The AnswerBank Articles

What is Maundy money

A. Specially minted silver coins distributed by the Queen to pensioners at a special service on Maundy Thursday - the day before Good Friday. The tradition dates back at least 1,400 years. Q. 00:00 Mon 11th Feb 2002

Tell me more about John Brown

A. Which one Queen Victoria's confidant or the abolitionist Q. The anti-slave campaigner. A. Ah. That John Brown. He was born in Torrington, Connecticut on 9 May, 1800, son of a wandering New00:00 Mon 11th Feb 2002

Henry Campbell-Bannerman - the forgotten PM

A. Indeed. The new statue of Lady Thatcher has prompted a Commons problem. It has highlighted that there are plenty of images of some Prime Ministers - but others have been forgotten. MP Tony00:00 Mon 11th Feb 2002

What was the Cabanatuan raid

A. A daring Second World War in the Philippines in January, 1945. It is being made into a new Steven Spielberg film starring Tom Cruise. It is based on a book called Ghost Soldiers by Hampton00:00 Mon 04th Feb 2002

Richard II has a new grave

A. Yes. Traditionally, he was murdered, buried in an obscure spot in Hertfordshire, then his body moved to Westminster Abbey. Now it's thought his real grave might be in Stirling, Scotland. Q. 00:00 Mon 04th Feb 2002

How did King Herod die

A. Very unpleasantly, according to a report by medical detectives. Q. Tell me more. A. King Herod - or Herod the Great - was one of the nastiest characters in the New Testament. During his00:00 Mon 04th Feb 2002

Who was Paul Revere

A. American patriot, famous for riding to warn comrades of the approaching British. He was also an engraver, dentist, artist and participant of the Boston Tea Party. Q. But what about this ride 00:00 Mon 28th Jan 2002

What was Wannsee conference

A. Sixty years ago, 15 top Nazi and SS officials sealed the fate of European Jews at a meeting about 'the final solution of the Jewish question'. They met in a villa on Berlin's Wannsee lake.00:00 Mon 28th Jan 2002

Can anyone tell me more about the lost city under the sea, off India

A. Thanks to seeker for the question. It's an amazing find and might, according to experts, force historians and archaeologists to reconsider their view of ancient human history. The remains have00:00 Mon 28th Jan 2002

What's the evidence for Ophelia

A. It now seems that the basis for Hamlet's beautiful and tragic lover may be based upon a Warwickshire girl who committed suicide. Q. Explain. A. Archaeologists have uncovered a well in00:00 Mon 28th Jan 2002

There's a new theory about Seahenge

A. Indeed. The Bronze Age ritual circle discovered off the Norfolk coast is now believed to have been built by a Scandinavian tribe building a gateway to next world. Q. What is Seahenge A. A00:00 Mon 21st Jan 2002

Who was John Hancock

A. As in 'put your John Hancock on that' He was the man who put his large signature defiantly in the middle of the American Declaration of Independence. Q. Why A. Hancock was president of the00:00 Mon 21st Jan 2002

What's the oldest piece of art

A. Two abstract representations engraved on pieces of red ochre. They have just been recovered from Blombos Cave on the southern Cape coast of the Indian Ocean in South Africa, 120 miles east of00:00 Mon 21st Jan 2002

What was the Marshall Plan

A. It just depends upon your point of view. It was either the Americans' generous plan to help war-torn Europe remain stable; or another attempt to expand American imperialism into another sphere.00:00 Mon 14th Jan 2002

What was the Czechoslovakian Coup

A. The moment, in February, 1948, when the Communists took over all of Eastern Europe. Q. Background A. The Soviet army began to occupy Eastern Europe in 1944 after the Nazis fled. The area00:00 Mon 14th Jan 2002

Did Michael Jackson's false nose really fall off on TV

A. No. It's just a web rumour, a modern myth, an urban legend. Q. So how did this rumour start A. Jackson has had numerous plastic surgery operations over the years and his appearance -00:00 Mon 14th Jan 2002

Is it worth trying this 1901 census site

A. Absolutely - but give it a little while. Millions of amateur family historians were left frustrated in the first few days of the Public Record Office putting the 1901 census online. Q. Why 00:00 Mon 07th Jan 2002

What were The Six Acts

A Free Born Englishmansatirised in print as bound by libel laws,debt and fraudulent elections A. Six repressive Acts of Parliament passed in 1819 in response to riots and disaffection in00:00 Sun 07th Jan 2001

Where's Peterloo, famous for the Peterloo massacre

Cavalry charged the protestorsA. Nowhere. Peterloo is a play on words. The massacre was in St Peter's Fields Manchester, on 16 August 1819. The name Peterloo was coined in an analogy with the00:00 Mon 07th Jan 2002

What was the New Deal

A. In a nutshell, it was the economic rescue package to get America out of the recession caused by the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 (click here for a feature on that). Q. And who was its00:00 Mon 31st Dec 2001