20th January Quiz Medium
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1. Every US president since 1937 has begun their term on 20 January. Which numbered amendment to the Constitution set that date?
2. On 20 January 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for a record-breaking time. Which term was he beginning?
3. On 20 January 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, Iran released 52 American hostages. For how many days had they been held?
4. At his inauguration on 20 January 1961, John F. Kennedy said "Ask not what your country can do for you..." How does the line end?
5. On 20 January 1265, a parliament met at Westminster that for the first time included elected representatives of the towns as well as the counties. Who summoned it?
6. George V died at Sandringham on 20 January 1936. According to a popular story, his last words were "Bugger..." which seaside town?
7. On 20 January 1942, senior Nazi officials met at a villa in a Berlin suburb to coordinate the "Final Solution". Name the suburb, and the SS officer who chaired the meeting.
8. The trial of Charles I opened on 20 January 1649. In which London building was he tried?
9. On 20 January 1986, which two leaders announced in Lille that a Channel Tunnel would be built?
10. On 20 January 1887, the US Senate approved a treaty giving the US Navy exclusive rights to Pearl Harbor. With which independent kingdom was the treaty made?
11. In January 1840, the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville sighted a stretch of Antarctic coast and named it after his wife. A penguin species also bears her name. What was it?
12. On 20 January 1982, at a concert in Des Moines, Iowa, Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off what, having thought it was a toy?
13. 20 January is St Agnes' Eve, when young women were said to dream of their future husbands. Which Romantic poet wrote a long poem about it in 1819?
14. An Italian film director born on 20 January 1920 filmed Anita Ekberg wading in which Rome fountain for "La Dolce Vita"?
15. An American astronaut born on 20 January 1930 was the second man to walk on the Moon. What was his first name at birth, before he changed it legally?
16. An American film director born on 20 January 1946 co-created which TV series, which begins with the discovery of the body of Laura Palmer?
17. A naturalist born on 20 January 1910 wrote "Born Free" about raising a lion cub in Kenya. Name the writer and the lioness.
18. An English actor born in Liverpool on 20 January 1934 played the fourth Doctor in "Doctor Who", famous for his very long scarf. Who is he?
19. A singer and songwriter born in Cheshire on 20 January 1971 is the frontman of which British boy band?
20. A French physicist born in Lyon on 20 January 1775 gave his name to which SI unit?
ANSWERS
1. The 20th Amendment
Before 1937, inauguration day was normally 4 March. When 20 January falls on a Sunday, the oath is taken privately that day and the public ceremony is held on the Monday.
2. His fourth
3. 444 days
4. "...ask what you can do for your country"
5. Simon de Montfort (Earl of Leicester)
6. Bognor (Bognor Regis)
The "Bugger Bognor" story is almost certainly not true. The official last words were "How is the Empire?", and other accounts give a curse aimed at a nurse. His doctor, Lord Dawson, later admitted giving him lethal injections to hasten his death.
7. Wannsee; Reinhard Heydrich
8. Westminster Hall
The year is often recorded as 1648 in English documents of the time, because the year then began on 25 March. Charles was executed on 30 January.
9. Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand
10. The Kingdom of Hawaii
11. Adèle (Adélie Land and the Adélie penguin)
The land was sighted around 19-20 January 1840 and claimed for France on 21 January, so sources give different dates.
12. A bat
13. John Keats ("The Eve of St Agnes")
14. The Trevi Fountain (Federico Fellini)
15. Edwin (Buzz Aldrin)
16. Twin Peaks (David Lynch)
17. Joy Adamson; Elsa
18. Tom Baker
19. Take That (Gary Barlow)
20. The ampere (amp) (André-Marie Ampère)
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Thank you, that helps Paul balance future quizzes.