Help Me Deal With This Inertia! Quiz

Answer: Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson was born around 1022 in Wessex, and died in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings in Sussex. The last Anglo-Saxon King of England, he reigned from January 5th, 1066 - October 14th, 1066, and he was the first English King to die in battle. Following the death of King Edward the Confessor, and Harold Godwinson's coronation, Duke William II of Normandy (William the Conqueror), and Harald Hardrada of Norway (with Harold's brother Tostig Godwinson) set about invading England. Harold met Harald and Tostig in battle at Stamford Bridge, with both Harald and Tostig, and most of their men, killed. Following the battle, Harold and his exhausted army were forced to hurry south to meet William's invasion.

While weather played a part in delaying William's attack, the Battle of Hastings did occur, and Harold's reign - and his life - came to a swift end.

Answer: Jack Ward

Jack Ward was also known as Captain Jack, Birdy, Sparrow and Yusuf Reis. While not a lot is known about his early years, he is believed to have been born around 1553 in Kent, England. Following some time spent working in fisheries, he became a privateer, and hunted Spanish ships for the English crown.

When James I of England put an end to the war with Spain, the privateers' licenses, known as letters of marque, were revoked. Jack Ward returned to his previous work, but following his impressment into the Royal Navy in 1603, he and a group of 30 or so deserted, and took up piracy. With the approval of Uthman Bey, Ward made Tunis his home base, and after his request to return to England was refused by James I, Tunis became his home.

He became a Muslim, and changed his name to Yusuf Reis.

Answer: Hernan Cortes

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish Conquistador, and is probably best known for his participation in the fall of the Aztec Empire. His first expedition took him to Hispaniola in 1504, where he spent several years establishing himself as part of the colony.

In 1511, along with Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, he went on to Cuba where he moved up in the government - until his strained relationship with Governor Velázquez led him to ignore orders, and head an expedition to the mainland. In 1519, he and his men landed on the Yucatan Peninsula, and went on to fight, and conquer, the natives. Following the death of Moctezuma II in the conquest, Cortes released the ruler's brother, Cuitlahuac, with the hope that the new Aztec ruler would halt his people's resistance.

Instead, Cuitlahuac and his men drove the Spaniards out. Ultimately, however, Cortes was successful in crushing the Aztec Empire.

Answer: Sitting Bull

One of the Sioux's most important, and respected, tribal chiefs, Sitting Bull led his people in a number of conflicts with the white men. His tactics included attacking forts, survey parties and federal troops, and he was adamantly opposed to accepting any domination by the government.

After the creation of the Great Sioux Reservation, which required all Sioux to move onto the reservation, those who refused were declared 'hostiles'. Sitting Bull's band was one of the hostiles, which led to Custer's attack in 1876 at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Sitting Bull did not participate in the fighting, but led his warriors in a spiritual sense by performing the Sun Dance. Following the battle, and the ensuing increase in troops and their relentless attacks, Sitting Bull and his band moved to Canada. Eventually, however, circumstances forced him, and his band, back to the US in 1881, where they surrendered. Following their arrest, Sitting Bull and his people went on to live at the reservation called Standing Rock Agency, where Sitting Bull was shot dead by an Indian Agent in 1890.

Answer: William McKinley

The 25th President of the United States, William McKinley took office in 1897, while the country was suffering through an economic depression. His proposals of tariff reforms and the passage of the Gold Standard Act rallied America's economic growth.

He was a staunch proponent of trade with other nations, believing in America's potential benefits from such commerce. McKinley supported Cuba's struggle for freedom from Spain's rule, and attempted to negotiate a resolution to the conflict, but was unsuccessful.

He proved to be a competent leader in the Spanish American War, and it ended in just over three months. His popularity led to his re-election in 1900, but it did not stop an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz from shooting him at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901.

He initially survived Czolgosz's two bullets, but died from gangrene 8 days later.

Answer: Grigori Rasputin

Also known as the Mad Monk, Grigori Rasputin was favored by the royal family, but distrusted by many, including politicians and nobles. His enemies were numerous, and unfailing in their slander. Mysterious and polarizing, Rasputin was thought by some to be a healer, a psychic, a visionary - by others a degenerate, a charlatan, an evil genius.

His assassination is cloaked in shadowy detail, but he seemed to be a difficult man to kill. Following a not-totally successful recovery from a stabbing, he was poisoned, shot, beaten and drowned, and following his burial, unburied, moved and burned.

Answer: Kaiser Wilhelm II

Kaiser Wilhelm II, Queen Victoria's first grandchild, was born in 1859 to Prince Frederick William of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom. At the age of 29, following his father's death, Wilhelm became German Emperor and King of Prussia. Temperamental, often cantankerous and impetuous, he often tried to be in total control of his kingdom, and ignored the advice of his ministers and officers.

By the Fall of 1918, following a series of political and tactical missteps Kaiser Wilhelm had lost all of his military and public support. Wilhelm abdicated in November 1918, and spent the remainder of his life as an exile in the Netherlands.

Answer: Malcolm X

Following a rather chaotic childhood - his father dead, possibly murdered, his mother institutionalized, and Malcolm bounced between a number of foster homes - Malcolm Little got into trouble. In 1946, at the age of 20, he was imprisoned for breaking and entering. Before his parole in 1952, he became a member of the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Malcolm X. For 12 years he was a prominent leader in the movement, but after his break with the movement he founded the religious organization Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the secular group Organization of Afro-American Unity.

His beliefs also took a radical shift, from favoring black supremacy and segregation, to support for Pan-Africanism and anti-racism. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965 while speaking at a meeting of the Organization of Afro-American Unity in Manhattan.

Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson served as vice-president from 1961-1963. Following Kennedy's assassination, he finished Kennedy's term, and was then elected to the presidency in 1964. President Johnson declared a 'war on poverty', but he also increased the United States' participation in the Vietnam War. During his term, both the Tet Offensive and the My Lai Massacre occurred, and public opinion turned not only against the war, but also against Johnson. Throughout the nation, especially on college campuses, antiwar rallies were held, and there were riots in a number of cities.

While his term in office also resulted in a number of beneficial acts and policies, the antiwar sentiment was at least partially responsible for Johnson's decision to withdraw from his bid for re-election.

Answer: Richard M. Daley

Richard M. Daley served as Chicago's mayor for 22 years (1989- 2011), and while he instituted a number of beneficial changes in the city, his term was not without controversy. In addition to cronyism, the 'Hired Truck' scandal, accusations of excessive force used by the police department and the demolition of Meigs Field under the cover of dark, he left the city with huge budget deficits.

His father, Richard J. Daley, served as Chicago's mayor for 21 years (1955 - 1976), and was a dominant force in the Democratic Party.

His 'political machine' was often accused of corruption, and Chicago was often the butt of such quips as 'vote early and vote often'. The heat wave of 1995 set record highs for the city, with the worst days being July 12th - 16th.

A heat emergency warning was not called until the last day of the heat wave, which may have been a factor in some of the approximately 750 deaths.