Arizona Famous People Trivia

1. Which Arizona politician was the first woman to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice?

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor was born in El Paso, Texas but lived the majority of her young life in Duncan, Arizona. She attended Stanford Law School where she dated future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William Rehnquist. Rehnquist actually proposed marriage to her but she declined. She married John Jay O'Connor, a fellow lawyer, in 1952. O'Connor served in several positions in Arizona state and local governments including the State Senate and the Arizona Court of Appeals. She was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981 by Ronald Reagan who had promised to appoint a woman to the Court. She was confirmed unanimously. During her tenure, she was generally seen as the swing vote in many important cases.

From Quiz Arizona: The People 1912-2012

Answer: Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez, was born in Yuma in 1927 and died in San Luis, AZ in 1993, although he perhaps was most famous for his work in California. Chavez was one of the founders of the United Farm Workers, an organization largely devoted to rights for migrant workers, and he was very successful at organizing boycotts of produce to draw attention to the plights of workers. "Cesar Chavez Day" is celebrated in Phoenix on March 31st with city offices and services being closed for the day.

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: Vietnam War

John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone. A member of the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, McCain was captured when he was plane was shot down and imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton for five and a half years. He spent much of the time injured from his capture and tortured further. He went long periods of time without medical treatment. He was released in 1973. In 1983, McCain was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and shortly after to the U.S. Senate. He lost the 2000 Republican Primary for U.S. President and the general election for president in 2008. During the last few years of his life, he infamously came into public conflicts with Donald Trump, a fellow Republican. As a candidate for president, Trump said McCain was not a war hero because he was captured. During his presidency, Trump and McCain often clashed over policy matters as well. McCain cast the deciding vote to not repeal the Affordable Care Act. McCain died in 2018 and his widow Cindy endorsed Joe Biden for president against Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. McCain and Biden had been friends from their time in the Senate together despite running on opposite tickets in the 2008 presidential plection.

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: Apache

Cochise was a Chiricahua Apache whose name means oak or, more specifically, having the strength of an oak. He was born in the Southwestern part of the U.S. (likely in either Arizona or New Mexico) when it was still controlled by Spain. After the Mexican-American War, the U.S. and Apache had a tentative peace agreement that was broken several times. The U.S. had captured several family members of Cochise and this led him to rebel against the U.S. Much of the fighting took place in the 1860s in Arizona's Dragoon Mountains. Cochise would die there in 1874 after a stronger peace treaty was brokered.

From Quiz Arizona: The People 1912-2012

Answer: Zane Grey

The author of "Riders of the Purple Sage" and "Rangers of the Lone Star", Zane Grey had a passion for the West that was apparent in his books. Born in 1872 in Ohio, Grey first visited Arizona in its pre-statehood days, but he returned in 1923 to build a cabin near Payson on the Mogollon (pronounced MUG-ee-own) Rim. The cabin was abandoned in the 1930s but was restored in 1966 as a museum dedicated to Grey. It burned down in a wildfire in 1990 but was later reconstructed at a different site also near Payson. There must be something about Arizona that inspires writers. Other authors who have lived in Arizona include Clive Cussler, Erma Bombeck, Stephenie Meyer (of "Twilight" fame) and Diana Gabaldon, the author of "The Outlander" series. Another writer of Western novels, Louis L'Amour, set his novel "The Sackett Brand" on Arizona's Mogollon Rim.

From Quiz Famous Arizona Women

Answer: She was appointed to her husband's (William "Rosey" Rosenbaum) seat after his death.

Polly Rosenbaum was born in Iowa but raised in Colorado. She made Arizona her home in 1929. She married William "Rosey" Rosenbaum in 1939. He died in 1949 after 10 years as Gila County Representative to the Arizona State Legislature at which time Mrs. Rosenbaum was appointed to fulfill her husband's term of office. Mrs. Rosenbaum was re-elected every two years for the next forty-five years thus making her the longest serving legislator in Arizona history. Mrs. Rosenbaum worked to establish the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame. As Mrs. Rosenbaum stated, "The women really won the West, not the men. The women are the ones who got the libraries and worked for the schools." Polly Rosenbaum died in 2003.

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: Zane Grey

Zane Grey was born in Zanesville, Ohio with the birthname of Pearl Zane Grey. He was very antisocial as a child but excelled in sports, especially baseball. After marrying and starting a family, he relocated to California to seek peace. When that failed, he moved alone into a cabin in Mogollon Rim, Arizona for several months at a time where he began writing western novels. However, Arizona was becoming increasingly crowded and overrun by tourists so he let his cabin fall into decay. His best known work is "Riders of the Purple Sage" published in 1912. After he ceased writing, Grey made a living from royalties from the film adaptation of his novels.

From Quiz Arizona: The People 1912-2012

Answer: The Family Circus

Born in Philadelphia in 1922, Bil Keane moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona in 1959, and "The Family Circus" debuted the following year. The cartoon was based on Keane's family, and it earned him four National Cartoonists' Society awards for Best Syndicated Panel. Following his death in 2011, his son Jeff took over the production of the comic strip. Cartoonist Todd McFarlane of "Spawn" fame and Pulitzer-Prize winning political cartoonist Steve Benson also reside in Arizona.

From Quiz Famous Arizona Women

Answer: Margaret Taylor Hance

Margaret Taylor Hance was born in Iowa in 1923. She was elected the first woman mayor of Phoenix, Arizona in 1976. During her tenure, the Civic Plaza was expanded, Patriot's Park was created, and construction on both Arizona Science and Technology Museum and the Herberger Theater were begun. Vast improvements were made on the roads in and throughout Phoenix as well as major additions to Sky Harbor Airport. In 1982, Mrs. Hance led the National Conference of Republican Mayors. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan brought her on board as co-chair of his re-election committee. Mrs. Hance was also instrumental in the election campaigns of George H.W. Bush. In 1991, a park on the six-block deck of the downtown I-10 Freeway was named Hance Park. Margaret Taylor Hance died in 1990.

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: Twilight

Stephenie Meyer created the popular vampire-romance novels in the "Twilight" series. The books focus on Bella Swan who, like Meyer, hails from Phoenix, Arizona and her love triangle with Edward the vampire and Jacob the werewolf. Meyer is a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and her religion has influenced her writing. Unlike other teenage romance novels, much of the plot of the "Twilight" series does not focus on sex or obvious sexual tension. There is no underaged drinking or smoking either.

From Quiz Arizona: The People 1912-2012

Answer: Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright moved to Scottsdale in 1927 where he built his Taliesin West home and worked on projects such as the Arizona Biltmore and Gammage Auditorium. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation still maintains its headquarters at Taliesin West, which has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public for tours. Wright remained in Arizona until his death in 1959 when his body was sent to Wisconsin for burial near his first Taliesin. After the death of his wife in 1985, his body was exhumed and his remains were cremated and returned to Arizona for burial with her at Taliesin West. Incidentally, "Weird Al" Yankovic graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in architecture, but luckily for us, he decided to pursue a different field for his career.

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: Fleetwood Mac

Stevie Nicks was born Stephanie Lynn Nicks in Phoenix, Arizona. She was a member of the band Fleetwood Mac which she joined in 1975 when she was dating guitarist Lindsay Buckingham. She continued to tour with Fleetwood Mac even after she started a solo career. She was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame twice, once with Fleetwood Mac and once for her solo career.

From Quiz Arizona: The People 1912-2012

Answer: Native American children

Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia was born in the mining town of Morenci in the Territory of Arizona in 1909. He spent five years of his childhood in his parents' native Italy before returning to Arizona where he did much of his work. The subjects of his painting were mainly Western and Mexican scenes (he spent time in Mexico with Diego Rivera), but he is best known for his whimsical depictions of Native American children. His creations were made into a series of Goebel figurines and Christmas ornaments. In 1976, DeGrazia made the news when he burned a hundred of his paintings in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix to protest an Internal Revenue Service ruling on inheritance taxes. He died in Tucson in 1982 and is buried on the grounds of his Gallery in the Sun, which is opened to the public for tours. Other artists who lived in Arizona include Jackson Pollock, Maxfield Parrish, Fritz Scholder and photographer Frederick Sommer.

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: Pluto

Percival Lowell was an astronomer originally from Massachusetts. However, he relocated to Flagstaff, Arizona to continue his search for what he called Planet X. He chose Arizona because the sky was clear and there were very few obstacles such as light pollution to hinder his research. He founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff in 1894. Lowell laid the foundation that would ultimately lead to the discovery of Pluto, his Planet X by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. Lowell had believed there must be a planet beyond Neptune because of certain gravitational pulls. While there was a (then) planet beyond Neptune, Lowell's theory about gravity was incorrect.

From Quiz Arizona: The People 1912-2012

Answer: Sesame Street

Joan Ganz Cooney was born and raised in Phoenix and graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson before leaving for New York to embark on her television career. Although Jim Henson's Muppets are synonymous with "Sesame Street", the show was actually the creation of television producer Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett of the Carnegie Foundation. Cooney was instrumental in guiding the development of the show by using test audiences of children to discover what appealed to them and kept their attention. It was discovered that the Muppets did so, so their role on the show was expanded from small segments to being the main focus of Sesame Street.

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: La La Land

Emma Stone was born in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1988. It was in Arizona where Stone first took up acting as a child in the local community theaters. Her first big break came in 2007 when she played a wild teenager named Jules in the comedy film "Superbad". Her first Academy Award nomination came in 2015 when she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the film "Birdman" but she lost to Patricia Arquette. She was nominated for Best Actress for the first time in 2017 and won for playing Mia Dolan, an aspiring actress in "La La Land".

From Quiz Arizona: The People 1912-2012

Answer: Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag was born in New York in 1933, but her mother moved the family to Tucson in 1939 after Sontag began having asthma attacks. It was there that Sontag began to write, selling a monthly newpapers to neighbors. She remained in Tucson until her teenage years when the family moved to California. She later moved to Chicago and Paris during her university years before embarking on her literary career, mainly focusing on essays, although she was also known for her fictional works, including the best-selling novel "The Volcano Lover" about Lord Nelson and his mistress.

From Quiz Famous Arizona Women

Answer: Allison DuBois

Allison DuBois was born in 1972 in Phoenix. Much like her television counterpart, Mrs. DuBois has worked in the district's attorney's office and has been a jury consultant. She considers herself to be more of a profiler, someone who "analyzes physical evidence to determine a perpetrator's behavorial patterns" (ehow.com) or a medium (a person supposedly used as a spiritual intermediary between the dead and the living) rather than a psychic.

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: Historical romance

Diana Gabaldon is primarily known for writing the "Outlander" historical romance/science fiction series. She also wrote the "Lord John" series which is a historical mystery series spun off from "Outlander". She was born in Scottsdale and taught at Arizona State University until she retired after her books became commercial successes. Her son is Sam Sykes who is also a fantasy writer.

From Quiz Arizona: The People 1912-2012

Answer: General George S. Patton

The Desert Training Center was established in 1942 and was used to train over one million soldiers to prepare for the North Africa campaign in WWII. The massive training area stretched from Pomona, California to the western edge of Phoenix and from Yuma to Boulder City, Nevada. Camp Young near Chiriaco Summit, about thirty miles east of Indio, California, was the headquarters for the center, and the General Patton Memorial Museum is now located there. Ten other camps were located within the center, with a few of the camps, including Camp Bouse and Camp Laguna, being located in Arizona. Patton was instrumental in getting the Desert Training Center established; he had led a reconnaissance mission in the area and declared it to be ideal due to the lack of inhabitants. Patton remained there for four months before leaving for the North Africa campaign.

From Quiz Famous Arizona Women

Answer: Kerri Strug

Kerri Allyson Strug was born in 1977 in Tucson, Arizona. As part of the "Magnificent Seven", she and her teammates won gold in the all-around gymnastics competition at the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia. Kerri, despite being injured, completed her turn on the vault. One of the most moving photos from that event showed Kerri, with ankle bandaged, being carried to the platform to receive her gold medal by her coach, Bela Karolyi. After the Olympics, Kerri worked as an elementary school teacher before moving to Washington, D.C. in 2003. She has competed in marathons and was a Yahoo correspondent for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Ms. Strug married Robert Fischer in 2010.

From Quiz Famous People from Arizona

Answer: Geronimo

Geronimo was an Apache leader who led raids against the U.S. during the Apache War. Geronimo was a medicine man by trade although he did prove to be a quality fighter and strategist. He was captured by the U.S. several times and was confined to reservations and was later transported around the country as part of a traveling western show. He was often forced to perform skill shows for large audiences and his image was exploited to sell merchandise. He remained a prisoner of the U.S. from his surrender at Fort Bowie, Arizona in 1886 until his death in 1909.

From Quiz Arizona: The People 1912-2012

Answer: Hugh Downs

According to Hugh Downs, his wife and he decided to move to Arizona after a single visit when he was invited to speak at a Phoenix Executives' Club meeting. He said they'd "rather be here at 110 degrees than in almost any other state at 90". He started working as a news broadcaster in 1945 and over the years, he worked as an announcer and game show host before joining "20/20" as a co-host with Barbara Walters in 1978. He remained on the show until his retirement in 1999. Among his numerous books, Downs used his degree in gerontology to write a few books on aging. His work in television journalism led to the establishment of the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University. Other broadcasters who lived in Arizona include Paul Harvey, Steve Allen, Aaron Brown, sportscaster Al Michaels and talk show host/comedian Jimmy Kimmel. The school of journalism at Arizona State University is named for Walter Cronkite, who visited annually to present awards to students.

From Quiz Famous Arizona Women

Answer: Pearl Hart

Pearl Taylor was born in Canada around 1871. She married Frederick Hart who was a jack of all trades as well as a gambler. Pearl left Mr. Hart and went to Colorado on her own and eventually ended up in Phoenix, Arizona where Frederick caught up with her, and they resumed their married life. In 1899, after Frederick had run off to join Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, Pearl met Joe Boot. They robbed a stagecoach near Globe, Arizona, getting away with $431.20. Afterwards, the two became lost in the surrounding desert and were arrested four days after the robbery. Mrs. Hart was taken to Tucson as the jail in Florence did not have facilities for women. Pearl quickly became known as the "Bandit Queen" and delighted people who came to see her by giving them autographs. She escaped before her trial but was soon re-captured and tried and was acquitted, despite pleading guilty! Her story was that she was robbing the stage to get money from her poor mother, which, of course, was a total fabrication. The judge ordered another trial, this one charging Pearl with possession of a fire arm. Mrs. Hart was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison although she was paroled after eighteen months. After her time at the Yuma Territorial Prison, Pearl Hart disappeared into history with many conflicting reports surfacing concerning her later life and death. As for the claim that she was the only woman who robbed a stagecoach, Jane Kirkham robbed one near Leadville, Colorado in 1879, predating Mrs. Hart by 20 years.

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