28th February Quiz Medium

Last updated

Posted in calendar quizzes 20 questions, about 25 minutes to run

1. On 28 February 1953, Francis Crick reportedly walked into a Cambridge pub and announced that he and James Watson had found "the secret of life". Name the pub.

2. On 28 February 1986, a European prime minister was shot dead while walking home from the cinema with his wife. Name him and the city where it happened.

3. A ceasefire ended the Gulf War on 28 February 1991. For roughly how many hours had the ground war lasted?

4. On 28 February 1983, the final episode of "M*A*S*H" became the most-watched TV programme in US history at the time. During which war was the series set?

5. On 28 February 1975, a London Underground train crashed into the end of a tunnel at Moorgate, killing 43 people. On which line was the train running?

6. On 28 February 1922, Britain declared Egypt independent. Who became the country's first king a few weeks later?

7. Pope Benedict XVI's resignation took effect on 28 February 2013. Who was the last pope before him to resign, in 1415?

8. The general election of 28 February 1974 produced a hung parliament. Who replaced Edward Heath as prime minister a few days later?

9. On 28 February 1935, Wallace Carothers made the first nylon at which American chemical company?

10. A French writer born on 28 February 1533 gave its name to a whole literary form when he called his short reflective pieces "Essais". Who was he?

11. An American chemist born on 28 February 1901 is the only person to have won two Nobel Prizes that he did not share with anyone. In which two fields?

12. A guitarist born in Cheltenham on 28 February 1942 founded the Rolling Stones. He drowned in 1969 at his house in Sussex, which had once been the home of which children's author?

13. A Canadian-born architect born on 28 February 1929 designed a famous titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum in which Spanish city?

14. An Italian-born American racing driver born on 28 February 1940 won the Formula One World Championship in which year, and for which team?

15. An American gangster born on 28 February 1906 helped build a Las Vegas casino resort that opened in 1946. What was it called?

16. An English illustrator born on 28 February 1820 was chief cartoonist for "Punch" and drew the original pictures for which two famous children's books?

17. A French acrobat born on 28 February 1824 became famous for crossing what on a tightrope, sometimes blindfolded or carrying his manager on his back?

18. An American-born novelist who died on 28 February 1916, having become a British subject, wrote which 1898 ghost story about a governess and two children at Bly?

19. An American film director born on 28 February 1903 directed "Gigi" and "Meet Me in St. Louis". Name him, and his famous wife who starred in the latter film.

20. An English poet born on 28 February 1909 is grouped with W.H. Auden, Louis MacNeice and Cecil Day-Lewis as one of the leading poets of the 1930s. Who was he?

ANSWERS

1. The Eagle

The story comes from Watson's book "The Double Helix". Crick later said he did not remember saying it. Their paper was published in Nature on 25 April 1953.

2. Olof Palme; Stockholm

The murder was unsolved for decades. In 2020, Swedish prosecutors named a suspect, Stig Engström, who had died in 2000, and closed the case.

3. About 100 hours

4. The Korean War

5. The Northern line (the Highbury branch, now the Northern City Line)

The Highbury branch, between Moorgate and Finsbury Park, was then run as part of the Northern line. It was transferred to British Rail a few months later and is now part of the National Rail network.

6. Fuad I

7. Gregory XII

8. Harold Wilson

9. DuPont

10. Michel de Montaigne

11. Chemistry and Peace (Linus Pauling)

12. A.A. Milne (Cotchford Farm; Brian Jones)

13. Bilbao (Frank Gehry)

14. 1978; Lotus (Mario Andretti)

15. The Flamingo (Bugsy Siegel)

16. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" (Sir John Tenniel)

17. The Niagara Gorge, just below Niagara Falls (Charles Blondin)

18. The Turn of the Screw (Henry James)

19. Vincente Minnelli; Judy Garland

20. Stephen Spender

How was this quiz?