The Notable Events Of History Quiz!

1. Aug. 28, 1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place in the nation's capitol, where more than 200,000 people listened as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. The speech was delivered in front of the memorial for ...

Thomas Jefferson

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Abraham Lincoln

A memorial inspired by the speech was unveiled in D.C. on Aug. 22. King is the first person of color to have a memorial on the Mall.

Explanation

A memorial inspired by the speech was unveiled in D.C. on Aug. 22. King is the first person of color to have a memorial on the Mall.

2. Aug. 28, 1955: Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, was abducted from his uncle's home in Money, Miss., by two white men after he had supposedly whistled at a white woman; he was found brutally slain three days later. True or false: Neither man served prison time.

True

False

Nobody served time. Roy Bryant, Donham's husband, and his half brother, J.W. Milam, were acquitted of the crime by an all-White jury in 1955. The two men later confessed in an interview with Look magazine. Both are now dead.

Explanation

Nobody served time. Roy Bryant, Donham's husband, and his half brother, J.W. Milam, were acquitted of the crime by an all-White jury in 1955. The two men later confessed in an interview with Look magazine. Both are now dead.

3. Aug. 29, 1877: The second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Brigham Young, died in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 76. Who was the first president?

Wilford Woodruff

John Taylor

Joseph Smith, Jr.

In 1826, Joseph Smith, Jr.'s family moved from Vermont to Palmyra, N.Y., where Mormons believe he had the visions that led to the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Explanation

In 1826, Joseph Smith, Jr.'s family moved from Vermont to Palmyra, N.Y., where Mormons believe he had the visions that led to the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

4. Sept. 3, 1978: This pope was formally installed as leader of the Roman Catholic Church; however, he died 33 days later. Was it Pope John Paul I or Pope John Paul II?

Pope John Paul I

Pope John Paul II

One of Pope John Paul I's first decisions on his election was to dispense with the millennium-old papal coronation and the use of a papal tiara. The new pope was instead installed in a new low key inauguration ceremony. After Pope John Paul I's sudden death less than a month later, the new pope, John Paul II, opted to continue with John Paul I's precedent of replacing the papal coronation with a low key inauguration.

Explanation

One of Pope John Paul I's first decisions on his election was to dispense with the millennium-old papal coronation and the use of a papal tiara. The new pope was instead installed in a new low key inauguration ceremony. After Pope John Paul I's sudden death less than a month later, the new pope, John Paul II, opted to continue with John Paul I's precedent of replacing the papal coronation with a low key inauguration.

5. Sept. 2, 1986: A judge in Los Angeles sentenced Cathy Evelyn Smith to three years in prison for involuntary manslaughter for her role in the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi. (Smith served 18 months.) Of the following drugs, which was NOT used in the dose that killed Belushi?

Heroin

Cocaine

PCP

Cathy Evelyn Smith, a rock 'n' roll backup singer, was sentenced for injecting the comedian with a fatal ''speedball'' of cocaine and heroin.

Explanation

Cathy Evelyn Smith, a rock 'n' roll backup singer, was sentenced for injecting the comedian with a fatal ''speedball'' of cocaine and heroin.

6. Aug. 31, 1986: Of the following two disasters that occured on the same day and year, which had the most casualties: Aeromexico jetliner and private plane collide over Cerritos, Calif.; Soviet passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov collides with a merchant vessel in the Black Sea.

Jetliner crash over Calif.

Ship collision in Black Sea

Ship collision in Black Sea reportedly had 448 deaths; the jetliner crash had 82 deaths.

Explanation

Ship collision in Black Sea reportedly had 448 deaths; the jetliner crash had 82 deaths.

7. Sept. 2: In what some regard as the birth of the Internet, two connected computers at the University of California, Los Angeles, passed test data through a 15-foot cable. What year was it?

1969

1972

1977

In 1969, two computers at the University of California, Los Angeles, successfully transmitted test data through a 15-foot cable, which is considered by some as the birth of the Internet. This event marked the beginning of the ARPANET project, a precursor to the modern Internet.

Explanation

In 1969, two computers at the University of California, Los Angeles, successfully transmitted test data through a 15-foot cable, which is considered by some as the birth of the Internet. This event marked the beginning of the ARPANET project, a precursor to the modern Internet.

8. Aug. 30 1905: Ty Cobb made his major-league debut as a player for the Detroit Tigers hitting a double in his first at-bat in a game against the New York Highlanders. (The Tigers won 5-3.) True or false: Most of his career was played with another team.

True

False

Cobb only played for one other team, the Philadelphia Athletics, and it was only for a season. Ctill holds major-league records, including highest career batting average.

Explanation

Cobb only played for one other team, the Philadelphia Athletics, and it was only for a season. Ctill holds major-league records, including highest career batting average.

9. Aug. 31 1969: Boxer Rocky Marciano died a day before turning 46. The cause of death was ...

Brain aneurysm

Plane crash

Car crash

Marciano was the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. He died in a 1969 plane crash in Iowa.

Explanation

Marciano was the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. He died in a 1969 plane crash in Iowa.

10. Sept. 1 1972: American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik Iceland as Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union resigned before the resumption of game 21. About how long did he hold than title?

Fewer than 5 years

More than 5 years

He gave it up the same year

He lost his world title in 1975 after refusing to defend it against Anatoly Karpov. He dropped out of competitive chess and largely out of view, spending time in Hungary and the Philippines and emerging occasionally to make outspoken and often outrageous comments. He died in 2008 at age 64.

Explanation

He lost his world title in 1975 after refusing to defend it against Anatoly Karpov. He dropped out of competitive chess and largely out of view, spending time in Hungary and the Philippines and emerging occasionally to make outspoken and often outrageous comments. He died in 2008 at age 64.