History Trivia Questions

© 2011 by Ed Kotski

Answers to the questions at the bottom of the page.

Download History Trivia [Document]

Download History Trivia Answers [Document]

Questions

What was President Woodrow Wilson's first name?
After Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Great Britain was the second government to declare war on Japan. Which government was third?
What is the oldest parliamentary institution in the Western Hemisphere? (e.g. the Canadian Parliament, the U.S. Congress, etc.)
What famous American scientist discovered that large storms tend to move from the southwest to the northeast while rotating? Hint: This scientist also originated the concept of high and low atmospheric pressures.
A joint act of the United States Congress in 1953 confirmed the admission of which state to the Union?
Answer this one only if the others are too easy. When Winston Churchill visited the United States in 1941, he attended Christmas Services with the President. Churchill enjoyed singing all the familiar carols, except that one wasn't so familiar. In fact, Churchill had never heard it before. Which one?
Let's go back to the second question, but this time make it a little more interesting. Which government was first?

Enjoy

EK

What was President Woodrow Wilson's first name?
Thomas. It seems to have been a fad of the times to use your middle name. See my article Who was the Man Behind Joyce Kilmer's Tree? for other famous middle-namers.
After Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Great Britain was the second government to declare war on Japan. Which government was third?
The United States. It took President Roosevelt a little time to prepare his address, calling for a declaration of war from Congress. Churchill could react more quickly.
What is the oldest parliamentary institution in the Western Hemisphere? (e.g. the Canadian Parliament, the U.S. Congress, etc.)
The Bermuda Assembly. According to Churchill.
What famous American scientist discovered that large storms tend to move from the southwest to the northeast while rotating? Hint: This scientist also originated the concept of high and low atmospheric pressures.
Benjamin Franklin. We forget a man's greatness too easily. Franklin not only discovered, he acted. See Question 8 below.
A joint act of the United States Congress in 1953 confirmed the admission of which state to the Union?
Ohio. I wouldn't have guessed it in a million years either, but that's the way it is. I found this little gem on a placard at the Jamestown Plantation, near Colonial Williamsburg, Va.
Answer this one only if the others are too easy. When Winston Churchill visited the United States in 1941, he attended Christmas Services with the President. Churchill enjoyed singing all the familiar carols, except that one wasn't so familiar. In fact, Churchill had never heard it before. Which one?
O Little Town of Bethlehem. Well, after all, this is a music site too.
Let's go back to the second question, but this time make it a little more interesting. Which government was first?
The Royal Netherlands. This one came from Churchill. The royal family had fled Holland and were refugees in England, so all it took was the royal stroke of a pen. I think The Man would have liked to have been first, but, as he knew, better than most, that's just the kind of little joke History plays on her fondest admirers.
Who were these people ??
I thought I'd include this, just because they did such interesting things. I've always admired those who can trust themselves, when all men doubt them, yet make allowance for their doubting, too. (Thanks, Joe.)
1. Winston Churchill is one of the greatest and most interesting men who ever lived. He becomes twice so, because of the great and interesting people he brought to himself. Historian, artist, patriot, writer, crack shot (he bested Eisenhower target shooting), raconteur, horseman, warrior, linguist, wall builder, and wit. I've left out Parliamentarian, because it might be mis-translated these days as Politician.
2. Fred Lindemann, The Prof, college professor and Churchill's trusted adviser. Among his other achievements, he invented the Lindemann Maneuver. I don't remember all the details, but here's the gist: In the early days of flying, pilots would crash and die when their planes went into an uncontrollable spin. Lindemann worked out, on paper, the correct procedure for a pilot to follow to get out of a spin. He then betook himself to the proper military authorities, who stood to benefit the second-most, by whom he was promptly told to go home and mind to the things that he knew, thank you, and leave the business of flying to the experts.
  Which he did. Except that Lindemann learned how to fly. And then, wearing his bowler hat, without which no proper Englishman would be caught dead, he showed up one day at the local airfield. I don't know if he told the owner of the plane what he was up to, but I suspect he did not. At any rate, up he went, and then, deliberately putting himself into the dreaded death spin, down he came. Fortunately for England and for the rest us, his theory worked and he landed safely. Now they listened to him, and his procedure became standard practice.
3. Benjamin Franklin used to be known, in the old days when people still read, as one of the Founding Fathers. Without Franklin, there wouldn't be any United States. Franklin had it all - charm, wealth, influence, good looks, and genius. Even his fellow gods could be just a little bit jealous of Ben. John Adams, great himself, complained (but privately) of Franklin's popularity among the French, and especially among the French ladies. Adams couldn't understand why people preferred Franklin, with his somewhat mangled French, to him, more correct but less likable. Adams is another of my heros, but we're running out of space.
  A few people might still remember that Franklin is one of the few people able to tame mother nature. His invention of the lightning rod made him famous, and his reputation grew as others, less wise and less lucky, duplicated his experiment but died in the process.
  I don't think that very many would recognize his face today, even though a fortunate few carry his portrait around in their wallet, on $100 bills. Writers and artists can see for themselves what he looked like by visiting one of many free, online sites.
The methods used by Franklin and Lindemann, are harsh in separating out the wheat from the chaff, and so have fallen out of favor. None the less, our times have a great need for something similar. I've read that the old Greeks had an effective way to test new laws. If a law didn't work well, the person who proposed it was put to death or was banished.

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