Month: November 2023

First Flight of the Hawker Hurricane (1935)

First tested in 1935, the Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft powered by a newly designed Rolls-Royce engine. Together with the Spitfire, the Hurricane enabled the Royal Air Force (RAF) to win the Battle of Britain of 1940, accounting for the majority of the RAF’s air victories during this period. About 14,000 Hurricanes were built by the end of 1944, and the aircraft served in all the major theatres of World War II. What was the Hurricane’s maximum speed? Discuss

John Philip Sousa (1854)

Known as “The March King,” Sousa was an American bandmaster who composed more than 130 military marches, including “The Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Semper Fidelis”—the official march of the US Marines. In 1868, when Sousa was 13, his father enlisted him in the Marine Corps as an apprentice in the Marine Band, which he later led from 1880 until 1892, at which point he formed his own band and toured to great acclaim. In the 1890s, Sousa developed a type of bass tuba now known as what? Discuss

Nauvoo Temple

After Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, and his Mormon followers were forced to flee Missouri in 1839, they established a new community in Nauvoo, Illinois. They soon set to building a grandiose temple, but construction was only half complete when Smith was assassinated in 1844. Two years later, the Mormons were driven from that city as well. They tried to sell their temple for $200,000, but it ultimately sold for what greatly reduced price? Discuss

Second Battle of Panipat (1556)

The Mughal empire was a Muslim imperial power that ruled most of the Asian subcontinent between the 16th and 19th centuries. Led by Babur, the dynasty’s founder, Mughal forces made an inroad into India in 1526, occupying Delhi in the first Battle of Panipat. Babur was succeeded by his son, who soon lost the empire to the Afghan Sher Khan. In 1556, Babur’s grandson came to power and defeated the army of Hemu in the Second Battle of Panipat. What became of Hemu? Discuss

Roy Rogers (1911)

A former fruit picker and cowboy, the guitar-strumming Rogers—born Leonard Franklin Slye—began his musical career in the 1930s as a radio performer. He later founded the Sons of the Pioneers, a singing trio that began appearing in movies in 1935, and soon succeeded Gene Autry as America’s favorite singing cowboy in movies of the mid-1940s. Rogers appeared in dozens of B movies with his wife, Dale Evans, and his famous horse, Trigger. What was the theme song of their television program? Discuss

Ibn Battuta

In 1325, Ibn Battuta embarked on an extraordinary 75,000-mile (120,675-km) journey via Mecca to Egypt, East Africa, India, and China. He set out at age 21 and returned home some 30 years later. No other medieval traveler is known to have journeyed so extensively. The details of his travels are recorded in a narrative titled The Adventures of Ibn Battuta. His inventions and academic work are also renowned. What nearly cost Ibn Battuta his life en route to China? Discuss