History by Letter: E Quiz

Questions

1. 1 Which inventor is known for having invented the phonograph, motion picture camera and the first practical electric light bulb?

2. Which waterway - completed in 1825 - was designed to link the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean, via the Hudson River?

3. Which English Queen was the American state of Virginia named in honour of?

4. Which Norse explorer is thought to have been the first European to land in North America, when he founded the colony of Vinland, nearly 500 years before Columbus?

5. Which building was the tallest man-made structure in the world for 41 years, until the opening of the Chrysler Building in 1930?

6. Which country - then known as Abyssinia, and led by King Haile Selassie - resisted Italian invasion and occupation during the reign of Mussolini?

7. Which English king died in January 1066, sparking the crisis of succession which resulted in William of Normandy's invasion and the Battle of Hastings?

8. Which musician died suddenly at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee on August 16th, 1977?

9. What creature has represented the Republican party in American politics since around the 1860s or 1870s - perhaps originally meant to symbolise strength?

10. Which currency was introduced as an accounting currency on 1st January 1999, before going into full circulation 3 years later?

11. By what name was Tokyo known prior to it becoming the capital of Japan in 1868?

12. Which ancient peoples of modern-day Tuscany appears in history as an early rival of the Romans?

13. To which island was Napoleon exiled in 1814 (he would later escape) after his first great defeat?

14. Which Scottish city was a hub of the Enlightenment, home to groundbreaking thinkers such as David Hume and Adam Smith?

15. Which Greek polymath is commonly referred to as the "father of geometry"?

16. Which future US President was made Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe in December 1943?

17. Which famous aviatrix disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean in 1937 during an attempted circumnavigation of the globe?

18. Which German received a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his contribution to the discovery of the photoelectric effect, a major step in the development of quantum theory?

19. Which powerful kingdom of the ancient world was ruled by 31 dynasties, ending with the Ptolemaic kingdom of Cleopatra I's demise at the hands of the early Roman Empire?

20. Which English king was known as Longshanks, and the Hammer of the Scots - referring to his height (long trousers) and his military campaigns in Scotland and Wales?