Handel music a coronation tradition
Born in Germany, Georg Frideric Handel was named the official court composer for the British monarchy in 1723 and became a naturalized British citizen in 1727, a few months before his anthem “Zadok the Priest” was performed at the coronation of George II. The musical composition has been performed at every British coronation since. Its words come from chapter 1 of the Old Testament first book of Kings, which has been read or sung at every coronation since King Edgar took the throne in 973.
Which march written by Edward Elgar is most closely associated with academic graduation ceremonies?
A) “Colonel Bogey March”
B) “Entry of the Gladiators” C) “Onward Upward March”
D) “Pomp and Circumstance”
Answer: Originally composed as coronation music, “Pomp and Circumstance” by Edward Elgar is commonly played at academic graduation ceremonies.
Clara Barton hosted Red Cross startup
From 1897 to 1904, the American Red Cross had its national headquarters in Clara Barton’s home in Glen Echo, Maryland (now a National Historic Site). Red Cross staff lived there, too, tackling both business and domestic chores. It wasn’t unusual to spy Barton in a calico dress carrying milk pails from her dairy barn. She once said, “No bureau of government carries on the amount of business and work that is accomplished in this house from day to day, month to month, year to year.”
Calico fabric takes its name from what? A) A city in India
B) A flower
C) A mythological queen
D) A type of loom
Answer: Calico fabric takes its name from the Indian city of Kozhikode, known in English as Calicut.
Three ships at Boston Tea Party
The Beaver, the Dartmouth and the Eleanor were the three trading ships stormed by the Sons of Liberty at the Boston Tea Party, on the night of Dec. 16, 1773. A fourth ship, the William, should have been there as well, but it ran aground off Cape Cod the week before the raid. While the cargo had come from England, the vessels were American, returning with a shipment of tea after delivering Massachusetts whale oil to England. The raid wreaked havoc in the harbor, with 342 chests of tea dumped in the water, yet it left the ships undamaged.
Which poem by Emma Lazarus is quoted on the base of the Statue of Liberty? A) “Courage”
B) “Diving into the Wreck”
C) “A Hymn to Humanity”
D) “The New Colossus”
Answer: “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus is inscribed at the base of the State of Liberty.