Half Way Through the 20th Century Quiz

Answer: Start of the Korean war

The Korean war began when North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950. It quickly escalated into a major international conflict with the UN and US supporting South Korea, and China and Russia supporting North Korea. Fighting ended in 1953 with the signing of an armistice, but no peace treaty was ever signed, with the result that the two countries are still technically at war.

The People's Republic of China was founded in 1949 and this event is celebrated every year on National Day, which falls on October 1st. Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement agains British rule, was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist in January 1948. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953, having ascended to the throne the previous year.

Answer: World's first successful kidney transplant

The first successful kidney transplant took place in Boston in 1954. Having led the country during World War II, Winston Churchill and his Conservative party were defeated in 1945, but they were re-elected for a second term of office in 1951. He resigned in 1955 at the age of 80.

Answer: Charlton Heston

This is a great film with all the thrills of the circus. Charlton Heston plays Brad Braden, the circus manager, and James Stewart plays Buttons the clown.

Answer: Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger

Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the structure of DNA, a double helix, in February 1953. The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched by Queen Elizabeth II in April 1953. In May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest as part of a British expedition. Hillary was from New Zealand and Norgay was a Nepali Sherpa.

It was in December 1955 that Rosa Parks refused to obey the bus driver's order that she give up her seat in the section of the bus allocated to "coloured" people, when the whites-only places were all occupied, thus giving birth to the Montgomery bus boycott, which was a seminal event in the Civil Rights Movement.

Answer: Roger Bannister ran a mile in less than four minutes

Elvis joined the army in March 1958 and was promoted to sergeant in 1960. It was while he was in the army that he met his future wife Priscilla Beaulieu in Friedberg. Alaska became the 49th state in January 1959. Adolf Eichmann was captured by Israeli the Israeli Secret Service in May 1960.

He was one of the primary organisers of the holocaust. Roger Bannister was the first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes. This happened at the Iffley Road track, now known as the Oxford University track.

Answer: Byron

James Dean's middle name was Byron. He !s best known for his role in the film "Rebel Without a Cause", in which he played the part of troubled teenager Jim Stark. He died at the age of 24.

Answer: Rocky Marciano retired from professional boxing

"On the Waterfront", an American crime drama starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint in her film debut, was released in 1954 and went on to win the Best Picture Award in 1955. It is arguably one of the best movies of all time, having been ranked 8th in the American Film Institute's 1997 list and 19th in its 2007 list. "The Goon Show" was a classic and much loved comedy programme that originally aired on the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960.

Its creator and main writer was Spike Milligan. Harold Macmillan delivered his "wind of change" speech to the South African Parliament in February 1960.

In it he criticised apartheid and referred to the "growth of national consciousness". Rocky Marciano retired at the age of 31 as the first champion with a perfect record, having won all 49 of his professional matches.

Answer: Treaty of Rome

The Treaty of Rome was signed in March 1957, thus establishing the European Economic Community. The signatories were West Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The Maastricht Treaty was signed in February 1992, establishing the three pillars of the European Union (EU) and paving the way for the creation of the single European currency, the Euro, which entered into circulation on January 1st 2002.

There is no European Treaty as such. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 by the United States and Great Britain, thus ending the revolutionary war and acknowledging American independence.

Answer: The Bridge on the River Kwai

"The Ladykillers" is a 1955 black comedy starring Alec Guinness and William Holden. "The Lavender Hill Mob" is a 1951 comedy starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway. "The Horse's Mouth" is a 1958 film based on a 1944 novel of the same name by Joyce Carey. Alec Guinness himself wrote the screenplay and it starred him and Kay Walsh.

Answer: Hawaii became the 50th state of the USA

Hawaii became the 50th state of the USA in August 1959. It is the only state in Oceania and the only one to consist entirely of islands. Brasilia took over from Rio de Janeiro in 1960, because it was deemed preferable for the capital city to be in a more central location. Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union became the first man in space in April 1961, closely followed by Alan Shepard of the USA in May of the same year.

The East German authorities closed the border between East and West Berlin in August 1961 following a haemorrhage of professionals to the west.

The original border was made of barbed wire, which was progressively replaced by a concrete wall 87 miles long punctuated by nine border crossing points.