The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte married Joséphine de Beauharnais. What was Joséphine's real first name?
Possible answers:
- Marie-Josèphe-Rose
- Hortense-Eugénie
- Anne-Louise
- Claire-Clémentine
Explanation: Joséphine de Beauharnais was actually named Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de La Pagerie. It was Napoleon himself who nicknamed her 'Joséphine', a name she had never used before. Their civil union took place two days before Napoleon took command of the Army of Italy.
Question 2 : On March 9, 1974, Hirō Onoda surrendered after hiding in the Philippine jungle. How many years had he spent in hiding, unaware that the war was over?
Possible answers:
- 20 years old
- 25 years old
- 30 years old
- 35 years old
Explanation: Hirō Onoda had received strict orders to never surrender. He only laid down his arms after his former superior, General Yoshimi Taniguchi, made a special trip to the Philippines to officially order him to stop fighting. He was pardoned by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.
Question 3 : On March 9, 1883, Louise Michel raised a black flag during an anarchist demonstration in Paris. What is the significance of this gesture in the history of the anarchist movement?
Possible answers:
- It inaugurated the use of the red flag in workers' processions
- It made the black flag a central symbol of anarchism
- It marked the official founding of the French anarchist party
- It caused the ban on all demonstrations in Paris for ten years
Explanation: Before this episode, the red flag was the dominant color of revolutionary movements. By using the black flag during this demonstration that came very close to the Élysée Palace, Louise Michel made this color the central and lasting symbol of worldwide anarchism, still used today.
Question 4 : On 9 March 1762, Jean Calas was sentenced to death. Three years later, in 1765, he was rehabilitated. Which famous Enlightenment philosopher had fought for his rehabilitation?
Possible answers:
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Denis Diderot
- Voltaire
- Montesquieu
Explanation: Jean Calas, a Protestant from Toulouse wrongly accused of killing his son to prevent him from converting to Catholicism, was broken on the wheel in 1762. Voltaire led a relentless campaign for his rehabilitation, which he achieved in 1765. This affair inspired Voltaire to write his famous 'Treatise on Tolerance'.
Question 5 : On March 9, 1309, Pope Clement V established the papal residence in Avignon, an episode nicknamed the 'Babylonian Captivity'. About how long did this period last, during which the popes resided in Avignon?
Possible answers:
- About 20 years
- About 70 years
- About 40 years
- About 100 years
Explanation: The papacy resided in Avignon from 1309 to 1377, nearly 70 years. 7 successive popes governed the Catholic Church from there, all of French origin. The term 'Babylonian Captivity' was used by Petrarch to criticize the papacy's distance from Rome and the influence exerted by the kings of France.
Question 6 : On March 9, 1934, Yuri Gagarin was born. For what historical reason is he world-famous?
Possible answers:
- He was the first man to walk on the Moon
- He was the first man to carry out a spaceflight
- He was the first man to perform a spacewalk
- He was the first man to orbit the Moon without landing on it
Explanation: On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin completed the first crewed spaceflight in history aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft, in 108 minutes. He died tragically on March 27, 1968 in a training aircraft accident. His birthday, March 9, remains a symbolic date in the history of space exploration.
Question 7 : On March 9, 1886, The Carnival of the Animals was created. Which French composer wrote it?
Possible answers:
- Hector Berlioz
- Camille Saint-Saëns
- Gabriel Fauré
- Georges Bizet
Explanation: Camille Saint-Saëns composed The Carnival of the Animals in 1886, but banned its publication during his lifetime, fearing this humorous work would damage his serious reputation. Only 'The Swan' was published while he was alive. The complete work was only published after his death in 1921 and is today one of his most popular compositions.
Question 8 : On March 9, 2015, a collision between two helicopters in Argentina killed ten people, including three French athletes. Among them, which one was an Olympic champion swimmer?
Possible answers:
- Florence Arthaud
- Laure Manaudou
- Camille Muffat
- Coralie Balmy
Explanation: Camille Muffat had won three medals at the 2012 London Olympics, including gold in the 400 metres freestyle. Florence Arthaud was a sailor nicknamed 'la petite fiancée de l'Atlantique', and Alexis Vastine was a boxer. The filming was taking place for the show 'Dropped' on TF1.
Question 9 : On March 9, 1911, France officially abandoned the Paris meridian in favor of the Greenwich meridian. In which British city is this world reference meridian located?
Possible answers:
- Oxford
- Edinburgh
- London
- Cambridge
Explanation: The Greenwich meridian passes through the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, in Greater London. It was adopted as the international reference meridian in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference in Washington. France, long attached to its own meridian, was one of the last major countries to officially recognize Greenwich as the reference.
Question 10 : Bobby Fischer, born on March 9, 1943, is one of the greatest champions in the history of his sport. In what discipline did he excel?
Possible answers:
- Competitive bridge
- Chess
- Go
- International draughts
Explanation: Bobby Fischer became world chess champion in 1972 by beating Soviet Boris Spassky in a legendary match in Reykjavik, in the middle of the Cold War. This duel was as much geopolitical as it was sporting. Fischer, whose behavior was often eccentric, refused to defend his title in 1975 and was declared a forfeit, leaving the crown to Anatoly Karpov.