The History Guild Weekly History Quiz.
See how your history knowledge stacks up.
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The stories behind the questions
1. What year did the Hindenburg catch fire?
1937 – On May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States, The German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst. 36 people were killed and it brought the era of travel by airship to an end.
2. Who was the first president of Afghanistan after the 2001 invasion by the USA?
Hamid Karzai – served as President of Afghanistan from 22 December 2001 to 29 September 2014. He is also the leader of the Popalzai Durrani tribe of Kandahar. Karzai led tribes around Kandahar against the Taliban; he became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
3. Who said “No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy.”
Horatio Nelson – The superiority of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars was such that when equivalent ships fought the Royal Navy would almost certainly prevail. This was mostly due to the training and experience of the crews, and fed into the aggressive leadership shown by many of the officers, Nelson included.
4. Where were the 1940 Olympics planned to be held?
Tokyo – Read more about the first time Tokyo was awarded the Olympic games here THE PHANTOM OLYMPICS-WHY JAPAN FORFEITED HOSTING THE 1940 OLYMPICS.
5. What language family is both Old English and Old Norse derived from?
Germanic – Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, including English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Yiddish and Scots. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic, which was spoken in about the middle of the 1st millennium BC in Iron Age Scandinavia.
6. How many Ukrainians died during the 1932-33 “Holodomor” or Terror Famine?
3 million – a famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The term Holodomor emphasises the famine’s man-made and intentional aspects such as rejection of outside aid, confiscation of all household foodstuffs and restriction of population movement. Since 2006, the Holodomor has been recognized by Ukraine and 15 other countries as a genocide of the Ukrainian people carried out by the Soviet government.
7. “Deeds not words” is considered to be the motto of which group?
Suffragettes – In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst and others, frustrated by the lack of progress, decided more direct action was required and founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) with the motto “Deeds not words”.
8. Who was the British Prime Minister at the time of the Falklands War?
Margaret Thatcher – The Falklands war of April-June 1982 was the turning point in Mrs Thatcher’s premiership and political career. Prior to the war her popularity had been declining and there were rumours that her party was planning to replace her. The war brought out the best in Thatcher. The British nation enjoyed something they had not known since 1945, a clear military triumph. The victory dragged Thatcher’s leadership from the brink of collapse. She won global celebrity, in both the United States and the Soviet Union, and 10 points were added to her poll rating.
9. What year saw the Islamic revolution in Iran?
1979 – Read more about the Iranian revolution here.
10. Which aircraft is this?
Douglas SBD Dauntless – the SBD proved to be an excellent naval scout plane and dive bomber. It possessed long range, good handling characteristics, maneuverability, potent bomb load, great diving characteristics from the perforated dive brakes, good defensive armament, and ruggedness. Read about it in action in EARLY RAIDS OF THE PACIFIC WAR.
