Questions and Answers about
History
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in HistoryAt what age did influential and controversial diplomat Henry Kissinger die?
Answer: Henry Kissinger, a towering figure in 20th-century diplomacy. died at age 100 on Nov. 29, 2023. Born on May 27, 1923, in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany, Kissinger’s life was a century-spanning saga that saw him flee Nazi persecution as a teenager, serve in the US Army during World War II, and rise to become one…
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in HistoryWho shattered glass ceilings as the first woman to serve as San Francisco Mayor?
Answer: Dianne Feinstein made history as the first woman to serve as Mayor of San Francisco after the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk in 1978. She continued her pioneering journey by serving in the US Senate for over three decades. In this role, Feinstein chaired the investigation into the CIA’s post-9/11 activities.…
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in HistoryFormer US President Jimmy Carter was born in the year of which another significant event?
Answer: Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, was born in 1924 in Plains, Georgia. The League of Nations Assembly adopted the Geneva Protocol a day after his birth. This protocol prohibited using chemical and biological weapons in international armed conflicts. On Oct. 1, 2023, Carter celebrated his 99th birthday at his presidential…
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in HistoryWho was the Catholic Church’s head during World War II?
Answer: Pope Pius XII led the Catholic Church during World War II. His papacy spanned from 1939 to 1958. Recently, a letter dated 1942 was unearthed among his private papers. This letter suggests that the Holy See was informed about the mass exterminations at the Nazi death camp in Belzec, Poland. The revelations from this…
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in HistoryWhich of these blazing events took the flaming crown for the deadliest US wildfire in history?
Answer: The 1918 Minnesota wildfires, better known as the Cloquet fire in Minnesota and Wisconsin, claimed a scorching 453 lives, making it the deadliest wildfire the US has ever seen. Fast forward to 2023, as the Maui Wildfires tried to compete, causing devastation in August and killing 89, earning the undesired title of second-deadliest wildfire…
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in HistoryWhat famous figure met his doom in Rome’s Largo Argentina square?
Answer: Tradition says Julius Caesar died in Largo Argentina Square, where the remains of four ancient temples are located. He was attacked by senators who feared his growing power. Among them was his friend Brutus, to whom he allegedly uttered the famous words “Et tu, Brute?” (And you, Brutus?) as he plunged his dagger into…
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in HistoryWhy was Ted Kaczynski called the Unabomber?
Answer: Ted Kaczynski was an American domestic terrorist who killed three people and injured 23 others with mail bombs from 1978 to 1995. He was motivated by a radical anti-technology ideology and wanted to stop industrial society from destroying nature and human freedom. He mainly targeted professors, scientists, and executives in engineering, computer science, psychology,…
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in HistoryWhich former US president made history by being the first to face federal charges?
Answer: On June 9, 2023, the Department of Justice unsealed a sweeping 37-count indictment against Donald Trump and his aide Walt Nauta. The indictment alleges that they willfully retained and concealed documents containing the nation’s most sensitive secrets, including nuclear programs, after he left office. The indictment also accuses Trump of showing some documents to…
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in HistoryBefore Prince Harry’s June 2023 court testimony, who was the previous British royal to face such an ordeal?
Answer: Prince Albert Edward was Queen Victoria’s eldest son, who became King Edward VII in 1901. One of the illegal Baccarat card games he attended came to trial in 1891, and the prince was called as a witness. This was the first time the heir to the throne was compelled to appear in court since…
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in HistoryWhen was the 14th Dalai Lama born?
Answer: The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. was born on July 6, 1935. He is Tibet’s spiritual leader and describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. On April 10, 2023, the 87-year-old Dalai Lama apologized for asking a boy to “suck his tongue” at a public event in India in late February._x000D_
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in HistoryWhich US president was the first to be arrested and face criminal charges?
Answer: Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury in New York County on Mar. 30, 2023. on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges stem from a hush-money payment his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen, paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. Trump was arrested on Apr. 4,…
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in HistoryWho was known as King Alfred I?
Answer: Alfred Escher helped build Switzerland’s railways and founded Credit Suisse. He was affectionately known as King Alfred I. In 2023, UBS saved Credit Suisse in a deal worth 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.25 billion). As much as the rescue would “secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy,” it centers additional risks on one…
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in HistoryWho built the main building of Gaziantep Castle in Turkey?
Answer: The Romans built Gaziantep Castle in the second and third centuries. The Byzantines strengthened and expanded it during Justinian’s reign._x000D_
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in HistoryWhat was the Boeing 747 known as?
Answer: The Boeing 747 was the world’s first twin-aisle jetliner and redefined air travel. It was nicknamed the “Queen of the Skies.” Boeing delivered the last 747 jumbo jet to Atlas Air on January 31, 2023. Thousands of Boeing employees and other industry executives, including John Travolta, attended the ceremony. Boeing delivered only five 747s…
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in HistoryBefore 2022, when was the last time China recorded a population decline?
Answer: China last saw a population decline during the Great Leap Forward at the end of the 1950s. Mao Zedong’s campaign for collective farming and industrialization led to a massive famine that killed tens of millions._x000D_
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in HistoryPope Emeritus Benedict XVI was the first pope in 600 years to do what?
Answer: Nine years after resigning for the first time in 600 years. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed away on Dec. 31, 2022. Benedict resigned on Feb. 11, 2013, saying he was “lacking the strength of mind and body” because of his advanced age. His resignation was the first by a pope since Gregory XII in…
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in HistoryThe original Hungarians were a mixture of which tribes?
Answer: Hungary’s far-right prime minister, Viktor Orbán, spoke against the “mixing” of European and non-European races in a speech on July 23, 2022, saying, “We (Hungarians) are not a mixed race ¦ and we do not want to become a mixed race”. During his speech, Orban frequently nodded to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which…
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in HistoryWhen did Brazil declare its independence from Portugal?
Answer: Brazil declared the country’s independence from Portugal on Sept. 7, 1822. Portugal officially recognized Brazilian independence three years later, after a long independence war.
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in HistoryWho was Cincinnatus?
Answer: Cincinnatus was the early Roman military leader who gave up power and returned to his farm to live in peace
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in HistoryTchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture was written as a commemoration of what?
Answer: The 1812 Overture was composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia’s successful defense against Napoleon’s army in 1812
