People M-P Trivia

1. Grayson is an Essex Boy - he was born and raised in its county town about 30 miles from London. What is the name of this town?

From Quiz The Life and Works of Grayson Perry

Answer: Chelmsford

Chelmsford is an ancient town that developed around the Roman fort built there in AD 60. Grayson had an unhappy childhood after his parents split up when he was four years old; he says that his stepfather was violent. Colchester is another town with its history dating back to Roman times. Southend is a seaside resort with the best football team in the county, Southen United, and Basildon is a "New Town" renowned as being a bellwether constituency at General Elections.

From Quiz Down to the Wire

Answer: He was an artist.

Samuel Morse (1791-1872) established his reputation as a painter--particularly of portraits. His works include portraits of US presidents John Adams and James Monroe. Morse also painting "Dying Hercules" and "Judgment of Jupiter". Morse studied painting for several years in London under the tutelage of artist Washington Allston. Morse was a co-founder of the National Academy of Design and served as its first president.

From Quiz Lord Horatio Nelson

Answer: HMS Hinchinbrook

The American War of Independence had started, so Nelson sailed to America where he captured several American ships and later took part in attempts to capture the Spanish colonies in Central America.

From Quiz The Prince of Pennsylvania - John du Pont

Answer: Wrestling

John du Pont had competed in and help fund teams in several sports prior to and through the 1980s, but during the 80s he took interest in American wrestling. He donated money to several colleges to help fund teams and started his own training facility to help the U.S. National team get the training needed to beat eastern block countries.

From Quiz Portrait of an Artist: Monet

Answer: Oscar-Claude

Oscar-Claude Monet (November 14, 1840-December 5, 1926) was the second son of Claude Adolphe and Louise Justine Aubree Monet. He was baptised as Oscar-Claude and his parents called him Oscar. In his younger days he signed his works as O. Monet. It is unclear when he stating using only the name Claude Monet. As a teenager his drawings were mainly charcoal caricatures until he was introduced to outdoor painting.

From Quiz John Stuart Mill - A Man Ahead of His Time

Answer: James Mill

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was the eldest son of James Mill and Harriet Burrow. James Mill (1773-1836), as well as being a philosopher, was an economist and historian, and had great ambitions for his son. The younger Mill was kept away from other children and was encouraged only to work, not play. He was taught Greek from the age of 3 and Latin from the age of 8. He was clearly a naturally intelligent child, and in combination with his father's strict educational regime, John Stuart Mill became a tour de force on several subjects at an early age. James Mill had the intention of building a genius, believing that such men were not born, but created. The concept that human beings are not born with built-in mental content is called "tabula rasa" (literally "blank slate"), and was an idea perhaps most famously promoted by John Locke.

From Quiz Dorothy Parker: Wit and Wisecracker

Answer: 1893

Dorothy Rothschild was born in West End, Long Branch, New Jersey, where her parents had a summer home. She claimed they took her back to New York City by Labor Day so she could say she was a native of NYC. (Info from wikipedia, which cites her essay "My Hometown" as the source.)

From Quiz George R. R. Martin, Writer of Magical Worlds

Answer: Raymond Richard

George Raymond Richard Martin was born in 1948. His father was a simple longshoreman and had no idea that his son would become a best-selling author, so he gave George two fairly prosaic middle names (to distinguish him from the many other George Martins).

From Quiz On Your Marx

Answer: Trier

Karl Heinrich Marx was born into a wealthy middle class family of Jewish origin. On his father's side of the family his ancestors had supplied the rabbis for Trier for several generations. However, his father converted to Christianity in 1817 or 1818. His mother's family went on to form the Philips Electronics company.

From Quiz Gordon Stewart Northcott

Answer: Louise

Stewart's mother Louise, who he claimed many times wasn't actually his mother at all, was entirely devoted to her son. During his trials, she repeatedly lied for him, which landed her a jail sentence of her own.

From Quiz Craigslist Killer - Philip Markoff

Answer: Megan McAllister

Megan McAllister and Philip Markoff met at school in Boston in 2005 and were engaged to be married when he was arrested for the "Craigslist" killings.

From Quiz The Life of Sir Joseph Paxton

Answer: 3rd August 1803

Born in Milton Bryan in central Bedfordshire, Paxton was the seventh son of a yeoman. His date of birth is sometimes listed as 3rd August 1801 which was an intentional mistake to enable him to take a position prematurely as a gardener at Chiswick Gardens.

From Quiz Ralph Nader: "An Unreasonable Man"

Answer: Unsafe At Any Speed

"Unsafe at Any Speed" helped to expose General Motor's Chevrolet Corvair, with its tendency to crash as one of the most unsafe cars on the road at that time. "Manufacturing Consent" is by Noam Chomsky and analyzes the propaganda model which dominates the American mass media. "The Peoples History of the United States" is the famous history book by Howard Zinn which shows the underside of American History, such as the extermination of the American Indians, enslavement of African Americans and the oppression of workers and the poor. "Democracy for the Few" by Michael Parenti is a political science textbook which examines American politics from a Marxist viewpoint.

From Quiz The Controversial Life of Norman Mailer

Answer: Brooklyn, New York

In "The Spooky Art: Some Thoughts on Writing", Mailer recalls writing his first novel at age seven, a science fiction novel about people on Earth taking a rocket ship to Mars. He goes on to relate that he decided he wanted to be a writer after reading "Studs Lonigan", because it made him realize that everyday lives could be interesting enough to write about.

From Quiz George Ohr, the Mad Potter of Biloxi

Answer: New Orleans

George Ohr studied pottery making with Joseph Meyer of Newcomb College. Newcomb College was considered to be one of the centers of the Arts and Crafts movement in the field of pottery making, and Joseph Meyer was considered to be among the best of the Newcomb potters. Meyer's pottery making skills were learned from his father in France.

From Quiz Ana Mendieta

Answer: Cuba

Ana was born in Cuba but she and her sister were sent to the United States when she was 13 years old, due to their family's tenuous stance on Cuban government. Being taken from her homeland or "motherland" was a key element in the art she would later create.

From Quiz Albert Pierrepoint, Executioner

Answer: Yorkshire

Albert was born 30th March 1905, to parents Henry and Mary. He was the middle child, born in Clayton, Bradford, which was located in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Quiz Dennis Potter - Blue Remembrances

Answer: Gloucestershire

He was born on 27 May 1935 in Berry Hill, near Coleford in the Forest of Dean. He moved to London in 1949, and studied at Oxford from 1955 after completing his compulsory National Service. He became involved with drama, politics and writing during his time at university.

From Quiz Gregor Mendel

Answer: Austria

Mendel was born on July 22, 1822 in a small Austrian town, Heinzendorf, which is now a part of Czech Republic. His parents were both farmers.

From Quiz W T G Morton: The Man who Popularized Ether

Answer: William Thomas Green

He was the son of James Morton, an affluent farmer, and Rebecca Morton.

From Quiz Eugenio Montale

Answer: Genoa

Eugenio Montale was born in Genoa (October 12th 1896). He spent his childhood in Genoa, and the landscape of this region influenced his works (like "Ossi di Seppia").

From Quiz Horatio Nelson

Answer: Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk

He was born in a rectory, the sixth of eleven children.

From Quiz Nostradamus: The Man Behind the Prophecy

Answer: France

Nostradamus was born on December 14, 1503, in St. Rémy-de-Provence, France.

From Quiz David Morrell: Master Writer

Answer: John J. Rambo

Rambo appears in "First Blood", a story about the effect of war on the returning servicemen from Vietnam and their isolation by the country for which they fought. The other names are characters in Stallone's other movies.

From Quiz Lewis Gordon Pugh: The Human Polar Bear

Answer: 1969

Lewis Gordon Pugh was born on December 5, 1969, in Plymouth, England. His father was Rear Admiral Gordon Pugh.

From Quiz Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin

Answer: England

Cecilia was born in Wendover, England on May 10, 1900. She became interested in astronomy after hearing a lecture at Cambridge about an expedition to Brazil for viewing a solar eclipse.

From Quiz The Life of James A. Michener

Answer: An adoptive mother

Michener has been quoted to say "I never had a father or a man in the house". He was raised by Mabel Michener, a widow, who adopted him.

From Quiz Do You Know Rosa Parks?

Answer: February 4, 1913

She was born in Tuskegee, Alabama.

From Quiz Dennis Nilsen

Answer: Tie

Nilsen, a homosexual, met his male victims at various pubs, invited them home with him, then strangled them, often using one of his own neckties. These were close to hand for Nilsen, as he wore them to his job as a clerk at an employment centre. When he was arrested he had only one tie left that he could wear to work.

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