Weekly History Quiz No.314

The First Battle of El Alamein (1^st – 27^th  July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of World War II, fought in Egypt between Axis forces of the Panzer Army Africa and British Empire and Commonwealth forces of the British Eighth Army under General Claude Auchinleck. The Australian 9^th Division attacked the railway siding at Tel El Eisa, west of El Alamein, seizing and holding high ground. It was an early example of Australian combined arms operations, the Australian attack took more than 1,500 prisoners, routed an Italian Division and overran the German Signals Intercept Company 621.

The siege of Tenochtitlan led directly to the downfall of the Aztec civilization and marked the end of the first phase of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. The Aztec population had been devastated by high mortality due to a smallpox epidemic, which killed much of its leadership.

Maryland was named in honour of Henrietta Maria of France, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to Charles I. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France. Georgia was named for King George II. Virginia may have been named after the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I, but alternatively could have been named because the colonists viewed the land as being untouched. Alternatively it could be related to an Algonquin phrases Wingandacoa or Windgancon, or leader's their name, Wingina.

Watkins focused in a large part on landscape photography, and Yosemite Valley was a favourite subject of his. His photographs of the valley significantly influenced the United States Congress' decision to preserve it as a National Park.

Gorbachev’s policies sought openness and restructuring, ultimately hastening the end of the Soviet Union. Andropov and Brezhnev resisted such reforms.

Jazz draws influence from blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, hymns, marches, vaudeville song, and dance music. New Orleans jazz emerged in the early 1910s, and is personified in the career of Louis Armstrong, a New Orleans local.

Apollo aimed for lunar exploration. Space stations came later (Skylab, Mir, ISS), satellites were already launched by earlier programs, and Mars missions remain uncrewed today.

Post-Impressionism was a predominantly French art movement that developed between 1886 and 1905. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction against Impressionists’ concern for the naturalistic depiction of light and colour. Other artists in the movement include Paul Cézanne and Georges Seurat.

Ancient Cyprus was renowned as a primary source of copper in the Mediterranean, the island's copper resources were so extensive that the word copper is derived from its name.

Also known as Gran Colombia, this was a state that encompassed much of northern South America from 1819 to 1831. It included present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela, along with parts of northern Peru and northwestern Brazil. Gran Colombia was dissolved in 1831 due to the political differences that existed between supporters of federalism and centralism, as well as regional tensions among the peoples that made up the republic. It broke into the successor states of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela; Panama was separated from Colombia in 1903.

Read more about Simón Bolívar and his fight for the independence of South American countries.