On This Day Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. A radio bulletin from April 12, 1961, announces that a human has completed an orbit of Earth. Who achieved this milestone?
Sergei Korolev aboard Sputnik 1
Neil Armstrong aboard Apollo 11
Valentina Tereshkova aboard Vostok 6
Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1
2. Which event on October 4, 1957, is commonly associated with the beginning of the Space Age?
Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space
The United States launched Explorer 1
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1
Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit
3. A military dispatch dated June 6, 1944, describes Allied troops landing at beaches code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Which operation is underway?
The Allied invasion of Sicily
The Normandy landings, commonly called D-Day
The evacuation of Dunkirk
Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands
4. A Boston diary entry dated December 16, 1773, describes colonists boarding ships and throwing cargo into the harbor. Which event did the writer witness?
The Boston Tea Party
Celebrations following the repeal of the Stamp Act
The opening clashes at Lexington and Concord
The public reading of the Declaration of Independence
5. A mission-control recording from July 20, 1969, includes the message, “The Eagle has landed.” Which mission is being reported?
Mercury-Atlas 6, the first U.S. crewed orbital flight
Apollo 11, the first mission to land humans on the Moon
Apollo 8, the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon
Apollo 13, which returned safely after an onboard explosion
6. A South African newspaper dated February 11, 1990, shows Nelson Mandela walking free after 27 years in prison. What event is being reported?
Mandela’s inauguration as president
Mandela’s sentencing in the Rivonia Trial
Mandela’s release from prison
South Africa’s first election under universal adult suffrage
7. What occurred on October 24, 1945, after enough countries had ratified the UN Charter?
The League of Nations was formally established
The North Atlantic Treaty was signed
The United Nations officially came into existence
The UN Security Council held its first meeting
8. On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly met in Paris and approved which landmark document?
The four Geneva Conventions of 1949
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
The Charter of the United Nations
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
9. Which event occurred in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, helping trigger the First World War?
The sinking of the Lusitania
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The German invasion of Poland
The Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia
10. Representatives gather aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. What are they there to complete?
Germany’s unconditional surrender
The publication of the Potsdam Declaration
Japan’s formal surrender, bringing the Second World War to an end
The announcement of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
11. Which event took effect in the United States on January 1, 1863?
The Emancipation Proclamation
The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment
The delivery of the Gettysburg Address
The Confederate surrender at Appomattox
12. A ceremony recalls the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” in 1918. What happened at that time?
The Treaty of Versailles was signed
The United States entered the First World War
The League of Nations held its first meeting
The armistice ending fighting on the Western Front took effect
13. The date March 15 is known as the Ides of March. What happened on that day in 44 BCE?
Julius Caesar was assassinated
Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon
Octavian received the title Augustus
Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii
14. A historical calendar marks August 15, 1947, with the end of British colonial rule and the raising of a new national flag. Which event does it identify?
India became independent
India became a republic
The first partition of Bengal took effect
The Quit India Movement began
15. A European newspaper dated May 8, 1945, reports celebrations after Germany’s unconditional surrender became effective. Which anniversary is this?
D-Day
Victory in Europe Day
V-J Day
The opening of the Nuremberg trials
16. An evening news report dated November 9, 1989, shows crowds moving from East Berlin into West Berlin. What development is it documenting?
The formal reunification of Germany
The dissolution of the Warsaw Pact
The beginning of construction on the Berlin Wall
The opening of Berlin Wall border crossings