9th September Quiz

1. William the Conqueror died on 9 September 1087 after being injured during a campaign in France. In which city did he die?

2. At the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513, a Scottish king was killed. Name the king, and the English queen who was governing England as regent while her husband fought in France.

3. On 9 September 1543, a nine-month-old girl was crowned Mary, Queen of Scots. In which castle was she crowned?

4. On 9 September 1850, California joined the Union. Which number state did it become?

5. On 9 September 1776, the Continental Congress officially replaced the name "United Colonies" with what?

6. Mao Zedong died on 9 September 1976. Weeks later, four leading radicals were arrested. What were they called, and which of them was Mao's widow?

7. On 9 September 2015, Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Whose record did she pass?

8. A logbook from 9 September 1947 records operators of the Harvard Mark II computer finding the "first actual case of bug being found". What creature was it?

9. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or North Korea, was founded on 9 September 1948. Who was its first leader?

10. Elvis Presley first appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on 9 September 1956, but Sullivan was recovering from a car crash. Which English Oscar-winning actor stood in as host?

11. On 9 September 2001, the Afghan resistance commander Ahmad Shah Massoud was killed by suicide bombers posing as journalists. What was his nickname?

12. At the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, traditionally dated to September 9 AD, the Germanic leader Arminius destroyed three Roman legions. Which Roman general led them?

13. A Russian novelist born on 9 September 1828, by the modern calendar, lived and wrote on his family estate south of Moscow. Name the novelist and the estate.

14. A soul singer born on 9 September 1941 died in a plane crash in 1967. Which song, recorded days before his death, became his first US number one?

15. An English actor born on 9 September 1960 played Charles in which 1994 film written by Richard Curtis?

16. A businessman born on 9 September 1890 built a fried chicken empire. The governor of which state made him an honorary "Colonel"?

17. A French cardinal born on 9 September 1585 was chief minister to which French king?

18. An Italian scientist born on 9 September 1737 made dead frogs' legs twitch with electricity. Which English verb comes from his name?

19. An American computer scientist born on 9 September 1941 co-created the Unix operating system and created which programming language?

20. A French artist who died on 9 September 1901 is famous for his posters for which Montmartre cabaret, opened in 1889?

ANSWERS

1. Rouen

He was buried at the Abbaye aux Hommes in Caen. His corpse was too large for the stone coffin, which reportedly burst when the monks tried to force it in.

2. James IV; Catherine of Aragon

The English army was commanded by Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. Catherine sent Henry VIII a piece of James IV's bloodied surcoat.

3. Stirling Castle

4. The 31st

5. United States

6. The Gang of Four; Jiang Qing

7. Queen Victoria

8. A moth

The moth was taped into the logbook and is now at the Smithsonian. The story is often linked to Grace Hopper, who worked on the machine. The word "bug" for a technical fault was in use long before this, which is why the entry was a joke.

9. Kim Il-sung

10. Charles Laughton

11. The Lion of Panjshir

12. Publius Quinctilius Varus

The exact date of the battle is not recorded. It is usually placed in September 9 AD, but some historians place it in late summer or early autumn. The site is now generally thought to be at Kalkriese, near Osnabrück.

13. Leo Tolstoy; Yasnaya Polyana

Tolstoy was born on 28 August 1828 by the Julian calendar then used in Russia, which is 9 September by the Gregorian calendar.

14. "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (Otis Redding)

15. Four Weddings and a Funeral (Hugh Grant)

16. Kentucky (Colonel Harland Sanders)

17. Louis XIII (Cardinal Richelieu)

18. Galvanise (Luigi Galvani)

19. C (Dennis Ritchie)

20. The Moulin Rouge (Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec)

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