FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about What Happened in  1940s edition
Quiz about What Happened in  1940s edition

What Happened in ...? (1940s edition) Quiz


The turbulent decade of the 1940's, year by year. Good luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by john_sunseri. Estimated time: 4 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. History Trivia
  6. »
  7. 19th, 20th & 21st Centuries
  8. »
  9. 1940s History

Author
john_sunseri
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
320,539
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
4751
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 146 (5/10), rossian (10/10), Guest 73 (10/10).
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. What happened in 1940? Marshal Philippe Pétain concluded an armistice with Nazi Germany, Eugene O'Neill wrote "Long Day's Journey into Night", Disney released "Fantasia", and four teenagers and a dog named Robot discovered something in France that would become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. What did they discover? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. What happened in 1941? Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive games, Reinhold Niebuhr wrote "The Nature and Destiny of Man", the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg and his team at Cal Berkeley submitted a paper to "Physical Review", but had second thoughts and asked that it not be printed until after the war. What was the paper about? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What happened in 1942? The Americans won the Battle of Midway, Carole Lombard died in a plane crash, "Casablanca" premiered in New York, and in Amsterdam a family went into hiding. What was this family's name? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. What happened in 1943? Jean-Paul Sartre released "L'Être et le néant" ("Being and Nothingness"), the Pentagon opened for business in Virginia, the German 6th Army surrendered in Stalingrad, and United States Ship PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Who was the commander of PT-109? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. What happened in 1944? 165 were killed in a circus fire in Hartford, Ct, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won a fourth term as President of the United States, Vietnam declared independence from France, and the Allies executed Operation Overlord. What would Overlord come to be known as? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What happened in 1945? Atomic bombs were detonated near Alamogordo, N.M. and in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, George Orwell's "Animal Farm" was published, Rodgers and Hammerstein premiered "Carousel", and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke posited an idea that would revolutionize the world when it was finally realized. What was it? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. What happened in 1946? The United Nations General Assembly held its first session, Churchill gave his "Iron Curtain" speech in Missouri, Joe Louis defended his heavyweight title for the 23rd time, and a Connecticut pediatrician wrote "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care". Who was he? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What happened in 1947? Henry Ford died, leaving an estate of $625 million, Thor Heyerdahl sailed from Peru to Polynesia on his raft Kon-Tiki, Maria Callas made her debut in Verona, and India was partitioned. What new country was born from this action? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What happened in 1948? Alfred Kinsey released "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male", James Michener wrote "Tales of the South Pacific", Gandhi was assassinated, and another new country was born, this one in western Asia (the Middle East). What's the ancient name of this young country? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. What happened in 1949? The Berlin Airlift ended after 277,000 flights and after the Soviets lifted the blockade, Apartheid was instituted in South Africa, Britain recognized the independence of Eire, and on January 19 a man raised a toast and left three roses and a half-bottle of cognac at a grave in Baltimore for the first time. Whose grave is it? Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Most Recent Scores
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 146: 5/10
Mar 20 2024 : rossian: 10/10
Mar 18 2024 : Guest 73: 10/10
Mar 15 2024 : Guest 1: 5/10
Mar 12 2024 : MrNobody97: 10/10
Mar 10 2024 : elvislennon: 7/10
Mar 10 2024 : fado72: 10/10
Mar 10 2024 : GoodwinPD: 10/10
Mar 10 2024 : rainbowriver: 10/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What happened in 1940? Marshal Philippe Pétain concluded an armistice with Nazi Germany, Eugene O'Neill wrote "Long Day's Journey into Night", Disney released "Fantasia", and four teenagers and a dog named Robot discovered something in France that would become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. What did they discover?

Answer: The Lascaux cave complex

The Lascaux caves contain some of the most complete and complex examples of art from the Upper Paleolithic period in human history, and are estimated to be 16,000 years old. The images number about 2000, including representations of humans, stags, a bear, a rhinocerous and black bulls. Since 1998, an invasive fungus has been attacking the caves, and scientists are battling black mold in efforts to preserve the paintings.
2. What happened in 1941? Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive games, Reinhold Niebuhr wrote "The Nature and Destiny of Man", the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg and his team at Cal Berkeley submitted a paper to "Physical Review", but had second thoughts and asked that it not be printed until after the war. What was the paper about?

Answer: The production and isolation of plutonium

Since Plutonium (specifically the isotope Pu-239) had potential to be used in the production of an atomic bomb, Seaborg and Edwin McMillan thought that it would be a fairly bad idea to publicize the fact. Also in 1941, the United States launched the Manhattan Project, which would utilize the fruits of the men's research.
3. What happened in 1942? The Americans won the Battle of Midway, Carole Lombard died in a plane crash, "Casablanca" premiered in New York, and in Amsterdam a family went into hiding. What was this family's name?

Answer: Frank

Anne Frank died in March 1945 of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, after her family's location in the attic of her father's office building was betrayed to the Nazis. Otto Frank, the only survivor of the family, got his daughter's book ("The Diary of a Young Girl") published in 1947 in Dutch, and it was translated into English in 1952.
4. What happened in 1943? Jean-Paul Sartre released "L'Être et le néant" ("Being and Nothingness"), the Pentagon opened for business in Virginia, the German 6th Army surrendered in Stalingrad, and United States Ship PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Who was the commander of PT-109?

Answer: LTJG John F. Kennedy

Two of Kennedy's crewmen were killed by the ramming, and another two seriously injured, but the survivors managed to paddle on a timber to an island about three miles away. They settled there, then Kennedy swam to ANOTHER island a few miles away to find food. He came back, got his men, and brought them all to the new island where there was fresh water and coconut trees.
5. What happened in 1944? 165 were killed in a circus fire in Hartford, Ct, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won a fourth term as President of the United States, Vietnam declared independence from France, and the Allies executed Operation Overlord. What would Overlord come to be known as?

Answer: D-Day

D-Day involved the landing of some 175,000 troops on the beaches of Normandy on June 6 (the five sections of beach were code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword). By an amazing coincidence, a crossword-puzzle constructor named Leonard Dawe, of Surrey, had made a puzzle that appeared in the "Telegraph" in May; some of the answers to the crossword were "Utah", "Omaha", "Mulberry" (the code name of the floating harbor that would accomodate the supply ships of the invasion), "Neptune" (yet another code name for the invasion's naval support) and, most ominously, "Overlord".
6. What happened in 1945? Atomic bombs were detonated near Alamogordo, N.M. and in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, George Orwell's "Animal Farm" was published, Rodgers and Hammerstein premiered "Carousel", and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke posited an idea that would revolutionize the world when it was finally realized. What was it?

Answer: Telecommunication satellites in geostationary orbits

Clarke was nominated for an Academy Award for 1969's "2001: A Space Odyssey", was knighted in 2000, and in 2001 the Mars orbiter 'Odyssey' was named for his works. He also has an asteroid named for him, a dinosaur called Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei in his honor, and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

His geosynchronous satellite idea appeared in an article in "Wireless World".
7. What happened in 1946? The United Nations General Assembly held its first session, Churchill gave his "Iron Curtain" speech in Missouri, Joe Louis defended his heavyweight title for the 23rd time, and a Connecticut pediatrician wrote "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care". Who was he?

Answer: Benjamin Spock, M.D.

Spock did his undergraduate work at Yale, and received his doctorate from Columbia, then he did his residency at Cornell. He served as a psychiatrist in the Naval Reserve, then taught at the University of Minnesota and the University of Pittsburgh. "Baby and Child Care" sold over 50 million copies by 1998, and has been blamed by many for its 'permissiveness' in its advice to child-rearing.
8. What happened in 1947? Henry Ford died, leaving an estate of $625 million, Thor Heyerdahl sailed from Peru to Polynesia on his raft Kon-Tiki, Maria Callas made her debut in Verona, and India was partitioned. What new country was born from this action?

Answer: Pakistan

The partition was violent--millions of Muslims hastened to get to the new state of Pakistan and millions of Hindus and Sikhs hurried to get back to safe ground in India. In 1956 Pakistan became a republic, and in 1971 part of its territory seceded and became the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
9. What happened in 1948? Alfred Kinsey released "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male", James Michener wrote "Tales of the South Pacific", Gandhi was assassinated, and another new country was born, this one in western Asia (the Middle East). What's the ancient name of this young country?

Answer: Israel

Israel declared independence on May 14, and the next day Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq attacked the fledgling state. A year later, a cease-fire was declared, with Israel remaining intact. That same year, Israel became a member of the United Nations.

In 1967 the Six-Day War (against Egypt, Syria and Jordan) gave Israel control of the West Bank, the Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip.
10. What happened in 1949? The Berlin Airlift ended after 277,000 flights and after the Soviets lifted the blockade, Apartheid was instituted in South Africa, Britain recognized the independence of Eire, and on January 19 a man raised a toast and left three roses and a half-bottle of cognac at a grave in Baltimore for the first time. Whose grave is it?

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe

The "Poe Toaster" wears a black coat and hat, has a silver-tipped cane and hides his face behind a scarf. 1949 was the hundredth anniversary of Poe's death, and every year since then a man (two, so far--the first, according to a note left at the grave, died in 1998 and passed the tradition on to a 'son', who's taken over since) shows up in the early morning, makes a toast and leaves his offerings. No one has ever identified either figure.
Source: Author john_sunseri

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
3/28/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us