History
A:
As of May 2014, 43 men have become president of the United States. Barack Obama is regarded as the 44th president, however, because Grover Cleveland served two nonsuccessive terms.
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Q: What country colonized China?
A: Great Britain took Hong Kong from China after winning the First Opium War and took southern Kowloon after winning the Second Opium War. Portugal claimed the Macau region and kept it until 1999. France took over the region that is now northern Vietnam from China by winning the Sino-French War. -
Q: Why did Ferdinand Magellan make his voyage?
A: Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator, sailed west from Spain in the early 16th century in hopes of finding a western shipping route to Indonesia's Spice Islands. With five ships and more than 250 men, he reached Brazil, where he looked along the coast of South America for a strait leading to the Pacific Ocean. After camping in Port St. Julian for the winter, Magellan found the strait. -
Q: What did Charles Darwin discover?
A: Charles Darwin is famous for the strong case he made in support of his theory of evolution. He showed how species changed over time, and proposed that all life resulted from evolution. His theory was controversial but eventually caught on with the scientific community. -
Q: What were ancient China's natural resources?
A: The prodigious land area of ancient China harbored resources like coal, drinking water, numerous minerals and plant and animal life. China is the biggest producer of salt on Earth, with 17 million tons annually. There are 760 billion tons of coal located in China's Shanxi region, and the 3 trillion cubic meters of rainfall and river water rank 6th in the world. -
Q: What food did Sumerians eat?
A: Barley was the main staple of the Sumerian diet, and was used to make barley cakes and barley paste. Sumerians combined barley with other local vegetables, including beans, lentils, chickpeas, mustard and lettuce. Lamb, goat, pork and fish were favorites with city-dwelling Sumerians, but rural farming communities did not eat meat often and lived on a mostly vegetarian diet. -
Q: What did the Mayans invent?
A: The Mayan people invented complex and highly accurate calendars based off astronomical readings. They are also believed to have discovered the technique of vulcanization, a process that strengthens rubber by adding other materials. - See More Ancient History Questions
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Q: Who invented the newspaper?
A: The first known newspaper was the Roman Acta Diruna, published on orders from Julius Caesar in 59 B.C. It is unknown who physically made the papers. Caesar wanted to inform the public about important social and political happenings, as well as upcoming events. -
Q: Who invented dance?
A: Because dance was used in ancient times, it is not credited to the contribution of a specific person. Dance was first used in ancient cultures in ritualistic practices. For example, in Egypt, Greece and India, dancing before a god was an important part of temple worship. -
Q: Why was money created?
A: Money was originally created to serve as a substitute store of value to bypass problems with the barter system. If you had an apple tree but needed eggs, you needed to find someone with a chicken coop who wanted apples. Currency allows you to perform barter by proxy. You sell your apples for currency, and then you can buy anything you like from traders who accept that currency. -
Q: Who invented solar panels?
A: Alexandre Edmond Becquerel is considered the father of solar panels, having discovered how electricity is generated from sunlight in 1839. His research paved the way for the construction of solar energy plants that heated water to create steam to power machinery during the Industrial Revolution. -
Q: Who made the first kite?
A: Although it's unclear who specifically made the first kite, the earliest recorded reference to kites comes in the work of Chinese philosopher Mozi, who lived around 470-391 BCE. An early prototype design for a wooden kite appears in a Mozi text. -
Q: What was the first instrument ever made?
A: The oldest musical instrument is the bone flute and this instrument dates back 40,000 years. The assembly of bird bones are responsible for this ancient instrument. - See More Inventions Questions
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Q: What was the job of a medieval knight?
A: Medieval knights were the professional warrior class of Europe, responsible for defending their feudal lord's territory from rival lords and keeping the local serfdom in line with the lord's rule. Knights were frequently members of the noble class, with the title inherited through the father, but it was also a title granted as a reward for chivalrous deeds. In the late medieval period, noble and warrior classes became more static. -
Q: Who lived in castles in the Middle Ages?
A: The primary residents of European castles during the Middle Ages were the lord and lady of the realm. These might be royalty or simply the liege lords of the district where the castle was built. -
Q: What was the role of a medieval king?
A: The roles of a king during Medieval Europe included land ownership, warfare leadership and lawmaker. A king allowed knights, barons and lords to live on his land, as long as they provided armies of men to fight wars. When kings fought neighboring kingdoms, he led his men into battle. Kings were supreme rulers of their lands, and they meted out justice as they saw fit. -
Q: What are facts about Mansa Musa?
A: Mansa Musa assumed the position of ruler of Mali during the 14th century, and later embarked on a journey to Mecca, becoming the first African ruler to do so. Mansa Musa was born in 1280 A.D., and died in 1337. His life achievements included promoting the Muslim religion, and supporting unprecedented growth of the arts and education. -
Q: What was the longest ruling Chinese dynasty?
A: The Zhou Dynasty, also spelled "Chou," was the longest dynasty in the history of China. Though exact dates are unknown, scholars and archaeologists place the Zhou Dynasty reign from about 1046 B.C. to 256 B.C. -
Q: Why is Galileo famous?
A: Galileo is famous for many things but is probably best known for discovering Jupiter's four moons. The moons around Jupiter are called "Gallilean moons." - See More Middle Ages Questions
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Q: How many years was Nelson Mandela imprisoned?
A: Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, 18 of which were spent at the infamously cruel Robben Island Prison in South Africa, where he was held from 1964 - 1982. Mandela was released from imprisonment in 1990 despite having initially been handed a life sentence. At the time of his imprisonment, South Africa was ruled by the white supremacist system of apartheid, in which native black Africans were officially considered inferior in every way to colonial European citizens, also known as Afrikaners. Mandela was an anti-apartheid revolutionary who eventually became the first president of South Africa, and he was initially imprisoned on charges of incitement before being charged with conspiracy to overthrow the state in what is known as the Rivonia Trial. -
Q: Why did the United States become involved in the Vietnam War?
A: The United States got involved in the Vietnam conflict to keep communism from spreading throughout Southeast Asia. At first the United States only aided France with military aid and advisors, but after the French suffered a major defeat at Dien Bien Phu in the north-western hills, the French pulled out and the United States took over the burden of the war. -
Q: What were some types of transportation in the 1800s?
A: Transportation in the early 1800s was primarily by horse and sail, but the development and refinement of the steam engine spurred the development of rail and river transportation. Horses and horse-drawn conveyances remained the primary method of transportation through most of the century, at least for local travel. Toward the end of the 1800s, the automobile came into existence, although most 19th-century designs saw very limited adoption. -
Q: Who were the original members of the Rat Pack?
A: Many people know the Rat Pack as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. However, the origins of the Rat Pack go back to actor Humphrey Bogart, and Bogart’s wife, the actress Lauren Bacall, and a few of their Hollywood friends. -
Q: How were the settlers in Plymouth County different than the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlers?
A: The Pilgrims at Plymouth Bay Colony were Calvinists and Puritan Separatists, while the Puritans at Massachusetts Bay Colony were determined to reform the Anglican Church from within. While both were Protestants and Puritans, they had different goals and beliefs. -
Q: Which African countries were never colonized?
A: Ethiopia and Liberia were the only two African countries that were not colonized. Liberia was founded by freed slaves and Ethiopia resisted Italian attempts at colonization. - See More Modern History Questions
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