Famous People for Experts Trivia

1. Which future King of England defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485?

From Quiz The Famous & Infamous

Answer: Henry VII

Richard III was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth by Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII and father of Henry VIII) on the 22 August 1485. Richard's body was stripped naked and dumped in an unmarked grave in Leicestershire. It was not found until 2012, under what was then a car park, where it had lain for more than 500 years. Richard III's remains were buried in Leicester cathedral on the 26 March 2015. Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, thereby uniting the Lancastrians and Yorkists and ending the Wars of the Roses. He was the first Tudor monarch whose dynasty ended with the death of his granddaughter, Elizabeth I, in 1603. Question submitted by shipyardbernie

From Quiz Firsts and Lasts

Answer: New York

In 1978, Geraldine Ferraro, then an Assistant District Attorney in Queen's County, New York, made the decision to run for legislative office, and stood as the Democratic Party candidate for New York's 9th Congressional District. From the start of her time in the House of Representatives, she became a significant figure in the Democratic Party, serving as one of the deputy chairs of President Carter's re-election campaign in 1980. Ferraro was re-elected in both 1980 and 1982, and in 1984 became Chair of the Platform Committee at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. In that year, following the selection of former Vice-President Walter Mondale as the Democratic nominee for President, there was a move to have a woman selected as his running mate. On 12 July, Mondale chose Ferraro for the ticket. At the election, Mondale and Ferraro lost by a landslide to incumbents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Following the defeat in 1984, Ferraro twice ran for the United States Senate, and served as the US Ambassador to the UN Commission on Human Rights under President Clinton.

From Quiz Who was Mona Lisa?

Answer: Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo

Lisa Gherardini (1479-1542) was her maiden name, del Giocondo was her husband's Francesco last name. Giocondo is an adjective meaning happy, cheerful. In Italy the famous painting is called "La Gioconda", and in France as well it is "La Joconde".

From Quiz It's Not His Vault

Answer: Amazon

Bezos developed the business plan of Amazon on a cross-country drive from New York City to Seattle, and he eventually launched the business from his parents' garage. He was named TIME's person of the year. In 2010, he personally bought "The Washington Post" for $250 million. Bezos entered Princeton University to study physics, but shifted towards computers and graduated with a BSc in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

From Quiz He's A Genius!

Answer: Fred Astaire

This quote is reputedly taken from a report on Fred Astaire's screen test for RKO Radio Pictures. The report has since been lost, and its author is now unknown, but multiple sources confirm its basic content. David O. Selznick had faith in Fred, despite saying (in a document that does survive): "enormous ears and a bad chin line." The "Can't Sing ..." version became the title for a Fred Astaire album. Fred and sister Adele had a successful stage career dancing together before he went to Hollywood. (Anyone know what happened to Adele?) He was paired with Ginger Rogers, who was not an experienced dancer at the time they began collaborating. And yes - Ginger did everything Fred did, backwards, in high heels.

From Quiz If I Had Been Born 200 years ago...

Answer: Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany, in May 1813. He showed great talent from a young age, writing plays as a child. He composed his first of many operas at age 20. Wagner is almost as famous for his personal life as he is for his music, which was plagued by a range of love affairs, escape from creditors and poverty.

From Quiz Stay in School - or not

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt

FDR graduated from Groton (a prestigious preparatory school) and Harvard, but dropped out of Columbia Law School in 1907 - having already passed the New York bar examination. A law degree wasn't required in those days. He practised law briefly before entering public service. John Kennedy graduated from Choate (another preppy) and Harvard, but never flirted with a legal career. Steve Cleveland never attended either college or law school, but became an attorney via a "clerkship." Tom Wilson earned his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins - which never had a law school - before becoming a lecturer in "jurisprudence" at Princeton. Of those listed, Wilson is the only President to have earned a doctorate in a field other than law. And yes, their birth records say Stephen Grover Cleveland and Thomas Woodrow Wilson ... trivial bonus!

From Quiz Interesting Facts on Famous People

Answer: Guinea pig for the smallpox vaccine trial

That poor little boy! Edward Jenner (1749-1823) was the English scientist whose name will be forever, and somewhat incorrectly, credited with the vaccine to protect individuals against the killer disease, smallpox. What he did do was take his findings based on the largely ignored work of others, experiment on them, and push for the successful results of his vaccination to become a reality. In this he is rightly known as the father of immunology. His methods, however, were dubious to say the least. Based on the general knowledge that the disease cowpox appeared to protect one against smallpox, he took the eight year old son of his gardener and injected the child with pus from cowpox sores on a milkmaid. This took place in May, 1796. In July, 1796, when the child recovered from the slight fever he developed as a result of that, Jenner then took pus from the sores of a smallpox victim and repeatedly injected the child with that. More than twenty times in fact. Jenner's work has been responsible for saving millions of lives ever since in various fields of medicine. Yet the question must be asked whether the ends justified the means? An adult volunteer would have been a far better subject on which to experiment, rather than a small child. When Jenner died in 1823, he left a small cottage to James Phipps, who was still alive and kicking, as a mark of gratitude for his contribution towards his work.

From Quiz Put Your Best Foot Forward

Answer: Alexei Leonov

Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to walk in space on March 18, 1965, when he conducted a twelve-minute space walk during a Voskhod 2 mission. He was also selected to be the first Russian to walk on the moon, but the moon landing was cancelled. Edward Higgins White, Jr. was the first American to walk in space, when he made a spacewalk three months later on June 3, 1965. The first non-Soviet and non-American to walk in space was Frenchman Jean-Loup Chretien in 1988.

From Quiz Who Was The Last Person To ...?

Answer: Eugene Cernan

Cernan and Schmitt spent 3 days, 2 hours, 59 minutes and 40 seconds on the lunar surface while Evans was in the Command Module. They left a plaque at the site which read "HERE MAN COMPLETED HIS FIRST EXPLORATIONS OF THE MOON DECEMBER 1972 A.D. MAY THE SPIRIT OF PEACE WHICH WE CAME BE REFLECTED IN THE LIVES OF ALL MANKIND." It was signed by all the crew and the President of the US at the time, Richard Nixon.

From Quiz The Eccentricities of the Rich and/or Famous

Answer: He could speak over 25 different languages.

Carlos Mirabelli could speak languages as diverse as Spanish, Swahili, and Maori. He was also able to write in multiple forms such as cuneiform, hieroglyphics, and ancient Greek. All he had to do was hear a language and within five minutes he could learn the basics and be fluent within two hours. He built a small fortune exhibiting himself.

From Quiz So Easy A Child DOES Do It

Answer: 11

William James Sidis was born on April 1, 1898 and died on July 17, 1944. He was known for being very eccentric in his later life. With an estimated IQ of 250-300 he passed the entrance exams to Harvard at the age of nine but was refused entry on the grounds of being too emotionally immature.

From Quiz Pioneers

Answer: Louise Brown

Louise was born on 25th July 1978 in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The IVF procedure was undertaken in November 1977 by Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. Louise's own son was conceived, by natural means, in December 2006.

From Quiz The Less Famous

Answer: John Spilsbury

This Englishman, who was a map-maker and an engraver, cut the first jigsaw in 1767. They sold well and now highly sought after.

From Quiz Dramatic Childhood

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe

Poe's life was as colorful as his writing was unique. His father took off; his mother died young. His relationship with his stepfather was rocky; and deteriorated after the death of Poe's stepmother. (Later, Poe's very young wife would also die.) "I could not Love except where Death had mingled hers with Beauty's breath ..."

From Quiz Sleeping with History

Answer: Chateau Chissay, Chissay en Touraine, France

Charles de Gaulle met the British ambassador here before the provisional government went to Bordeaux and he went to London. Kings Charles VII and Louis XI also resided here.

From Quiz 10 Famous Blind People

Answer: Edgar Degas

Degas is probably best known for his paintings and sculptures of ballet dancers, but his art career goes well beyond this narrow theme. Degas once claimed that 'no art was ever less spontaneous than mine', he fully embraced his position as an 'Impressionist'. However, he harbored many a resentment for his fellow artists, and developed a reputation as an anti-Semite and misogynist. His colleagues admired him, despite his many flaws. Renoir ranked him above Rodin as the greatest sculptor of the age, and Pissarro wrote once that he was the greatest artist of his era.

From Quiz Famous People: Rules To Live By

Answer: Victor Hugo

One daughter drowned. Another daughter went mad and was institutionalized before her death. A son died as a result of poverty and hardship (surrounding political unrest). Another son also died before Hugo's death.

From Quiz The 'Oddball' Behavior of Famous People

Answer: Billy Bob Thornton

Thornton, who won the Oscar for writing 'Sling Blade' in 1996, claimed this fear in a magazine interview. This fear has been seen on screen in 'Sling Blade', 'Bandits', and 'Monsters Ball'.

From Quiz Famous Aftermaths

Answer: Tennessee Supreme Court reversed on a technicality

Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan locked horns (see the great classic movie: "Inherit The Wind"). The Supreme Court reversed on a small point of law having to do with the obligation of the jury (not the judge) to impose a proper fine.

From Quiz Famous Names

Answer: Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741).

From Quiz Turning Points in Famous Lives

Answer: Marquis of Queensberry

He ended up in prison .

From Quiz Humble Beginnings

Answer: Alexander Hamilton

The start of his life was as interesting as its ending.

From Quiz Famous People

Answer: Thomas Jackson

Sadly killed by friendly fire in 1863

From Quiz The Famous & Infamous

Answer: Dr. Henry Lee

Dr. Lee is a noted forensic scientist, who has personally has helped forensic science to advance over the years. The Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science in Connecticut, where he still taught at the age of 82, is one of the top Institues in the world. Dr. Lee has assisted in many famous cases, including the O. J. Simpson case and the JonBenét Ramsey murder case. In 1991, Dr. Lee (who is one of the most renowned experts in DNA and blood spatter analysis), investigated the death of journalist Danny Casolaro. He claimed Casolaro's death was consistent with suicide but later he withdrew this conclusion, as advances in DNA did prove homicide. Dr. Lee stated, "A reconstruction is only as good as the information supplied by the police". Question submitted by kennell

From Quiz Firsts and Lasts

Answer: Last person to be discharged from National Service

In 1948, the United Kingdom passed a new National Service Act that extended conscription, following the realisation that the armed forces needed to be much bigger than voluntary recruitment could provide. This act stated that healthy men aged between 17 and 21 would be called up for military service for 18 months, after which they would be placed on the reserve list for four years. The period of service was extended to two years after 1950. National Service began to be wound down from 1957, with initially anyone born after 1 October 1939 exempt. The call-up ended on 31 December 1960, with the last men entering the services in November 1960. One of the men called up in the last intake was 22 year old Richard Vaughan, who was posted to the Royal Army Pay Corps, having had a deferment to undertake his accountancy exams. Following his training, Vaughan was posted to West Germany, eventually being commissioned as an officer. On 4 May 1963, Vaughan left Germany to return to England, where he became the final National Serviceman to officially be discharged back to civilian life.

From Quiz Who was Mona Lisa?

Answer: The equivalent of the English Madam

Monna was a Florentine courteous form of addressing a lady, originating as madonna or my lady, similar to Madam. This contracted to Monna, and in English it lost an "n".

From Quiz It's Not His Vault

Answer: L'Oreal

Bettencourt was born in 1922, marrying French politician André Bettencourt in 1950. Her father was the founder of L'Oréal, and she inherited the company upon his death in 1957. Fearing that the company might be nationalized after it went public, Betterncourt sold half her majority share in the company for 3% of Nestlé in 1974. Bettencourt was a victim of Bernie Madoff, losing approximately $30 million. In 2013, Bettencourt was estimated at $33.2 billion, making her the wealthiest person in France and the second wealthiest woman in the world.

From Quiz He's A Genius!

Answer: The Duke of Wellington

The Honorable Arthur Wesley, as he was when he entered Eton in 1781, was the third surviving son of Garret Wesley, the Earl of Mornington, a minor Anglo-Irish peer in reduced financial circumstances. His father thought little of young Arthur. The lad's academic career was undistinguished, and he showed little promise into his 20s. His mother (too!) reportedly said, "I don't know what I shall do with my awkward son Arthur." Ultimately, perhaps his father was right - the army was the making of his Grace, the Duke of Wellington.

From Quiz If I Had Been Born 200 years ago...

Answer: David Livingstone

David Livingstone was born in March 1813, in Blantyre, Scotland. He was not only an explorer who mapped out much of Southern and Central Africa, but was also a missionary who believed in ending slavery. He spent much of his life in Africa, including his last seven years during which he searched for the source of the Nile. It was during this last expedition in the late 1860s that Livingstone was tracked down by journalist Henry Stanley, who famously greeted him with the words "Doctor Livingstone, I presume?".

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