440 Archives -

What sport takes place over a distance of 440 yards?

Question
What sport takes place over a distance of 440 yards?
Answer
Drag Racing

What sport takes place over a distance of 440 yards? Read More »

June 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer solstice sometimes occurs on this date, while the Winter solstice occurs in the Southern Hemisphere.

451 – Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius’ battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats, causing the Romans to interpret it as a victory.
1180 – First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan.
1620 – The Battle of Höchst takes place during the Thirty Years’ War.
1631 – The Sack of Baltimore: The Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Algerian pirates.
1652 – Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha is appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
1685 – Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater.
1756 – A British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
1782 – The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.
1787 – Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the ‘United States’.
1789 – Deputies of the French Third Estate take the Tennis Court Oath.
1819 – The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrives at Liverpool, United Kingdom. It is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, although most of the journey is made under sail.
1837 – Queen Victoria succeeds to the British throne.
1840 – Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph.
1862 – Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated.
1863 – American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state.
1877 – Alexander Graham Bell installs the world’s first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
1893 – Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother.
1895 – The Kiel Canal, crossing the base of the Jutland peninsula and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, is officially opened.
1900 – Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China.
1900 – Baron Eduard Toll, leader of the Russian Polar Expedition of 1900, departs Saint Petersburg in Russia on the explorer ship Zarya, never to return.
1921 – Workers of Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in the city of Chennai, India, begin a four-month strike.
1942 – The Holocaust: Kazimierz Piechowski and three others, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, steal an SS staff car and escape from the Auschwitz concentration camp.
1943 – The Detroit race riot breaks out and continues for three more days.
1943 – World War II: The Royal Air Force launches Operation Bellicose, the first shuttle bombing raid of the war. Lancaster bombers damage the V-2 rocket production facilities at the Zeppelin Works while en route to an air base in Algeria.
1944 – World War II: The Battle of the Philippine Sea concludes with a decisive U.S. naval victory. The lopsided naval air battle is also known as the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”.
1944 – Continuation War: The Soviet Union demands an unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses.
1944 – The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space.
1945 – The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip.
1948 – The Deutsche Mark is introduced in Western Allied-occupied Germany. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany responded by imposing the Berlin Blockade four days later.
1956 – A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.
1959 – A rare June hurricane strikes Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35.
1960 – The Mali Federation gains independence from France (it later splits into Mali and Senegal).
1963 – Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union and the United States sign an agreement to establish the so-called “red telephone” link between Washington and Moscow.
1972 – Watergate scandal: An 18½-minute gap appears in the tape recording of the conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and his advisers regarding the recent arrests of his operatives while breaking into the Watergate complex.
1973 – Snipers fire upon left-wing Peronists in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in what is known as the Ezeiza massacre. At least 13 are killed and more than 300 are injured.
1973 – Aeroméxico Flight 229 crashes on approach to Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport, killing all 27 people on board.
1975 – The film Jaws is released in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and starting the trend of films known as “summer blockbusters”.
1979 – ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The murder is caught on tape and sparks an international outcry against the regime.
1982 – The Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War.
1990 – Asteroid Eureka is discovered.
1990 – The 7.4 M_w  Manjil–Rudbar earthquake affects northern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 35,000–50,000, and injuring 60,000–105,000.
1991 – German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital Berlin.
1994 – The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured.
2003 – The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Births on June 20

1005 – Ali az-Zahir, Fatimid caliph of Egypt (d. 1036)
1389 – John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, English statesman (d. 1435)
1469 – Gian Galeazzo Sforza, duke of Milan (d. 1494)
1566 – Sigismund III Vasa, Polish and Swedish king (d. 1632)
1583 – Jacob De la Gardie, Swedish soldier and politician, Lord High Constable of Sweden (d. 1652)
1634 – Charles Emmanuel II, duke of Savoy (d. 1675)
1642 – George Hickes, English minister and scholar (d. 1715)
1647 – John George III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1691)
1717 – Jacques Saly, French sculptor and painter (d. 1776)
1723 – Adam Ferguson, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1816)
1737 – Tokugawa Ieharu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1786)
1754 – Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, princess of Baden (d. 1832)
1756 – Joseph Martin Kraus, German-Swedish composer and educator (d. 1792)
1761 – Jacob Hübner, German entomologist and author (d. 1826)
1763 – Wolfe Tone, Irish rebel leader (d. 1798)
1770 – Moses Waddel, American minister and academic (d. 1840)
1771 – Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, Scottish philanthropist, and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright (d. 1820)
1771 – Hermann von Boyen, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (d. 1848)
1777 – Jean-Jacques Lartigue, Canadian bishop (d. 1840)
1778 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac, French politician, 7th Prime Minister of France (d. 1832)
1786 – Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, French poet and author (d. 1859)
1796 – Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso, Italian cardinal (d. 1878)
1808 – Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1888)
1809 – Isaak August Dorner, German theologian and academic (d. 1884)
1813 – Joseph Autran, French poet and author (d. 1877)
1819 – Jacques Offenbach, German-French cellist and composer (d. 1880)
1847 – Gina Krog, Norwegian suffragist and women’s rights activist (d. 1916)
1855 – Richard Lodge, English historian and academic (d. 1936)
1858 – Charles W. Chesnutt, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1932)
1860 – Alexander Winton, Scottish-American race car driver and engineer (d. 1932)
1860 – Jack Worrall, Australian cricketer, footballer, and coach (d. 1937)
1861 – Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
1865 – George Redmayne Murray, English biologist and physician (d. 1939)
1866 – James Burns, English cricketer (d. 1957)
1869 – Laxmanrao Kirloskar, Indian businessman, founded the Kirloskar Group (d. 1956)
1870 – Georges Dufrénoy, French painter and academic (d. 1943)
1872 – George Carpenter, American 5th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1948)
1875 – Reginald Punnett, English geneticist, statistician, and academic (d. 1967)
1882 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (d. 1937)
1884 – Mary R. Calvert, American astronomer and author (d. 1974)
1884 – Johannes Heinrich Schultz, German psychiatrist and psychotherapist (d. 1970)
1885 – Andrzej Gawroński, Polish linguist and academic (d. 1927)
1887 – Kurt Schwitters, German painter and illustrator (d. 1948)
1889 – John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer and academic (d. 1951)
1891 – Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, Italian soprano (d. 1951)
1891 – John A. Costello, Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1976)
1893 – Wilhelm Zaisser, German soldier and politician (d. 1958)
1894 – Lloyd Hall, American chemist and academic (d. 1971)
1896 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1982)
1897 – Elisabeth Hauptmann, German author and playwright (d. 1973)
1899 – Jean Moulin, French soldier and engineer (d. 1943)
1903 – Sam Rabin, English wrestler, sculptor, and singer (d. 1991)
1905 – Lillian Hellman, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 1984)
1906 – Bob King, American high jumper and obstetrician (d. 1965)
1907 – Jimmy Driftwood, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (d. 1998)
1908 – Billy Werber, American baseball player (d. 2009)
1908 – Gus Schilling, American actor (d. 1957)
1909 – Errol Flynn, Australian-American actor (d. 1959)
1910 – Josephine Johnson, American author and poet (d. 1990)
1911 – Gail Patrick, American actress (d. 1980)
1912 – Anthony Buckeridge, English author (d. 2004)
1912 – Jack Torrance, American shot putter and football player (d. 1969)
1914 – Gordon Juckes, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1994)
1914 – Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, Turkish archaeologist and academic
1915 – Dick Reynolds, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2002)
1915 – Terence Young, Chinese-English director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1916 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Premier of Quebec (d. 1973)
1916 – T. Texas Tyler, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
1917 – Helena Rasiowa, Austrian-Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1994)
1918 – George Lynch, American race car driver (d. 1997)
1918 – Zoltán Sztáray, Hungarian-American author (d. 2011)
1920 – Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (d. 1980)
1920 – Danny Cedrone, American guitarist and bandleader (d. 1954)
1920 – Thomas Jefferson, American trumpet player (d. 1986)
1921 – Byron Farwell, American historian and author (d. 1999)
1921 – Pancho Segura, Ecuadorian tennis player (d. 2017)
1923 – Peter Gay, German-American historian, author, and academic (d. 2015)
1923 – Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor and educator (d. 2013)
1924 – Chet Atkins, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2001)
1924 – Fritz Koenig, German sculptor and academic, designed The Sphere (d. 2017)
1925 – Doris Hart, American tennis player and educator (d. 2015)
1925 – Audie Murphy, American lieutenant and actor, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1971)
1926 – Rehavam Ze’evi, Israeli general and politician, 9th Israeli Minister of Tourism (d. 2001)
1927 – Simin Behbahani, Iranian poet and activist (d. 2014)
1928 – Eric Dolphy, American saxophonist, flute player, and composer (d. 1964)
1928 – Martin Landau, American actor and producer (d. 2017)
1928 – Jean-Marie Le Pen, French intelligence officer and politician
1928 – Asrat Woldeyes, Ethiopian surgeon and educator (d. 1999)
1929 – Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
1929 – Anne Weale, English journalist and author (d. 2007)
1929 – Edith Windsor, American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights activist (d. 2017)
1930 – Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish sculptor and academic (d. 2017)
1930 – John Waine, English bishop
1931 – Olympia Dukakis, American actress
1931 – James Tolkan, American actor and director
1932 – Robert Rozhdestvensky, Russian poet and author (d. 1994)
1933 – Danny Aiello, American actor (d. 2019)
1933 – Claire Tomalin, English journalist and author
1934 – Wendy Craig, English actress
1935 – Jim Barker, American politician (d. 2005)
1935 – Len Dawson, American football player and sportscaster
1935 – Armando Picchi, Italian footballer and coach (d. 1971)
1936 – Billy Guy, American singer (d. 2002)
1936 – Enn Vetemaa, Estonian author and screenwriter (d. 2017)
1937 – Stafford Dean, English actor and singer
1937 – Jerry Keller, American singer-songwriter
1938 – Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (d. 2015)
1938 – Mickie Most, English music producer (d. 2003)
1939 – Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (d. 1998)
1939 – Budge Rogers, English rugby player and manager
1940 – Eugen Drewermann, German priest and theologian
1940 – John Mahoney, English actor (d. 2018)
1941 – Stephen Frears, English actor, director, and producer
1941 – Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut
1942 – Neil Trudinger, Australian mathematician and theorist
1942 – Brian Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer
1945 – Anne Murray, Canadian singer and guitarist
1946 – Xanana Gusmão, Timorese soldier and politician, 1st President of East Timor
1946 – David Kazhdan, Russian-Israeli mathematician and academic
1946 – Bob Vila, American television host
1946 – André Watts, American pianist and educator
1947 – Dolores “LaLa” Brooks, American pop singer (The Crystals)
1948 – Cirilo Flores, American bishop (d. 2014)
1948 – Ludwig Scotty, Nauruan politician, 10th President of Nauru
1949 – Alan Longmuir, Scottish bass player and songwriter (d. 2018)
1949 – Lionel Richie, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor
1949 – Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 8th president of Sri Lanka
1950 – Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi politician, 76th Prime Minister of Iraq
1951 – Tress MacNeille, American actress and voice artist
1951 – Sheila McLean, Scottish scholar and academic
1951 – Paul Muldoon, Irish poet and academic
1952 – John Goodman, American actor
1952 – Vikram Seth, Indian author and poet
1953 – Robert Crais, American author and screenwriter
1953 – Raúl Ramírez, Mexican tennis player
1953 – Willy Rampf, German engineer
1954 – Allan Lamb, South African-English cricketer and sportscaster
1954 – Ilan Ramon, Israeli colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
1955 – E. Lynn Harris, American author (d. 2009)
1956 – Peter Reid, English footballer and manager
1956 – Sohn Suk-hee, South Korean newscaster
1958 – Kelly Johnson, English hard rock guitarist and songwriter (d. 2007)
1960 – Philip M. Parker, American economist and author
1960 – John Taylor, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor
1963 – Kirk Baptiste, American sprinter
1963 – Mark Ovenden, British author and broadcaster
1964 – Pierfrancesco Chili, Italian motorcycle racer
1964 – Silke Möller, German runner
1966 – Boaz Yakin, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1967 – Nicole Kidman, American-Australian actress
1967 – Dan Tyminski, American singer-songwriter
1968 – Robert Rodriguez, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1969 – Paulo Bento, Portuguese footballer and manager
1969 – Misha Verbitsky, Russian mathematician and academic
1969 – MaliVai Washington, American tennis player and sportscaster
1970 – Andrea Nahles, German politician, German Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
1970 – Athol Williams, South African poet and social philosopher
1971 – Rodney Rogers, American basketball player and coach
1971 – Jeordie White, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bass player
1972 – Alexis Alexoudis, Greek footballer
1973 – Chino Moreno, American singer-songwriter
1975 – Joan Balcells, Spanish tennis player
1975 – Daniel Zítka, Czech footballer
1976 – Juliano Belletti, Brazilian footballer
1976 – Carlos Lee, Panamanian baseball player
1977 – Gordan Giriček, Croatian basketball player
1977 – Amos Lee, American singer-songwriter
1978 – Frank Lampard, English footballer
1978 – Jan-Paul Saeijs, Dutch footballer
1979 – Charles Howell III, American golfer
1980 – Franco Semioli, Italian footballer
1980 – Tika Sumpter, American actress
1980 – Fabian Wegmann, German cyclist
1981 – Brede Hangeland, Norwegian footballer
1982 – Aleksei Berezutski, Russian footballer
1982 – Vasili Berezutski, Russian footballer
1982 – Example, English singer/rapper
1983 – Josh Childress, American basketball player
1983 – Darren Sproles, American football player
1984 – Hassan Adams, American basketball player
1985 – Saki Aibu, Japanese actress
1985 – Aurélien Chedjou, Cameroonian footballer
1985 – Matt Flynn, American football player
1986 – Dreama Walker, American actress
1987 – A-fu, Taiwanese singer and songwriter
1987 – Carsten Ball, Australian tennis player
1987 – Asmir Begović, Bosnian footballer
1987 – Joseph Ebuya, Kenyan runner
1987 – Kierra Sheard, American gospel singer
1989 – Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor
1989 – Javier Pastore, Argentinian footballer
1989 – Terrelle Pryor, American football player
1990 – DeQuan Jones, American basketball player
1991 – Kalidou Koulibaly, Senegalese footballer
1991 – Rick ten Voorde, Dutch footballer
1993 – Sead Kolašinac, Bosnian footballer
1994 – Leonard Williams, American football player
1995 – Caroline Weir, Scottish footballer
1996 – Sam Bennett, Canadian ice hockey player
1997 – Bálint Kopasz, Hungarian sprint canoeist

Deaths on June 20

465 – Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei (b. 440)
656 – Uthman ibn Affan, Rashidun caliph (b. 577)
840 – Louis the Pious, Carolingian emperor (b. 778)
930 – Hucbald, Frankish monk and music theorist
981 – Adalbert, archbishop of Magdeburg
1176 – Mikhail of Vladimir, Russian prince
1351 – Margareta Ebner, German nun and mystic (b. 1291)
1405 – Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, fourth son of King Robert II of Scotland (b. 1343)
1597 – Willem Barentsz, Dutch cartographer and explorer (b. 1550)
1605 – Feodor II of Russia (b. 1589)
1668 – Heinrich Roth, German missionary and scholar (b. 1620)
1776 – Benjamin Huntsman, English businessman (b. 1704)
1787 – Carl Friedrich Abel, German viol player and composer (b. 1723)
1800 – Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician and academic (b. 1719)
1810 – Axel von Fersen the Younger, Swedish general and politician (b. 1755)
1815 – Guillaume Philibert Duhesme, French general (b. 1766)
1820 – Manuel Belgrano, Argentinian general, economist, and politician (b. 1770)
1837 – William IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1765)
1840 – Pierre Claude François Daunou, French historian and politician (b. 1761)
1847 – Juan Larrea, Argentinian captain and politician (b. 1782)
1869 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (b. 1835)
1870 – Jules de Goncourt, French historian and author (b. 1830)
1872 – Élie Frédéric Forey, French general (b. 1804)
1875 – Joseph Meek, American police officer and politician (b. 1810)
1888 – Johannes Zukertort, Polish-English chess player (b. 1842)
1906 – John Clayton Adams, English painter (b. 1840)
1909 – Friedrich Martens, Estonian-Russian historian, lawyer, and diplomat (b. 1845)
1925 – Josef Breuer, Austrian physician and psychologist (b. 1842)
1929 – Emmanouil Benakis, Greek merchant and politician, 35th Mayor of Athens (b. 1843)
1945 – Bruno Frank, German author, poet, and playwright (b. 1878)
1947 – Bugsy Siegel, American mobster (b. 1906)
1952 – Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (b. 1898)
1958 – Kurt Alder, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
1963 – Raphaël Salem, Greek-French mathematician and academic (b. 1898)
1965 – Bernard Baruch, American financier and politician (b. 1870)
1966 – Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1894)
1974 – Horace Lindrum, Australian snooker player (b. 1912)
1975 – Suzanne Comhaire-Sylvain, Hatian anthropologist (b. 1898)
1978 – Mark Robson, Canadian-American director and producer (b. 1913)
1984 – Estelle Winwood, English actress (b. 1883)
1995 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and educator (b. 1911)
1997 – Cahit Külebi, Turkish poet and author (b. 1917)
1999 – Clifton Fadiman, American game show host, author, and critic (b. 1902)
2001 – Gina Cigna, French-Italian soprano (b. 1900)
2002 – Erwin Chargaff, Austrian-American biochemist and academic (b. 1905)
2002 – Tinus Osendarp, Dutch runner (b. 1916)
2004 – Jim Bacon, Australian politician, 41st Premier of Tasmania (b. 1950)
2005 – Larry Collins, American journalist, historian, and author (b. 1929)
2005 – Jack Kilby, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
2010 – Roberto Rosato, Italian footballer (b. 1943)
2010 – Harry B. Whittington, English palaeontologist and academic (b. 1916)
2011 – Ryan Dunn, American television personality (b. 1977)
2012 – Judy Agnew, Second Lady of the United States. (b. 1921)
2012 – LeRoy Neiman, American painter (b. 1921)
2012 – Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (b. 1919)
2012 – Andrew Sarris, American critic (b. 1928)
2013 – Ingvar Rydell, Swedish footballer (b. 1922)
2015 – Angelo Niculescu, Romanian footballer and manager (b. 1921)
2015 – Miriam Schapiro, Canadian-American painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
2017 – Prodigy, American music artist (b. 1974)

Holidays and observances on June 20

Christian feast day:
- Adalbert of Magdeburg
- Florentina
- John of Matera
- Blessed Margareta Ebner
- Methodius of Olympus
- Pope Silverius
- June 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of the National Flag (Argentina)
The earliest date for the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern hemisphere, and its related observance:
- Earliest day on which Day of the Finnish Flag can fall, while June 26 is the latest; celebrated on Saturday of Midsummer’s Day (Finland)
- International Surfing Day (on or near Summer solstice)
- Litha / Midsummer celebrations in the northern hemisphere, Yule in the southern hemisphere.
Gas Sector Day (Azerbaijan)
Martyrs’ Day (Eritrea)
West Virginia Day (West Virginia)
World Refugee Day (International)

June 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

February 17 in History

1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
1600 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy, at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him continuing to speak.
1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
1676 – Sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate’s expedition are lost at Evangelistas Islets at the western end of the Strait of Magellan.
1739 – The Battle of Vasai commences as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory.
1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.
1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
1859 – Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captured the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress that was manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
1867 – The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
1904 – Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
1919 – The Ukrainian People’s Republic asks Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
1933 – Newsweek magazine is first published.
1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins: The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
1949 – Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
1964 – Gabonese president Léon M’ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
1968 – In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
1972 – Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.
1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
1980 – First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
1996 – In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
1996 – NASA’s Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
1996 – The 8.2 M_w  Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving one-hundred sixty-six people dead or missing and 423 injured.
2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
2008 – Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
2011 – Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime begin. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.
2015 – Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.
2016 – Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.

Births on February 17

624 – Wu Zetian, Chinese empress consort (d. 705)
1028 – Al-Juwayni, Persian scholar and imam (d. 1085)
1490 – Charles III, duke of Bourbon (d. 1527)
1519 – Francis, French Grand Chamberlain (d. 1563)
1524 – Charles de Lorraine, French cardinal (d. 1574)
1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1713)
1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (d. 1762)
1740 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and meteorologist (d. 1799)
1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German author and playwright (d. 1831)
1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French cartographer and explorer (d. 1803)
1758 – John Pinkerton, Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist and historian (d. 1826)
1781 – René Laennec, French physician, invented the stethoscope (d. 1826)
1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician and botanist (d. 1866)
1817 – Édouard Thilges, Luxembourgian jurist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1904)
1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1881)
1821 – Lola Montez, Irish-American actress and dancer (d. 1861)
1832 – Richard Henry Park, American sculptor (d. 1902)
1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1870)
1843 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, founded Montgomery Ward (d. 1913)
1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian poet and publisher (d. 1920)
1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German businessman (d. 1902)
1861 – Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, duchess of Albany (d. 1922)
1862 – Mori Ōgai, Japanese general, author, and poet (d. 1922)
1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak priest, botanist, and painter (d. 1929)
1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1941)
1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American businessman (d. 1956)
1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and author (d. 1904)
1877 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (d. 1932)
1881 – Mary Carson Breckinridge, American nurse midwife, founded Frontier Nursing Service (d. 1965)
1887 – Joseph Bech, Luxembourgian lawyer and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1975)
1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer and critic (d. 1947)
1888 – Otto Stern, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
1890 – Ronald Fisher, English-Australian statistician, biologist, and geneticist (d. 1962)
1891 – Abraham Fraenkel, German-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1965)
1899 – Jibanananda Das, Bangladeshi-Indian poet and author (d. 1954)
1900 – Ruth Clifford, American actress (d. 1998)
1903 – Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian-French author and translator (d. 1951)
1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1980)
1905 – Ruth Baldwin, British socialite (d. 1937)
1905 – Rózsa Politzer, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1977)
1906 – Mary Brian, American actress (d. 2002)
1908 – Red Barber, American sportscaster (d. 1992)
1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese general and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 2007)
1910 – Marc Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
1911 – Oskar Seidlin, German-American author, poet, and scholar (d. 1984)
1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor and producer (d. 1959)
1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian rugby player and pilot (d. 1940)
1916 – Don Tallon, Australian cricketer (d. 1984)
1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian footballer and actor (d. 2002)
1918 – William Bronk, American poet and academic (d. 1999)
1918 – Jacqueline Ferrand, French mathematician (d. 2014)
1919 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2009)
1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
1919 – Joe Hunt, American tennis player (d. 1945)
1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1920 – Annie Castor, American disability and communication disorder advocate (d. 2020)
1920 – Curt Swan, American soldier and illustrator (d. 1996)
1921 – Duane Gish, American biochemist and academic (d. 2013)
1922 – Tommy Edwards, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1969)
1923 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (d. 1988)
1923 – Buddy DeFranco, American clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2014)
1924 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (d. 2008)
1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor and director
1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress and singer (d. 2013)
1929 – Alejandro Jodorowsky, Chilean-French director and screenwriter
1929 – Chaim Potok, American rabbi and author (d. 2002)
1929 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (d. 1993)
1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress and singer
1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1930 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 2013)
1930 – Ruth Rendell, English author (d. 2015)
1931 – Jiřina Jirásková, Czech actress and singer (d. 2013)
1931 – Buddy Ryan, American football coach (d. 2016)
1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (d. 2007)
1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
1934 – Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage), Australian comedian, actor, and author
1935 – Christina Pickles, English-American actress
1936 – Jim Brown, American football player and actor
1937 – Mary Ann Mobley, American model and actress, Miss America 1959 (d. 2014)
1940 – Vicente Fernández, Mexican singer-songwriter, actor, and producer
1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress, singer, and director
1941 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
1942 – Huey P. Newton, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (d. 1989)
1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh saxophonist, keyboard player, and composer (Soft Machine)
1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2012)
1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
1946 – Shahrnush Parsipur, Iranian-American author and academic
1948 – José José, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2019)
1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
1949 – Fred Frith, English guitarist and songwriter
1949 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (d. 2016)
1951 – Rashid Minhas, Pakistani soldier and pilot (d. 1971)
1952 – Karin Büttner-Janz, German gymnast and physician
1952 – Vladimír Padrůněk, Czech bass player (d. 1991)
1954 – Lou Ann Barton, American blues singer-songwriter
1954 – Miki Berkovich, Israeli basketball player
1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1956 – Richard Karn, American actor and game show host
1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian singer-songwriter, accordion player, and pianist
1959 – Aryeh Deri, Moroccan-Israeli rabbi and politician, Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs
1959 – Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer and sportscaster
1960 – Lindy Ruff, Canadian hockey player and coach
1961 – Angela Eagle, English politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
1961 – Maria Eagle, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
1961 – Andrey Korotayev, Russian anthropologist, historian, and sociologist
1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor and director
1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and voice actor
1963 – Alison Hargreaves, English mountaineer (d. 1995)
1963 – Jen-Hsun Huang, Taiwanese-American businessman, co-founded Nvidia
1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player and actor
1964 – Sherry Hawco, Canadian gymnast (d. 1991)
1965 – Michael Bay, American director and producer
1965 – Danny Lee, Australian rugby league player
1966 – Quorthon, Swedish guitarist and songwriter (d. 2004)
1966 – Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and actor
1968 – Wu’erkaixi, Chinese journalist and activist
1968 – Giuseppe Signori, Italian footballer
1969 – David Douillet, French martial artist and politician
1969 – Vasily Kudinov, Russian handball player (d. 2017)
1970 – Dominic Purcell, English-born Irish-Australian actor and producer
1971 – Denise Richards, American model and actress
1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer
1972 – Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
1972 – Taylor Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and drummer
1972 – Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model and businesswoman
1972 – Lars Göran Petrov, Swedish singer and drummer
1973 – Goran Bunjevčević, Serbian FR Yugoslavia international footballer, defender (d. 2018)
1973 – Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby player
1974 – Kaoru, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1974 – Jerry O’Connell, American actor, director, and producer
1975 – Václav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
1978 – Rory Kinnear, English actor and playwright
1980 – Al Harrington, American basketball player
1980 – Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor, director, and producer
1981 – Paris Hilton, American model, media personality, actress, singer, DJ, author and businesswoman
1981 – Pontus Segerström, Swedish footballer (d. 2014)
1982 – Adriano, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player
1982 – Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer-songwriter
1983 – Kevin Rudolf, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1984 – AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
1984 – Jimmy Jacobs, American wrestler
1984 – Katie Hill, Australian 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player
1984 – Drew Miller, American ice hockey player
1984 – Marcin Gortat, Polish basketball player
1985 – Anders Jacobsen, Norwegian ski jumper
1988 – Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukrainian boxer
1989 – Rebecca Adlington, English swimmer
1989 – Chord Overstreet, American actor and singer
1990 – Marianne St-Gelais, Canadian speed skater
1991 – Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1991 – Bonnie Wright, English actress, director, and screenwriter
1993 – Nicola Leali, Italian footballer
1993 – Marc Márquez, Spanish motorcycle racer

Deaths on February 17

364 – Jovian, Roman emperor (b. 331)
440 – Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian monk, linguist, and theologian (b. 360)
923 – Al-Tabari, Persian scholar (b. 839)
1178 – Evermode of Ratzeburg, bishop of Ratzeburg
1220 – Theobald I, Duke of Lorraine
1339 – Otto, Duke of Austria (b. 1301)
1371 – Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
1500 – Adolph, Count of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst, German noble (b. before 1463)
1600 – Giordano Bruno, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (b. 1548)
1609 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)
1624 – Juan de Mariana, Spanish priest and historian (b. 1536)
1659 – Abel Servien, French politician, French Minister of Finance (b. 1593)
1673 – Molière, French actor and playwright (b. 1622)
1680 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English politician (b. 1599)
1680 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist, zoologist, and entomologist (b. 1637)
1715 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (b. 1646)
1732 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (b. 1669)
1768 – Arthur Onslow, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1691)
1841 – Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist and composer (b. 1770)
1849 – María de las Mercedes Barbudo, Puerto Rican political activist, the first woman Independentista in the island (b. 1773)
1854 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1789)
1856 – Heinrich Heine, German journalist and poet (b. 1797)
1874 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian astronomer, mathematician, and sociologist (b. 1796)
1890 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American publisher and politician (b. 1819)
1905 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, leader in the Latter Day Saint movement (b. 1815)
1909 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (b. 1829)
1912 – Edgar Evans, Welsh sailor and explorer (b. 1876)
1919 – Wilfrid Laurier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1841)
1934 – Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)
1934 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player and theoretician (b. 1862)
1939 – Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (b. 1859)
1946 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (b. 1889)
1961 – Lütfi Kırdar, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (b. 1887)
1961 – Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1894)
1962 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (b. 1907)
1962 – Bruno Walter, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1876)
1966 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter (b. 1880)
1970 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
1970 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (b. 1900)
1972 – Friday Hassler, American race car driver (b. 1935)
1977 – Janani Luwum, Ugandan archbishop and saint (b. 1922)
1979 – William Gargan, American actor (b. 1905)
1982 – Nestor Chylak, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1922)
1982 – Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (b. 1917)
1982 – Lee Strasberg, American actor and director (b. 1901)
1986 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (b. 1895)
1988 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (b. 1923)
1988 – Karpoori Thakur, Indian educator and politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1924)
1989 – Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (b. 1908)
1990 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French mountaineer, skier, and pilot (b. 1951)
1994 – Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
1998 – Ernst Jünger, German soldier, philosopher, and author (b. 1895)
2003 – Steve Bechler, American baseball player (b. 1979)
2004 – José López Portillo, Mexican lawyer and politician, 51st President of Mexico, 1976-1982 (b. 1920)
2005 – Dan O’Herlihy, Irish-American actor (b. 1919)
2005 – Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer and manager (b. 1935)
2006 – Ray Barretto, American drummer (b. 1929)
2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1948)
2009 – Conchita Cintrón, Chilean bullfighter and journalist (b. 1922)
2010 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
2012 – Robert Carr, English engineer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1916)
2012 – Michael Davis, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1943)
2012 – Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, Dutch mathematician and theorist (b. 1918)
2012 – Ulric Neisser, German-American psychologist and academic (b. 1928)
2013 – Richard Briers, English actor (b. 1934)
2013 – Shmulik Kraus, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1935)
2013 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (b. 1925)
2013 – Mindy McCready, American singer-songwriter (b. 1975)
2014 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1952)
2014 – Peter Florin, German politician and diplomat, President of the United Nations General Assembly (b. 1921)
2014 – Wayne Smith, Jamaican singer (b. 1965)
2015 – John Barrow, American-Canadian football player and manager (b. 1935)
2015 – Cathy Ubels-Veen, Dutch politician (b. 1928)
2015 – Liu Yudi, Chinese general and pilot (b. 1923)
2016 – Andy Ganteaume, Trinidadian cricketer (b. 1921)
2016 – Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Egyptian journalist (b. 1923)
2016 – Claude Jeancolas, French historian, author, and journalist (b. 1949)
2016 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (b. 1959)
2016 – Andrzej Żuławski, Polish film director (b. 1940)
2017 – Robert H. Michel, American politician (b. 1923)
2017 – Michael Novak, American Roman Catholic theologian (b. 1933)
2020 – Ror Wolf, German writer, poet, and artist (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances on February 17

Christian feast day:
- Seven Founders of the Servite Order
  - Alexis Falconieri
- Constabilis
- Donatus, Romulus, Secundian, and Companions
- Fintan of Clonenagh
- Janani Luwum (Anglican Communion)
- Lommán of Trim
- February 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Kosovo in 2008, still partially recognized.
Revolution Day (Libya)

February 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-I) | General Science & Ability

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A / admin

The universe, Galaxy, Light Year, Solar System, Sun, Earth, Astronomical System of Units

1) The biggest planet in our solar system is (CSS 2013)

(a) Venus
(b) Pluto
(c) Jupiter
(d) None of these
Answer: (c)
In terms of mass, volume, and surface area, Jupiter is the biggest planet in our Solar System by a wide margin.
Size and Mass:
Jupiter’s mass, volume, surface area and mean circumference are 1.8981 x 1027 kg, 1.43128 x 1015 km3, 6.1419 x 1010 km2, and 4.39264 x 105 km respectively. To put that in perspective, Jupiter diameter is roughly 11 times that of Earth, and 2.5 the mass of all the other planets in the Solar System combined.

2) The universe is ———-. (CSS 1996)

(a) Stationary
(b) Expanding
(c) Contracting
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)
In June 2016, NASA and ESA scientists reported that the universe was found to be expanding 5% to 9% faster than thought earlier, based on studies using the Hubble Space Telescope

3) The atmosphere of moon consists of: (CSS 2013)

(a) . 90% Hydrogen, 10% Nitrogen
(b) . 80%Nitrogen, 20% Hydrogen
(c) 60% Nitrogen, 40%inert gases
(d) None of these
Answer: (d)
The Moon has no atmosphere. None. That’s why astronauts have to wear their spacesuits when they get outside of their spacecraft on the surface of the Moon.
Atmosphere of the Moon might be electro statically levitated moon dust. These tiny particles are constantly leaping up and down off the surface of the Moon.

4) Who gave the first evidence of the Big- Bang theory?

(a) Edwin Hubble
(b) Albert Einstein
(c) S. Chandrasekhar
(d) Stephen Hawking
Answer: (a)
The Hubble Space Telescope was named after astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble (1889–1953), who made some of the most important discoveries in modern astronomy. Dr. Hubble determined that the farther a galaxy is from Earth, the faster it appears to move away. This notion of an “expanding” universe formed the basis of the Big Bang theory, which states that the universe began with an intense burst of energy at a single moment in time — and has been expanding ever since.

5) Which one of the following planets has largest number of natural satellites or moons?

(a) Jupiter
(b) Mars
(c) Saturn
(d) Venus
Answer: (a)
In the Solar System, there are 179 satellites. A majority of those moons belong to the planet of Jupiter, the second most belonging to Saturn.

6) Which of the following planets rotates clock wise?

(a) Mars
(b) Jupiter
(c) Venus
(d) Mercury
Answer: (c)
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise. Venus (radius 3,760.4 miles) is similar to Earth (radius 3,963.19 miles) in size and structure but spins very slowly; a day on Venus is 243 Earth days long.

7) Which of the following order is given to the planets of solar system on the basis of their sizes?

(a) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
(b) Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, Earth
(c) Mercury, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn
(d) Earth, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter
Answer: (a)
Jupiter (69,911 km / 43,441 miles) – 1,120% the size of Earth
Saturn (58,232 km / 36,184 miles) – 945% the size of Earth
Uranus (25,362 km / 15,759 miles) –400% the size of Earth
Neptune (24,622 km / 15,299 miles) – 388% the size of Earth
Earth (6,371 km / 3,959 miles)

8) The time taken by the Sun to revolve around the center of our galaxy is

(a) 50 Million years
(b) 100 Million years
(c) 250 Million years
(d) 365 Million years
Answer: (c)
the Sun is dragging us around the galaxy at around 800,000km/h, taking around 250 million years to complete a single orbit.
That means our Solar System has made around 18 complete circuits since it was formed around 4.5 billion years ago.

9): The planet having the largest diameter is

(a) Earth
(b) Jupiter
(c) Venus
(d) Uranus
Answer: (b)
Jupiter is composed primarily of gaseous and liquid matter. It is the largest of the four giant planets in the Solar System and hence its largest planet. It has a diameter of 142,984 km (88,846 mi) at its equator

10) The planet Mercury completes one rotation around the sun is (CSS 2010)

(a) 88 days
(b) 365 days
(c) 98 days
(d) 60 days
(e) None of these
Answer: (a)
A year on Mercury is just 88 days long. One solar day (the time from noon to noon on the planet’s surface) on Mercury lasts the equivalent of 176 Earth days while the sidereal day (the time for 1 rotation in relation to a fixed point) lasts 59 Earth days. Mercury is nearly tidally locked to the Sun and over time this has slowed the rotation of the planet to almost match its orbit around the Sun. Mercury also has the highest orbital eccentricity of all the planets with its distance from the Sun ranging from 46 to 70 million km.

11) The biggest planet in our solar system is (CSS 2013)

(a) Venus
(b) Pluto
(c) Jupiter
(d) None of these
Answer: (c)
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Jupiter has a mean radius of 43,440.7 miles (69,911 kilometers), about a tenth that of the sun. However, its rapid rotation — it spins once every 9.8 hours

12) The atmosphere of moon consists of: (CSS 2013)

(a) 90% Hydrogen, 10% Nitrogen
(b) 80%Nitrogen, 20% Hydrogen
(c) 60% Nitrogen, 40%inert gases
(d) None of these
Answer: (d)
The Apollo 17 mission deployed an instrument called the Lunar Atmospheric Composition Experiment (LACE) on the moon’s surface. It detected small amounts of a number of atoms and molecules including helium, argon, and possibly neon, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide.

13) Which of the following explains the reason why there is no total eclipse of the sun? (CSS 2009)

(a) Size of the earth in relation to that of moon
(b) Orbit of moon around earth
(c) Direction of rotation of earth around sun
(d) Area of the sun covered by the moon
(e) None of these
Answer: (d)
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, and the moon casts a shadow over Earth. A solar eclipse can only take place at the phase of new moon, when the moon passes directly between the sun and Earth and its shadows fall upon Earth’s surface.

14) The sun produces most of its energy by (CSS 2012)

(a) Nuclear fusion which involves converting “H” to “He”
(b) Nuclear fission involving the burning of uranium & plutonium
(c) Nuclear fission involving the combining of uranium and palladium
(d) None of these
Answer: (a)
Sun, like all stars, is able to create energy because it is essentially a massive fusion reaction.
The core of the Sun is the region that extends from the center to about 20–25% of the solar radius. It is here, in the core, where energy is produced by hydrogen atoms (H) being converted into molecules of helium (He) This is possible thanks to the extreme pressure and temperature that exists within the core, which are estimated to be the equivalent of 250 billion atmospheres (25.33 trillion KPa) and 15.7 million kelvin, respectively.

15) Although the mass of a man on moon remains same as on the earth he will (CSS 2012)

(a) Be much happier there
(b) Weigh one sixth as much
(c) Weigh twice as much
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)
The Moon’s gravity is one sixth of the Earth’s gravity. A 120 kg astronaut weighs 1200 N on Earth. On the Moon they would weigh only 200 N. The astronaut’s mass is 120kg wherever they are.

16) The planet of the solar system which has maximum numbers of Moon is: (CSS 2011)

(a) Jupiter
(b) Venus
(c) Saturn
(d) Uranus
(e) None of these
Answer: (a)

17): The earth rotates 011 its axis from_

(a) North to south
(b) South to north
(c) East to west
(d) West to east
Answer: (d)
The Earth rotates from the west towards east. As viewed from North Star or polestar Polaris, the Earth turns counter-clockwise. The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth’s axis of rotation meets its surface.

18): Name two planets which revolve around their axis from east to west

(a) Earth and Venus
(b) Mars and Earth
(c) Venus and Uranus
(d) Mars and Uranus
Answer: (c)
Planets have no light of their own and all of them expect Venus and Uranus, rotate upon their axis from west to east.

19) Our sun is classified as (CSS 2012)

(a) A Blue giant
(b) A Yellow dwarf
(c) Supernova
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)
The sun is classified as a G-type main-sequence star, or G dwarf star, or more imprecisely, a yellow dwarf. Actually, the sun — like other G-type stars — is white, but appears yellow through Earth’s atmosphere. Stars generally get bigger as they grow older

20): Name the planet which revolve approximately 90 degree with its orbital plane_.

(a) Neptune
(b) Venus
(c) Uranus
(d) Jupiter
Answer: (c)
Unlike any other planet, Uranus rotates on its side. That is, the rotation axis is tilted approximately 90 degrees relative to the planet’s orbital plane.

21): The hottest planet of our solar system is
(a) Mercury
(b) Venus
(c) Mars
(d) Earth
Answer: (b)
Venus’s thick atmosphere made up mainly of CO2 makes it the hottest planet in the solar system. Mercury is colder because it’s atmosphere is thin.

22): Which of the following constellation contains Pole Star?

(a) Orion
(b) Ursa Major
(c) Ursa Minor
(d) Scorpio
Answer: (b)

23): All the stars appear to move from

(a) North to south
(b) South to north
(c) East to west
(d) West to east
Answer: (c)
Every day, the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west. Actually, these celestial objects aren’t moving that fast, but Earth is. It spins on its axis from west to east approximately every 24 hours.
Because we are standing on Earth’s surface, we move along with it. To us, it appears as if everything in the sky is moving from east to west.

24): The body burning like a star and coming towards the earth

(a) Comet
(b) Meteor
(c) Ceres
(d) Satellites
Answer: (b)
Fleeting trails of light are called meteors or shooting stars and they are created by small particles, some no bigger than a grain of rice, as they are completely burned up high in the atmosphere: about 100 km (or 60 miles) above the Earth. They are over literally in the blink of an eye. Space debris is collectively termed meteoroids, those larger fragments that reach the ground are called meteorites. Very big meteoroids are also known as asteroids. If one collides with Earth it would cause a major catastrophe.

25) Which of the following is not true?

(a) Planets rotate on their own axis.
(b) Planets do not emit light.
(c) Some planets are gaseous and some are rocky
(d) Most of the planets have rings around them.
Answer: (d)

26) Which is the brightest planet?

(a) Mars
(b) Jupiter
(c) Venus
(d) Saturn
Answer: (c)
Venus is so bright because its thick clouds reflect most of the sunlight that reaches it (about 70%) back into space, and because it is the closest planet to Earth. Venus can often be seen within a few hours after sunset or before sunrise as the brightest object in the sky (other than the moon)

27) The stars in space are ___.

(a) Uniformly spread out.
(b) Distributed completely at random
(c) Chiefly in the Milky Way
(d) Mostly contained within widely separated galaxies
Answer: (d)

28) “Black holes” refer to: (CSS 2009)

(a) Hole occurring in heavenly bodies
(b) Bright spots on the sun
(c) Collapsing objects of high density
(d) Collapsing of low density
(e) None of these
Answer: (c)

29) The Milky Way is _____.

( a) a gas cloud in the solar system
(b) a gas cloud in the galaxy of which the sun is a member
(c) the galaxy of which the sun is a member
(d) a nearby galaxy
Answer: (c)

30) Relative to the center of our galaxy, ____.

( a) its starts are stationary
(b) its stars move entirely at random
(c) its stars revolve
(d) Population I starts are stationary and Population II star revolve
Answer: (c)

31) Evidence of various kinds suggests that at the center of our galaxy is a ___.

( a) Quasar
(b) Pulsar
(c) Neutron star
(d) Black hole
Answer: (d)
A supermassive black hole (SMBH) is the largest type of black hole, in the order of hundreds of thousands to billions of solar masses (M☉), and is found in the centre of almost all currently known massive galaxies. In the case of the Milky Way, the SMBH corresponds with the location of Sagittarius A*

32) A radio telescope is basically a (an) __.

(a) device for magnifying radio waves
(b) Telescope remotely controlled by radio
(c) Directional antenna connected to a sensitive radio receiver
(d) Optical telescope that uses electronic techniques to produce an image
Answer: (c)
Radio telescope is an astronomical instrument consisting of a radio receiver and an antenna system that is used to detect radio-frequency radiation emitted by extraterrestrial sources. Because radio wavelengths are much longer than those of visible light, radio telescopes must be very large in order to attain the resolution of optical telescopes.
The first radio telescope, built in 1937 by Grote Reber of Wheaton

33) Sun is a: (CSS 2011)

(a) Planet
(b) Comet
(c) Satellite
(d) Aurora
(e) None of these
Answer: (e)
The Sun (or Sol), is the star at the centre of our solar system
The Sun is by far the largest object in the solar system. It contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of the Solar System (Jupiter contains most of the rest).

34) The age of the solar system is (CSS 2011)

(a) 4.5 billion years
(b) 5.5 billion years
(c) 6.5 billion years
(d) 7.5 billion years
(e) None of these
Answer: (e)
By studying several things, mostly meteorites, and using radioactive dating techniques, specifically looking at daughter isotopes, scientists have determined that the Solar System is 4.6 billion years old. Well, give or take a few million years. That age can be extended to most of the objects and material in the Solar System.

35) An eclipse of the sun occurs when (CSS 2011)

(a) The moon is between the sun and the earth
(b) The sun is between the earth and the moon
(c) The earth is between the sun and the moon
(d) The earth casts its shadow on the moon
(e) None of these
Answer: (a)
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, and the moon casts a shadow over Earth. A solar eclipse can only take place at the phase of new moon, when the moon passes directly between the sun and Earth and its shadows fall upon Earth’s surface.

36) Founder of modern astronomy was: (CSS 2009)

(a) Archimedes
(b) William Gilbert
(c) Nicolaus Copernicus
(d) Michael Faraday
(e) None of these
Answer: (c)
Considered today to be the father of modern astronomy, Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in Torun, Poland.

37) Orbital period of the planet Mercury around the sun is: (CSS 2009)

(a) 88 days
(b) 365 days
(c) 2 years
(d) 98 days
(e) None of these
Answer: (a)
Mercury has an orbital period of 88 days (87.969 to be exact), which means a single year is 88 Earth days – or the equivalent of about 0.241 Earth years. But here’s the thing. Because of Mercury’s slow rotation (once every 58.646 days) and its rapid orbital speed (47.362 km/s), one day on Mercury actually works out to 175.96 Earth days.

38) Primary cosmic rays are composed largely of very fast ___.

( a) Protons
(b) Neutrons
(c) Electrons
(d) Gamma rays
Answer: (a)
Of primary cosmic rays, which originate outside of Earth’s atmosphere, about 99% are the nuclei (stripped of their electron shells) of well-known atoms, and about 1% are solitary electrons (similar to beta particles). Of the nuclei, about 90% are simple protons, i. e. hydrogen nuclei; 9% are alpha particles, identical to helium nuclei, and 1% are the nuclei of heavier elements, called HZE ions

39) Cosmic rays ____.

(a) Circulate freely through space
(b) are trapped in our galaxy by electric fields
(c) are trapped in our galaxy by magnetic fields
(d) are trapped in our galaxy by gravitational fields
Answer: (c)

40) The red shift in the spectral lines of light reaching us from other galaxies implies that these galaxies ______.

( a) are moving closer to one another
(b) are moving farther apart from one another
(c) are in rapid rotation
(d) Consist predominantly of red giant stars
Answer: (b)

41) According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, the universe _____.

( a) Must be expanding
(b) Must be contracting
(c) Must be either expanding or contracting
(d) May be neither expanding nor contracting
Answer: (c)

42) Supernova explosions have no connection with _______.

( a) The formation of heavy elements
(b) Cosmic rays
(c) Pulsars
(d) Quasars
Answer: (d)

43) Current ideas suggest that what is responsible for the observed properties of a quasar is a massive ____.

(a) Neutron star
(b) Black hole
(c) Spiral galaxy
(d) Star cluster
Answer: (b)

44) The age of the universe is probably in the neighborhood of ______.

( a) 15 million years
(b) 4 ½ billion years
(c) 15 billion years
(d) 30 billion years
Answer: (c)

45) The term big bang refers to ___.

( a) the origin of the universe
(b) the ultimate fate of the universe
(c) a supernova explosion
(d) the formation of a quasar
Answer: (a)

46) The elements heavier than hydrogen and helium of which the planets are composed probably came from the __.
( a) Sun
(b) Debris of supernova explosions that occurred before the solar system came into being
(c) Big bang
(d) Big crunch
Answer: (b)

47) Today the universe apparently contains ____.

( a) Only matter
(b) Only antimatter
(c) Equal amounts of matter and antimatter
(d) Slightly more matter than antimatter
Answer: (a)

48) Radiation from the early history of the universe was Doppler-shifted by the expansion of the universe until today it is in the form of _______.

( a) X-rays
(b) Ultraviolet waves
(c) Infrared waves
(d) Radio waves
Answer: (d)

49) Present evidence suggests that most of the mass of the universe is in the form of ______.

( a) Dark matter
(b) Luminous matter
(c) Cosmic rays
(d) Black holes
Answer: (a)

50) It is likely that the planets, satellites, and other members of the solar system were formed ________.

(a) Together with the sun
(b) Later than the sun from material it ejected
(c) Later than the sun from material it captured from space
(d) Elsewhere and were captured by the sun
Answer: (a)

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