Name the Author of that Quotation 1 Quiz

Answer: Ayn Rand

Born in Russia, Ayn Rand lived from 1905 to 1982. She was a controversial Russian-American thinker, novelist and screenwriter who worked for a while in Hollywood. She is known for her philosophical novels like "Atlas Shrugged" which was published in 1957.

In her novels, she espoused a philosophy known as objectivism which holds that the moral purpose of human life is rational self-interest and esteems the values of laissez-faire capitalism and individual rights. Her novels were bestsellers and critics voiced their views ranging from pronounced condemnation to high praise. Later in her life, she gave lectures at universities like Yale and Harvard.

Answer: Voltaire

Voltaire was one of the most famous Enlightenment writers of the eighteenth century. Because of his acerbic wit, he was exiled and imprisoned in his native France. He was a frank supporter of social reforms and castigated religious dogma and religious intolerance.

His satires ridiculed monarchs, religious fanaticism, and censorship. In 1759 he published "Candide," a satire on the fatuous extremes of the typical Enlightenment belief in progress and optimism.

Answer: Mel Brooks

Born in 1926 in Brooklyn, NY, Mel Brooks' real last name is Kaminsky. His parents were Baltic German Jews who travelled to America. Brooks is an award-winning film director, actor, comedian, writer and producer known for his excellent farces and parodies. In 1974 he directed the comedy "Blazing Saddles," a satirical Western comedy.

Answer: Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell lived from 1872 to 1970. Born in a prominent aristocratic Welsh family, he was a well-known British logician, philosopher, professor, and political activist. His paternal grandfather was John Russell, a Prime Minister under Queen Victoria.

He did foundational work grounding mathematics on strictly logical grounds. He knew the leading thinkers of his day including George Maynard Keynes and Ludwig Wittgenstein. As an activist with socialist and pacifist leanings, he strongly opposed the U.S. war in Vietnam in the 1960's.

In 1950 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Answer: Thomas Jefferson

The polymath Thomas Jefferson lived from 1743 to 1826. He was the main drafter of the "Declaration of Independence" which was an intellectual and political justification for the American colonies to sever their ties with Britain. He was the third U.S. President and served as the wartime Governor of Virginia.

Answer: Oscar Wilde

One of the wittiest writers of the late Victorian period, Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer and dramatist. In 1890 he wrote "The Picture of Dorian Gray." Wilde famously sued the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, when Alfred's father accused Wilde of being a poser and sodomite. Wilde was not successful in this libel case; after the trial, Wilde was charged with sodomy and gross indecency and convicted. Wilde did hard labor in prison for about two years and died in poverty in Paris in 1900.

Answer: Henry David Thoreau

Born in Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau knew the leading American intellectuals of his day such as Margaret Fuller, Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was an author, philosopher, abolitionist, tax resister, and leading disciple of the philosophy known as transcendentalism which was made popular by Emerson and others. Thoreau wrote "Walden," a literary study of simple living.

Answer: Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill was one of the greatest statesmen and wartime leaders of the 20th century. He served twice as Prime Minister of Great Britain (from 1940-45 and 1951-55). His father was a noted member of Parliament and his mother was an American from a wealthy family.

He was a noted orator, historian, artist, writer, traveller, and officer in the British Army. He wrote in four volumes "The History of the English-Speaking Peoples" as well as a multi-volume memoir about World War II.

Answer: Mae West

Mae West was immensely popular in her time as a movie star, actress, sex symbol and screenwriter. Her bawdy sense of humor and her frank sexuality got her into a lot of trouble with prominent movie producers. Later in her career her lines were often severely sanitized for movie and television viewers.
She starred with Cary Grant in the movie "I'm No Angel" (1933) and worked with other famous actors like W.C. Fields. She lived from 1893 to 1980.

Answer: Mark Twain

Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910). Known as the father of American literature, he was the celebrated author of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" which was first published in England in 1884 and then in the U.S. in 1885. Twain's father was an attorney and local judge who died when Twain was young. Twain had many unique careers in his life including a printer's apprentice, journalist and steamboat pilot.