The Misplaced & Poles Apart History Quiz: People

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Before Abraham Lincoln became a politician, he was a champion wrestler. With more than 300 bouts under his belt, Lincoln only lost one match in his whole career. As a 21-year-old in 1830, Abraham Lincoln was the wrestling champion of his county in Illinois.

At this time, while working at a store in New Salem, Illinois, Lincoln had a famous bout with Jack Armstrong, also a county wrestling champion. Lincoln won decisively when, after losing his temper when Armstrong began fouling him, he slammed Armstrong to the ground and knocked him out.

Question submitted by jackslade (Poles Apart)

Answer: His body was disinterred and hung on the gallows at Tyburn

The late Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell's body was disinterred and hung at the gallows at Tyburn on the 30th January 1661. This was the 12th anniversary of the execution of Charles I. The body was then decapitated and the head was displayed on a pole above Westminster Hall.

The Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell died on Friday 3rd September 1658 in Whitehall, London, England. The body was lying in state at Somerset House during October and November and then there was a grand state funeral through London on 23rd November but the coffin could have been empty. It is thought that the body may have been buried earlier somewhere in West Minister Abbey. There are still disputes today about what actually happened at these events.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie (The Misplaced)

Answer: Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier won the Oscar for "Best Actor" for his role as Homer Smith in the 1963 film, "Lilies Of The Field".

Contrary to popular belief, Sidney Poitier did not sing the hymn "Amen". This song was composed and performed by Jester Hairston, who was a noted composer and actor. Sidney Poitier is actually tone deaf, so Hariston's voice is dubbed in. (Sidney Poitier did do a great job of lip syncing, however!)

Question submitted by kennell (The Misplaced)

Answer: Boleslaw Chrobry

The son of Duke Mieszko I, Poland's first Christian ruler, Boleslaw Chrobry aka Boleslaw I the Brave or Great ruled as Duke from 992 until his coronation on April 18th 1025. His brief rule as king lasted only 2 months until his death on June 17th. Although the actual date of his coronation is not written in tablets of stone, it was practice at the time for coronations to coincide with major religious festivals with Easter falling on April 18th of that year. He was succeeded by Mieszko II.

Boleslaw Szczodry (the Generous) variously known as the Bold or the Cruel also ruled as Duke from 1058 to 1076 and then as King from 1076 until his death, probably by poisoning in 1079. The other Boleslaws had the title of duke rather than king. The actual existence of Boleslaw Zapomniany (the Forgotten) (1034 - 1038/9) is debatable and is regarded as semi-legendary. The unfortunately named Boleslaw Krzywousty (the Wrymouth), due to his crooked oral features ruled from 1107 until 1138.

As it's not possible to use Polish diacritics, the second "l" in Boleslaw would have a little upward diagonal line through the middle and sound like a "w". The final "w" is pronounced like a "v". So Boleslaw doesn't rhyme with Coleslaw but would actually be pronounced as Bol-ess-wav.

Question submitted by donkeehote (Poles Apart)

Answer: Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler had a special interest in Snow White. The story was based on an old German fairy tale and he related it back to his good old-fashioned Aryan stories.

Hitler considered the Disney film to be one of the greatest films ever made. It was one of 50 American films purchased by the German Propaganda Ministry. headed by Joseph Goebbels.

Question submitted by jackslade (Poles Apart)

Answer: Aldo Moro, former Prime Minister

As leader of the centrist party Democrazia Cristiana (Christian Democrats), Aldo Moro had been the Prime Minister of Italy twice (1963 to 1968, and 1974 to 1976). In March 1978, Moro was kidnapped by the left-wing terrorist group Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades). Five police officers were shot dead during the kidnapping. Moro was held hostage for 54 days, in which time letters in his hand regarding negotiations had reached senior politicians, and also his friend Pope Paul VI. The latter controversially demanded Moro's unconditional release, i.e. not in exchange for imprisoned members of the Brigate Rosse. Negotiations failed and Moro was sentenced to death by the terrorists. He was put in the boot of a car and shot repeatedly by Mario Moretti. The car was abandoned in via Caetani in central Rome, and the authorities were told of its whereabouts by the terrorists.

The reasons behind the kidnapping and murder probably lie in the leftist's hatred for Moro's conservative, pro-capitalist party who had dominated post-war Italian politics, and in particular Moro's success at negotiating with the Partito Comunista Italiano (Italian Communist Party). The Brigate Rosse arguably saw this as both a sell-out on the part of the communists, and a threat to their own popularity.

As for the red herrings: Benito Mussolini was executed on 28th April 1945 by communist partisans. To pull the trigger was probably either Walter Audisio or Luigi Longo, both of whom were later leading members of the Partito Comunista Italiano. Pier Paolo Pasolini was murdered on 2 November 1975. He was run over several times by his own car and severely beaten. There is still much debate over his murderer. Pope Paul VI was head of the Roman Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978. As mentioned previously, he was a close friend of Moro's. They met through Moro's involvement in Federazione Universitaria Cattolica Italiana (Italian Catholic Federation of University Students) in the 1930s.

Question submitted by thula2 (The Misplaced).

Answer: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was born in Holborn, London, England. His mother was a white English woman and his father a Creole doctor from Sierre Leone. He learned violin and had various music teachers when young. He went to study at the Royal College of Music when he was 15. Coleridge-Taylor's best known works were 3 cantatas based on the poem "The Song of Hiawatha", by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In 1904 he had the first of 3 tours in the USA and was invited to the White House and received by President Theodore Roosevelt. It was during his tours of the USA that he was given his nickname by white musicians he was working with in New York City.

Florence Price (1887-1953) was born in Little Rock Arkansas, USA. She was a composer, musician and music teacher. In 1932 her composition "Symphony in E Minor" won first prize for the Wanamaker Foundation Awards. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed the piece in 1933, making her the first African American woman to have a piece performed by a major orchestra.

Scott Joplin (1868-1917) born in either Texarkana or Linden, Texas, USA, was a composer, pianist and music teacher. He was known as the King of Ragtime and his most famous work during his lifetime was "The Maple Leaf Rag". His works regained popularity after several of them, including "The Entertainer", were used on the music score for the 1973 movie "The Sting".

George Walker (1922-2018) a composer, vocalist, pianist and organist, was born in Washington D. C., USA. He was the first black instrumentalist to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra and at Manhatten's Town Hall. In 1996 he became the first Black American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for music for his composition, "Lilacs".

Question submitted by dekeaunt (The Misplaced)

Answer: William Huskisson

William Huskisson MP was an attendee of the 15th September 1830 opening of the Leeds and Manchester Railway. The guest of honour at the event was Sir Arthur Wellesley, The Duke of Wellington aboard the Northumbrian, driven by George Stephenson himself. The train stopped to take on water and Huskisson got off in order to try to patch things up with Wellington, with whom he had previously fallen out.

The Rocket, driven by Joseph Locke, Stephenson's assistant, was approaching on the opposite line so most people either climbed back into their carriages or crossed over the line out of the way. Huskisson dithered between the two options and was finally caught between the two trains. He then made the fatal mistake of trying to climb into the Duke of Wellington's carriage. The unlatched door swung open with Huskisson hanging onto it, into the path of the Rocket. He died later that day from his injuries.

Question submitted by donkeehote (Poles Apart)

Answer: George Hudson, New Zealand entomologist

George Vernon Hudson FRSNZ, first proposed DST in 1895, presenting a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society suggesting a Two hour shift. He was an avid collector of insects and this change allowed him more time after work, to study and catch them. In 1933, Hudson was the first recipient (together with Ernest Rutherford, the New Zealand nuclear physicist) to be given the T.K Sidey Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand. to commemorate the Summer Tim Act of 1927.

Benjamin Franklin observed that Parisians slept longer in summer and suggested ways of making them rise earlier, including ringing bells, firing canon and taxing shutters. William Willett also saw that farm workers slept in longer than himself but his idea of putting clocks forward was simply because he wanted to play golf longer in the evening. His idea came to nothing. The first country to implement DST nationwide, was the Germano-Austrian Empire, of which Wilhelm II was the head.

Question submitted by Waitakere (The Misplaced)

Answer: Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke died on December 11 1964, he was shot to death aged 33. Among his most popular hits on the Billboard Hot 100 were "You Send Me", number one for three weeks in 1957, "Chain Gang", number two in 1960 and "Twistin' The Night Away", number nine in 1962.

Nat 'King' Cole died on February 15 1965, he died of lung cancer aged 45. Among his most popular hits on the Billboard Hot 100 were "A Blossom Fell" number two in 1955, "Looking Back", number five in 1958 and "Ramblin' Rose", number two in 1962.

Otis Redding died on December 10 1967, he was killed in a plane crash aged 26. Among his most popular hits on the Billboard Hot 100 were "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)", number 21 in 1965, "Try A Little Tenderness", number 25 in 1967 and "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", number one for four weeks in 1968.

Frankie Lymon died on February 27 1968, he died of a drug overdose aged 25. He was the lead singer of Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers. Among their most popular hits on the Billboard Hot 100 were "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", number six in 1956, "I Want You To Be My Girl", number 13 in 1956 and "Goody Goody", number 20 in 1957.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie (The Misplaced)