18th July Quiz Medium
- 20 questions
- about 25 minutes to run
- published 7 Aug 2021
- updated
1. The Great Fire of Rome broke out on the night of 18 July AD 64. Which emperor, from your 15 December round, is said to have "fiddled while Rome burned"?
2. On 18 July 1870, the First Vatican Council declared that the Pope cannot err when speaking officially on matters of faith. What is this doctrine called?
3. Which European civil war began with a military uprising on 17 to 18 July 1936?
4. On 18 July 1976, a 14-year-old Romanian gymnast scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic history. Name her. What did the scoreboard show?
5. A Batman film released on 18 July 2008 won a posthumous Oscar for the actor who played the Joker. Name the film and the actor.
6. On 18 July 1872, a British law introduced something voters had never had before. What?
7. On 18 July 1918, the Allies launched a counterattack that turned the tide on the Western Front. Which battle, on a French river?
8. An English novelist born in Calcutta on 18 July 1811 wrote "Vanity Fair", whose anti-heroine is Becky Sharp. Who was he?
9. An English cricketer born on 18 July 1848 is often called the greatest of the Victorian era, and was famous for his huge beard. Who was he?
10. The South African leader from your 12 June round was born on 18 July 1918. What is the day called that the UN now marks every 18 July?
11. A British businessman born on 18 July 1950 started out with a student magazine and a record shop. Name him and his company.
12. An American astronaut born on 18 July 1921 became the first American to orbit the Earth and, in 1998, the oldest person in space at 77. Who was he?
13. An English parson-naturalist born on 18 July 1720 wrote a famous book about the wildlife of his Hampshire village. Name him and the village.
14. An English scientist born on 18 July 1635 coined the word "cell" for the tiny structures he saw through a microscope. Name him and his famous book.
15. An Australian fast bowler born on 18 July 1949 caused a row in a 1979 Test match by batting with a bat made from an unusual material. Name him and the material.
16. The novelist from your 16 December round died on 18 July 1817. In which city did she die, and where is she buried?
17. An Italian painter famous for dramatic light and shadow died on 18 July 1610, while travelling back to Rome to seek a pardon for murder. Who was he?
18. An Italian poet who wrote hundreds of sonnets to a woman called Laura died on 18 or 19 July 1374. Who was he?
19. A German-born singer and model who sang with The Velvet Underground died in Ibiza on 18 July 1988. What was her stage name?
20. The naval hero from your 23 September round died in Paris on 18 July 1792. Where was his body finally reburied, more than a century later?
ANSWERS
1. Nero
The story of Nero fiddling is a myth: the fiddle had not been invented, and the historian Tacitus says Nero was in Antium when the fire started and hurried back to organise relief. Rumours did say he sang about the fall of Troy while the city burned.
2. Papal infallibility
3. The Spanish Civil War
The uprising began in Spanish Morocco on 17 July and spread to mainland Spain on 18 July. Both dates are given as the start of the war.
4. Nadia Comăneci. The scoreboard showed "1.00", because it could not display 10.00.
5. "The Dark Knight". The actor was Heath Ledger.
6. The secret ballot (the Ballot Act)
7. The Second Battle of the Marne
8. William Makepeace Thackeray
9. W.G. Grace
10. Nelson Mandela International Day (Mandela Day)
11. Richard Branson, Virgin
12. John Glenn
13. Gilbert White, of Selborne ("The Natural History of Selborne")
14. Robert Hooke, "Micrographia"
15. Dennis Lillee. The bat was made of aluminium.
16. Winchester. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral.
17. Caravaggio
18. Petrarch
19. Nico
20. At the US Naval Academy in Annapolis
Jones's body was found in a forgotten Paris cemetery in 1905, preserved in alcohol in a lead coffin. It was taken to Annapolis and placed in a crypt there in 1913.
How was this quiz?
Thank you, that helps Paul balance future quizzes.