General Knowledge Contents

TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1934-04-21  On this day in 1934 the famous picture of the Loch Ness Monster was first published on the cover of news papers after Dr Robert Kenneth Wilson claimed the image was genuine. Dr Wilson requested not to be affiliated with the photo when it went to print leading to its nickname as the ‘surgeon’s photo’. This image was later proven to be a hoax.  1934-06-30In 1934 “Night of the long knives” (Hitler ordered the assassination of high-ranking Nazi Officers). When German President Paul Von Hindenburg died on the 2nd of August 1934, Chancellor Adolf Hitler took steps to dissolve democracy and become the supreme leader of Germany. Hitler’s next move was to ensure that no one within his own government had the power to overthrow him in a coup. Hitler’s friends and high-ranking officers within the Nazi party had helped him come to power but many of them were also powerful in their own right. Ernst Rohm was leader of the Sturm Abteilung (Storm Troopers). A 3 million man force of Nazi police, much larger than the German army, who had aided Hitler’s rise to power by suppressing any political opposition. Hermann Goering accompanied Hitler on the "Beer Hall Putsch" which was an early unsuccessful attempt to take control of the German government by force. Goering formed the Gestapo (the Nazi’s secret police) on the 26th of April 1933. Still, Goring gave command of the Gestapo to Heinrich Himmler on the 20th of April 1934 before taking control of the Luftwaffe (Germany’s mighty air force) in 1935. Goring would later be promoted above all other Nazi officers to Reichsmarschall making him...

TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1933-01-05In 1933 America started work on its Golden Gate Bridge. The Golden Gate Straight is a mile-wide and three-mile-long channel between San Francisco and Marin County in California, USA. On this day, work began bridging the gap with a 2.7 km or 1.7 mile suspension bridge. The bridge officially opened on the 27th of May 1937 taking a little over four years to complete.1933-11-12In 1933 Mr Hugh Gray claimed to have taken photographic evidence of the Loch Ness Monster The original mention of a monster in Loch Ness comes from St Columba's biography in 565 AD. However modern-day sightings and ‘hype’ started again in 1933, after the release of the original King Kong movie which featured a long sea serpent-like creature. The King Kong movie was released on the 2nd of March 1933 and was closely followed by the first ‘photographic evidence’ of the Loch Ness Monster said to have been taken on the 12th of November 1933 by a Mr Hugh Grey. The photo is an extremely blurred and out-of-focus image which could resemble many things but was released on the front cover of the Scottish Daily on the 8th of December under the heading of “Monster photographs of the mysterious Loch Ness object”. The Daily Mail added to the hype by hiring movie maker and big-game-hunter, Marmaduke Wetherell (or Duke Wetherell), to investigate. Despite finding no real evidence the claim of possible giant footprints on the side of the lock not only sold papers but increased belief in the monster. Claimed sightings continued and then on the 21st of April 1934 the much clearer and more famous picture was...

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TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1931-12-11In 1931 the Statute of Westminster gave legal independence to Canada, Australia, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa. These nations all joined the British Commonwealth of Nations as it was then known. In 1884 during the era of the British Empire, some of the countries under British rule became self-governing but still retained the British monarch as their heads of state. These countries were known as the British Commonwealth of Nations. In 1926 at the Imperial conference, the UK and its dominions agreed that they were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". 1930 saw the first version of the Commonwealth Games (then called the British Commonwealth Games) held in Canada. In 1931 ‘the statute of Westminster’ gave legal Independence to Canada, Australia, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa. Canada, South Africa and the Irish Free State quickly enacted the statute becoming Independent, the other countries waited over a decade to become independent (Australia in 1942, New Zealand in 1947 and Newfoundland was reincorporated into Canada in 1949).  All these countries joined the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1931 after the statute of Westminster was agreed.               TIMELINE...

TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1930-02-18In 1930 Pluto was discovered at the Lowell observatory in Arizona, US by astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh. The ninth planet was first proposed by Percival Lowell, an American businessman who became an accomplished astronomer. He predicted a ninth planet or ‘planet X’ as he called it from the perturbations (a slight wobble or deviation) of the orbital path of Uranus and Neptune (These wobbles are normally caused by the gravitational pull of foreign bodies). He searched for many years at the Lowell observatory, which he founded, but was unable to find planet X. After his death, as lens technology improved the observatory were able to install a larger, more powerful telescope which Tombaugh used to continue the search. On this day in 1930 Tombaugh found the tiny planet but the observatory waited until the anniversary of Lowell’s birth (13th of March) to announce their findings.1930-05-01   On this day in 1930 the dwarf planet Pluto was officially named.   Pluto was first predicted by astronomer Percival Lowell but it was not actually discovered until the 18th of February 1930 by astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh working at the Lowell observatory which was set up to find the illusive planet.. Percival always referred to the predicted planet as “Planet X”. The discovery was made public to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Lowell’s birth on the 13th of March 1930. On the 14th of March the story was being read around the breakfast table in Oxford, England to a young 11-year-old girl called Venetia Burney by her granddad. They were discussing possible names and due to Venetia’s current interest in Roman and Greek gods as well as...

TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1929-01-02In 1929 Martin Luther King Jr. Was born in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A1929-08-16  In 1929 Rioting began in Mandatory Palestine between Jewish settlers and Arabic Palestinians.   In the 19th Century a great number of Jews and some people of other faiths began to support the idea of the Jewish people returning home to the Holy Land, an act known as Aliyah, and the creation of a Jewish homeland once more. This movement was known as Zionism and by 1882 a large scale immigration of Jews to Palestine began.   In 1840 Palestine became under the administration of Ottoman Empire and by 1917 the First World War had reached most of Palestine and the Holy City of Jerusalem. The Arabs in Palestine had already planned to start an uprising against the Ottoman Empire and the British gave assurances that they would support an uprising and guarantee the Independence of the Arabs if they were successful. British and Commonwealth forces managed to secure Jerusalem by the end of 1917 and by the 25th of September 1918 they had freed Palestine from the Ottoman forces. However the United Kingdom did not keep its promise to the Palestinians. On the 2nd of November the Foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, also promised to support a home for the Jewish people in Palestine in a letter known as the Balfour Declaration. At the end of World War I administration of the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Allied powers and Britain received a Mandate from the League of Nations to Govern Palestine.   The Arabic people were understandably furious and the United Kingdom had to deal...

TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1928-05-07  On this day in 1928, women in the United Kingdom were finally given the right to vote at the age of 21 (the same as men). The battle for women to vote in the UK had continued since the end of the 19th century with the Suffragette movement. They suffered severe hardship in their struggle with the forced feeding of hunger strikers and acts of immense bravery. On the 4th of June 1913, suffragette Emily Davison ran in front of King George V’s horse at the Epsom Derby and was instantly killed. Her protest was, at the time, dismissed as the act of a person with mental illness rather than the act of a desperate protester seeking equality. Many of the campaigners didn’t survive to witness the day when the “Equal Franchise Act” was signed giving women the same voting rights as men and allowing them to vote at the age of 21. 1928-07-07In 1928 Sliced Bread first went on sale.   Otto Frederick Rohwedder was an American inventor who made the first loaf slicing machine in 1928 with production and sale of the first pre-sliced loaf going on sale on his 48th birthday, the 7th of July 1928 in Missouri, United States. The advertisement for the sliced loaf at the Chillicothe Baking Company was "the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped". This led to the saying “the best thing since sliced bread”.               TIMELINE...

TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1925-07-18In 1925 the first volume of Hitler’s manifesto, Mein Kampf was published. When the German government resumed paying reparations to France and Great Britain for World War I many people in Germany were angered. This played into the hands of the Nazi party and its leader, Adolf Hitler. As support for the Nazi party grew Hitler saw an opportunity to begin an uprising against the German government. On the 3rd of November, Hitler and 2,000 Nazi members marched through Munich and into Munich Beer Hall. Hitler took over the meeting that was being held there by important Bavarian politicians and made claims that he would overthrow the German Government and with their help place them at the heart of government. On the 4th of November Hitler again began to march through Munich but they were met by armed police and the uprising was quashed. Hitler was arrested for the Act that would later be called ‘the Beer Hall Putsch’ and sentenced to 5 years which began on the 1st of April 1924 in Landsberg Jail. Hitler considered himself to be a political prisoner and while in prison, Hitler began to dictate his autobiographical book ‘Mein Kampf’ (or my struggle). He originally wanted to name the book “Viereinhalb Jahre (des Kampfes) gegen Lüge, Dummheit und Feigheit” (or Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice) but Hitler’s publisher, Max Amann later suggested the shorter version. Hitler dictated his story to fellow prisoner and Nazi party leader, Rudolf Hess. Hess had been a supporter of Hitler’s for many years and it was his involvement in the Beer Hall Putsch incident that put him in...

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TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1926-01-26In 1926 John Logie Baird, the Scottish engineer, first demonstrated the television to 50 scientists in an attic in London, England.  In 1925, Baird demonstrated the first working television system, using a mechanical method to transmit grayscale images. In 1926, he showcased the first public demonstration of television, marking a major milestone in the technology’s evolution. Baird also pioneered early experiments with colour television and stereoscopic (3D) television. A year later in 1927 American inventor Philo Farnsworth (from where the professor on Futurama got their name) made advancements in transmitting images, which he first demonstrated in 1927, but some erroneously accredit him with the invention of the television.               TIMELINE...

TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1924-01-21In 1924 Vladimir Lenin died of a brain haemorrhage at the age of 54 Lenin was the first leader of the Soviet Union and the founder of the communist revolution in Russia. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, was a revolutionary leader, political theorist, and the founder of the Soviet Union. Lenin was born on April 22, 1870, in Simbirsk (later renamed Ulyanovsk in his honour), a provincial town in the Russian Empire. Lenin came from an educated middle-class family. His father was a school inspector, and his mother was a cultured woman with noble ancestry. The execution of his older brother, Alexander Ulyanov, in 1887 for participating in a plot to assassinate Tsar Alexander III profoundly influenced Lenin, solidifying his opposition to autocratic rule. Lenin studied law at Kazan University but was expelled for participating in student protests. He continued his education independently, becoming well-versed in Marxist theory and revolutionary ideas. In the early 1890s, Lenin moved to St. Petersburg, where he joined revolutionary circles and began organizing workers. In 1895, Lenin was arrested for revolutionary activities and exiled to Siberia. During this time, he married Nadezhda Krupskaya, a fellow revolutionary. After his Siberian exile ended, Lenin spent years in Switzerland, Germany, and other European countries, writing extensively on Marxist theory and building connections with socialist movements. Lenin published What Is to Be Done? in 1902, advocating for a disciplined, vanguard party to lead the revolution. In 1903, Lenin played a central role in splitting the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party into two factions: the Bolsheviks, which he led, and the Mensheviks. In early 1917, the...

TIMELINE 1900's DateTypeEvent1923-11-08In 1923 Hitler led some 2,000 NAZI supporters on ‘the Beer Hall Putsch’. When the German government resumed paying reparations to France and Great Britain for World War I many people in Germany were angered. This played into the hands of the Nazi party and its leader, Adolf Hitler. As support for the Nazi party grew Hitler saw an opportunity to begin an uprising against the German government. On the 8th of November, Hitler and 2,000 Nazi members marched through Munich and into Munich Beer Hall. Hitler took over the meeting that was being held there by important Bavarian politicians and made claims that he would overthrow the German Government and with their help place them at the heart of government. On the 9th of November Hitler again began to march through Munich but they were met by armed police and the uprising was quashed. Hitler was arrested for the Act that would later be called ‘the Beer Hall Putsch’ and sentenced to 5 years which began on the 1st of April 1924 in Landsberg Jail.               TIMELINE...