Happy Birthday, November 16th Trivia Quiz

Answer: Paul Scholes

Paul Aaron Scholes, born in Manchester in 1974, is that rare thing in football these days, a one-club player. Although from Manchester, he grew up in Salford as an Oldham Athletic fan. He officially signed with United in 1991 and made his debut three years later. He has since made more than 400 first-team appearances with a strike-rate of just under one goal every four games.
Scholes made his England debut in 1997, in a friendly against South Africa at Old Trafford. Over the next seven years, he made 66 appearances and scored 14 times before retiring from international football in 2004.

Answer: Henry III

Henry III (or Henry of Winchester) became king on the death of his father, King John, in 1216. He was England's first child king for almost 250 years, since Ethelred the Unready became king at the age of 10 in 978. He established and held the record as the longest reigning English/British monarch until George III (1760-1820) set a new mark.
Although Henry III's reign was relatively unremarkable despite its length, the one major legacy he left was the Palace of Westminster, which he expanded and established as the seat of government, and which still houses Parliament today.
He was succeeded by his son, Edward I.

Answer: Dwight Gooden

Dwight Eugene Gooden was known as 'Doc Gooden' and 'Doctor K'. He made his MLB debut with the New York Mets in 1984. He stayed with the Mets for 10 years before going on to play for the Yankees (twice), the Indians, the Astros and the Devil Rays in the last six years of his career.

He retired in 2000 with a 194-112 record that included 2,293 strikeouts. He was a 4-time All Star and won the World Series three times, in 1986, 1996 and 2000. He won the NL Rookie of the Year in 1984 and the Cy Young a year later.

He pitched a no hitter for the Yankees against the Mariners in 1996. Of the alternatives, Randy Johnson, nicknamed 'The Big Unit' was born in Walnut Creek CA in 1963; Greg Maddox, winner of four consecutive Cy Young awards, was born in San Angelo TX in 1966; and Curt Schilling, owner of a remarkable 11-2 postseason record, was born in Anchorage AK in 1966.

Answer: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was born in Moscow in 1821. In 1849, he was arrested for being part of a liberal intellectual group. On November 16, he was sentenced to death. After waiting for a firing squad to execute him and his fellow 'conspirators', the death sentence was commuted to four years at a prison camp in Omsk, Siberia. His sentence ended in 1854, but he was then required to serve a further five years in the Russian army.
Dostoevsky's 'Crime & Punishment' was published in 1866. His other well-known novel, his last, 'The Brothers Karamazov', was published first in serial form beginning just three months before his death in February 1881.
Of the alternatives, Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a contemporary of Dostoevsky. He is best remembered, of course, for the epic 'War and Peace'. Chekhov (1860-1904), the author of classics such as 'The Seagull' and 'The Cherry Orchard' was younger, although their lives overlapped. Nabokov was later still (1899-1977). His most famous work is the controversial 'Lolita'.

Answer: Frank Bruno

Franklin Roy Bruno won the WBC World Heavyweight title in 1995. Bruno began his professional career in 1980 and won his first 21 fights. He eventually took the title by outpointing Oliver McCall before losing to Mike Tyson in his first defense. That was to be his last fight in a career that ended with a 40-5 record with all but two of his wins via knockout. The three alternatives were all English boxers. Former World Middleweight champion Chris Eubank is another Londoner, but he was younger than Bruno, born in 1966. Former European champion Dave 'Boy' Green, 'The Fenland Tiger', was born in Cambridgeshire in 1953. Former World Middleweight champion Alan Minter was born in Crawley, just south of London, in 1951.

Answer: Clark Gable

'It Happened One Night' was the first film to scoop all five major Oscars. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert took the two major acting awards, while Frank Capra won as Best Director and Robert Riskin for Best Screenplay. It also won the Best Picture award. The only two other films to accomplish this feat in the 20th Century were 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' in 1975 and 'Silence of the Lambs' in 1991.
Gable died at the age of just 59 on November 16, 1960.
The alternatives are all Best Actor Oscar winners. Laughton won in won in 1933 as the title character in 'The Private Life of Henry VIII', Tracy in 1937 for 'Captain Courageous' and 1938 for 'Boys Town', and Stewart in 1940 for 'The Philadelphia Story'

Answer: Bucharest, Romania

The Bucharest Metro now has four lines covering some 63km with 45 stations. The MI line from Timpuri Noi to Semanatoarea was the first to open, in 1979. It was 6.2km long and had six stations. Of the alternatives, the Budapest Metro is the second-oldest subway system in the world.

When the Yellow Line (or Line 1) was built in 1896, only London already had an operating Underground. It now has 32km of track with three lines and 40 stations. (A fourth line and 12 more stations open in 2010.) The first line of the Prague Metro, between Sokolovská (now Florenc) and Kačerov stations, opened in 1974.

It now has 59km of track over three lines and 57 stations. Warsaw has one of Europe's newest underground systems. Opened in 1995, it's only line has 21 stations on a 23km track connecting the city centre to the southern suburbs.

Answer: W.C. Handy

William Christopher Handy was born in Florence, Alabama in 1873. He is credited with transforming 'the blues' from a regional style of music into the contemporary form that is now recognized and much admired throughout America and around the world.
The alternatives are also noted blues songwriters and musicians, but all came after Handy. Joe 'King' Oliver was born in Louisiana in 1885, Slim Gaillard was born in either Cuba or Florida around 1916, and Clark Terry, nicknamed 'Mumbles' was born in St Louis MO in 1920.

Answer: Benazir Bhutto

The winner of the 1988 election was Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of the former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was executed in 1979.
Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan's first (and so far only) woman PM, and the first woman elected to lead any Muslim state. She held office for nearly two years after the November 1988 election. She was re-elected in 1993 and this time lasted just over three years. On both occasions, she was forced out of office because of corruption allegations. For many years, she went into exile in Dubai, but she returned to her native country in October 2007. She was assassinated two days after Christmas.
The alternatives are three other former Pakistan Prime Ministers. Sharif served three terms as PM between 1990 and 1999. Khalid took over for three months after Bhutto's second term ended in November 1996. Musharraf was Prime Minister for two years before taking over as President in 2001, a position he held until August 2008.

Answer: Doris Speed

Doris Speed, born in Manchester in 1899, played 'Rovers Return' landlady Annie Walker on 'Coronation Street' from the show's very first episode in 1960 until 1983. She was awarded an OBE in 1977.
The alternatives are also former residents of The Street. Violet Carson played Ena Sharples from 1960 until 1980. She died on Boxing Day 1983 aged 85. Pat Phoenix portrayed Elsie Tanner from 1960-1973 and 1976-1984. She died in 1986 aged 62. Jean Alexander played Hilda Ogden from 1964-1987. She has now celebrated her 80th birthday.