The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : What historic space mission launched on July 16, 1969 toward the Moon?
Possible answers:
- Apollo 10
- Apollo 13
- Apollo 11
- Gemini 12
Explanation: Apollo 11 was launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon on July 20, 1969, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard the command module Columbia. Armstrong spoke his famous words: 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'
Question 2 : The Vélodrome d'Hiver roundup, which began on July 16, 1942, is described as the largest mass arrest of Jews carried out in France during World War II. How many people were arrested during this roundup?
Possible answers:
- About 3,000 people
- About 8,000 people
- About 13,000 people
- About 20,000 people
Explanation: The Vél d'Hiv roundup, organized by the French police on orders from the Nazi occupation authorities, led to the arrest of 13,152 Jews, including 4,115 children. Almost all of them were deported to the extermination camps. In 1995, President Jacques Chirac was the first French head of state to officially acknowledge France's responsibility for this event.
Question 3 : On July 16, 1801, a major agreement was signed between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII. What is the name of this agreement?
Possible answers:
- The Lateran Treaty
- The French Concordat
- The papal bull
- The Pact of Rome
Explanation: The Concordat of 1801 put an end to the tensions between revolutionary France and the Catholic Church. It recognized Catholicism as the 'religion of the great majority of the French' while guaranteeing freedom of worship. This agreement governed relations between the French State and the Vatican until the law separating Church and State in 1905.
Question 4 : July 16, 1054 traditionally marks the beginning of a great religious schism. Which two Christian entities definitively split on that date?
Possible answers:
- The Catholic Church and the Protestant Church
- The Church of England and the Church of Rome
- The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of Constantinople
- The Coptic Church and the Armenian Church
Explanation: The Great Schism of 1054 caused the break between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of Constantinople. The mutual excommunication between Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I Cerularius was symbolically lifted in 1964 at a historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem.
Question 5 : Which great Norwegian polar explorer, known for being the first to reach the South Pole, was born on July 16, 1872?
Possible answers:
- Fridtjof Nansen
- Roald Amundsen
- Ernest Shackleton
- Robert Peary
Explanation: Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911, beating the British expedition of Robert Falcon Scott by a month. He was also the first to sail through the Northwest Passage. He disappeared in June 1928 during a search mission in the Arctic to find the survivors of a shipwreck.
Question 6 : On July 16, 1965, what strategic structure connecting France and Italy was inaugurated by de Gaulle?
Possible answers:
- The Fréjus Tunnel
- The Great St Bernard Tunnel
- The Mont Blanc Tunnel
- The Simplon Tunnel
Explanation: The Mont Blanc Tunnel, 11.6 km long, was the longest road tunnel in the world at its opening. Dug at a depth reaching 2,480 meters below the summit, it connected Chamonix in France to Courmayeur in Italy. The tunnel was tragically marked by a catastrophic fire in March 1999 that claimed 39 lives.
Question 7 : Which Spanish cyclist, born on July 16, 1964, is famous for winning five consecutive Tours de France between 1991 and 1995?
Possible answers:
- Alberto Contador
- Miguel Indurain
- Carlos Sastre
- Pedro Delgado
Explanation: Miguel Indurain, nicknamed 'Miguelón', dominated the Tour de France from 1991 to 1995, becoming the first rider to win five consecutive Tours. With an exceptional physiology featuring a heart beating only 28 times per minute at rest, he also won the Olympic time trial gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Question 8 : The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, which took place on July 16, 1212 in Spain, is considered a decisive step in which historical process?
Possible answers:
- The Crusades in the Holy Land
- The Reconquista
- The Hundred Years' War
- The Ottoman Reconquest
Explanation: The Reconquista refers to the gradual reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula by Christian kingdoms against Muslim rulers (Moors). The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa saw the kings of Castile, Aragon and Navarre crush the Almohad forces. The Reconquista only ended definitively in 1492 with the fall of the Kingdom of Granada.
Question 9 : What major scientific event takes place on July 16, 1945 for the first time in human history?
Possible answers:
- First launch of a long-range rocket
- First test of an atomic bomb
- First explosion of a hydrogen bomb
- First supersonic flight
Explanation: The first nuclear test in history, codenamed 'Trinity', took place in the New Mexico desert in the United States. The device, nicknamed 'The Gadget', released energy equivalent to around 20 kilotons of TNT. This explosion marked the beginning of the nuclear age and was followed less than a month later by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Question 10 : Ursula von der Leyen is elected President of the European Commission on 16 July 2019. What historic distinction does this election represent?
Possible answers:
- First non-French woman to lead the Commission
- First female president of the European Commission
- First president elected by an absolute majority
- First president from a founding EU country
Explanation: Ursula von der Leyen, former German Minister of Defence, became the first woman to lead the European Commission since its creation in 1958. Her election by the European Parliament was tight: she received 383 votes out of 733, just 9 votes more than the minimum required. She was re-elected for a second term in July 2024.
