after the destruction of the Temple of Artemis and was completed in 351 BC. Other than the Great Pyramid at Giza, which still stands, it was the last of the 'Seven Ancient Wonders', lasting almost until the late 15th Century.

Answer: William Pitt the Younger

The French revolution took place over the final decade of the 18th Century, roughly from 1789-1799. Although William Pitt the Younger lived for only 46 years, he served a remarkable 19 years as Britain's Prime Minister. He first took office in December 1783 at the age of just 24, and he remained in control until March 1801, thus covering the whole period of the French uprising.

His second stint as PM began in May 1804, and was only curtailed by his death in January 1806. Of the alternatives, Walpole was the first British PM, holding office from 1721-1742, half a century before the French Revolution.

The other two were both 19th-Century Prime Ministers. Spencer Perceval is remembered mainly for the way his term in office ended in 1812 -- he was the only British PM to be assassinated. Sir Robert Peel's legacy was the establishment of the first organized police force.

He was PM from 1834-35 and 1841-46.

Answer: October 25

St. Crispin is the patron saint of cobblers, tanners and leather workers. Since the 1969 reform of the 'Calendar of Saints', when St Crispin's Day was officially removed, it is now only considered a 'Black Letter Saint's Day'.
History buffs may recall that the Battle of Agincourt was fought on October 25 1415, an event marked by Shakespeare with the famous 'St Crispin's Day Speech' in 'Henry V'...
"This day is called the Feast of Crispin:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a-tiptoe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian..." etc etc

The alternative dates belong to other well-known saints: May 25 to St Bede the Venerable, October 4 to St Francis of Assisi, and November 30 to St Andrew.

Answer: The Netherlands

The Batavian Republic was proclaimed on January 19, 1795 as a successor to the 'Republic of the United Netherlands'. In reality, though, it was a French occupation in all but name only. The pretense of a 'republic' was abandoned entirely when Napoleon officially became the first monarch of the 'Kingdom of Holland' on June 5, 1806.

Answer: James Garfield

Guiteau was a 39-year old former lawyer from Freeport, Illinois when he assassinated US President James A. Garfield on July 2, 1881 at the Washington DC railway station. Garfield died of his injuries 11 weeks later, on September 19, and was succeeded as President by Chester Arthur.
It is believed now that advances in medical capabilities mean that Garfield would have survived had these events occurred even 20 years later. Indeed, Guiteau even said at his trial: "The doctors killed Garfield, I just shot him."
Guiteau failed to understand that the public hated him, and was planning a lecture tour and a run for the Presidency in 1884 right up until the jury found him guilty. He was executed by hanging on June 30, 1882.
Of the alternatives, US President McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz, Indian leader Gandhi by Nathuram Godse, and Greece's King George I by Alexandros Schinas.

Answer: Libya

Modern-day Libya comprises the three former territories that once made up Italian North Africa.
The eastern half of Libya, Cyrenaica, borders Egypt to the east, and there were failed attempts to extend Italian territory in that direction in the period between the wars. Tripolitania is the coastal area of western Libya, bordering Tunisia. It is here that the national capital, Tripoli, is located. Fezzan, which represents about 40% of modern-day Libya, lies to the south of Tripolitania, bordered by Algeria to the west and Chad to the south. It is primarily inhospitable desert broken only by the occasional mountain range and dry river valleys.

Answer: Ukraine

Yushchenko was Ukraine's Prime Minister for 18 months (1999-2001). It was amidst considerable controversy that he was eventually elected as the country's third President since independence in 1991.
He was one of the two main party leaders in the November 2004 election but lost. There followed an uprising of the people, dubbed 'The Orange Revolution', objecting to what was seen as widespread election fraud on the part of Yushchenko's opponent. Eventually, the Ukrainian Supreme Court ordered a re-run, which Yushchenko won with 52% of the vote to his opponent's 44%.

Answer: Denmark

Queen Margrethe II has been the Danish monarch since the death of her father, King Frederick IX, on St Valentine's Day, 1972. Her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederick (actually Frederik André Henrik Christian, Kronprins til Danmark), born May 26 1968, is the heir apparent to the throne.

In the event that he outlives his mother and becomes king, he will be King Frederick X. All three of the alternatives have passed (relatively) recent constitutional amendments giving priority to the 'oldest child' rather than the 'oldest male child'.

In Belgium, the oldest of King Albert II's four children, Princess Elisabeth, is the heir apparent. In Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria is the eldest of King Carl XVI Gustaf's three children. In Norway, Crown Prince Haakon Magnus is the heir apparent to King Harald V.

Answer: Rawhide

Ronald Reagan was dubbed 'Rawhide', while Nancy was 'Rainbow'.
A selection of other Presidential codenames include: Lancer and Lace (JFK and Jacquie), Searchlight (Richard Nixon), Timberwolf (George HW Bush), Eagle and Evergreen (Bill and Hilary Clinton), Tumbler or Trailblazer (George W Bush), Renegade and Renaissance (Barack and Michelle Obama) with the kids, Malia and Sasha known as Radiance and Rosebud.

Answer: Utah

Robert LeRoy Parker was born in Beaver, Utah Territory in 1866. As Butch Cassidy, he would become a notorious train robber and bank robber, and the leader of the 'Wild Bunch Gang'.
Parker's most famous accomplice, The Sundance Kid, was a year younger and from 'back east': born Harry Alonzo Longabaugh in Mont Clare, Pennsylvania.
It is widely accepted that the pair died together in a 1908 shootout in Bolivia, although as yet the bodies have never been recovered.