Weekly History Quiz No.234

In April 1980 six Iranian Arabs campaigning for an independent Khuzestan Province, took 26 people hostage in the Iranian embassy in London. They were rescued by the SAS six days later, in an event that brought the special forces unit back into the public eye. One hostage was killed and two wounded during the assault, the remaining 17 hostages were unharmed, a remarkable result for a counterterror operation such as this. This stands in stark contrast to the German assault on the hostage takers at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where all 9 hostages were killed in the assault.

Ultra intelligence gained by the decryption efforts of the Bletchley Park team was kept highly secret. It was only disclosed to the most senior members of the government and military, and even fewer knew its origin.

Built in 113 CE, it commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars.

The Pullman Company owned and operated most sleeping cars in the United States from 1867 until the mid-20th century.

Most sleeping car porters were Black, making the Pullman company the largest employer of African Americans in the United States when they unionised as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925. This became an important source of strength for the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement in the early 20th century, notably under the leadership of A. Philip Randolph.

The novel tells the story of Robinson Kreutznaer, who is cast away and spends 28 years on a remote tropical desert island near the coasts of Venezuela and Trinidad. It is thought to be based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who lived for four years on a Pacific island from 1704-1709.

John Profumo, the UK Secretary of State for War had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model Christine Keeler in 1961. What created significant concern was the suspicion that Keeler may have been simultaneously involved with Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché, thereby creating a possible national security risk.

The American painter was a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. Pollock used a distinctive 'drip technique' of pouring or splashing liquid paint onto a horizontal surface.

HMS Wager was wrecked on an island off the coast of Chile. Most of the crew mutinied against their captain, David Cheap, abandoning him and a group of loyal crew members on the island, and set off in a small boat for Portuguese territory in what is now Brazil. Survivors from both groups eventually reached England, where the mutineers were subject to a court martial.

A regular soldier who rose to the rank of Colonel prior to the First World War, his skill saw him promoted to Marshal of France. In the wake of Germany's invasion in 1940 Pétain was summoned from retirement to lead the country. Those who called upon him thought the old soldier would stiffen the resolve of the government to resist the invasion. In a shock move he immediately opened negotiations with the Germans, leading to the surrender.

Crowned King of Mercia in 924, within just two years he had consolidated power to become the first King of England.