Weekly History Quiz No.248

The Last Glacial Period ended around 11,700 years ago, leading to sea level rise that saw the British Isles cut off from Europe, and Tasmania from the Australian mainland.

A British Short 184 seaplane became the first aircraft ever to spot an enemy fleet in battle at Jutland in 1916. It was flown by Frederick Rutland, who became influential in developing naval aviation after the war, as well as becoming a spy for the Japanese during the interwar period.

The House of Tudor was an English and Welsh dynasty that first held the throne of England in 1485 when Henry VII, also known as Henry Tudor, took the Crown from Richard III. It ended in 1603, with the death of the childless Elizabeth I.

Harald Hardrada invaded northern England in September 1066 and was victorious at the Battle of Fulford on 20th September, but was then defeated and killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25th of September by Harold Godwinson. Harold then marched to oppose William, who had landed in the south, while leaving a significant portion of his army to defend the north. Harold's army confronted William's invaders on 14th of October at the Battle of Hastings, where William's forces defeated and killed Harold.

One of only four surviving portraits of women painted by Leonardo, it depicts Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, one of Leonardo's patrons.

South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard transplanted the heart of accident victim Denise Darvall into the chest of Louis Washkansky, who had heart failure. Washkansky regained full consciousness and was able to talk, but died 18 days later of pneumonia, largely brought on by the anti-rejection drugs.

After Muhammad's death in 632, there was an immediate split between the majority Sunnis, who believed that the Caliphs of the Islamic community should be chosen by consensus, and the Shia, who believed that Mohammad’s successors should be members of his own family, beginning with Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law.

The first brewer known to export beer to India was George Hodgson’s Bow Brewery. Its beers became popular among East India Company traders’ provisions in the late 18th century for being two miles up the Lea from the East India Docks, and Hodgson’s liberal credit terms of 18 months. His beers benefited from the conditions of the voyage and were highly regarded amongst its consumers in India. The highly hopped IPA was an evolution of their October beer, a highly hopped beer designed for cellaring.

The first standing stones, cut from dolerite, transported 240 km from the Preseli Hills, Wales, were erected around 2600 BCE. Construction continued at the site for another 1000 years.

Portugal has been allied with Britain for the majority of the last 6 centuries, since the signing of the Anglo Portuguese Treaty in 1373. While Portugal was not initially part of WW1, German U-Boats sinking Portuguese ships lead to them entering the war in 1916. The Portuguese sent a significant expeditionary force to fight in France, where they fought well. Over 12,000 Portuguese soldiers were killed.

During WWII Portugal remained neutral, but continued extensive trade with the Allied nations.