Dual Duel Survivors Trivia Quiz

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln and James Shields were rival politicians who once had an amicable relationship. However, Shields became the State Auditor and passed some rules that Lincoln disagreed with. Lincoln's method of revenge was sending anonymous letters to the local paper that lampooned Shields.

The angered Shields challenged Lincoln to a duel. Mutual friends arrived and were able to convince them to a compromise, which averted the duel. Ironically, both potential combatants were able to become friends afterwards.

Answer: Henry Clay

At the time of the duel Clay had already served as both a Congressman and Senator, where he was able to avert a potential breakup of the union with the Missouri Compromise and earn the sobriquet of the Great Compromiser. Randolph descended from a prominent Virginia family and was a cousin of Thomas Jefferson. Clay challenged Randolph to a duel after the latter made a speech against Clay and the president that could be characterized as a rant.

Despite supporters of both men trying to persuade them to cancel the duel, both men met at the appointed time. Randolph's first shot was deliberately wide, but Clay's put a hole in his opponent's massively oversized coat. Randolph aimed his second shot in the air to clearly signal his intention of not attempting to kill Clay; and Clay agreed to end the battle, promising to buy Randolph a new coat.

Clay had previous experience on the dueling ground 17 years earlier, when he suffered a serious wound to his thigh before the duel was called.

Answer: Mark Twain

At the time of the duel, Twain was living in Virginia City, Nevada before publishing his famous novels. He was filling in as editor for a local paper and got into a public battle with James Laird, the editor of a rival paper, about attempted humorous hoaxes Twain had written. The comments by both men in their papers became personal, questioning the manhood and honesty of each other.

There is some question how much truth or exaggeration there was to Twain's account of the duel. He claimed that he was unable to hit the side of a barn from distance; but his second Steve Gillis managed to execute a remarkable shot and convince his opponents that Twain made that shot with great regularity.

Answer: Sam Houston

Sam Houston was an ally of Andrew Jackson in the state of Tennessee. A political struggle ensued in which Nashville publisher John Erwin sought the role of postmaster. Erwin was the son-in-law of Henry Clay, a bitter rival of Jackson; and Jackson enlisted the aid of Houston in thwarting the appointment.

Erwin was enraged at accusations Houston made against him and hired a professional duelist General William White to fight Houston in his stead. Houston shot White in the groin, a serious injury that took a long time for recovery.

Incidentally Sam Houston is the only American to have been elected governor of two different states, Tennessee and Texas.

Answer: Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini originally was a socialist or even a Marxist until he was expelled from the Italian Socialist party for his support for Italian participation in World War I. Between 1915 and 1921 he participated in five duels, mainly for his political beliefs. These seemingly continued his history of juvenile violence when he had been involved in at least three stabbing incidents and led a gang of youths on raids of local farms.

One can only speculate how Mussolini's survival was to effect world history.

Answer: Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Richard Sheridan challenged Captain Matthews after the latter had defamed Elizabeth Ann Linley, Sheridan's future wife. The first duel ended when Matthews lost his sword and begged Sheridan to spare his life.

The humiliated Matthews refused to send the agreed-upon letter of apology and challenged Sheridan to a second duel. This turned into a ferocious battle with Sheridan suffering the more serious wounds. He eventually recovered, had a successful career as a playwright, and served as a member of Parliament for 32 years.

Answer: William Pitt the Younger

Five years into William Pitt's rule as Prime Minster he fought a duel on Putney Commons against George Tierney, a Member of Parliament. The duel arose from a statement Pitt had made in the House of Commons that Tierney believed labeled him a coward. Each of the parties shot and missed.

The other Prime Minister to have engaged in a duel while in office was the Duke of Wellington, who fought against the Earl of Winchelsea who objected to Wellington's passage of the Catholic Relief Bill.

Answer: Edouard Manet

Ironically Manet and Duranty were good friends before and after their duel. However, Manet was enraged when Duranty wrote a single dispassionate sentence about the artist's two works being displayed. After a brief, but vigorous, sword fight, the duel was stopped. An interesting sidelight was that Emile Zola served as Manet's second in the duel.

Answer: Marcel Proust

Marcel Proust is best remembered for his monumental novel "In Search of Lost Time", also translated as "Remembrance of Things Past". His masterpiece contained seven volumes, three of which were finished posthumously, and is over 3,000 pages long.

Jean Lorrain, who himself was gay, accused Proust of having an affair with the son of his illustrator. Proust never acknowledged his sexual orientation publicly, but many of his biographers and acquaintances were aware of the fact.

The duel occurred when Proust was 25 years old, long before he wrote his epic work. Many consider him one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.

Answer: George Friederich Handel

Handl (1685 - 1759) was born and trained in Germany, but moved to England in 1712. He is most famous for his work "Messiah", but also composed "Water Works", "Music for Royal Fireworks". His successful career included operas, oratorios, organ concertos, and four coronsation anthems.

Before these successes he had a nearly fatal duel. At the premier of Johann Mattheson's opera "Cleopatra", Mattheson had to conduct from the harpsichord stand and play a role in one of the acts. During that period Handl assumed the role of conductor, but refused to relinquish the chair when Mattheson return from his role. They argued outside and a duel ensued. Miraculously Handl was spared, and ironically he and Mattheson became life-long friends.