Ruling in the 1960s Part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Patrice Lumumba

Because of where Lumumba was captured, the United Nations seem to have argued that he was captured outside of the realm of UN protection. His subsequent imprisonment and treatment became a part of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. It seems that he died by execution on January 17, 1961 after considerable mistreatment by his captors.

Answer: Harold Macmillan

Macmillan had a long personal life and an equally long and productive life of political service. He was in the War Cabinet of Winston Churchill, was Minister of Housing and Minister of the Exchequer, and British Prime Minister from 1957-1963. Incidentally, he didn't succeed in his efforts to get Britain admitted to the European Economic Union and his later career was somewhat "tarnished" by his involvement in the personal scandal involving John Profumo.

Answer: Alexander Dubcek

Alexander Dubcek was leader of Czechoslovakia for one year only-from 1968-1969. Dubcek is famous for his opposition to Communism under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev and his development of a peroid which became famous as the Prague Spring. This effort to change rigid Communist practices has been called "socialism with a human face".

Answer: Ngo Dinh Diem

The life and political fortunes of Ngo Dinh Diem parallel the history and division of Vietnam. He was a Catholic, fastidious kind of man who was totally opposed to what became North Vietnam. Two of his favorite slogans was "Christ has gone south" and "the Virgin Mary had departed from the North." It is interesting to note that 60% of the Catholics in Vietnam to South Vietnam when Diem was in power. There was a fascinating coup d'etat in 1963 in which both Diem and the United States played interesting roles. Diem was captured, tried to escape and was executed apparently in the back of an armoured personnel carrier It is very interesting to read what Ho Chi Minh had to say of Diem's capture and execution.

Answer: Gustavo Díaz Ordaz

This massacre took place ten days before the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Tlatelolco is the name of a section of town in Mexico City. There were at least 300 deaths of student demonstrators. Given his intention to stop student demonstrations, President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz ordered the police to occupy the campus of the largest university in Mexico.

Answer: Gamal Abdel Nasser

The Six Day War in June 1967 was a battle between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Nasser was the Second President of Egypt from 1956-1970 until his death in 1970. He led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 which removed King Farouk I from power. Nasser supported what has been called an Arab Socialism.

He built the Aswan High Dam and nationalized the Suez Canal. He was also famous for his support of industrialization in Egypt.

Answer: Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was the Secretary General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982. He was trained to be an engineer. Brezhnev faced the challenge of the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia. In 1970, President Leonid Brezhnev attended the funeral of Egyptian President Gamal Abd al-Nasser.

He was famous or infamous for the "Brezhnev Doctrine" which was a restatement of the links bewteen countries which formed part of the Soviet alliance. Brezhev incidentally later on would reverse some of the changes which Khrushchev had initiated before.

Answer: Juan Velasco Alvarado

Juan Velasco Alvarado was a general who led Peru under the title of the President of the Revolutionary Government. He came into conflict with the United States because of his principles and his actions, among which was to expel the United States Peace Corps from Peru in 1973. He was overthrown in AUgust 1975 by military commanders who said that he had not lived up to his principles.

Answer: Lyndon Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson was the thirty-sixth president of the United States who served as President from 1963-1969. He took the oath of office in an airplane following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Later, after years of the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War, Johnson refused to run for re-election.

He was famous for his work in creating the "Great Society" legislation which included civil rights laws, Medicare (government funded health care for the elderly), Medicaid (government funded health care for the poor), support for education, and the "War on Poverty." Johnson was also the tenth United States Majority Whip--he was a consummate political figure in the U.S. Senate.

Answer: Richard Nixon

Richard Milhaus Nixon was the only United States President to resign from office in the infamous Watergate scandal. He was in the McCarthy Era famous for his run-ins with Wittaker Chambers during hearings of the HUAC (House on Un-American Activities Committee). Ironically, he had come into office intending to bring about reconciliation.

He was a lawyer who loved music; his religion was Quaker. His name is often associated with corruption and slick practices for which he got the name "Tricky Dick."