The First March Trivia Quiz

Answer: witchcraft

In most of colonial North America, especially in Puritan New England, misfortune was blamed on the supernatural, and Salem Village was no exception. Whether it was crop failure, sickness, death or disaster, Satan and his minions - such as witches - could be blamed. The outbreak of the witchcraft accusations of 1692 was not the first instance of such a scare. In 1688 Boston, Ann Glover (a washerwoman) was executed for the practice of witchcraft which resulted in the illness of four or five children. The hysteria spread, and by January of 1692, illnesses were being blamed on the practice of witchcraft. Before the end of the scare in May 1693, 140 men and women had been arrested, nineteen people were hanged, one person was pressed to death, and up to thirteen people may have died in jail.
Sarah Good was executed, Sarah Osborne died in jail, and Tituba confessed, but was not executed.

Answer: Ohio

The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, simply called the Northwest Territory, was comprised of what would become the states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and part of Minnesota. Congress had neglected to pass a resolution formally admitting Ohio as the 17th state, so in 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Ohio into statehood, retroactive to March 1st, 1803. Chillicothe was the first and third capital, Zanesville the second, and Columbus the fourth. Columbus did not exist until it was planned to be built as the new capital city.
Seven US presidents were born in Ohio between 1822 and 1865.
In 1953, the buckeye was made the official state tree. The buckeye tree is believed to be the reason for the state's nickname - The Buckeye State.

Answer: Frederic Chopin

There is some discrepancy about Chopin's actual date of birth, with one parish record listing it as February 22nd, but his family asserting the date to be March 1st. Considered Poland's greatest composer, he left Poland just before 1830's November Uprising.

While in Paris he met George Sand (Amandine Dupin), and while at first he did not care for her at all, he developed a romantic relationship with her that lasted a decade. Having suffered ill health throughout his life, possibly due to tuberculosis or cystic fibrosis, he passed away in 1849. Directed by Charles Vidor, 1945's "A Song to Remember" starred Cornel Wilde, Paul Muni and Merle Oberon.

The film earned Oscar nominations in a number of categories, including best actor.

Answer: Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin, along with Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. The three statesmen were awarded the prize for their roles in creating the 1993 Oslo Accords, which was hoped to lead to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But, not everyone saw the Accords as the right approach to settling the conflict. One such person, who was vehemently opposed to Rabin's signing of the Oslo Accords, was a radical right-wing Orthodox Jew named Yigal Amir.

He demonstrated his opposition by assassinating Yitzhak Rabin on November 4th, 1995 in Tel Aviv. In a 2005 poll by an Israeli news website, Yitzhak Rabin was voted the greatest Israeli of all time.

Answer: True

On Tuesday, March 1st of 1932, Charles Lindbergh, Jr. was kidnapped from his nursery between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. The story spread quickly, the news sources headlining it as "The Crime of the Century", and the investigation was focused, determined and relentless. During the frantic two weeks before the baby's body was discovered, countless tips were followed, a number of crime figures offered to help in exchange for favors, a ransom was paid, and certain government organizations such as the Coast Guard and the Customs Service were alerted to stand by for the possible need of their help.
The baby's body was discovered on May 12, 1932, less than five miles from his home, and on September 19, 1934 Bruno Hauptmann was arrested. On April 3, 1936, Hauptmann was put to death in the electric chair.
The baby's ashes were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean.

Answer: Peace Corps

The Peace Corps was established in 1961, fulfilling a campaign proposal Kennedy had made in 1960. The first director was Kennedy's brother-in-law Sargent Shriver, an activist who would go on to found the Job Corps and Head Start programs. In 1961 the first volunteers went to Ghana and Tanzania, and within two years over 7,000 volunteers were working in 44 countries.
Since its founding, more than 210,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, and have served in 139 countries.

Answer: Javier Bardem

Born in Spain (the Canary Islands) to a family involved in the acting business, Javier Bardem was familiar with theater and film from a young age. His first appearance on film was in "The Scoundrel", when he was just six years old. Acting was not his first career desire, however. He was far more interested in painting, but his passion exceeded his talent in that area, and acting proved to suit his abilities better.
Bardem won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work on 2007's "No Country For Old Men", and in 2012 he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Answer: Weather Underground

The Weathermen originated within the activist movement called 'Students for a Democratic Society'. Founded in 1969, and named the Weather Underground Organization, often called simply the Weather Underground or the Weathermen, the group adopted its name from the lyric "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows", from a Bob Dylan song titled "Subterranean Homesick Blues".
The group was responsible for a number of bombings in the 1970s, usually in protest to some American military or political action. The bombing of the United States Capitol, which occurred in a restroom, was supposedly in response to the U.S. invasion of Laos.
In 1970, the Weathermen were paid $20,000 to $25,000 to help Timothy Leary escape from a California prison, and get him and his wife safely into Algeria. But, following some time in Europe and the UK, Leary eventually ended up back in prison in California.
Following the signing of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, ending direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, the Weathermen slowly disbanded.

Answer: Jackie Coogan

Born on October 26th, 1914, Jackie Coogan began performing when he was just an infant, and when Charlie Chaplin saw him at a vaudeville show, he was impressed. That meeting led him to cast Coogan as his young sidekick in 1921's "The Kid", and he and Coogan remained friends for years.
In addition to his filmwork, Jackie Coogan appeared on a number of television programs, with his best-known role being Uncle Fester on "The Addams Family" from 1964-1966.
His mother and stepfather's extravagant lifestyle cost Coogan most of the money he had earned as a child actor, and following his lawsuit against them, the California Child Actor's Bill was created. The bill required any employer of a child actor to set aside 15% of the child's salary in a trust, and also set limits on work hours, conditions and other aspects of the business.
Following his two-year marriage to Betty Grable, Coogan was married three additional times, with his fourth marriage lasting from 1952 until his death in 1984.

Answer: False

In the 18th century, March 1st was declared a national day of celebration in Wales, in remembrance of Saint David's death. It is believed that Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, died on that day in 569.
Celebrations include parades, performances, concerts and various other public activities. Two symbols of Wales, the daffodil and the leek - which is Saint David's personal symbol - are usually on prominent display. And, one of the national dishes of Wales, a soup called cawl, is often served on Saint David's Day.
Saint Stephen's Day is celebrated by the Western Church on December 26th, and by the Eastern Church on December 27th.