100 Greatest Britons - Part 1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: First British family planning clinic

The first Family Planning Clinic was established in North London and offered a free service to married women. Whilst modern women have cause to be grateful to her, it should also be noted that she was an enthusiastic advocate of eugenics. She supported compulsory sterilisation for the poor and sick. She disinherited her own son, Harry, as he married a woman with a sight defect, and the bulk of her estate was willed to the Eugenics Society. However, her views were not uncommon for the times in which she lived.

More shocking at the time were her views that men and women were equal partners in marriage, and that each child should be planned and wanted, with parents who were able to care for it.

Answer: Sir Tim Berners Lee

He was born in 1955. He was educated at Emanuel School, London SW and Queen's College, Oxford. The first website came into being in August 1991. Sir Tim's parents were part of the team that created the Manchester Mark 1, an early computer. He received his knighthood in 2004.

According to urban legend, Al Gore claimed to have invented the internet. His actual words were that he "took the initiative in creating the internet", meaning that as a politician he supported its development.

Answer: Africa

Dr Livingstone was a missionary and is on record as being the first European to see Mosi-oa-Tunya, or Victoria Falls, as he renamed them. He was against the slave trade, but often had to rely on slaves as porters on his explorations. He died in Zambia in 1873 from malaria and dysentery.

His heart was buried close to where he died and the place is now marked by the Livingstone Memorial. His body was returned to Britain and he is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Answer: Tony Benn

Anthony Wedgwood Benn was born in 1925. He served in the Labour Party, and was considered even by his Labour colleagues to be on the far left of the party. He inherited his title of Viscount Stansgate 1960. He was MP for Bristol South East at the time, and his title prevented him from sitting in the House of Commons. He conducted a campaign for the right to renounce his title, and after a by-election, won back his seat in Bristol South East. He stated his preference to be known as Tony Benn rather than Anthony Wedgwood Benn in the early 1970s, but it took years for this to be publicly accepted.

He held positions in Labour governments as Minister for Technology, Secretary of State for Industry and Secretary of State for Energy. He is a prominent opponent of the Iraq war.

Tony Benn avers that all people in a position of power should be asked the following question: "What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you use it? To whom are you accountable? How do we get rid of you?"

Answer: Richard Burton

Richard Burton was born as Richard Walter Jenkins. One of the greatest influences on his life was his schoolmaster, Phillip Burton. Richard became Phillip Burton's ward at the age of sixteen and adopted his surname. Phillip Burton viewed him as a son.

Despite being nominated once for Best Supporting Actor and six times for Best Actor, an Academy Award remained elusive for Richard Burton. He died of a brain haemorrhage in 1984.

The other Richard Burton (1821-1890) was an explorer in Africa and an accomplished linguist, speaking around 29 languages! He is remembered for his translation of "The Arabian Nights" and the "Kama Sutra".

Answer: The Dam Busters

Are we all humming the tune? Barnes Wallis invented the "bouncing bombs" which were used in the raids on the Ruhr dams in May 1943. He also invented the "earthquake bomb", which was designed to penetrate the ground before exploding, thus maximising structural damage and lessening human casualties.

This being a trivia quiz, you may be interested to know that it was his myopic daughter Mary who married Marie Stopes' son Harry, causing him to be disinherited!

Answer: Jews

Unlike the rest of the population, Jews were allowed to practice usury. The monarch was allowed to tax them as much as he pleased. A lot of land was mortgaged to Jewish moneylenders. The Statute of the Jewry was issued in 1275 and among other things, restricted the areas where Jews were allowed to live, outlawed usury completely and insisted that all Jews above the age of seven wore a yellow star on their clothing.

It also forbade Jews from collecting a lot of their outstanding debts. Jews were expelled from England in 1290 under the Edict of Expulsion, which was not repealed until 1656.

The crown confiscated all Jewish property and riches, which was quite handy, as King Edward was deeply in debt at the time.

Answer: Beheaded by order of King James I

Raleigh established the settlement on Roanoke Island. The famous disappearance of the colonists occurred during his trip back to England. He made two expeditions to South America, in search of the fabled city of El Dorado. He was sentenced to death for treason in 1603, but allowed to live on as a prisoner in the Tower of London. It was here that he wrote "The History of the World". He was released from The Tower in 1616 to undertake his second expedition to South America. His troops attacked a Spanish settlement there and on his return to England, the Spanish demanded that his death sentence be carried out. He was beheaded in Whitehall in October 1618.

Raleigh owned a ship called The Ark, or The Ark Raleigh. Queen Elizabeth I purchased this ship from him and it was named the Ark Royal, the predecessor of four twentieth century ships bearing the same name. The original Ark Royal was the flagship of the English fleet that fought the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Answer: The Screwtape Letters

The "Screwtape Letters" are the work of Tolkein's friend, C. S. Lewis, who dedicated the work to Tolkien.

Tolkien was born to British parents in South Africa in 1892. He was a devout Catholic and it was his strong religious beliefs that helped influence Lewis move from being an atheist to embracing Christianity. Tolkien studied English Language at Oxford and in later life returned to Oxford as a Professor of Anglo-Saxon. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1972 and died in 1973.

Answer: Physics and mathematics

James Clerk Maxwell was Scottish. He is known for his work in the field of electromagnetic theory. He also worked in the field of colour and optics. He is credited with taking the world's first colour photograph, in 1861. The image was that of a tartan ribbon.