The Year of the Rat Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1960

For no other reason than it was the year I was born, our first "Year of the Rat" began on 28 January 1960 and ended on 14 February 1961.
Other events that took place this year include Elvis Presley's discharge from the US Army, Lucille Ball filing for divorce from Desi Arnaz, spy-plane pilot Francis Gary Powers being shot down and captured by the USSR, "Ben-Hur" won a record number of Oscars, the capital of Brazil was relocated from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia and world population topped the 3 billion mark.
Births during this year of the Metal Rat include tennis champion Ivan Lendl, UK TV host Jeremy Clarkson, sprinter Linford Christie, novelist Ian Rankin, singers Bono and Sarah Brightman, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, football legend John Elway, actors Antonio Banderas, Hugh Grant and Sean Penn, baseball legend Cal Ripkin jr and soccer legends Diego Maradona and Gary Lineker.
Those that died during the year include singer Eddie Cochran, philanthropist John D Rockefeller jr, novelist Boris Pasternak, actor Clark Gable, librettist Oscar Hammerstein II and English suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst.

Answer: 1912

This Year of the Rat began on 18 February 1912 and ended on 5 February 1913.
Other events that occurred during this year include the sinking of the Titanic, Robert Falcon Scott's expedition party all die in Antarctica, Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English Channel, Universal Studios was founded, Alaska became a U.S. territory, and New York City's Grand Central Terminal reopens as the world's largest railroad station.
Births during this Year of the Water Rat include painter Jackson Pollack, novelist Pierre Boulle, actors Gene Kelly, Lloyd Bridges and Karl Malden, British PM James Callaghan, North Korean President Kim il-Sung, singer Perry Como, golfing legends Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, mathematician Alan Turing, musician Woody Guthrie and US President Richard Nixon. (Spot any in that list who have the characteristics of a typical Rat?)
Those that died during the year include nursing pioneer Clara Barton, novelist Bram Stoker, King Frederick VIII or Denmark and aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright.

Answer: 1984

This Year of the Rat began on 2 February 1984 and ended on 19 February 1985.
Other events that occurred during this year include Bruce McCandless II and Robert L Stewart making the first untethered space walk; Konstantin Chernenko succeeds Yuri Andropov as Soviet leader, Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement, the Soviets boycott the Los Angeles Olympics, Richard Ramírez (the "Night Stalker") murders his first victim, Beverly Burns becomes the world's first woman Boeing 747 captain, Space Shuttle Discovery makes its maiden voyage and the charity single "We Are the World" is recorded by "USA for Africa".
Famous births during this Year of the Wood Rat include singers Mandy Moore, Duffy, Gareth Gates, Katy Perry and Olly Murs, actresses Scarlett Johansson and Olivia Wilde, baseball slugger Prince Fielder and Superbowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco.
Those that died during the year include Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, actors Richard Burton and James Mason, actresses Dame Flora Robson and Diana Dors, singer Marvin Gaye, comedians Eric Morecambe and Tommy Cooper, photographer Ansel Adams, baseball legend Walter Alston, Indian PM Indira Gandhi, musician Count Basie, poet John Betjeman, and novelists J.B. Priestley and Truman Capote.

Answer: 1936

This Year of the Ray began on 24 January 1936 and ended on 10 February 1937.
Other events that occurred during this year include Radium E becoming the first radioactive element made synthetically, construction of the Hoover Dam is completed, RMS Queen Mary makes maiden trans-Atlantic voyage, "Gone with the Wind" is published, Max Schmeling knocks out Joe Louis, Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, the first World Speedway Championship is held at Wembley Stadium in London, King Edward VIII abdicates the British throne and the first edition of "Life" magazine is published.
Births during this Year of the Fire Rat include actors Alan Alda, Robert Redford and Burt Reynolds, football legends Jim Brown and John Madden, auto-racer Jim Clark, actresses Glenda Jackson and Ursula Andress, South African President F.W. de Klerk, composer Philip Glass, chess champion Boris Spassky, singers Don Everly, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Dame Shirley Bassey, baseball great Don Drydale, fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain and "Muppet" creator Jim Henson.
Those that died during the year include novelists Maxim Gorky and G.K. Chesterton, psychologist Ivan Pavlov and aviation pioneer Louis Blériot.

Answer: 1888

This Year of the Rat began on 12 February 1888 and ended on 30 January 1889.
Other events that occurred during this year include Frederick III becomes German Emperor, De Beers Consolidated Mines is founded in Kimberley, South Africa, in Scotland, Celtic F.C. plays its first official match, beating Rangers F.C. 5-2, "Casey at the Bat" is published, the British Parliament passes an act permitting bicycles on the road, John Boyd Dunlop patents the pneumatic bicycle tyre and Preston North End win the inaugural Football League in England. The year also includes the longest date in Roman numerals: VIII-XXVIII-MDCCCLXXXVIII (28 August, 1888).
Births during this Year of the Earth Rat include statesman John Foster Dulles, composer Irving Berlin, novelists Raymond Chandler, T.E. Lawrence, Eugene O'Neill and T.S Eliot, athlete Jim Thorpe, inventor John Logie Baird, singer Maurice Chevalier and comedians Harpo Marx and Will Hay.
Those who died during this year include novelist Louisa May Alcott, poet Matthew Arnold and U.S. General Philip Sheridan

Answer: 1996

This Year of the Rat began on 19 February 1996 and ended on 6 February 1997.
Other events that occurred during this year include Alanis Morissette becomes the youngest ever winner of the "Album of the Year" Grammy (a record subsequently beaten in 2010), John Howard becomes Australian PM, in Scotland, 15 infant-school pupils and one teacher die in the Dunblane Massacre, the San Jose Clash beat D.C. United 1-0 in the first Major League Soccer match, Benjamin Netanyahu is first elected as PM of Israel, the Northern Territory in Australia legalizes voluntary euthanasia, Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal successfully cloned from an adult cell, one killed and 111 injured at the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Boris Yeltsin become Russian Premier and Oasis play the biggest free-standing concert in UK history at Knebworth, Hertfordshire.
Births during this Year of the Fire Rat include Oscar-nominated actresses Hailee Steinfeld and Abigail Breslin, singer-songwriter Jasmine van den Bogaerde aka 'Birdy' and actor Ryan Ochoa.
Those who died during this year include actors George Burns and Jon Pertwee, actresses Claudette Colbert, Dorothy Lamour and Greer Garson, singers Eva Cassidy and Ella Fitzgerald, novelist P.L. Travers and astronomer Carl Sagan.

Answer: 1924

This Year of the Rat began on 5 February 1924 and ended on 23 January 1925.
Other events that occurred during this year include the first state execution using gas in the U.S. takes place in Nevada, Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" premieres in New York City, Calvin Coolidge makes the first Presidential radio broadcast from the White House, Hitler is sent to jail for five years for his part in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch although he serves only eight months, J.Edgar Hoover is appointed head of the new Bureau of Investigation, voting becomes compulsory in Australia and Edwin Hubble announces that Andromeda is another galaxy and that the Milky Way is only one of many such galaxies in the universe.
Births during this Year of the Wood Rat include actors Lee Marvin and Marlon Brando, composer Henry Mancini, comedian Tony Hancock, Presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, legendary football coach Tom Landry, actress Lauren Bacall and novelist Truman Capote.
Those who died during this year include opera composer Giacomo Puccini and novelists Franz Kafka and Joseph Conrad.

Answer: 1972

This Year of the Rat began on 15 February 1972 and ended on 2 February 1973.
Other events that occurred during this year include Soviet spaceship "Luna 20" landing on the Moon, the launch of "Pioneer 10" on its mission to be the first man-made satellite to leave the solar system, the film "The Godfather" is released, Sylvia Cook and John Fairfax complete their journey rowing across the Pacific, Okinawa is returned to Japan after 27 years of U.S. occupation, Sally Priesand becomes the first female U.S. rabbi, five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the Watergate complex, Bobby Fischer defeats Boris Spassky in Iceland to become the first American world chess champion, eleven Israeli athletes are murdered in the Olympic Village in Munich, Alex Comfort's "The Joy of Sex" is published, the last executions by guillotine take place in France and the F.B.I. hires its first female agents.
Births during this Year of the Water Rat include NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, boxer Joe Calzaghe, actresses Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Garner, singers Liam Gallagher and Geri Halliwell, soccer star Zinedine Zidane and actor Ben Affleck.
Those who died during this year include FBI Director J.Edgar Hoover, poets Ezra Pound and Cecil Day-Lewis, actress Dame Margaret Rutherford, The Duke of Windsor (former King Edward VIII), sailor Sir Francis Chichester, U.S. Presidents Harry S Turman and Lyndon B Johnson, baseball legend Jackie Robinson and Canadian PM Lester Pearson.

Answer: 1900

This Year of the Rat began on 31 January 1900 and ended on 18 February 1901.
Other events that occurred during this year include the founding of FC Bayern, Germany's most successful soccer club, The Siege of Mafeking takes place during the Second Boer War in South Africa, the Boxer Rebellion ends in China, L.Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is published in Chicago, the first zeppelin flight takes place over Lake Constance in Germany, a hurricane near Galveston TX kills 8,000 people and the Commonwealth of Australia is founded.
Births during this Year of the Metal Rat include U.S. politician Adlai Stevenson, actors Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable, inventor Charles Richter, nazi Heinrich Himmler, composer Aaron Copeland and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother).
Those who died during this year include automotive pioneer Gottlieb Daimler, railway engineer Casey Jones, novelist Stephen Crane, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composers Sir Arthur Sullivan and Giuseppe Verdi, writer/wit Oscar Wilde and Queen Victoria.

Answer: 1948

This Year of the Rat began on 10 February 1948 and ended on 28 January 1949.
Other events that occurred during this year include the founding of the stock car racing organization NASCAR, the World Health Organization, Laurence Olivier's film version of "Hamlet" premieres in London, the Israeli Declaration of Independence is made, the first monkey astronaut (Albert I) is launched into space from New Mexico, the Berlin Blockade began, David Lean's film "Oliver Twist" premieres in London, the "National Health Service Acts" are enacted in the UK, the World Council of Churches is established, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicated and the first snow ever recorded in Los Angeles falls. Many of the Axis leaders from WWII were executed this year, Germans in Nuremberg in June and Japanese in Tokyo in December.
Births during this Year of the Earth Rat include musicians Rory Gallagher and Brian Eno, actors Billy Crystal, Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Irons, singers Elaine Paige, Steven Tyler, Robert Plant, Stevie Nicks and James Taylor, NHL legend Bobby Orr, composer Andrew Lloyd Weber, novelists George R,R. Martin and Terry Pratchett, actress Kathy Bates, cartoonist Garry Trudeau and football legend Terry Bradshaw.
Those who died during this year include baseball legend Babe Ruth, "Boys Town" founded Father Edward J Flanagan, filmmaker D.W. Griffith, U.S. General John J Pershing, impresario Rupert D'Oyly Carte, U.S. First Lady Edith Roosevelt, land/water speed record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell, director Victor Fleming and publisher Nelson Doubleday.