January 10 Birthdays Trivia Quiz

Answer: Simon Marius

Simon Marius also rediscovered the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) on December 15, 1612, which had been known to Arab astronomers as early as 964 AD. He reportedly described the galaxy as a "flame seen through a horn." Due to his contributions to astronomy, the lunar crater Marius was named after him in 1935, and part of the moon Ganymede was named Marius Regio in 1979.

Answer: Frank James

After Jesse James' assassination by Bob Ford in 1882, his brother Frank James decided to turn himself in to Missouri Governor Thomas T. Crittenden. Frank was part of raids that killed four people, but only two suits were brought against him in court. Thanks in no small part to the testimony of former Confederate General Joseph Shelby, he was acquitted in a trial in Gallatin, Missouri, and later was acquitted in Huntsville, Alabama.

Afterwards, he worked several jobs that seemed much less exciting (and much less deadly) than being in a gang, including a shoe salesman, a theater usher, a telephone operator, a betting commissioner at a horse racing track, and also gave tours at the James Farm in his later years.

Answer: Albert Jacka

During the Gallipoli Campaign, Turkish forces captured part of an ANZAC trench where Albert Jacka was stationed. Jacka attacked the Turks from the rear while reinforcements directly assaulted them. He killed 7 Turks and held the trench by himself until sunrise. He received the Victoria Cross for his bravery and instantly became a national hero.

After being reassigned to the Western Front, Jacka survived a German assault on his trench at Pozières and, while a large group of Australian soldiers were being led away, he led a charge with a few remaining soldiers, freeing the prisoners after hand-to-hand combat. Jacka was wounded seven times, including two head wounds. In the assault, 50 Germans were captured, and for his leadership Jacka received the Military Cross. Many historians believe Jacka should have earned his second Victoria Cross for these actions. Just over half a year later, he captured a two-man German patrol on his own, and earned a bar for his Military Cross. Albert Jacka died on December 14, 1931 from chronic nephritis.

Answer: Bernard Lee

Bernard Lee played M over 11 James Bond movies, acting as the boss to three Bonds - Sean Connery, George Lazenby and Roger Moore. His last movie was "Moonraker" in 1979, though he did star in a TV movie that came out in 1981, the year he died. In 1976, he starred along George C. Scott in the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" episode "Beauty and the Beast" and the next year acted as the Ghost of Christmas Present in a television production of "A Christmas Carol".

He died of stomach cancer before filming "For Your Eyes Only", which was released in June 1981.

Answer: Roy E. Disney

Roy E. Disney led the Walt Disney Corporation to great financial success with their new animated films. Between "The Little Mermaid" and "Fantasia 2000," Disney also released "Aladdin," "The Lion King", "Pocahontas", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Hercules", "Mulan" and "Tarzan".

However, above all Disney wanted to create the sequel to his uncle Walt Disney's "Fantasia" which Walt had originally planned on doing but it was never made. It was never a financial success, but Disney's point was to not make money on the work, rather he wanted to honor the company's original vision and bring it into a new millennium.

Answer: Stephen Ambrose

Stephen Ambrose's "Band of Brothers" was made into a 2001 ten-part miniseries on HBO produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. While the events of the story were taken directly from interviews with members of the Easy Company (and real soldiers are portrayed in the book and miniseries), Ambrose admitted to using a literary license on the work. Ambrose taught at several colleges, including the aforementioned Kansas State, Louisiana State, Johns Hopkins and the Naval War College.

He was already an acclaimed World War II historian by the time that Eisenhower was looking for a biographer, so he chose Ambrose. Ambrose ended up writing five books on Eisenhower before he died in late 2002.

Answer: Willie McCovey

Willie McCovey played 19 seasons with San Francisco, and during those other three years stayed in the same area, playing for San Diego and Oakland. His 1969 MVP season was well earned as he hit .320 during the season, including 45 home runs and 126 RBI.

Unfortunately, he only made it to the World Series once and the Giants lost in seven games to the New York Yankees. The name McCovey Cove - officially China Basin - applies to the body of water just over the right field wall of the Giants park. However, McCovey never hit a ball into McCovey Cove, since he played when the Giants were at Candlestick Park.

Answer: Frank Sinatra, Jr.

Frank Sinatra, Jr. was called the "Chairboy of the Board" in a guest appearance on the TV show "The Sopranos" and "Member of the Board" when he provided a voice for his likeness on "Family Guy". These are references to his father being "Chairman of the Board", earned in actuality when he founded Reprise Records, but retained over time as an endearing term for his place in pop culture. Sinatra, Jr. respected his father immensely, recording the album "As I Remember It", where he sings with his father's orchestra, released in 1996 (two years before Frank Sinatra's death) and in 2002 performed "Sinatra Sings Sinatra" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Answer: Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart did not originally want to become a singer. After leaving school at age 15, he joined Brentford F.C. as an apprentice. He played centre-half but was too small to be effective for the team. Though he and his father had both wanted him to be a professional football (soccer) player his entire life, Stewart quit the team after only two months. That ended up not being the worst thing to happen to him, as his musical career ended up giving him more fame than a career in football for a Third Division team ever would. Stewart was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2007 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Answer: George Foreman

George Foreman entered boxing during its golden age, meeting up with the likes of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. In 1973, a 40-0 Foreman met up with a 29-0 Frazier, and Foreman won by knockout in only the 2nd round over the reigning world champion, who had just beaten Ali in 1971. He held the title for over one and a half years, but in the "Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire in 1974, Foreman could not defeat Ali, and surrendered it.

At age 38, after spending 10 years away from boxing, Foreman announced a comeback to boxing. Foreman won 24 straight matches until he ran into Evander Holyfield, who won in a unanimous decision. After three more victories, Tommy Morrison also defeated Foreman in 1993 by unanimous decision. Foreman decided after that defeat to go for the title, despite being unranked. Moorer could not pass up the chance to face the boxing legend and accepted the fight. At the fight, Foreman wore the same trunks he used in his loss to Muhammad Ali, and made up for his past mistakes. He won by knockout in the 10th round. After backing out of two fights, his title was officially stripped away but he was recognized by the majority of fans as still the #1 boxer in the world. Foreman would go 3-1 the rest of his career, losing his final match against Shannon Briggs in a mixed decision.