When the NASDAQ stock exchange began trading in 1971, it was the world's first electronic stock market. Founded in New York by the National Association of Securities Dealers, NASDAQ initially existed as computer bulletin board system that did not yet connect buyers and sellers. Today, it lists more companies and has more trading volume than any other US electronic stock exchange. In 2007, NASDAQ acquired the oldest stock exchange in America for $652 million. Which exchange did NASDAQ buy? Discuss

A Jewish officer in the French army, Alfred Dreyfus was falsely convicted of treason in 1894. When officers discovered that the evidence against Dreyfus was false—and that he was most likely a victim of anti-Semitism—they covered it up. Writer Émile Zola exposed the scandal by publishing in a newspaper an open letter titled "J'accuse." Zola was tried and convicted of criminal libel but fled the country, which was divided by the scandal. What happened to Dreyfus and Zola?

Though considered the founding document of New Zealand as a nation, the Treaty of Waitangi has been the subject of much debate since it was signed by representatives of the British crown and Maori chiefs in 1840. It gave Britain control of New Zealand while recognizing the native inhabitants' land rights. However, the English and Maori texts differed, leading to many controversies over its stipulations. In 1913, one of the treaty documents was restored after having been partially eaten by what?

In 1919, four of the leading figures in Hollywood—Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, D.W. Griffith, and Douglas Fairbanks—decided to form their own film studio to better control their own work. Though initially successful, United Artists foundered as films became more expensive to produce. It was taken over in the 1950s and began to thrive again until the 80s, when it was bought by the studio MGM. What famous actor announced plans to resurrect United Artists in 2006 as part owner of the company?

Parachutes at the dawn of the aviation age were bulky and, inconveniently, had to be pre-opened. Among those trying to improve upon their design was French tailor Franz Reichelt. He had some success testing his designs on dummies, but he had no evidence that his parachute would work with a real person when he jumped from the Eiffel Tower before a crowd of spectators and reporters. The chute failed to open, and he plummeted to his death. How had he convinced the authorities to allow the jump?

Relations between Italy and the US were strained in 1998 when a US military plane, flying too low and too fast through a valley near the Italian town of Cavalese, clipped an aerial tramway cable. The cable car fell, killing all 20 people on board. The pilot and navigator were acquitted of homicide in a US military court, sparking outrage in Italy, but were later convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying a video of the incident. How did the US attempt to repair relations with Italy?

In 1925, a diphtheria outbreak threatened the small city of Nome. The town's supply of antitoxin had run out, and a mail shipment would have taken weeks to arrive. After learning of the crisis, 20 mushers and some 150 sled dogs, including the famous Balto, relayed fresh antitoxin 674 miles (1,085 km) in a record five and a half days, preventing an epidemic. Today, the heroic journey is commemorated by the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. How long does it take modern competitors to complete?

Though the first volume, A–Ant, was published in 1884, the first complete edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was not published until 1928. Planned as a 10-year project, the 44-year undertaking resulted in a comprehensive, historical dictionary of English—the longest in the world today. It required more than 800 volunteers to compile material, including one who, it was later learned, turned out to be working from an asylum for the criminally insane. Why was he there?

Explorer I was the first American satellite. It was launched four months after the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, was put into orbit by the Soviet Union, beginning the so-called space race. Although it carried a number of instruments, Explorer I was relatively small, weighing just 30 lbs (13 kg). It stopped transmission of data later in 1958, when its batteries died, but remained in orbit for more than 12 years. Where did it make its fiery reentry?

The First Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed to protect the respective interests of Britain and Japan in China and Korea. Directed against Russian expansionism, the alliance helped Japan by discouraging France from entering the Russo-Japanese War on the Russian side. The alliance later prompted Japan to join the Allies in World War I. Britain allowed the alliance to lapse after the war, when it no longer feared Russian encroachment in China. What were the cultural effects of the alliance?

Liliuokalani ascended the throne in 1891 upon the death of her brother, King Kalakaua. Her refusal to recognize the constitutional changes inaugurated in 1887 precipitated a revolt, fostered largely by sugar planters—mostly American residents of Hawaii—that led to her dethronement early in 1893 and the establishment of a provisional government. Failing in an attempt to regain the throne in 1895, she formally renounced her royal claims. What well-known song was composed by Liliuokalani?

Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice while living at "Steventon," her father's Hampshire vicarage where she spent the first 25 years of her life. However, the book was not published until much later—in 1813, four years before her death. Like Austen's other novels, Pride and Prejudice is a comedy of manners that depicts the self-contained world of provincial ladies and gentlemen. In 2003, the novel placed second in a BBC poll for the "UK's Best-Loved Book." What book came first?

The National Geographic Society is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. It was founded in 1888 by a small group of eminent explorers and scientists and, by the turn of the 21st century, boasted approximately nine million members. It has supported more than 7,000 major scientific projects and expeditions, including those of the Leakey family, Jacques Cousteau, and Jane Goodall. What journalistic methods were pioneered by its magazine?

Still regularly performed, Der Rosenkavalier is one of the most acclaimed comic operas of Richard Strauss, the leading composer of romantic opera in the early 20th century. It is loosely based on the works of Molière and Louvet de Couvrai and tells the story of the shifting romantic attachments of four principal characters. Strauss, who often abandoned tonality to emphasize the humor or drama of a scene, composed Der Rosenkavalier in collaboration with what poet?

The Emmy Awards are given for outstanding achievement in US television. They are presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which was founded in 1946 and which held the first award ceremony in 1949. Its members vote on outstanding programs, actors, directors, and writers in such categories as drama, comedy, and variety. The Emmy's name is taken from the nickname "immy" for the image orthicon, a television camera tube. Who won the very first Emmy?

In 1848, the same year California became a part of the US, another major event in the state's history occurred. While establishing a sawmill for John Sutter, James W. Marshall discovered gold and touched off the California gold rush. The gold-rush miners, known as forty-niners, came in droves, spurred by the promise of fabulous riches from the so-called Mother Lode, and San Francisco became a boom town. Why was Sutter disappointed when he discovered that gold had been found on his property?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a museum dedicated to archiving the history of rock music. It was created in 1983 but did not have a home until 1995, when it opened its Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, after civic leaders pledged $65 million in public money to fund its construction. The first group of inductees included Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, and James Brown, to name a few. What band inducted into the Hall in 2006 refused to attend the induction ceremony?

The January Uprising began as a spontaneous rebellion of young Poles in Russian Poland against conscription into the Imperial Russian Army. They were soon joined by Lithuanians living in the territory, but they were severely outnumbered and isolated, and they failed to win any major victories or capture any major cities. The Russians crushed the uprising and began an intensive program of Russification. During the uprising, Russian soldiers are said to have defenestrated what composer's piano?

Louis XVI was the king of France during the complex sociopolitical conflict that culminated in the French Revolution, but he was shy, dull, and corpulent and lacked the leadership skills necessary for the job. During the revolution, he was caught attempting to flee the Tuileries palace in disguise, and when proof of his counterrevolutionary actions emerged, he was tried for treason and beheaded. It is said that while his blood dripped to the ground, many in the crowd ran forward to do what?

As the fourth point of his presidential inauguration address in 1949, Truman announced what became known as his Point Four Program—the US policy of technical assistance and economic aid to less-developed countries. Such assistance, mainly in agriculture, public health, and education, was provided through contracts with US business and educational organizations. During the Cold War, the US government used Point Four to win support from uncommitted nations. Does the program still exist?