Departed in the 1960s Trivia Quiz

Answer: Boris Pasternak

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was born in Moscow in 1890. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, but because of fierce opposition in the Soviet Union, where 'Dr. Zhivago' had been banned as a "hostile political act," he declined the honour. It was to be accepted posthumously by his son in 1989.

Answer: Dag Hammarskjold

Second Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjold was the son of Sweden's Prime Minister from 1914-1917. He was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize shortly after his death.

Answer: Marilyn Monroe

Norma Jean Mortenson was born in Los Angeles in 1926 and was raised by a succession of foster parents and orphanages. Having borrowed her grandmother's surname, she became Marilyn Monroe and appeared in some 30 films between 1947 and 1962, when she was found dead at home, apparently having taken an overdose of sleeping pills - but we will probably never know for sure!

Answer: Edith Piaf

Born Edith Giovanna Gassion in Paris in 1915, Edith changed her name to Piaf (Parisien slang for "sparrow" - she was a small lady!) at the suggestion of the nightclub owner who gave her her first job. Most famously known for her rendition of "Je Ne Regrette Rien," she also appeared in films, one of which was written for her by her close friend, writer Jean Cocteau - who incidentally died on the same day of a coronary after hearing of Edith's demise.

Answer: Herbert Hoover

Born in Iowa in 1874, Herbert Clark Hoover became the 31st President in 1929 and served during the dark days of the Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated him in the 1933 election, leaving him a broken and embittered man.

Answer: Winston Churchill

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace in 1874. He was to become a war correspondent, soldier, politician and statesman as well as an accomplished author, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. When he died, at the age of 90, he received a state funeral.

Answer: Hendrik Verwoerd

Born in Amsterdam in 1901, Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd became Prime Minister of South Africa in 1958, pledging to make it a republic, which he achieved three years later. Having survived an assassination attempt in 1960, he wasn't so lucky when Mozambique immigrant, Dimitri Tsafendas, entered the parliamentary chamber with a knife in 1966.

Answer: Donald Campbell

Donald Malcolm Campbell, born 1921, followed in his father's footsteps. In 1935 his father, Sir Malcolm Campbell, broke the land speed record at 301.1mph in 'Bluebird', and in 1939 set a world water speed record of 141.74mph. Donald bettered his father's records - in 1964 he set a land speed record of 403.1mph, and a water speed record of 276.3mph, both in 'Bluebirds.'

Answer: John Steinbeck

John Ernest Steinbeck was born in California in 1902. His first successful novel was "Tortilla Flat," published in 1935, but he is probably better known for such works as "Of Mice and Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath." He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

Answer: Judy Garland

Born Frances Ethel Gumm in Minnesota in 1922, Judy Garland was probably best known for her portrayal of Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz,' for which she won a special Academy Award. She died of a drug overdose in London, England on the 22nd June.