December Quiz (Questions only)

1. Napoleon's coronation as Emperor at Notre-Dame, his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, and his nephew Louis-Napoleon's coup d'état in 1851 all took place on which date?

2. The Boston Tea Party took place on 16 December 1773. Name two of the three ships whose cargoes of tea were thrown into Boston Harbour.

3. On 17 December 1903, which of the Wright brothers flew the first powered flight, and to the nearest few seconds, how long did it last?

4. On 12 December 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal. Which letter of the alphabet was sent in Morse code, and on which Canadian island was it received?

5. Which explorer became the first person to reach the South Pole, on 14 December 1911?

6. Apollo 17 in December 1972 was the last crewed Moon landing. Who was the last person to walk on the Moon?

7. On Christmas Eve 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 read aloud from which book of the Bible while orbiting the Moon?

8. Which Neolithic passage tomb in County Meath, Ireland, has a "roof box" that lets the sunrise light up its inner chamber around the winter solstice?

9. Which Roman festival began on 17 December, and which god did it honour?

10. Before he became associated with Christmas, Saint Nicholas, whose feast day is 6 December, was bishop of which town in what is now Turkey?

11. In the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas", if every gift is counted each time it is given, how many gifts does the true love give in total?

12. In Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge a Christmas party thrown by his old employer. What is this employer's name?

13. Which keyboard instrument, then quite new, did Tchaikovsky use for the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" in "The Nutcracker"?

14. The Four Seasons' 1975 hit "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" was first written about a different year and a different historic event. What were they?

15. Which single kept Wham!'s "Last Christmas" off the UK number one spot in 1984, and in which year did "Last Christmas" finally reach number one?

16. Who sang the female part on The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York", and which song kept it off the UK Christmas number one spot in 1987?

17. How old was Brenda Lee when she recorded "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" in 1958?

18. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in 1939 by Robert L. May for a promotional booklet. Which American department store chain did he work for?

19. Bing Crosby first sang Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" in which 1942 film?

20. Charlie Chaplin (1977), James Brown (2006) and George Michael (2016) all died on which date?