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Quiz about It Happened in 1963
Quiz about It Happened in 1963

It Happened in 1963 Trivia Quiz


1963 was packed full of major events that few of us alive then will forget. Most you should know even if just from school.

A multiple-choice quiz by NormanW5. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Author
NormanW5
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
221,220
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Very Difficult
Avg Score
4 / 10
Plays
2244
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. 1963 was a tense year for the European Union, with some political commentators going so far as to suggest that the Union was doomed to fail. One particular cause for concern was: Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. It was August 28, 1963, at a rally for "jobs and freedom". Martin Luther King gave one of the most important speeches in modern history, and it wasn't the one he'd prepared for the day. Which of his many great speeches was it? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. 1963 was an amazing year for football (soccer in the US). Which of the following happened in 1963? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The death of any one would have made headlines, but on November 22, 1963, three well known and important men died. (Only one dominated the headlines.) Which of the following did NOT die on that date? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. How often is a new country created? It happened in 1963, when several ex-British colonies on the Malay Peninsula, plus Borneo, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore, united to form the Federation of Malaysia. How long did that federation last? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. A major event every year in the 20th century has been the awarding of Nobel prizes. Which of these Nobel laureates won in 1963? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Natural disasters of any magnitude are seared into our memories. What disaster in March of 1963 took the lives of over 1000 people--but is remembered as much for sparing an important cultural site? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Three of the following won Academy Awards in 1963. Which one was nominated but did NOT win? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Pope John XXIII, the beloved Pope who convened Vatican II, died in 1963 after only about 5 years as Pope. How did he die? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Australia initiated which major change in 1963? [Hint: full implementation didn't happen until 1966.] Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. 1963 was a tense year for the European Union, with some political commentators going so far as to suggest that the Union was doomed to fail. One particular cause for concern was:

Answer: De Gaulle's veto of Britain's application to join the Common Market

French President De Gaulle argued that Britain's subsidies to farmers led to artificially low food prices that would hurt European farmers. More importantly, he also said the British would never be "good Europeans" and that the country would be the United States' Trojan horse in the Community.
2. It was August 28, 1963, at a rally for "jobs and freedom". Martin Luther King gave one of the most important speeches in modern history, and it wasn't the one he'd prepared for the day. Which of his many great speeches was it?

Answer: I Have a Dream

This most famous of modern speeches was delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Dr. King delivered the short speech he had prepared and started to sit down, but Mahalia Jackson called to him "Tell them about your dream, Martin!" Dr. King had given similar "Dream" speeches earlier that year, so he proceeded to give the great speech we all know.

"The Birth of a New Nation" was a 1957 sermon, and "Our God is Marching On" was given in 1965 in Montgomery, Alabama.

The mountain top speech, almost as well-known as "I Have a Dream," was his last. He gave it mere hours before his assassination in 1968.
3. 1963 was an amazing year for football (soccer in the US). Which of the following happened in 1963?

Answer: Lev Yashin became the only goalkeeper in the 20th century to win the European Footballer of the Year Award

Football fans will have found this question easy if for no other reason than 1963 is an odd year, and therefore they would have realized it could not have been a World Cup year! England won the World Cup in 1966, and Pelé starred in the Mexico World Cup in 1970. Nike? It didn't even exist in 1963 and has never been a dominant force in football footwear, despite attempts to enter that market.

In my opinion, Lev Yashin was one of the most incredible athletes ever, in any sport. At least I can claim he set the modern standard for goalkeeping. Known as the "Black Panther" for his incredible reflexes, which permitted him to make impossible stops, and his black outfits, Yashin invented new and useful ways to kick the ball away from the penalty area.
4. The death of any one would have made headlines, but on November 22, 1963, three well known and important men died. (Only one dominated the headlines.) Which of the following did NOT die on that date?

Answer: Paul Hindemith

The great composer Paul Hindemith died in 1963, but just barely: December 28. Among many other contributions, Hindemith helped open the door to the use of other musical idioms--such as jazz--in serious compositions.

Writers C. S. Lewis ("The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe") and Aldous Huxley ("Brave New World") both died of natural causes. The death of either writer would have made headlines, had U. S. President Kennedy not been assassinated on that day.
5. How often is a new country created? It happened in 1963, when several ex-British colonies on the Malay Peninsula, plus Borneo, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore, united to form the Federation of Malaysia. How long did that federation last?

Answer: It lasted less than two years, when Malaysia and the Republic of Singapore separated

On August 6, 1965, Federation of Malaysia Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman told Singapore's Lee Kwan Yew that Singapore would be expelled from the Federation. Sure enough, three days later, with no representative from Singapore present, the Malaysian parliament voted 126 to 0 to separate.
6. A major event every year in the 20th century has been the awarding of Nobel prizes. Which of these Nobel laureates won in 1963?

Answer: Greek poet Giorgos Seferis (literature)

Seferis won "for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture."

Rudolph Ludwig Mossbauer shared the 1961 Nobel prize in physics with American Robert Hofstadter. Dag Hammarskjold also won in 1961; Paul Samuelson won in 1970.
7. Natural disasters of any magnitude are seared into our memories. What disaster in March of 1963 took the lives of over 1000 people--but is remembered as much for sparing an important cultural site?

Answer: Bali's Gunung Agung erupted

Besakih is a temple complex built right on the side of the sacred volcano Gunang Agung. When the volcano erupted, the lava damaged but largely flowed around Besakih. The Balinese faithful regard the sparing of the temple as a miraculous sign from the gods.
8. Three of the following won Academy Awards in 1963. Which one was nominated but did NOT win?

Answer: Elia Kazan won Best Director ("America, America")

"Tom Jones" won only four Oscars, but one of them went to Tony Richardson for Best Director. The other three were Best Picture, Best Musical Score, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
9. Pope John XXIII, the beloved Pope who convened Vatican II, died in 1963 after only about 5 years as Pope. How did he die?

Answer: Cancer of the stomach

Born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Pope John XXIII served as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from October 28, 1958 until his death in 1963. His successor was Pope Paul VI.
10. Australia initiated which major change in 1963? [Hint: full implementation didn't happen until 1966.]

Answer: The then-British monetary system began the change to a decimal monetary system

This question was a little more obscure than the rest because the transition to decimal currency took Australia more than a single year. The primary decision to adopt a decimal currency was made after much discussion in 1963, but the new money was not in the till until February 1966.

One of the many decisions that made up full implementation was the choice of a name for the new currency. Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies had proposed the 'Royal', but the 'Dollar' was the name eventually adopted.
Source: Author NormanW5

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