Famous dates quiz

Famous dates quiz

No prizes for knowing this picture was taken in 1966, but how well do you know other famous dates? This week there were renewed calls for schools to resist date-swotting because these can be found in the click of a mouse. So let's cherish a few dates while we still know them. And no cheating clicks please...

1.) Multiple Choice Question

Let's start by going back a few years. In what year did the Romans leave Britain?

1. AD 350
2. AD 410
3. AD 424
4. AD 525

2.) Multiple Choice Question

Three kings but which came first - Lackland, Lionheart or Longshanks?

1. Lackland
2. Lionheart
3. Longshanks

3.) Multiple Choice Question

As every good pupil knows, the Battle of Hastings happened in 1066. But so did the Battles of Fulford and Stamford Bridge. Which was first?

1. Fulford
2. Hastings
3. Stamford Bridge

4.) Multiple Choice Question

King Henry VIII married his last wife in 1542 when he was 52, but who was she?

1. Catherine Howard
2. Catherine Parr
3. Anne of Cleves

5.) Multiple Choice Question

Knowing the Gunpowder Plot was foiled on 5 November is the easy bit. What was the year?

1. 1603
2. 1605
3. 1607
4. 1609

6.) Multiple Choice Question

After the English Civil War, King Charles I was executed and England became a republic. The year?

1. 1648
2. 1649
3. 1652
4. 1653

7.) Multiple Choice Question

When did President Lincoln deliver the famous Gettysburg Address?

1. 1854
2. 1856
3. 1861
4. 1863

8.) Multiple Choice Question

Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, but what happened to her in 1877?

1. She became Empress of India
2. Beloved husband Albert died
3. Crimean War breaks out and Victoria declares war on Russia

9.) Multiple Choice Question

In what order did Italy, Japan and the US join the Allies in World War I?

1. US, Japan, Italy
2. Japan, Italy, US
3. Italy, Japan, US

10.) Multiple Choice Question

And staying with the years of the Great War for our final question, in what year was the Russian Revolution?

1. 1916
2. 1917
3. 1918

Answers

1. The Roman army was withdrawn in AD 410, when Emperor Honorious told Britons they would have to defend themselves against Saxon invaders. Roman influence was officially ended in the country.
2. It's Richard the Lionheart, so-called for his courage in battle, who reigned from 1189 to 1199. He was succeeded on his death by his younger brother John, nicknamed Lackland for having no inheritance and for the loss of territory to France. He sealed the Magna Carta in 1215. King Edward I (1272 to 1307) was known as Longshanks for his towering height, and Hammer of the Scots for obvious reasons.
3. It's the Battle of Fulford, which took place on 20 September, followed by the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September and finally the Battle of Hastings on 14 October. The year marked the start of Norman rule.
4. It's Catherine Parr. Henry died in 1547 and she went on to marry Thomas Seymour in the same year.
5. It's 1605. Guy Fawkes and 14 other Catholics smuggled 36 barrels of gunpowder into the House of Lords in an attempt to blow up King James at the opening of Parliament.
6. The Commonwealth of England was established in 1649. Oliver Cromwell was appointed Lord Protector four years later. The monarchy was restored in 1660 under King Charles II , who had been King of Scots since 1649.
7. One of the greatest speeches in history was made on the afternoon of Thursday, 19 November 1863. It was four months after the bloody Battle of Gettysburg, in which the Union defeated the Confederacy in the American Civil War.
8. She became Empress of India after the government of the country was transferred from the East India Company to the Crown. War with Russia began in 1853 and Albert died in 1861.
9. Japan entered the war in August 1914, Italy in April 1915 and the United States in April 1917.
10. It was in 1917. The February Revolution led to the abdication of the monarchy and the October Revolution saw the Bolsheviks seize power.

Your Score

0 - 3 : You're history

4 - 8 : Wonder years

9 - 10 : Glorious Revolution

For a complete archive of past quizzes and our weekly news quiz, 7 days 7 questions, visit the Magazine page and scroll down.