October 14 — This Day in History

 

1. The Norman Conquest

   Question 1: On this day in 1066, Norman-French forces under William the Conqueror decisively defeated King Harold II and the Anglo-Saxons at which landmark clash in English history?

• [A] Battle of Agincourt

• [B] Battle of Hastings

• [C] Battle of Bosworth Field

• [D] Battle of Bannockburn

• Correct Answer: B (Battle of Hastings)

2. A Queen on Trial

   Question 2: In October 1586, which royal figure was placed on trial in England on charges of treason and plotting the assassination of Queen Elizabeth I?

• [A] Catherine of Aragon

• [B] Lady Jane Grey

• [C] Mary of Guise

• [D] Mary, Queen of Scots

• Correct Answer: D (Mary, Queen of Scots)

3. The Desert Fox’s Final Stand

   Question 3: On October 14, 1944, which highly decorated German Field Marshal died by forced suicide after being implicated in the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler?

• [A] Erwin Rommel

• [B] Heinz Guderian

• [C] Erich von Manstein

• [D] Gerd von Rundstedt

• Correct Answer: A (Erwin Rommel)

4. Piercing the Sound Barrier

   Question 4: On October 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager made aviation history by becoming the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound aboard which rocket-powered experimental aircraft?

• [A] Bell X-1

• [B] North American X-15

• [C] Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

• [D] Douglas Skyrocket

• Correct Answer: A (Bell X-1)

5. Honoring a Civil Rights Icon

   Question 5: At age 35, which charismatic leader became the then-youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize on this day in 1964 for championing nonviolent resistance against racial injustice?

• [A] Malcolm X

• [B] John Lewis

• [C] Martin Luther King Jr.

• [D] Medgar Evers

• Correct Answer: C (Martin Luther King Jr.)

6. Legendary Olympic Upset

   Question 6: At the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games, which Oglala Lakota runner pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in track and field history to claim gold in the 10,000-meter race?

• [A] Billy Mills

• [B] Jim Thorpe

• [C] Gerry Lindgren

• [D] Ron Clarke

• Correct Answer: A (Billy Mills)

7. Transition of Power in Cairo

   Question 7: Following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, which Egyptian politician was sworn in as the nation's new president on October 14, 1981?

• [A] Gamal Abdel Nasser

• [B] Hosni Mubarak

• [C] Mohamed Morsi

• [D] Boutros Boutros-Ghali

• Correct Answer: B (Hosni Mubarak)

8. Voice of the Holocaust Survivors

   Question 8: Born in Romania, which Holocaust survivor, human rights activist, and author of the seminal memoir Night was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on this day in 1986?

• [A] Elie Wiesel

• [B] Primo Levi

• [C] Simon Wiesenthal

• [D] Imre Kertész

• Correct Answer: A (Elie Wiesel)

9. Leap from the Edge of Space

   Question 9: On this day in 2012, which Austrian daredevil broke the sound barrier in human free fall after leaping from a stratospheric balloon 24 miles above the New Mexico desert?

• [A] Joe Kittinger

• [B] Felix Baumgartner

• [C] Alan Eustace

• [D] Luke Aikins

• Correct Answer: B (Felix Baumgartner)

10. Quest for Ocean Worlds

    Question 10: On October 14, 2024, NASA launched the Europa Clipper spacecraft aboard a SpaceX rocket to investigate whether habitable conditions exist beneath the ice sheet of which moon?

• [A] Titan

• [B] Enceladus

• [C] Europa

• [D] Ganymede

• Correct Answer: C (Europa)