Left-Handed Female Firsts. Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marie Curie

Born Maria Salomea Sklodowska in Warsaw, Poland, on the 7 November 1867, Marie Curie did for science what no other woman had done previously. Aside from her two Nobel Prizes in two different sciences (something no-one else is yet to achieve), she was also the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris, taking the post over after the death of her husband Pierre in 1906.

Her first Nobel Prize was for Physics in 1903, she won jointly with her husband and Henri Becquerel for their research into radiation.

Her second Nobel award came 11 years later, this time in the field of Chemistry after she helped to discover the elements Radium and Polonium. She died on July 4 1934, aged 66.

Answer: Martina Navratilova

Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on 18 October, 1956, Martina Navratilova's tennis achievements are astonishing. They include 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 women's doubles titles and 10 mixed doubles titles. She was ranked world number 1 for almost 570 weeks (332 in singles, 237 in doubles). Her record as the number 1 singles player between 1982-1986 has yet to be surpassed. During this time she won a record 428 matches from 442, an unbelievable feat even in today's terms. Some rightly regard her as THE best female tennis player ever, and with stats like those it's hard to disagree.


Note: While Martina may not be a traditional left-hander in writing, her accomplishments as a tennis player were all performed left-handed.

Answer: Helen Keller

Arguably the most famous deaf-blind person in history, Helen Adams Keller was born in Alabama, USA, on July 27 1880. At just one and a half years old she contracted a devastating illness (possibly meningitis) which left her both unable to see and hear.

However, this didn't stop her in her quest for a better life, and from a young age she learnt how to read braille. Amazingly, she was also able to "read" sign language using her hands and eventually learnt to speak. In 1900 she was admitted into the prestigious Radcliffe College, earning her degree four years later.

A renowned author, activist and lecturer, a 1962 film "The Miracle Worker" was based on Keller's life and struggle and focused on her relationship with her teacher, friend and companion Annie Sullivan.

It was based on a teleplay by William Gibson and the title came from a nickname the author Mark Twain coined for Annie. Helen Keller died on 1 June 1967 at the great age of 87. A truly remarkable woman.

Answer: Oprah Winfrey

Born Orpah Winfrey on January 29, 1954, Oprah's story is the epitome of a true rags-to-riches tale. Her early years dominated by poverty and strict regime, at the age of 13 she ran away from home having been physically abused and molested by older, male members of her family since she was nine.

At 14, she became pregnant as a result of one of these attacks and gave birth to a premature son who passed away not long after being born. Mocked and ridiculed at school for her lower class roots, at the age of 19 she earned herself a spot on local radio.

Her warmth, openness and emotional honesty were a big hit with listeners and she was later transferred to daytime talk shows. After hosting several of these in different formats, it was in September 1986 that her eponymously named chat show hit the screens. Soon after this, she formed her own production company Harpo Productions and gained the rights to the show.

It soon became America's most-loved and most-watched lifestyle show, cementing Winfrey's reputation as a shrewd but likeable businesswoman.

Her interview with the late, great Michael Jackson in 1993 is said to be the most watched interview of all time, with 36.5 million viewers. The final episode was aired in May 2011. Her wealth is now said to be in excess of three billion dollars. Not bad for a poor, abused, bullied girl who had such a terrible start at life.

Answer: Emilie Dionne

Emilie, Marie, Yvonne, Annette and Cecile (known collectively as the Dionne quintuplets) were born in Ontario, Canada, on May 28 1934, two months premature. Their parents, Oliva and Elzire, already had five children when the girls came along, although up until their birth it was unknown that Elzire was carrying five of them. Their combined weight at birth was a mere 13 pounds and 6 ounces. Though rare, it's not unheard for even one baby to weigh that today.
Supposedly unable to cope with five extra children, the quintuplets became wards of the government and were placed under the legal guardianship of one of the doctors that helped to deliver them, Allan Roy Dafoe.
Immediately they drew widespread attention, and there was even an 'observation gallery' for visitors to come and view them at their nursery. It was also said that they were Canada's biggest tourist attraction of the time, more people came to see them than they did Niagara Falls.
At just a couple of years old, the girls were appearing in advertisements and had 'starred' in 3 movies by the age of four. When they were 9 they were allowed to once again live with Oliva and Elzire.

All the quints left home at the age of 18 in 1952 and led their own individual lives. Cécile, Annette and Marie all married and had children of their own. Marie sadly passed away in 1970, reportedly from a blood clot on the brain. Yvonne died in 2001, having had several occupations over the years including being a sculptor and a librarian. Emilie's is perhaps the saddest story however. Dedicating her life to becoming a nun, she'd suffered a number of seizures at a convent she was training at, and had asked a fellow nun to watch her as she slept. Mistakenly thinking nothing was amiss, the nun went to mass and left Emilie unattended. She was found to have had another seizure and died from suffocation face down on her pillow, having rolled over during the attack. She was just 20 years old and out of the five Dionne girls, the only left-hander.

Answer: Judy Garland

Born Frances Gumm on 10 June 1922, she changed her name to Judy Garland in the mid-1930s. Her most famous and beloved acting role came in the 1939 movie 'The Wizard Of Oz' playing the role of Dorothy Gale. The film includes many well-known songs including 'Over The Rainbow' and 'Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead' and soon became one of the all-time classics. Judy, herself, was a singer as well as an actress and her 1961 concert album 'Judy at Carnegie Hall' won four Grammys, one of those being Album of the Year, the first time it had been awarded to a female. Judy sadly passed away just 8 years later in June 1969.

She was just 47 years old.

Answer: Alexandrina Victoria

Queen Victoria was born on the 24 May 1819. She came to the throne at the tender age of 18 in 1837. In 1840, she married her cousin Prince Albert and the couple had nine children - 5 daughters and 4 sons. She was also granted the title Empress of India in 1876.

Victoria reigned through a period of great change for Britain and the world. Many scientific and medical discoveries were made and the Industrial Revolution was taking place. In late 1861, her beloved Prince Albert passed away from typhoid fever. Victoria was devastated and thus began a period of long mourning. The death of her husband, confidante and best friend was something she'd never get over. Although she reigned for almost another 40 years, she was rarely seen in public, and only wore black when she did venture outside. She herself passed away on 22 January 1901 at the age of 81.

Answer: Josephine de Beauharnais

Born on the French island of Martinique as Josephine Tascher de la Pagerie on the 23 June 1763, she became the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796, her previous husband having been executed by guillotine two years previously. When Napoleon declared himself emperor in late 1804, famously placing the crown atop his own head, Josephine therefore became the first Empress of the French. Sadly, the couple were unable to have any children of their own and so, for what was said to be for the good of the nation, they divorced in January 1810, Napoleon marrying Marie-Louise of Austria just two months later and a year to the day after their wedding, a son and heir was born. Josephine and Napoleon remained close friends and she still held the title of honorary Empress even after the divorce.

Josephine died on 29 May 1814 in Rueil-Malmaison, a suburb of Paris. On Napoleon's deathbed a mere seven years later, it is said that his very last word was his beloved "Josephine".

Answer: Whoopi Goldberg

The hilarious Whoopi Goldberg was born Caryn Johnson on 13 November, 1955. Her stage name is derived from the traditional joke prop of a whoopie cushion. She is one of only a handful of celebrities to win all four major entertainment awards: a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony and an Emmy.

She was also only the second black winner of the Best Actress Oscar after Hattie McDaniel's award-winning performance in 'Gone With The Wind'. Whoopi's roles include Oda Mae Brown in 'Ghost', Celie in 'The Color Purple' and Doloris Van Cartier in 'Sister Act'.

Answer: Ann Jones

Ann Jones was born Ann Haydon on the 7 October, 1938 in Birmingham, England. As a child, she participated in several table tennis tournaments, making a name for herself in the sport, before turning to real tennis. Her first major win came in the Wimbledon Girls' Singles tournament of 1956, having won the junior championship the two previous years.

In 1961 and 1966, she won the French Open titles. Three years later, in the summer of 1969, her most famous win came against one of tennis's all-time greats, Billie Jean King at Wimbledon. Ann was also victorious in the mixed doubles of that year, alongside Fred Stolle of Australia.