History by Letter: B

Questions

1. What was the surname of French Emperor Napoleon I, who lost decisive battles at Leipzig, Laon and most famously Waterloo?

2. Ancient city near to modern-day Baghdad, most famous for its hanging gardens - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world?

3. Queen of the Iceni tribe, who led an infamous revolt against Roman forces stationed in Britain?

4. Which city - the birthplace of JRR Tolkien and the historical capital of the Orange Free State - is now the judicial capital of the Republic of South Africa?

5. Which British architect and engineer - one of the faces of the Industrial Revolution - is famous for structures such as Box Tunnel and the Clifton suspension bridge?

6. Which Italian city in Emilia-Romagna (also the namesake of a pasta sauce) is the location of the world's oldest university in continuous operation?

7. Which city in East Asia was often referred to as Peking by westerners during the 19th and 20th centuries?

8. What was the surname of the 19th-century literary siblings Emily, Charlotte and Anne?

9. Which English explorer became - during his attempts to locate the northwest passage between the Atlantic and Pacific - the namesake of a Canadian island, the world's fifth largest, and its neighbouring bay?

10. Which Levantine city was often referred to during the 20th century as the Paris of the Middle East?

11. Which man - the namesake of a country and the currency of his home nation - is credited with leading the liberation of much of South America?

12. Which Scotsman is generally credited with the invention of the telephone?

13. 1 Which battle of 1314 - near modern-day Stirling - marked a decisive victory for Robert the Bruce over Edward II, solidifying Scottish independence over England?

14. Which city - the state capital of Massachusetts and one of the oldest major cities in the US - was the location of an infamous "Tea Party" in 1773?

15. Which modern-day country in western Africa was formerly known as Upper Volta during its French colonial period?

16. The spiritual leader Siddhārta Gautama is most commonly known by what mononym?

17. Which city - the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire - was renamed Constantinople in honour of Emperor Constantine I, before subsequently being renamed Istanbul under the Ottoman Empire?

18. Which city was the official capital of Yugoslavia from its inception in 1918 until its uneasy dissolution in the 1990s?

19. Which densely-populated nation in South Asia was formerly known as East Pakistan before it gained independence in 1971?

20. What was the nickname of the famous Bristolian pirate born Edward Teach?