Every Calendar's Days Are Numbered Quiz

Answer: Challenger

The Challenger Disaster is one of those "I'll never forget where I was when I heard the news" events. After several technical and weather delays, the much anticipated launch finally took place that fateful morning. Much of the interest was due to 37 year old Christa McAuliffe's presence on board. A high school English teacher from New Hampshire, she had won the right to be the first teacher in space.
May she and all the following crew members rest in peace:
Francis R. Scobee, Commander
Michael J. Smith, Pilot
Ronald McNair, Mission Specialist
Ellison Onizuka, Mission Specialist
Judith Resnik, Mission Specialist
Greg Jarvis, Payload Specialist
Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist

Answer: M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) was one of the all-time most popular shows, sitcoms or otherwise, in American broadcasting history. An estimated audience of 125 million viewers tuned in to say goodbye to some characters they had come to love over 11 seasons (1972-1983). Set in Korea, the show followed the antics of the 4077th M*A*S*H unit.

It was taps for chief surgeon, Captain "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda), head nurse, Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Hoolihan (Loretta Swit), and the scheming, cross-dressing corpsman, Sergeant Maxwell Klinger (Jamie Farr).

It was also time to bid farewell to the company bugler, Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff), and chaplain, Captain John Patrick Francis Mulcahy (William Christopher). The show whose theme song was "Suicide is Painless", enjoyed a run of 256 episodes. [ Radar O 'Reilly wasn't in the last episode ]

Answer: Dwight Eisenhower

Dwight David, ("Ike") Eisenhower was born in Texas on October 14, 1890. He was raised in Kansas and graduated from West Point Military Academy. In 1916, he married Mamie Doud, to whom he would be married for the rest of his life. During World War II, Eisenhower became a five-star general, and the Supreme Leader of all Allied Forces in the European theatre.

After the war, he served as President Harry S Truman's Army Chief of Staff from 1945-1948. From 1948-1953, "Ike" was the president of Columbia University in New York.

He then became the Republican Party presidential candidate. When he decided to run for president, one of the slogans used by his supporters was "I Like Ike". He won a lopsided victory over Democratic Senator Adlai Stevenson, thus becoming the 34th President of the United States. Eisenhower served two terms as Commander-in-Chief (1953-1961), with Richard Nixon as his vice-president. "Ike" passed away at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC on March 28, 1969, at the age of 78. Dwight Eisenhower was laid to rest in Abilene, Kansas and his wife of of over 50 years, Mamie, was interred beside him after her death on November 1, 1979.

Answer: Harper Lee

Harper Lee was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 1961. It was her only published novel. Ms. Lee also greatly assisted her friend, Truman Capote, by doing considerable research for his "In Cold Blood" (1966).
Harper Lee was appointed to the National Council on the Arts in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson. Later Ms. Lee received the highest award an American citizen can achieve, when on November 5, 2007, President George W. Bush presented her with The Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Margaret Walker's "Jubilee" (1966), Harriet Beecher Stowe's, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1852), and Margaret Mitchell's, "Gone With the Wind" (1937)
were novels that all dealt with a shameful period in American history.

Answer: Golden Gate Bridge

The iconic Golden Gate Bridge in California, was designed by architects Irving Morrow, Joseph Strauss, and Charles Ellis. The structure spans Golden Gate Strait for a length of 8,980 feet, at a height of 747 feet, and is an inch shy of 90 feet in width.
It is estimated that over 100,000 vehicles use it on an average day (the bridge connects San Francisco to Marin County).
The Golden Gate is one of the most photographed bridges in the world and, unfortunately it has also been a "popular" spot for folks wanting to end it all, as thru 2012, more than 1,600 people have jumped to their deaths from its rails.
Although The Golden Gate's 8,980 feet in length is nothing to sneeze at, the longest bridge in America can be found in the state of Louisiana. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which opened in 1956, stretches for over 23 MILES!

Answer: Grover Cleveland

At the end of the 20th century, Grover Cleveland, was the only American President to serve two non-consecutive terms. Running as a Republican, he served as the 22nd president from 1885-1889, after winning a close election over James Blaine. He was denied being the 23rd chief executive when, despite winning the popular vote, he lost 1888 election by a whisker to Democrat Benjamin Harrison. Cleveland then spent a few years as an attorney with a New York law firm, before running again for the country's highest office in the election of 1892. He became the 24th president when he handily defeated the incumbent Harrison. Grover Cleveland died of a heart attack on June 24, 1908 at the age of 71, and is buried in Princeton, New Jersey.

Benjamin Harrison who served one term (1889-1893), was the grandson of America's ninth president, William Henry Harrison who died of pneumonia, after just 32 days in office (1841).
William McKinley who served as president from 1897-1901, was assassinated while still in office, on September 14, 1901.
Ulysses Grant was a two time Commander-in-Chief, holding the presidency from 1869-1877.

Labor Day is observed on the first Monday in September.

Answer: It granted full citizenship to former slaves.

Proposed by the 39th Congress, the Amendment stated:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
On July 28, 1868, it was announced by Secretary of State, William Seward, that the amendment had been ratified by 28 of the 37 states.

The second amendment protects the right to own and bear arms.
The sixteenth amendment allows the government to collect income tax.
The eighteenth amendment prohibited the sale of alcohol. (Boo, hiss:-)

Answer: I Have a Dream.

The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, delivered his great oratorical message at the Lincoln Memorial. It was witnessed by an estimated 250,000 people, many of whom who had been part of The March on Washington, which was seeking to end racism in the United States. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957. He was voted "Time" magazine's Man of the Year in 1963, and the following year he became the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Reverend King continued to lead the SCLC until his death at the hand of James Earl Ray, who assassinated him in Memphis TN, on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39.
The speech that contained the phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner") was delivered by President John F. Kennedy on June 26, 1963, in West Berlin, Germany.
"We shall overcome" was a part of a speech by President Lyndon Johnson, and President Richard Nixon addressed the issue of "The Great Silent Majority".

Answer: He hit a home run.

At the age of 42, "The Splendid Splinter" launched a 1-1 pitch from Baltimore Oriole pitcher Jack Fisher into the bullpen, for his 521st and final home run. He spent all 19 years as a member of the Boston Red Sox, who retired his uniform number nine when he retired.

His career was interrupted twice as he served as a Naval navigator in both World War II and the Korean War. Also known by the sobriquet of "Teddy Baseball", Williams was a major spokesman and fundraiser for "The Jimmy Fund", and helped raise millions of dollars to help battle childhood cancer. Ted Williams won numerous medals and decorations for his military service, and in 1991, President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ted Williams was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, and in 1997 he was voted onto the All Century Team.

Answer: John XXIII

Angelo Roncalli was born on November 25, 1881, in the Lombardy area of Italy, and was one of 14 little Roncallis. His journey toward The Vatican began August 10, 1904, when he was ordained a priest, and he became a Cardinal January 12, 1953. He was the first pope in over 620 years to take the name John. John XXII had been the latest to do so, when he served as the 196th pope from 1316-1334.
Pope John XXIII was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1962. The following year he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Lyndon B. Johnson, and he was beatified a saint on September 3, 2000. Pope John XIII passed on to his eternal reward June 6, 1963, and was buried under St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) was the 260th pope (March 2, 1939-October 9, 1958).
Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) was pope number 265 (April 19, 2005-February 28, 2013), and on March 13, 2013, Jorge Bergoglio became the first Pope Francis.