Wilhelm Screaming Through History Quiz

Answer: William Hartnell

William Hartnell was Dr Who from 1963 to 1966 and was the oldest actor to play the part. Hartnell was actually quite bald, and his long hair in the programme was a wig.
This Doctor had a grand-daughter called Susan, who was his first companion ... I often wonder what happened to her.

Answer: William Topaz McGonagall

William Topaz McGonagall (1825-1902) was a weaver who also acted and wrote poetry. Born in Edinburgh and raised in Dundee, he really had no idea how bad his poetry was and saw himself as the heir to Shakespeare. He was a pretty bad actor, too, and sometimes had rotten fish thrown at him during performances.

If you have never read any of his stuff, may I recommend you to look up his poem 'The Tay Bridge Disaster'? You'll love it.

Answer: William McKinley

President McKinley was shot in the abdomen by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz. It happened at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY, inside the Temple of Music. McKinley was shaking hands with members of the public when Czolgosz shot him twice at close range. The first bullet grazed him and the second entered his abdomen. The shooting took place on 6th September and it took McKinley until the 14th to die, of gangrene.
Czolgosz was executed in the electric chair in October 1901.

Answer: Kaiser Wilhelm II

Wilhelm III and IV did not exist - Wilhelm II was the last Emperor of Germany, and abdicated at the end of the Great War in 1918. He lived until 1941 in exile in Appeldoorn, in the Netherlands.
Kaiser Wilhelm had a history of antagonism towards the British Empire, despite being the grandson of Queen Victoria, and was determined to build up his army and navy to the point where they became a serious threat.
After the Great War, which is now generally referred to as the First World War, there were attempts to extradite him for war crimes, but they failed.

Answer: Tell

Said to have lived in Burglen in the early 14th century, there is no actual evidence that Wilhelm/William/Guillaume/Guglielmo ever existed. The legend has it that when the Habsburgs controlled Switzerland, a hated governor called Gessler set up his hat on a pole in the town of Altdorf, and required people to bow down to it as an act of respect. William Tell refused to do so and was arrested. Gessler offered to release him if Tell - a renowned marksman with the cross-bow - could shoot an apple off the head of his small son. Imagine the screams of horror as Tell took aim, but the superb marksman's aim was true: his arrow split the apple and his child lived. Gessler, however, would not release him. Tell later escaped and became part of the resistance movement that eventually drove the Habsburgs out of Switzerland. Whether or not it's true, it's a good story!

Answer: England

William the Bastard lived from 1028 to 1087, and was the son of the unmarried Robert, Duke of Normandy, and Arlette, daughter of Fulbert, a master tanner of Falaise. William's army invaded England and in 1066 defeated the army of Harold Godwinson at Hastings, thus making William the first Norman king of England. William was responsible for the creation of the Domesday Book in 1086, in which were recorded the details of every piece of land in England, including the buildings and the animals on it. Norman rule brought feudalism to England and the end of the freedoms enjoyed previously; it was not until an outbreak of the Black Death in 1348 caused a massive drop in the population that things began to change, culminating in the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.

Answer: William Wallace

Relations between England and Scotland have traditionally been uneasy, and never more so than during the lifetime of William Wallace. Edward I of England, known as the 'Hammer of the Scots', wanted control of Scotland and many battles were fought to assert Scottish independence. Wallace, who was born around 1272, was the leader of the Scots during this time, and beat the English at the battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297; he lost to them at Falkirk in 1298. Wallace was captured in 1305 and taken to London, where he was tried for high treason and crimes against English civilians, in which he was said to have spared no-one. No doubt there were atrocities committed by both sides, and it's doubtful that he should have been tried for treason at all, but he was sentenced to a traitor's death. Dragged naked behind a horse, Wallace was taken to Smithfield where he was hanged, drawn and quartered.

It is impossible to imagine anyone, however heroic, enduring such a death in silence.

Answer: William Henry Pratt

William Henry Pratt, better known as Boris Karloff, starred in many famous horror films from the 1930s onwards. His most famous role was probably in the 'Frankenstein' movies. Much married, he was born in England and died there, in Sussex, in 1969.
Despite the characters he played, he was in reality a very kind man who did a lot for charity.

In case you're wondering, I made all the others up.

Answer: Burke and Hare

The two men went on their killing spree between November 1827 and October 1828. At the time medical education was expanding and there was a dearth of bodies for dissection, because only the bodies of executed felons were allowed to be used. Certain doctors were known to pay for suitable cadavers, and grave robbing was a real problem, to the point where bodies would be buried in a 'mortsafe' to prevent them being dug up. Burke and Hare murdered their victims by smothering them, and sold the bodies to Dr Robert Knox of the Edinburgh Medical College. The law eventually caught up with them. Hare turned King's Evidence and was released in 1829, while Burke was hanged and his body dissected and displayed. Knox was not prosecuted, to the outrage of the populace, and later moved to London.

Answer: Hannibal Lecter

Thomas Harris, creator of Hannibal Lecter and author of 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Hannibal', was born in 1940 in Tennessee and grew up in Mississippi. During his youth, the exploits of William Coyne were the stuff of legend. It is believed that Coyne was one of several cannibals who inspired Harris' works, most of which could cause anyone to have nightmares.
In 'Silence of the Lambs', reference is made to a pen of spring lambs awaiting slaughter - and they are screaming.