Quiz Pages -
75 Years of Recent History Quiz -
1946 Who made a speech that first spoke of the Iron Curtain’? Churchill
1947 What role did Stafford Cripps take on at the end of the year? Chancellor of the Exchequer
1948 What new Middle Eastern state was declared in May? Israel
1949 What body was established to unite a number of nations against the Soviet threat? NATO
1950 What war broke out in this year? Korean
1951 Which two British diplomats spying for the USSR fled to Moscow? Burgess and Maclean
1952 What royal event occurred in February? Death of King George, Eliz II ascends the throne
1953 Who conquered Everest and in what month? Edmund Hilary & Sherpa Tenzing, end of May
1954 What happened on the Bikini Atoll? H-
1955 What was launched this year? USS Nautilus, first nuclear submarine
1956 What contest was first held in Switzerland this year? Eurovision Song Contest
1957 What Pandemic started in Feb of this year? Asian Flu
1958 What did Bertrand Russell launch in this year? CND
1959 What central American country went Communist? Cuba
1960 What war broke out this year? Vietnam
1961 Who became the new US President in January? John F Kennedy
1962 Who did Decca Records famously reject in January? The Beatles
1963 Who became PM in October? Harold Wilson
1964 What was the Beatles first US No.1 single in February? I want to hold your hand
1965 Whose state funeral was conducted in January? Winston Churchill’s
1966 What was televised for the first time in April? Opening of Parliament
1967 What was first pumped ashore in March? North sea Gas
1968 What famous figure was shot dead on April 4th? Martin Luther King Jr
1969 What famous iconic jet is flown for the first time in February? Boeing 747 Jumbo
1970 What country severed itself from the Commonwealth and declared itself a republic? Rhodesia
1971 What now famous educational institution opened in January? Open University
1972 What hand-
1973 What first communication was made in April? A hand-
1974 Where did two bombings occur in England in November? Birmingham pubs
1975 What famous ground-
1976 What first commercial flight occurred in January? Concorde
1977 What royal celebration occurred this year? Queen’s Silver Jubilee
1978 What famous radio series was first broadcast in March? Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
1979 Philips demonstrated what publicly for the first time? The CD
1980 What famous hand-
1981 What famous race first occurred in March of this year? London Marathon
1982 What famous early personal computer was launched in January? Commodore 64
1983 What spacecraft was launched on its maiden voyage in April? Space Shuttle Challenger
1984 What secondary education exam changed to what? O Level & CSE became GCSEs
1985 What did Vodaphone first launch in January? First UK mobile phone network
1986 What special child was born in April? First child to a non-
1987 What special envoy was kidnapped in January (& held nearly four years)? Terry Waite
1988 What famous national grouping collapsed in February? The Soviet Union
1989 What craft was launched into space in February? The first of 24 global Positioning Satellites
1990 What famous person was released from prison in February? Nelson Mandela
1991 What invasion provoked what war? Of Kuwait by Iraq – the Gulf War
1992 What did Bush & Yeltsin agree in February? End of the Cold War
1993 What two US rivers caused major flooding in February on? Mississippi and Missouri
1994 What famous construction opened in May? Channel Tunnel
1995 What coming together was there in space in June? Space shuttle Atlantis & Mir space station
1996 What ‘special animal’ was born in July? Dolly the Sheep (cloned)
1997 Who came famously to power in the May election? Tony Blair
1998 What famous Internet company was founded in September? Google
1999 What currency was established in January 1st? Euro
2000 What research project was announced in July? Human Genome Project
2001 What UK outbreak started in February? Foot & Mouth
2002 What famous royal funeral occurred in April? Of the Queen Mother
2003 What war began in March? The Iraq War
2004 What was the first ever recorded South Atlantic tropical cyclone? Caterina
2005 What Internet entertainment form was launched in February? YouTube
2006 What country’s population reached 300 million this year? USA
2007 What did Steve Jobs introduce in January? The original iPhone
2008 What occurred fuelled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis? Tumbling world stock markets
2009 What ‘finance system’ first appeared? Blockchain -
2010 What Internet posts were launched in October? Instagram
2011 Which terrorist death occurred on May 2nd? Osama bin Laden
2012 What print edition was discontinued in March? Encyclopedia Britannica
2013 Who spilled the beans on US intelligence and fled to Russia? Edward Snowden
2014 What virus outbreak occurred in West Africa? Ebola
2015 With whom did the US re-
2016 What monumental UK event occurred in June? Europe Referendum
2017 Which non-
2018 Who went south for the first time in April? Kim Jong-
2019 Who beat England in the Rugby World Cup? South Africa
2020 Why did New South Wales declare a state of emergency? Bush fires