Christopher and David Trivia Quiz

Answer: Christopher Wren

Wren is best known as the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, but that would have been too obvious a clue. In addition to his brilliance as an architect, Wren, who was born in 1632, was also a gifted mathmetician, astronomer, and scientist, and he was one of the founding members of the Royal Society (a sort of think-tank/ideas exchange group of scientists from all the scientific disciplines).

It is still going strong. Wren's father was the Dean of Windsor, and one of Wren's childhood playmates was the Prince of Wales (later Charles II).

After the disastrous fire of London, Wren was appointed Commissioner for Rebuilding the City of London, and redesigned most of mile-square that is the actual City of London, including some 51 churches within its boundaries. (There are a handful of churches in the north-east of this area that escaped destruction. Wren's original plan for rebuilding London with a grandiose lay-out of wide streets, squares and piazzas was too expensive and his work was largely confined to rebuilding the churches, including St. Paul's Cathedral). Wren also designed the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, thereby enabling the Astronomer Royal to determine longitude, which helped to put England in the forefront as a maritime power.

Despite all his successes, Wren had a reputation as a good friend, and a warm and generous man.

Answer: King David

According to the bible, King David was God's choice as successor to Saul, which just goes to show that one does not have to be perfect to serve God. (David was, among other things, an adulterer and not above making sure that his adversaries got killed, one way or another!) Oh, yes, he is also the young boy who slew the Philistine giant Goliath, using a slingshot and five smooth stones to do the job. What's an ephod? A short linen garment worn around the loins, so I'm told.

Answer: Bearer of Christ

Legend has it that Christopher was originally named Offerus, and he was the son of a heathen king somewhere in Asia Minor. He was a giant of a man, so the story goes, and went in search of a master to serve. He narrowed his search to two choices, so the story goes; one was a king and the other was Satan.

However, he didn't choose the king, who was a coward in battle, and he gave up on Satan because he discovered that Satan was terrified of a cross standing at the roadside. Offerus then met a Christian hermit named Babylas who told him about God, and Offerus decided that God would be a worthy master. Babylas baptized him, renaming him Christopher (from the Greek Christos=Christ and Pharein=bearer). Christopher declined to fast or pray overmuch, but agreed to use his great strength to carry people across a raging stream, for the sake of God. One such passenger was a child, and as Christopher was carrying him, the child got heavier and heavier, until Christpher felt as if he was carrying the world on his shoulders.

When they arrived at the opposite bank, Christopher discovered that the child had become a grown man! The man revealed that He was the Christ, and to prove it he drove his staff into the ground, and it became a flowering palm tree. Tradition has it that Christopher was martyred for the faith, but no one seems to know much more than that. Today he is the patron of travellers, gardeners and beekeepers (and no, I don't know how the beekeepers come into it).

Answer: David Suzuki

David Suzuki is a noted geneticist, and can be seen on CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and PBS (the Public Broadcasting Service in the U.S.) in his program 'The Nature of Things'. Suzuki is a dedicated environmentalist and established the David Suzuki Foundation, which researches and reports on the effects of human activity on this fragile planet.

Answer: Leif the Lucky

Leif Eriksson - or Ericsson or Ericksson or Erickson (there's no end to the ways in which his last name can be spelled, evidently) was known as Leif the Lucky. He was the son of Erik the Red, who colonized Greenland. In the year 1,000, one of Erik's colonists, a fellow named Bjarni (who was not nicknamed the Lost, as far as I know), got blown off course on the way to Greenland, and ended up way to the west.

When he finally got to Greenland he reported seeing land. Leif and his crew sailed west and landed in what is now northwestern Newfoundland, one of Canada's Atlantic provinces.

The Vikings established a colony there, now called L'Anse Aux Meadows. The site was discovered in 1960 and it is now a Canadian National Park. No one is definitely sure about how long the colony lasted, but it was long enough to build stout houses and boats, and to set up a forge.

Initially, the colonists traded with the local natives (whom they called Skraelings), but relations between the Vikings and the Skraelings deteriorated, and eventually, the Vikings, tired of it all, headed back to Greenland.

There may have been a Viking named Sigurd the Singer, but I think I made him up.

Answer: Jacques-Louis David

Those heroic portraits of Napoleon at the height of his powers were painted by Jacques-Louis David, who lived from 1748 to 1825. David was a student of Boucher, then studied in Vienna and Rome, and fell under the spell of classical art and architecture.

He became a leading figure in the Neoclassicism Movement, influencing, among others, the noted painter Ingres. Deeply committed to the Revolution and the French Republic, David served as a deputy and voted in favour of the execution of Louis XVI (which caused his wife to divorce him - she was a Royalist).

After the fall of Robespierre, he was imprisoned, but released owing to the entrreaties of his wife - whom he remarried.

Answer: Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe (or Marlow) (1564-1593) was a contemporary of Shakespeare and author of 'Tamburlaine the Great', 'The Jew of Malta', 'Dr. Faustus' and 'Edward II', in addition to many poems, the best known of which is the one that starts 'Come live with me and be my love...' He was educated at Cambridge (where you can see the only portrait of him known to exist) and joined the Lord Admiral's Acting Company in London in the 1580s.

His brilliant career was cut short when he was stabbed in the eye during a drunken brawl in the Mermaid Tavern and bled to death. Rumour has it that his death was no accident, but due to the fact that he was a spy in the pay of Sir Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's 'Spymaster'. Fans of the film 'Shakespeare in Love' (screenplay by Tom Stoppard) will remember Rupert Everett in the role of Marlowe.

Answer: David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George was 27 in 1890 when he was elected to the House of Commons as the Liberal member for Caernarfon in Wales, thereby becoming the youngest Member of Parliament at the time. Lloyd George had honed his oratorical skills as a lay preacher (he was a devout member of the Disciples of Christ) and as a member of the Temperance League, speaking out against the evils of alcohol. Mind you, as a Welshman, he was born with a silver tongue.

In 1906 he became President of the Board of Trade - in other words, Minister for Trade - in the Liberal government and in 1908 Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister).

He put through many reform budgets - one of which provided pensions for people too old to work, and another which provided for a national employment insurance program to ensure that those who were ill or unemployed would still have income. During the first part of WWI, he was Minister of Munitions, a position which gave him virtual control over Britain's war effort and Prime Minister from 1916 onwards. Lloyd George had as many enemies as he had friends, and, like most politicians, he had his share of character flaws, but there's no doubt he was a champion of the people! He died in 1945.

Answer: Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee (b. 1922) is the quintessential Dracula, and for many that's where his fame lies. But Lee is an actor of breadth and depth, and has appeared in more than 200 films and TV series, playing roles ranging from Pope John Paul II to Prince Philip, Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy to Sherlock Holmes (he's also played Mycroft Holmes!). Perhaps one of his best films is 'The Wicker Man' (1973) in which he co-starred with Edward Woodward. If you want to get gooseflesh, rent that one! At 83, Lee is still going strong.

Interesting Lee trivia: by his mother's second marriage, he is related to Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond - and yes, Lee has appeared in a Bond movie. He played Scaramanga in 'The Man With the Golden Gun'.

Answer: David Frum

David Frum is a Canadian, born in Toronto. He was educated at the University of Toronto and Harvard, and was one of the very few non-Americans with influence in the White House. His mother, Barbara, was one of Canada's leading journalists, and 'As It Happens', her radio show on CBC, was a must-listen for those who wanted to have a grasp of what was going on in the world. Ms Frum had very definite liberal leanings, and I wonder what she would have thought of her neo-con kid.