The Battle of Agincourt (1415)

It was dramatized in Henry V in which Henry inspires his much outnumbered English forces to fight the French saying "...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;."

Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715), who is sometimes also called the Sun King

He holds the distinction of being the longest-reigning king in European history, reigning for seventy-two years and one hundred and ten days.

The Armenian genocide

It refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. The word 'genocide' was coined in order to describe these events. The Republic of Turkey, the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, denies the word genocide is an accurate description of the events. In recent years, it has faced repeated calls to accept the events as genocide.

Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during WWII

It was the largest military operation in human history in both manpower and casualties. A study of Barbarossa allows an appreciation of the role of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany; the operation resulted in 95% of all German casualties from 1941 to 1944 and 65% of all the allied military casualties accumulated throughout the war.

Africa, more precisely Eastern Africa

A French expedition to Fashoda on the White Nile sought to gain control of the Nile River and thereby force Britain out of Egypt. The British held firm as Britain and France were on the verge of war. It ended in a diplomatic victory for the British. It gave rise to the 'Fashoda syndrome' in French foreign policy, or seeking to assert French influence in areas which may be becoming susceptible to British influence.

The Dreyfus Affair

The French Revolution

It gave a huge psychological victory for the Revolution. After the battle, the newly-assembled National Convention was emboldened enough to formally declare the end of monarchy in France and the establishment of the First French Republic. In the varied historiography of the French Revolution, the battle of Valmy is often portrayed as the first victory of a citizen army, inspired by liberty and nationalism.

Japan

After WWII, Hirohito was forced to explicitly reject the claim that the Emperor of Japan was an incarnate divinity. Amaterasu is one of the principal Shinto deities.

Checkpoint Charlie (in Berlin)

It was designated as the single crossing point (by foot or by car) for foreigners and members of the Allied forces.

A dog-fight

The term gained popularity during WWII, although its origin in air combat can be traced to the latter years of WWI. Until at least 1992, it has been a component in every major war despite beliefs after World War II that increasingly greater speeds and longer range weapons would make dog-fighting obsolete.

Aircraft carriers

It was also the first naval battle in history in which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other. Although a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk, the battle would prove to be a strategic victory for the Allies.

All were victims in the Whitechapel murders, usually attributed to Jack the Ripper

Welsh

He was last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales. He instigated an ultimately unsuccessful but long-running revolt against English rule of Wales. Glyndŵr has remained a notable figure in the popular culture of both Wales and England and was portrayed in Shakespeare's play Henry IV, Part 1 as Owen Glendower. Also note, the modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry.

Egyptian

The letters were found in 1887 in Upper Egypt at Amarna, the modern name for the Egyptian capital of Akhetaten, founded by pharaoh Akhenaten (1350s – 1330s BC) during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. They consist of cuneiform tablets mostly written in Akkadian number and total 382 in count.

The (Westland) Lysander

The aircraft was used in small, unprepared airstrips behind enemy lines that placed or recovered agents, particularly in occupied France.

South Africa (as part of the system of apartheid)

The South African Parliament repealed the act in 1991.

Derry

Two investigations have been held by the British government. The Widgery Tribunal, held in the immediate aftermath of the event, largely cleared the soldiers and British authorities of blame and was termed as a "whitewash." The Saville Inquiry was established in 1998 to reinvestigate the events. Following a twelve-year inquiry, Saville's report was made public in 2010. The report found that all of those shot were unarmed, and that the killings were both "unjustified and unjustifiable." On the publication of the Saville report the British prime minister, David Cameron, made a formal apology on behalf of the United Kingdom.

The Iran hostage crisis

During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962

The US reached DEFCON 3 during the attacks of 9/11. The DEFCON level is controlled primarily by the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and each DEFCON level defines specific security, activation and response scenarios for the troops in question.

Emperor Nero (after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD)

It was built after the fire had cleared away the aristocratic dwellings on the slopes of the Esquiline Hill.

Juan Perón of Argentina

Originally used derogatorily, it was later reclaimed as a term of pride. By most accounts, the term has its modern origins in 1945, when thousands of supporters of Juan Perón gathered to demand his release from prison. While waiting for Perón on a hot day, many men in the crowd removed their shirts, hence the term. During his 1945 campaign for president, Perón toured the country on a train that he named 'El Descamisado'.

Who is the person in question, whose name should be familiar to fans of Rudyard Kipling?

'Kim' Philby (1912-88)

In 1963, Philby was revealed to be a member of the spy ring now known as the Cambridge Five. He got his nickname from friends who connected his birthplace with the writings of Rudyard Kipling.

Che Guevara

This trip was of course made famous by The Motorcycle Diaries.

Congo (The Second Congo War)

It involved eight nations and twenty five armed groups.

The forty-seven ronin

It recounts the most famous case involving the samurai code of honor, bushidō. The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official. The ronin avenged their master's honor after patiently waiting and planning for two years and in turn, the ronin were themselves forced to commit seppuku for committing the crime of murder. The popularity of the story is still high today. With ten different television productions in the years 1997–2007 alone, it ranks among the most familiar of all stories in Japan.

George III

The longevity of her reign pushes George III, who was king from 1760 until 1820 during the period that the United States won independence from Britain, into third place. Elizabeth II will become the longest reigning monarch surpassing Queen Victoria in September 2015.

Charlemagne (c. 742-814)

Napoleon

The (Second) Boer War (1899-1902)

It was fought between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Boer inhabitants of the two independent Boer republics: the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State. It ended with the annexation of the region under the British Empire, ultimately forming the Union of South Africa as part of the Commonwealth.

2 of Greece, Egypt and Turkey

Great Pyramid of Giza - Egypt, Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Iraq, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus - Turkey, Statue of Zeus at Olympia - Greece, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus - Turkey, Colossus of Rhodes - Greece and Lighthouse of Alexandria - Egypt.

Gladiators

Different gladiators specialized in different weapons, and it was usual to pair off combatants with widely different, but more or less equivalent, equipment.

In 2003, which Austrian 'hunter' retired saying the above words?

Simon Wiesenthal (1908-2005)

He was a Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter. Recent biographers have noted that Wiesenthal frequently lied about his own background and exploits, but have also credited Wiesenthal for pursuing justice for Holocaust victims, particularly at a time when the events of the Holocaust were downplayed.

A dolphin (this is the origin of the title of Dauphin)

Dauphin was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word is literally the French for dolphin, as a reference to the animal they bore on their flag.

Vietnam

They led the first resistance movement against the occupying Chinese after 247 years of domination. Many temples are dedicated to them, and a yearly holiday, occurring in February, to commemorate their deaths is observed by many Vietnamese.

Bolivia and Paraguay

Also note that these are the only two land-locked South American countries.

Nanking/Nanjing

During this period, hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed soldiers were murdered by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army. The massacre remains a contentious political issue between the two countries.

About whom were these remarks made by Winston Churchill after that person met with Lord Irwin?

Mahatma Gandhi

Operation Condor

The program aimed to eradicate alleged socialist and communist influence and ideas and to control active or potential opposition movements against the participating governments. Due to its clandestine nature, the precise number of deaths directly attributable to Operation Condor is highly disputed.

Which world leader made the above quote in 1961 which was interpreted to mean that being productive is more important than following any ideology?

Deng Xiaoping (1904-97)

As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy.

Ur in Mesopotamia

The site is marked by the ruins of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, excavated in the 1930s.

The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714)

It was fought among several European powers, principally the Spanish loyal to Archduke Charles, the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, Portugal and the Duchy of Savoy against the Spanish loyal to Philip V, France and the Electorate of Bavaria over a possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. Such a unification would have drastically changed the European balance of power.

Nicaragua

Katyn

Nazi Germany announced the discovery of mass graves in the Katyn Forest in 1943. The revelation led to the end of diplomatic relations between Moscow and the London-based Polish government-in-exile. The Soviet Union continued to deny responsibility for the massacres until 1990, when it officially acknowledged and condemned the perpetration of the killings as well as the subsequent cover-up.

Aldo Moro

Vidkun Quisling

He was a Norwegian army officer and politician, who served as President of occupied Norway during WWII. Today in Norway and other parts of the world, "quisling" is a synonym for "traitor."

About which person who created an Islamic state in the 20th century did the historian Stanley Wolpert write the above words?

Muhammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan

Apart from cultural legacies, it seems that Mohammad Ali Jinnah left a legacy as one of the most controversially portrayed figures in contemporary Asian history.

Elizabeth I

It led to the execution of Mary I, Queen of Scots. This was a second major plot against Elizabeth I of England after the Ridolfi plot. It was named after the chief conspirator Sir Anthony Babington (1561–1586), a young Catholic nobleman.

Stalingrad

The battle involved more participants than any other on the Eastern Front, and was marked by its brutality and disregard for military and civilian casualties. It was amongst the bloodiest in the history of warfare, with the upper estimates of combined casualties coming to nearly two million.

Hitler

Thailand

Albania

Skanderbeg's main legacy was the inspiration he gave to all of those who saw in him a symbol of the struggle of Christendom against the Ottoman Empire.

Herbert Hoover

All these were Republican candidates who lost the elections to FDR.

Holland

"Tear down this wall"

Reagan challenged Gorbachev, then the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to tear down the Berlin wall.

Zealotry

Chariots

The battle was probably the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving perhaps 5,000–6,000 chariots.

The Boers

It was an eastward and north-eastward migration away from British control in the Cape Colony during the 1830s and 1840s. The Great Trek itself led to the founding of numerous Boer republics, the Natalia Republic, the Orange Free State Republic and the Transvaal being the most notable.

Balfour Day

After Arthur Balfour, the Foreign Secretary who authored the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which supported the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

East Germany's Stasi

It was widely regarded as one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies in the world.

Chad

In 1994, the International Court of Justice decision granted Chad sovereignty over the Aouzou strip, and ended the Libyan occupation.

El Cid (1040–1099)

He was a Castilian nobleman, a military leader and diplomat who conquered and governed the city of Valencia.

Richard III

He was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field was the decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses and is sometimes regarded as the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the central character of a well-known play by William Shakespeare.

Russia and Georgia

The Republic of South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia in 1990. The Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetia's autonomy and trying to retake the region by force. This led to the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War. Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008. The last conflict led to the 2008 South Ossetia war, during which Ossetian separatists and Russian troops gained full, de-facto, control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. Georgia does not recognize South Ossetia's existence as a political entity.

Bob Dole

He was the republican party's nominee for president in 1996 (defeated by Clinton) and was the running mate of Gerald Ford in 1976 (defeated by Carter/Mondale).

The International Brigades

An estimated 32,000 people from a "claimed 53 nations" volunteered. They fought against rebel Spanish Nationalist forces, who were led by General Francisco Franco and assisted by German and Italian forces.

Gabon

After Cuban President Fidel Castro stepped down in February 2008, Bongo became the world's longest-serving non-monarch ruler. An ardent Francophile, Bongo was largely praised by French officials as a friend of France and Françafrique, but was criticized for in effect having worked for France, himself, his family and local elites and not for Gabon and its people.

The invasion of Hawaii

On January 17, 1893, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, Queen Lili'uokalani, was deposed in a coup d'état led largely by American citizens who were opposed to Lili'uokalani's attempt to establish a new Constitution. The success of the coup efforts was supported by the landing of U.S. Marines, who came ashore at the request of the conspirators. The coup left the queen imprisoned at Iolani Palace under house arrest. The sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii was lost to a Provisional Government led by the conspirators, later briefly becoming the Republic of Hawaii, before eventual annexation to the United States in 1898.

Frederick I Barbarossa (1122-1190)

He was elected King of Germany in 1152 and was made a Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian in 1155. The name Barbarossa came from the northern Italian cities he attempted to rule, and means "red beard" in Italian. According to the legend, his red beard has grown through the table at which he sits. His eyes are half closed in sleep, but now and then he raises his hand and sends a boy out to see if the ravens have stopped flying.

USA and Germany

The untested and poorly-led American troops suffered heavy casualties and were pushed back over fifty miles (80 km) in a rout. In the aftermath, the U.S. Army instituted sweeping changes from unit-level organization to the replacing of commanders. When they next met, in some cases only weeks later, the U.S. forces were considerably more effective.

Zhou Enlai

He had planned to fly from Beijing to Hong Kong and then on to Jakarta on Kashmir Princess. An emergency appendectomy delayed his arrival in Hong Kong; he left China three days after the crash and flew to Rangoon to meet with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Burmese Prime Minister U Nu. Some historians have argued that Zhou may have known about the assassination plot beforehand and that the premier did not undergo an appendectomy at the time.

Cuba

Cuba's annexation had long been a goal of U.S. expansionists, particularly as the U.S. set its sights southward following the admission of California to the Union. However, diplomatically the country had been content to see the island remain in Spanish hands so long as it did not pass to a stronger power such as the United Kingdom or France. A product of the debates over slavery in the United States, Manifest Destiny, and the Monroe Doctrine, the Ostend Manifesto proposed a shift in foreign policy, justifying the use of force to seize Cuba in the name of national security. While the Ostend Manifesto was never acted upon, American interest in the region would next surface near the end of the nineteenth century in the Spanish–American War, ultimately leading to Cuba's independence.

The Khyber Pass

It links Pakistan and Afghanistan. Throughout history it has been an important trade route between Central Asia and South Asia and a strategic military location. In some versions of the Aryan migration theory, the Indo-Aryans migrated to India via the Khyber Pass. Recorded invasions through the Khyber begin with the conquests of Darius I and Alexander the Great and also include later Muslim invasions of South Asia, culminating with the establishment of the Mughul Empire from 1526. The British invaded Afghanistan from India and fought three Afghan Wars in 1839-42, 1878-80, and 1919. George Molesworth, a member of the British force of 1919, summarised: "Every stone in the Khyber has been soaked in blood."

Mexico

The telegram was sent to the German ambassador in Washington, Johann von Bernstorff, at the height of World War I. Bernstorff, per Zimmermann's request, forwarded the Telegram to the German ambassador in Mexico, Heinrich von Eckardt. Zimmermann sent the Telegram in anticipation of the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare by the German Empire, an act which the German chancellor feared would draw the neutral United States into war on the side of the Allies. The Telegram instructed Ambassador Eckardt that if the United States appeared likely to enter the war he was to approach the Mexican government with a proposal for military alliance. He was to offer Mexico material aid in the reclamation of territory lost during the Mexican-American War and the Gadsden Purchase, specifically the American states of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

PT-109, commanded by JFK

Kennedy's actions to save his surviving crew after the sinking of the PT-109 made him a war hero, which proved helpful in his political career.

The White Rose movement

The six core members of the group were arrested by the Gestapo and they were executed by decapitation in 1943. The text of their sixth leaflet was smuggled out of Germany through Scandinavia to the United Kingdom, and in July 1943 copies of it were dropped over Germany by Allied planes, retitled "The Manifesto of the Students of Munich."

The Amistad case

He was portrayed by actor Djimon Hounsou in the 1997 film Amistad.

The Battle of Singapore

It was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in South East Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East". The fighting in Singapore lasted from 8 December 1941 to 15 February 1942. It resulted in the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, and the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.

The Carbonari

Their goals were patriotic and liberal and they played an important role in the early years of Italian nationalism.

A warship

The ship foundered and sank after sailing less than a nautical mile into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. Vasa fell into obscurity after most of her valuable bronze cannons were salvaged in the 17th century. She was located again in the late 1950s, in a busy shipping lane just outside the Stockholm harbor.

Martha, who later became the wife of George Washington

The Mamluk dynasty

In 1291 they drove the last Crusaders from Palestine. Their reign is divided into a "Bahri" period from 1250-1382 and a "Circassian" period from 1382-1517. They were defeated by the Ottomans, who conquered Egypt in 1517.

Greece

It was fought in Navarino Bay, on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea.

Baden-Powell

It took place at the town of Mafeking (now Mafikeng) in South Africa over a period of 217 days, from October 1899 to May 1900, and turned Robert Baden-Powell, who went on to found the Scouting Movement, into a national hero. The lifting of the Siege of Mafeking was a decisive victory for the British and a crushing defeat for the Boers. Because of this it is often known as the Relief of Mafeking.

What was being bought?

Alaska

On March 30, 1867, the United States agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars, about two cents an acre; "Seward's Folly" many called it, after Secretary of State William H. Seward.

Finlandization

It is generally considered to be pejorative, originating in West German political debate of the late 1960s and 1970s. As the term was used in Germany and other NATO countries, it meant the process of turning into a country which, although maintaining national sovereignty, in foreign politics resolves not to challenge a more powerful neighbour. Commonly in reference to Finland's policies vis-à-vis the Soviet Union during the Cold War, but could refer to similar international relations, such as Denmark's attitude toward Germany between 1871 and 1940.

The Battle of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk was the first battle in which a German Blitzkrieg offensive had been defeated before it could break through enemy defenses and into its strategic depths.

Ypres

Ypres occupied a strategic position during World War I because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France from the north (the Schlieffen Plan). Of the battles, the largest, best-known, and most costly in human suffering was the Third Battle of Ypres (21 July to 6 November 1917, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele) in which the British, Canadians, ANZAC and French forces recaptured the Passchendaele ridge east of the city at a terrible cost of lives.

Rob Roy

A fictionalized account of his life appeared in 1723 called The Highland Rogue, making Rob Roy a legend in his own lifetime, and influencing George I to issue a pardon for his crimes just as he was about to be transported to the colonies. The publication of Rob Roy, by Sir Walter Scott in 1817, further added to his fame and fleshed out his biography.

The Middle Passage

Ships departed Europe for African markets with commercial goods, which were in turn traded for kidnapped Africans who were transported across the Atlantic as slaves; the enslaved Africans were then sold or traded as commodities for raw materials, which would be transported back to Europe to complete the "triangular trade". The term "Middle Passage" thus refers to that branch of the transatlantic trade in which millions of Africans were imprisoned, enslaved, and removed from their homelands.

Marianne

The origins of Marianne, depicted by artist Honoré Daumier, in 1848, as a mother nursing two children, Romulus and Remus, or by sculptor François Rude, during the July Monarchy, as an angry warrior voicing the Marseillaise on the Arc de Triomphe, are uncertain. She represents France as a state, and its values (as opposed to the "Gallic rooster" representing France as a nation and its history, land and culture). Her profile stands out on the official seal of the country, is engraved on French euro coins and appears on French postage stamps; it also was featured on the former franc currency.

Runnymede

It is the most likely location at which, in 1215, King John sealed the Magna Carta, and the charter itself indicates Runnymede by name.

Destruction of German infrastructure

It was officially titled Demolitions on Reich Territory and has subsequently become known as the Nero Decree. The decree was in vain. The man most responsible for carrying it out was Albert Speer, Minister of Armaments and War Production. Appalled at the order, Speer deliberately failed to carry it out, shrewdly persuading Hitler that his planned - albeit imaginary - recovery of the lost territory could be done without the destruction of its assets. Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, 32 days after issuing the order.

Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation

1960

Fourteen nations in West and Equatorial Africa gained their independence from France during this year; Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin, Madagascar, Togo, and the Cameroon. Somalia and Nigeria were also granted independence in 1960 from the United Kingdom and the Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo) became independent from Belgium during this year.

Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (1892-1975)

At the League of Nations in 1936, the Emperor's protest of the use of chemical weapons against his people foreshadowed not only the worldwide conflict that was to come, but also the advent of the technological "refinement of barbarism" that would come to mark modern warfare. Selassie was a gifted speaker, and some of his speeches have been counted among the most memorable of the twentieth century. His internationalist views led to Ethiopia's becoming a charter member of the United Nations, and his political thought and experience in promoting multilateralism and collective security have proved seminal and enduring.

The Mitrokhin Archive

It refers to the collected notes taken by Vasili Mitrokhin over 30 years. Mitrokhin was a Major and senior archivist for the Soviet Union's foreign intelligence service and the First Chief Directorate of the KGB. "The Mitrokhin Archive" claims to represent a major body of historical evidence regarding Soviet operations and personnel assets during the Cold War.

The domino theory

The domino effect suggests that some change, small in itself, will cause a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence, by analogy to a falling row of dominoes standing on end. The domino theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War to justify American intervention around the world.

Sweden

However it should be noted that the neutrality of some countries now in the European Union (which includes Sweden) is under dispute, especially as the EU now operates a common foreign policy. A neutral country takes no side in a war between other parties, and in return hopes to avoid being attacked by any of them.

Tempelhof

On 20 June 1948 Soviet authorities, claiming technical difficulties, halted all traffic by land and by water into or out of the western-controlled section of Berlin. The only remaining access routes into the city were three 25-mile-wide air corridors across the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany. Faced with the choice of abandoning the city or attempting to supply its inhabitants with the necessities of life by air, the Western Powers chose the latter course and for the next eleven months sustained the city's two-and-a-half million residents.

A banana republic

"Republic" in his time was often a euphemism for a dictatorship, while "banana" implied an easy reliance on basic agriculture and backwardness in the development of modern industrial technology.

Who commanded the 'victorious' Greeks?

King Pyrrhus of Epirus

A narrow Greek victory, it is this battle which gave rise to the term "Pyrrhic victory," meaning a victory at so high a cost as to be worthless. Pyrrhus is later reported to have said, "One more such victory, and we shall be undone."

The Spanish Armada

The aim of the expedition was to invade and conquer England, thereby suppressing support for the United Provinces — that part of the Spanish Netherlands in possession of the Dutch rebels — and cutting off attacks by the English against Spanish possessions in the New World and against the Atlantic treasure fleets. The expedition was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo–Spanish War (1585–1604).

The French Foreign Legion

The purpose of the Legion was to remove disruptive elements from society and put them to use fighting the enemies of France. The Legion was primarily used to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the 19th century, but it also fought in all French wars including the Franco-Prussian War and both World Wars.

The League of Nations (1919-1946)

The outbreak of World War II was the immediate cause of the League's demise, but there was also a variety of other, more fundamental, flaws. The League, like the modern United Nations, lacked an armed force of its own and depended on the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, which they were very reluctant to do. Economic sanctions, which were the most severe measure the League could implement short of military action, were difficult to enforce and had no great impact on the target country, because they could simply trade with those outside the League. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_nations)

The Ottomon empire

During his tenure during 50 years of the post of imperial architect, Sinan is said to have constructed or supervised 476 buildings (196 of which still survive), according to the official list of his works, the Tazkirat-al-Abniya.

Distances (by counting their steps)

Their measurements of the distances traveled by Alexander's army show a high degree of precision to the point that it had been suggested that they must have used an odometer, although there is no direct mentioning of such a device.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bematist)

Chiang Kai-shek

Abbreviated as KMT, it is a political party in the Republic of China (ROC), located in Taiwan. It originated in China in 1912, founded by Song Jiaoren and Sun Yat-sen shortly after the Xinhai Revolution. Later led by Chiang Kai-shek, it ruled much of China from 1928 until its retreat to Taiwan in 1949 after defeat by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Chinese Civil War. There, the KMT controlled the government under a single party state until reforms in the late 1970s through the 1990s loosened its grip on power.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang)

Jewish passengers

The German Propaganda Ministry and the Nazi party conceived of a propaganda exercise which would demonstrate that Germany was not alone in its territorial, exclusionary hostility to Jews as a permanent minority within the political economy of their state. The passengers disembarked at various locations and the ship without the passengers eventually sailed back to Hamburg, Germany. This incident was dramatised in the 1976 motion picture Voyage of the Damned. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_St_Louis)

Ukraine

The term Holodomor is applied only to the famine that took place in the territories of the Ukrainian SSR during the wider famine that affected other regions of the USSR. Most modern historians state that the famine was caused by the sudden radical economic changes brought on by Stalinist policies that were implemented by the government of the Soviet Union. A few argue that natural causes may have been the primary reason for the disaster. As of December 1, 2007, the parliament of Ukraine and the governments of 26 countries have acknowledged the Holodomor as an act of genocide.

Manzanar

Since the last prisoners left in 1945, former prisoners and others have worked to protect Manzanar and to establish it as a National Historic Site that preserves and interprets the site for current and future generations.

Ramesses II (c. 1303 BC)

He was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is believed to have taken the throne in his early 20s and to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC[6] for a total of 66 years and 2 months and was also responsible for many magnificent constructions, including the temple at Abu Simbel.

Peru

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham

It was fought on a plateau just outside the walls of Quebec City. The battle involved fewer than 10,000 troops between both sides, but proved to be a deciding moment in the conflict between France and Britain over the fate of New France, influencing the later creation of Canada. In the wake of the battle, France's remaining military force in Canada and the rest of North America came under increasing pressure from British forces. Within four years, nearly all of France's possessions in eastern North America would be ceded to Great Britain.

300

JFK

The book examines the failures of the British government to take steps to prevent World War II and is notable for its uncommon stance of not castigating the appeasement policy of the British government at the time, instead suggesting that an earlier confrontation between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany could well have been more disastrous in the long run.

Fake settlements

Conventional wisdom has it that Potemkin, who led the Crimean military campaign, had hollow facades of villages constructed along the desolate banks of the Dnieper River in order to impress the monarch and her travel party with the value of her new conquests, thus enhancing his standing in the empress's eyes. Modern historians consider this scenario of self-serving deception to be, at best, an exaggeration, and quite possibly simply malicious rumors spread by Potemkin's opponents. So, while "Potemkin village" has come to mean, especially in a political context, any hollow or false construct, physical or figurative, meant to hide an undesirable or potentially damaging situation, in fact there appears to have been no such thing.

Unit 731

Headed by Shiro Ishii, it was responsible for some of the most notorious war crimes ever carried out. In some of the 'experiments', prisoners of war were subjected to vivisection without anesthesia.

Indira Gandhi

At the time of the assassination Ustinov was on an overseas phone call with his theatrical producer (and later manager) Douglas Urbanski, who heard all of the commotion in the background.

The 1066 Norman invasion

The main character of the tapestry is William the Conqueror. While political propaganda or personal emphasis may have somewhat distorted the historical accuracy of the story, the Bayeux tapestry presents a unique visual document of medieval arms, apparel, and other objects unlike any other artifact surviving from this period.

France

It was proclaimed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, following the military defeat of France by Nazi Germany during World War II. Vichy France had legal authority in both the northern zone of France, which was occupied by the German Wehrmacht, and the unoccupied southern "free zone", where the regime's administrative center of Vichy was located. The southern zone remained under Vichy control until the Allies landed in French North Africa in November 1942.

The vestal virgins

They were the virgin holy priestesses of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. For centuries there was an eternal flame which burned within the Temple of Vesta on the Roman Forum. According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the Romans believed that the fire was closely tied to the fortunes of the city and viewed its extinction as a portent of disaster.

Māori

The Treaty made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Mâori rights to their land and gave Mâori the rights of British citizens. There are significant differences between the Mâori and English language versions of the Treaty, and virtually since 1840 this has led to debate over exactly what was agreed to at Waitangi. Mâori have generally seen the Treaty as a sacred pact, while for many years Pâkehâ (white New Zealanders) ignored it.

The Edwardian (1337-1360), the Caroline (1369-1389), the Lancastrian (1415-1429) and the decline of English fortunes after the appearance of Joan of Arc (1412-1431)?

The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453)

It lasted 116 years and was fought primarily over claims by the English kings to the French throne and was punctuated by several brief and two lengthy periods of peace before it finally ended in the expulsion of the English from France, with the exception of the Calais Pale. The term "Hundred Years' War" was a later historical term invented by historians to describe the series of events.

Persepolis

It belongs to the oldest building phase of the city, built during the first half of the 5th century BC as part of the original design by Darius the Great, its construction completed by Xerxes I. The Apadana covered an area of 112,000 square meters, its roof supported by 72 columns, each standing 20m tall. The entire hall was destroyed in 331 BC by the army of Alexander the Great, leaving only a single column standing. The stone of the columns was used as building material for nearby settlements, but after reconstruction work in the 20th century, 14 are again erect.

Puerto Rico

Since the Grito galvanized a burgeoning nationalist movement among Puerto Ricans, Betances is also considered "El Padre de la Patria" (Father of the Puerto Rican Nation). Because of his many donations and help to people in need, he also became known as "The Father of the Poor".

Cyrus the Great (c.590 BC or 576 BC - 530 BC)

As leader of the Persian people in Anshan, he conquered the Medes and unified the two separate Iranian kingdoms; as the king of Persia, he reigned over the new empire from 559 BC until his death. The empire expanded under his rule, eventually conquering most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia, from Egypt and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, to create the largest state the world had yet seen. Beyond his nation, Cyrus left a lasting legacy on religion, politics, and military strategy, as well as on both Eastern and Western civilization.

Yasser Arafat

Pericles

Pericles had such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides, his contemporary historian, acclaimed him as "the first citizen of Athens". Pericles promoted the arts and literature; this was a chief reason Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural centre of the ancient Greek world.

Sargon of Akkad

Sargon's vast empire is known to have extended from Elam to the Mediterranean sea, including Mesopotamia, parts of modern-day Iran and Syria, and possibly parts of Anatolia and the Arabian peninsula. He ruled from a new capital, Akkad (Agade), which the Sumerian king list claims he built, on the left bank of the Euphrates.

Adolf Eichmann

In Nazi Germany, he had the task of facilitating and managing the logistics of mass deportation to ghettos and extermination camps in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe. After the war he travelled to Argentina using a fraudulently obtained laissez-passer issued by the International Red Cross and lived there under a false identity. He was captured by Israeli Mossad agents in Argentina and tried in Israeli court on fifteen criminal charges, including crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was convicted and hanged.

The Battle of Antietam fought on Sep 17, 1862

It was the first major battle in the American civil war to take place on Northern soil.

Frederick the Great

The palace is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. Designed between 1745 and 1747 to fulfil Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court, the palace is little more than a large single-storey villa—more like the Château de Marly than Versailles.

The Aztec

It was built on an island in Lake Texcoco in what is now the Federal District in central Mexico. It was founded in 1325 when according to legend a tribe of Nahua people settled on the island following the commandment of their god Huitzilopochtli. By 1428 the Aztec state had emerged and Tenochtitlan was the most important city in central Mexico. At its height it was one of the largest cities in the world, with over 200,000 inhabitants. The city was conquered in 1521 by Spanish conquistadors and Mexico City was founded in its place.

Earliest Egyptian history

The main fragment has been in Palermo since 1866, though it was discovered by a visiting French archaeologist in 1895 and first published, by Heinrich Schäfer, in 1902. It is currently in the collection of the Palermo Archeological Museum, Sicily, although there are also further sizeable pieces in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, one discovered in 1910 another purchased on the market as recently as 1963, and in the museum of University College London, given by Sir Flinders Petrie. The engraved stone must originally have been about 2.2 m long, 0.61 m wide and 6.5 cm thick, but most of it is now missing, and there is no surviving information about its provenance, though a further fragment was excavated at Memphis.

Anne Frank

Kurl Waldheim

Throughout his term as Austrian president (1986-1992), Waldheim and his wife Elisabeth were officially deemed personae non gratae by the United States. In 1987, they were put on a watch list of persons banned from entering the United States and remained on the list even after the publication of the International Committee of Historian's report on his military past. He also was neither invited and therefore did not visit any other Western countries during his term as Austrian president. Waldheim therefore concentrated his state visits on the Middle East, the Vatican as well as some communist states.

The Red Baron

In the comic strip Peanuts, and in later television specials, one of Snoopy's fantasies portrays him as a World War I flying ace (Arthur Brown's nickname was Snoopy), piloting a Sopwith Camel and carrying a personal grudge against the Red Baron.

El Cid (1044-1099)

Tizona is now one of Spain's most cherished relics and can be found at the Army Museum in Madrid.

Hirohito (1901–1989)

The word Shôwa is the name of the era that corresponded with the emperor's reign, and was made the emperor's own name upon his death, the name by which he is now exclusively referred to in Japan. Although he was and continues to be known outside of Japan by his personal name, Hirohito, in Japan use of an emperor's personal name is considered overly familiar or derogatory. His reign was the longest of any historical Japanese emperor, and he oversaw many significant changes to Japanese society.

St. Helena

In October 1813, the Sixth Coalition defeated his forces at Leipzig and then invaded France. Napoleon was forced to abdicate in April of the following year and was exiled to the island of Elba. Less than a year later, he escaped to France and regained control of the government. This second period of Napoleonic rule, now known as the Hundred Days (les Cent Jours), ended quickly with his defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. Napoleon spent the remaining six years of his life under British supervision on the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.

Pindar (c.522 BC - 443 BC)

The Osirak nuclear reactor

It was constructed by the Iraqi government at the Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center, 18 km (11 miles) south-east of Baghdad in 1977. The facility was completely destroyed by American aircraft during the 1991 Gulf War.

Pakistan

He played an influential role in the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan. In 1947, he became the prime minister of Pakistan, a position that he held until his assassination in October 1951. In Pakistan, he is regarded as the right-hand man of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League and first governor-general of Pakistan.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109

It was one of the first true modern fighters of the era, including such features as an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. The Bf 109 was the standard fighter of the Luftwaffe for the duration of World War II, although it began to be partially replaced by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 starting in 1941. The Bf 109 scored more aircraft kills in World War II than any other aircraft. Although the Bf 109 had weaknesses, including a short range, and especially a sometimes difficult to handle narrow, outward-retracting undercarriage, it stayed competitive with Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.

Sidney Reilly

Like his literary counterpart, Reilly was a debonair playboy who lived extravagantly, spoke a multitude of languages, and was as charismatic as he was brilliant. Much of Reilly's true character remains a mystery.

William Joseph Donovan (1883-1959)

Eisenhower referred to him as "the Last Hero," which later became the title of his biography.

El Salvador and Honduras

Tensions between the two nations were evidenced by a football competition, but the war was not caused by football, as it has been popularly acknowledged internationally. The war was caused by political differences between Hondurans and Salvadorans, including immigration from El Salvador to Honduras. The name is derived from the sensationalistic way in which international reporters covered the war, which overlapped with rioting from a series of football matches.

The Great Game

The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running from approximately 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 a second, less intensive phase followed.

The Boxer Rebellion

Reforms implemented after the crises of 1900 laid the foundation for the end of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the modern Chinese Republic.

The Spanish Inquisition

Buffalo soldiers

There is some controversy as to where the name originated. Some sources assert that the nickname was given out of respect and the fierce fighting ability of the 10th cavalry. Other sources assert that Native Americans called the black cavalry troops "buffalo soldiers" because of their dark curly hair, which resembled a buffalo's coat.

January 1, 1992

The Code of Hammurabi

It is one of the earliest extant sets of laws and one of the best preserved examples of this type of document from ancient Mesopotamia. It was created by Hammurabi (ca. 1810 BC – 1750 BC) who believed that he was chosen by the gods to deliver the law to his people.

Richard Nixon (1913-1994)

He is also the only President of the United States to have resigned from the office.

The Greek historian Plutarch remarked that the goddess Artemis was too preoccupied with the birth of whom (that occurred on the same day) to save her burning temple?

Alexander the Great

Alexander later offered to pay for the Temple's rebuilding, but the Ephesians refused. Eventually, the temple was restored after Alexander's death, in 323 BC.

The Clash of Civilizations

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Huntington is increasingly regarded as having been prescient as the United States invasion of Afghanistan, 2003 Invasion of Iraq, the 2005 cartoon crisis, the ongoing Iranian nuclear crisis, the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict and the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy fueled the perception that Huntington's Clash is well underway. The Clash of Civilizations thesis may also be regarded as an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The ideas of Huntington and Bernard Lewis were already influential among American neoconservative figures such as Vice President Richard Cheney prior to September 11, 2001; Middle East scholar Gilles Kepel (2003) reports that many radical Islamists in the Middle East likewise viewed Huntington's thesis approvingly. Therefore, the fact that U.S. policymakers and radical Islamists have confronted each other in a certain way may be an indication that people on both sides were interpreting events according to the thesis, rather than that the thesis itself was especially prescient.

Germany

It was the idea of 20-year-old Crown Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1807, at a time when the German states were defeated and occupied by Napoleon.

Alfred the Great (c. 849–899)

Although not English, Canute the Great was another King of England given this title by the Danes.

Tokyo Rose

The name is usually associated with Iva Toguri D'Aquino (1916 - 2006). She was initially convicted of treason but was ultimately pardoned by Gerald Ford in 1977.

Iraq

Even though Iraq was ruled by another branch of the Baath Party, Assad's relations with Saddam Hussein were extremely strained. But with the exception of a few border guard skirmishes and mutual support for cross-border raids by opposition groups, no heavy fighting broke out until 1991, when Syria joined the US-led UN coalition to expel Iraq from Kuwait.

Thailand

Although Bhumibol is a constitutional monarch, he has several times made decisive interventions in Thai politics, including the 2005-2006 Thai political crisis. He was credited with facilitating Thailand's transition to democracy in the 1990s, although in earlier periods of his reign he supported military regimes.

Solidarity

Solidarity was the first non-communist party controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. In the 1980s it constituted a broad anti-bureaucratic social movement. The government attempted to destroy the union during the period of martial law in the early 1980s and several years of political repression, but in the end it was forced to start negotiating with the union.

Bulgaria

His reign was also a period of unmatched cultural prosperity and enlightenment later deemed the Golden Age of Bulgarian culture. During Simeon's rule, Bulgaria spread over a territory between the Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea, and the new Bulgarian capital Preslav was said to rival Constantinople.

Joan of Arc (c.1412–1431)

Initially called Domrémy, the place has been renamed Domrémy-la-Pucelle after Joan's nickname, la pucelle d'Orléans (the maid of Orléans). This village was exempted from taxes in 1429 by king Charles VII as Joan of Arc's only request for her help in ridding France of the English. However after the French revolution Domremy was required to pay taxes.

The Soviet Union

The incorporation of West Germany into NATO in 1955 was described as "a decisive turning point in the history of our continent" by Halvard Lange, Foreign Minister of Norway at the time. One of its immediate results was the creation of the Warsaw Pact, signed on 14 May 1955 by the Soviet Union and its satellite states, as a formal response to this event.

Sick man of Europe

Later, this view led the Allies in World War I to underestimate the Ottoman Empire, leading in part to the disastrous Dardanelles Campaign (The Battle of Gallipoli).

Iron Curtain

Although not well received at the time, the phrase gained popularity as a short-hand reference to the division of Europe as the Cold War strengthened.

Toledo

The Baths of Caracalla

The House of Windsor

The name of the house was originally the House of Wettin but in 1917, during World War I, anti-German feeling among the people resulted in the Royal Family exchanging use of all of their German titles and house names for English-sounding versions.

"Nuts!"

The official reply: "To the German Commander, NUTS!, The American Commander" was typed and delivered by Colonel Harper to the German delegation. Harper had to explain the meaning of the word to the Germans. This is also referenced in the movie Patton.

Costa Rica

On December 1, 1948, President José Figueres Ferrer of Costa Rica abolished the country's army after victory in the civil war in that year. In a ceremony in the Cuartel Bellavista, Figueres broke a wall with a mallet symbolizing the end of Costa Rica's military spirit. In 1949 the abolition of the military was introduced in the Article 12 of the Costa Rican Constitution.

Robert I, King of Scots usually known as Robert the Bruce

Socrates

Plato described Socrates' death and this dialogue in the Phaedo.

The Khmer Rouge

It was the ruling political party of Cambodia -- which it renamed to Democratic Kampuchea -- from 1975 to 1979. The Khmer regime is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people (estimates range from 850,000 to 3 million) under its regime, through execution, starvation and forced labor.

Suleiman the Magnificent

In the Islamic world, he is known as the Lawgiver, deriving from his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system. Under his leadership, the Ottoman Empire reached its Golden Age and became a world power.

Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and FDR

Panmunjeom

It is considered one of the last vestiges of the Cold War. Panmunjeom is also mentioned in one of Billy Joel's history themed song "We Didn't Start the Fire".

The Long March

There was not one Long March, but several, as various Communist armies in the south escaped to the north and west. The most well known is the march from Jiangxi province which began in October 1934. The Communists, under the eventual command of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, escaped in a circling retreat to the west and north, which reportedly traversed some 12,500 kilometers (8,000 miles) over 370 days. The route passed through some of the most difficult terrain of western China by traveling west, then north, to Shaanxi.

Fulgencio Batista's (by Fidel Castro)

Its name originated from the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks, an army facility in the city of Santiago de Cuba, on July 26, 1953. The movement was reorganized in Mexico in 1955 by a group of 82 exiled revolutionaries (including Fidel and his brother Raúl Castro, as well as the Argentinian Che Guevara).

He banned the Olympic games

Did you say gladiatorial combats?

Call for the resignation of Nixon

Attack on Pearl Harbor drawing the US into WWII

This battle has had history-altering consequences. It only had a small strategic military effect because the Japanese Navy failed to sink U.S. aircraft carriers or destroy the Submarine Base, but even if this had been achieved, it would not have helped Japan in the long term. The attack firmly drew the United States and its massive industrial and service economy into World War II.

Robben Island

Notable amongst the prisoners were Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Tokyo Sexwale, Govan Mbeki, Dennis Brutus and Robert Sobukwe.

The bazooka

It was nicknamed "bazooka" from a vague resemblance to the musical instrument of the same name invented and used by Bob Burns. The word "bazooka" is often incorrectly used to refer to any shoulder-launched missile weapon.

Six-Day War (1967)

He was an Israeli spy who made critical friendships with high-ranking Syrian generals while undercover. According to his brother and fellow Mossad agent, Maurice Cohen, Eli Cohen was third in line to succeed as president of Syria, at the time he was discovered. In January 1965, hired Soviet experts caught him in the act of sending a radio message after large amounts of radio interference brought attention and he was publicly hanged by Syria on May 18, 1965.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh

To show respect to this name, a fully residential public university was established in Dhaka in 1970 as Jahangir Nagar University.

Rum (The Rum Rebellion)

The Cambridge Five (also sometimes known as the Cambridge Four)

The ring has been proven to have included Kim Philby (cryptonym: Stanley), Donald Duart Maclean (cryptonym: Homer), Guy Burgess (cryptonym: Hicks), and Anthony Blunt (cryptonym: Johnson). Several other persons have been suggested as probably or possibly belonging. They were originally known as the Cambridge Spy Ring because all known members of the ring were recruited at Trinity College, Cambridge, while members of the Cambridge Apostles, a secret, elite debating society based around Trinity and King's.

Greek fire

The ingredients, process of manufacture, and usage were a very carefully guarded military secret. Although similar substances have been invented in the modern age, the exact composition of the original Greek fire is unknown.

A portcullis

There would often be two portcullises to the main entrance. The one closest to the inside would be closed first and then the one furthest away. This was used to trap the enemy and often, burning wood or hot oil would be poured onto them from the roof. Also, archers could shoot arrows at the trapped enemies. There were often arrow holes in the sides of the walls for archers and crossbowman to eliminate the besieging army.

The longbow

By the time of the Hundred Years' War, the English had learned how to employ massed archery as an instrument of tactical dominance, with their English longbows. They would form in a line or lines with arrows stuck in the ground in front of them so they could fire and easily reload. They would fire continuously, and if they had multiple rows they would fire in a round. This would create a rain of arrows to terrify the enemy.

'One out of many'; In Latin - 'E'=out of, from; pluribus=many; unum=one

The motto was selected by the first Great Seal committee in 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution. "E pluribus unum" referred to the integration of the 13 independent colonies into one united country, and has taken on an additional meaning, given the pluralistic nature of American society from immigration. The motto itself has thirteen letters.

The Rubicon

"Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to go past a point of no return because it was an ancient boundary between Gaul and Italy. The river is notable as Roman law forbade any general from crossing it with an army.

The Appian Way

The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman censor who began and completed the first section as a military road to the south in 312 BC during the Samnite Wars.

Portugal

Portugal and China agreed in 1979 to regard Macau as "a Chinese territory under (temporary) Portuguese administration". Negotiations between the Chinese and Portuguese governments on the question of Macau started in June 1986. In 1987, an international treaty, known as the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, was signed to make Macau a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese government assumed sovereignty over Macau on December 20, 1999, ending 329 years of Portuguese rule.

Ghana

The name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana that once spanned over the west of Africa.

Czech Republic and Slovakia

The term Velvet Divorce is used to liken this event to the Velvet Revolution of 1989 which led to the end of the rule of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the formation of a new, non-Communist government.

Electrocution

Churchill reportedly said "Contemplate that if Hitler falls into our hands we shall certainly put him to death. This man is the mainspring of evil. Instrument – electric chair, for gangsters no doubt available on Lease Lend."

Fill in XXX.

The Buck Stops Here

Approximately 2-1/2" x 13" in size and mounted on walnut base, the painted glass sign also has the words "I'm From Missouri" on the reverse side. It appeared at different times on Trumans' desk until late in his administration.

All are honorary citizens of the US

A non-United States citizen of exceptional merit may be declared an Honorary Citizen of the United States by the President pursuant to an Act of Congress. Only Churchill and Teresa were so honored during their lifetime.

William Tell ('Canton' should have pointed you towards Switzerland)

Historians continue to argue over the authenticity of Tells' existence.

Aribert Heim

Like Mengele, he is known for his gruesome experiments on living people.

The Maginot Line

The Maginot Line named after French minister of defence André Maginot was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defenses which France constructed along its borders with Germany and with Italy, in the light of experience from World War I, and in the run-up to World War II. However, the fortification system utterly failed to contain the invading German forces in World War II, who largely manuevered around it.

The Crimean War (1854-56)

It was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. It is sometimes considered to be one of the first "modern" wars.

The Swastika (from Sanskrit 'svasti')

The use of the swastika was associated by Nazi theorists with their conjecture of Aryan cultural descent of the German people. Following the Nordicist version of the Aryan invasion theory, the Nazis claimed that the early Aryans of India, from whose Vedic tradition the swastika sprang, were the prototypical white invaders.

The Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire of 1871-1918

The Phoenicians

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plains of what is now Lebanon and Syria. Phoenician civilization was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean during the first millennium BC, between the period of 1200 BC to 900 BC.

The Warsaw Pact

It was established on May 1, 1955 and lasted throughout the Cold War until certain member nations began withdrawing in 1989, following the collapse of the Eastern bloc and political changes in the Soviet Union.

Slaves

The Servile Wars were a series of three slave revolts in the late Roman Republic. Spartacus led the third revolt in 73BC - 71BC.

The Battle of the Three Emperors

On December 2, 1805, French troops decisively defeated a Russo-Austrian army after nearly nine hours of difficult fighting in many sectors. The battle is often regarded as a tactical masterpiece. It is also a major event in Leo Tolstoy's novel 'War and Peace'.

Fatman-Bockscar

An implosion-type weapon with a plutonium core, 'Fat Man' was detonated at an altitude of about 1,800 feet (550 m) over the city, and was dropped from a B-29 bomber Bockscar, piloted by Major Charles Sweeney. Because of Nagasaki's hilly terrain, the damage was somewhat less extensive than that in relatively flat Hiroshima. An estimated 40,000 people were killed outright by the bombing ,and about 25,000 were injured. Many thousands more would die later from related injuries, and radiation sickness from nuclear fallout.

The Allied Powers (France, Russia, the British Empire, and later, Italy and the US) defeated the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire)

Also called 'the Great War', and 'The War to End All Wars', the war caused the disintegration of four empires: the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian. World War I created a decisive break with the old world order that had emerged after the Napoleonic Wars, which was modified by the mid-19th century’s nationalistic revolutions.

George Gallup's (the inventor of the Gallup poll)

However, twelve years later, his organization had its moment of greatest ignominy, when it predicted that Thomas Dewey would defeat Harry S. Truman in the 1948 election, by five to 15 percentage points whereas the opposite happened. Gallup believed the error was mostly due to ending his polling three weeks before Election Day.

Zulu (The Anglo-Zulu War)

The events surrounding the assault on Rorke's Drift were first dramatized by military painters, notably Elizabeth Butler and Alphonse de Neuville. Their work was vastly popular in its day among the citizens of the British empire, but virtually forgotten by the time the film Zulu was released in 1964. The battle was given a chapter in military historian Victor Davis Hanson's book Carnage and Culture as one of several landmark battles demonstrating the superior effectiveness of western military practices.

Rudolph Hess

On the eve of Germany's war with the Soviet Union, he flew to Glasgow, Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with Britian, but was arrested. He was tried at Nuremberg and sentenced to life internment at Spandau Prison, where he died in 1987. He has since become a figure of veneration among neo-Nazis and anti-Semites.

Mexico

Carranza was also one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution that lasted from 1910 to 1920.

A silver dollar

The origin of this story perhaps comes from the memoirs of his step-grandson Parke Custis who wrote that Washington once threw a piece of slate "about the size and shape of a dollar” across the Rappahanock River. The Potomac is over a mile wide at Mount Vernon.