History 130122

History 130122 is a selection of 10 questions. History 130122 is the filename to differentiate it from other History quizzes. Feel free to use any of these questions and answers for your own quizzes. Just keep in mind that you cannot republish them in any format.

1   What position did Heinrich Himmler have in the Reich’s administration?
A   Reichsführer of the SS (Head of the SS – as well as Chief of the German Police [overseeing the Gestapo] and the Minister of the Interior)

2   Two items of clothing got their names because of the Crimean War, the cardigan is one; what is the other?
A   The balaclava helmet (the cardigan was named the 7th Earl of Cardigan, who led the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava – hence the balaclava; knitted headwear was sent over to the British troops to help protect them from the bitter cold weather there)

3   What name did the Soviet Union give to their first series of artificial satellites?
A   Sputnik (first one launched 4th October 1957)

4   Who reigned over England and Ireland in the year 1600?
A   Queen Elizabeth (1st) (reign 17 November 1558 – 24 March 1603)

5   Sailors from which ship mutinied in 1789 and settled on Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific?
A   HMS Bounty (known to historians as HM Armed Vessel Bounty)

6   In which century did Samuel Pepys write his famous diary?
A   The 17th century (he kept a diary from 1660 until 1669 detailing eyewitness accounts of the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London)

7   After the Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939, which country did they next invade in April 1940?
A   Denmark (and then Norway, to secure shipments of iron ore from Sweden)

8   In which country is El Alamein, the town famed for two battles between the Axis and Allied forces during World War II?
A   Egypt

9   Which war began on 25th June 1950?
A   The Korean War

10   Which Judge led a series of trials known as the Bloody Assizes, held in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor of 1685?
A   Judge Jeffries (Lord Chief Justice George Jeffreys)