Weekly History Quiz No.305

In 1832, 23-year-old Abraham Lincoln served for three months as a Captain in the Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War. This war saw Sauk leader Black Hawk lead an incursion into Illinois in an attempt to reclaim their lost land.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh 'National Volunteer Union' is an Indian right-wing Hindutva volunteer paramilitary organisation. Formed in 1925, the group played an active part in the violence that followed partition in 1947. Still active today, the group is considered the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which currently governs India.

The creation independent India and Pakistan saw the vast majority of the population of the British Empire leave it. British India had a population of around 410 million just prior to independence, of an estimated total population of the British Empire of 530 million.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact included a non-aggression clause and secret protocols dividing Eastern Europe. The other agreements addressed different issues and periods.

The death of Lt. Robert Paz heightened tensions, which had been rising after Noriega annulled the results of the Panamanian general elections, which appeared to have been won by opposition candidate Guillermo Endara. No UN mandate was issued, and the Canal was not seized.

Privateers held government-issued letters of marque, permitting them to attack ships from specified countries, in accordance with certain conditions. Merchant captains focused on trade, naval officers served formally in fleets, and pirates were independent and illegal.

Held in Chamonix, France 28 years after the establishment of the modern Olympic Games in 1896. 16 events were contested in 5 sports, including military patrol, a team sport which combines cross-country skiing, ski mountaineering and rifle shooting.

Hoover was key to the founding the FBI in 1935, serving as director for 37 years until his death in 1972.

Harald travelled to the Byzantine imperial court and distinguished himself in campaigns fighting in Sicily, the Greek islands and Bulgaria. He also visited Jerusalem, bathing in the river Jordan and honouring Christ at the Tomb of the Holy Sepulchre.

Bahadur Shah Zafar was the twentieth and last Mughal emperor and an Urdu poet. He had limited authority, but was adopted as leader by the forces attacking the East India Company during the Indian Rebellion / First Indian War of Independence of 1857. In the wake of their defeat he was deposed and exiled.