1. On 22 October 1797, a Frenchman made the first recorded parachute descent from a great height, jumping from a hydrogen balloon above Paris. Who was he?

2. On 22 October 1836, a former governor of Tennessee was sworn in as the first elected president of an independent republic in North America. Name him and the republic.

3. A famous New York opera house opened on 22 October 1883. Name it.

4. On 22 October 1962, President Kennedy told Americans on television that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear missiles on an island 90 miles from Florida. Which island? What did he announce that the US Navy would do?

5. On 22 October 1964, a French philosopher became the first person to voluntarily turn down the Nobel Prize for Literature. Who was he?

6. On 22 October 1966, a British double agent who had spied for the Soviet Union escaped from a London prison, partly using a rope ladder. Name him and the prison.

7. On 22 October 1938, an American inventor made the first ever photocopy in a makeshift lab in Queens, New York. Name him. Which company later made his invention famous?

8. A Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso was born on 22 October 1811. He caused fan hysteria wherever he played. Who was he?

9. A French actress born on 22 October 1844 became perhaps the most famous stage actress of all time, and kept performing even after having a leg amputated. Who was she?

10. A French painter died in his home town in Provence on 22 October 1906, after being caught in a storm while painting outdoors. Name him and the town. Which mountain did he paint over and over again?