Weekly History Quiz No.279

Born around 1254 in Venice, he travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. He met Emperor Kublai Kahn, and lived in the Emperor's lands for 17 years.

Oswald Mosley launched the British Union of Fascists after visiting Benito Mussolini in Italy. It was strongly supported by the Daily Mail and grew to as many as 50,000 members in the 1930s. Nazi German influence and funds led to the party becoming more violent and antisemitic. The party was banned in 1940 and 740 members, including Mosley, were interned for the period of the war.

The size of a typical legion varied throughout the history of ancient Rome, from around 4,500 to 5,500.

These were the Battle of Fulford, the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the Battle of Hastings. The September 20th Battle of Fulford, near York, saw King Harald Hardrada defeat a Saxon army led by Morcar and Edwin. Five days later King Harald Hardrada was defeated by King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Finally on the 14th of October, the Battle of Hastings saw King Harold Godwinson defeated by William of Normandy.

Issued by Henry IV, the Edict of Nantes ended religious wars in France by granting limited tolerance to French Protestants known as Huguenots.

The four suicide bombs detonated on public transport killed 54 people and injured 784.

In 2001, immediately following the September 11th attacks on the USA, NATO article 5, the collective security guarantee, was activated. NATO countries contributed forces to the US invasion of Afghanistan.

German physics professor Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays in 1895. They were used for medicine occasionally in the years following. In 1914, Marie Curie developed radiological cars to support soldiers injured in World War I. The cars would allow for rapid X-ray imaging of wounded soldiers so battlefield surgeons could quickly and more accurately operate.

Five victims: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly, were murdered between 31st August and 9th November 1888.  These murders are considered the most likely to be linked.

The US Navy in the Pacific theatre was a huge consumer of ice cream. After an assistant to then-Under Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal wrote that "ice cream, in my opinion, has been the most neglected of all the important morale factors," the secretary made getting ice cream to those troops his highest priority. Lieutenant Burt Baskin was based in Vanuatu, and used local fruit in his first creations.