U.S. History trivia quiz

The Game Room
1001
  1. Charles Hughes, who also served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Governor of New York.
1002

Chief Justice of the United States, but yes. My favorite story about him is that a reporter called his home late on Election Night and asked to speak with him about the latest returns from California. A pompous aide, thinking Hughes had won, sniffed, “The President has retired for the evening. May I take a message?” The reporter said, “Yeah, you can tell him he’s not President anymore.”

White House lore.

  1. An entire room is set aside for the White House’s collection of this particular kind of antique utensils.
  2. What used to occupy the ground now occupied by the West Wing?
  3. JFK watched a military review on the South Lawn not long before he died, and Jackie asked an infantry unit from what foreign country to return for his funeral?
  4. The Lincoln boys asked for the pardon of a doll, which the President granted in writing. What was the doll’s name?
  5. What did FDR decide he needed in the White House, after learning of Churchill’s?
1003

No takers? Hmmm…maybe these.

Ill-fated U.S. Navy ships.

  1. This City-class ironclad went down on the Yazoo River in Mississippi, the first ever sunk by an electrically-detonated mine.
  2. The Japanese later said they didn’t really mean to bomb and strafe this warship not long before WW2.
  3. The Israelis later said they didn’t really mean to bomb and strafe this warship in the late 1960s.
  4. The Iraqis later said they didn’t really mean to hit this warship with a missile in the late 1980s.
  5. The North Koreans captured this warship and still maintain it as a propaganda display.
1004
  1. Cairo
  2. Panay
  3. Liberty
  4. Stark
  5. Mayaguez? I think that’s the wrong one…that was the Cambodian one, wasn’t it?
1005

I only got one:

  1. He was the only person to sign all four: the Articles of Association, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and U.S. Constitution.
1006

Yeah, post 1002 is a stumper.

I’ll make a guess on 642: tea service?

Post 1003 is a little easier.
648. The Japanese later said they didn’t really mean to bomb and strafe this warship not long before WW2.
Panay

  1. The Israelis later said they didn’t really mean to bomb and strafe this warship in the late 1960s.
    Liberty ??

  2. The North Koreans captured this warship and still maintain it as a propaganda display.
    USS Pueblo

1007

Ah, that’s the one :).

1008

U.S. Navy tidbits:

  1. These three Rear-Admirals were awarded Medals of Honor in World War II.
  2. The only U.S. Navy cruiser ever sunk by the Royal Navy.
  3. No other ship received more battle stars (for battles participated in) than this one.

Ship nicknames:
656. “Unlucky I”
657. “Blue Swan”
658. “Holiday Raider”
659. “The Mighty Moo”
660. “Bonny Dick”
661. “Swayback Maru”

And apologies for the monocentristic tendency of my questions…it’s hard without looking stuff up…

1009

I’m sure you’re quite shocked to hear that four of these five all strike memories with me. Alas, the only ones I can remember names for are the answers to 649 and 650.

  1. I believe this was the USS Pueblo, but I’m not very confident of that answer.

  2. This was the USS Stark.
    On preview: Oh, bugger. Not only am I wrong in one of these cases, I’m too bloody late. :wink:

Here’s a couple of questions of my own.
662. What was recently (5 year window, here) recovered off the wreck of a ship similar to that referenced in 651?

  1. What US vessel is often named as a victim of the Bermuda Triangle?

  2. A sister ship of the vessel in 663 was refitted in the post WWI years to become the USS Langley. What was her pre-refit name?

1010
  1. I believe this is the USS Enterprise. (The WWII one, that is. I can’t recall her hull number.)

Another question, sparked by Enterprise’s list of ship nicknames.

  1. What USN WWII vessel had a couple of nicknames that were forbidden, on pain of being kicked off the crew, by that vessel’s captain?

  2. Why did the captain in 665. care so much about these nicknames?

1011

That’s right. CV-6…maybe a little to easy in a poster-post combo :).

1012

FWIW, I didn’t make the poster-post connection until I looked up again to see what your name was to credit you with sparking more questions from me.

1013

The OP says we can go back to 1492 for questions, can’t think of any from the 15th Century, but here’s a couple from the 16th

This Spaniard “discovered” the Mississippi River.

What was the conquistador Coronado looking for?

and a couple three Navy themed
Who commanded, or miscommanded the aforementioned USS Pueblo?

This Navy flier had a ringside seat for the Battle of Midway?

What was the first WW II Liberty ship named?

1014

Hernando de Soto.

The Seven Cities of Cibola, supposedly made of gold.

1015

All correct except 651, which 5 time champ got: the USS Pueblo.

1016

Per the OP, please ask no more than five questions at a time.

  1. USS Intrepid
  2. USS Missouri
  3. USS Bonhomme Richard
  4. USS Cyclops
1017

Numbers added, per the OP, for ease in later reference.

  1. DeSoto.
  2. Ens. George Gay, sole survivor of the doomed torpedo squadron
  3. Seems too easy, but… the Liberty?
1018

Correct.

1019

654: The only one I can think of was the Brooklyn, I believe, which at the time of its demise was the Argentine Navy’s Belgrano

And I think the captain of the Pueblo was LCDR Bucher, possibly Lloyd Bucher.

1020

Close, but not quite. The second part is correct.

Sorry about the too many questions. I didn’t really check the OP again. Your answers are correct except for 659: Missouri was the “Mighty Mo”, not the “Mighty Moo”.