Epitaphs on Famous Graves Trivia Quiz

Answer: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Dobby originally belonged to the Malfoy family. The only thing that can free an elf is if their master presents them with an article of clothing. Harry frees Dobby in "The Chamber of Secrets" by slipping a sock into a book that Lucius Malfoy then tosses to the elf. Dobby remains grateful, and helps Harry and his friends in a future movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1".

In the process of helping them escape from the Death Eaters, Dobby is killed. Harry buries him with a gravestone honouring the fact that he was a free elf.

Answer: Don Knotts

Knotts' gravestone is mostly etchings of him in six of his most famous roles. Likenesses include Barney Fife from "The Andy Griffiths Show", Roy Fleming in "The Incredible Mr. Limpet", and Mr. Furley from "Three's Company". Don Knotts died in 2006 and is buried in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Answer: Rocky Mountain High

John Denver passed away in a plane crash on October 12, 1997. He was cremated and his ashes were spread in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, so rather than a headstone or grave marker, he has a Memorial Stone with the lyrics that pay tribute to the mountains that he loved.

Incidentally, "Rocky Mountain High" was adopted as an official state song in Colorado, which now has two state songs, including the previous song "Where the Columbines Grow".

Answer: Paris, Greek

Jim Morrison, singer in the rock band The Doors, died in July, 1971. He is buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery (in Paris). His epitaph reads "Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy" in Greek. This has been translated to "True to himself," "According to his own spirit" or "True to his own spirit".

Answer: Ernest Shackleton

Sir Ernest Shackleton led three expeditions to Antarctica before dying in January, 1922. His widow chose to bury him at the now-abandoned whaling station of Grytviken. The quote from Robert Browning was chosen for his epitaph to exemplify the spirit that he used to approach his expeditions. If you go to his gravesite, remember that a toast (preferably with whisky) at his grave is a tradition among travelers there.

Answer: The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald passed away in December, 1940. F. Scott and his wife Zelda are buried together with this headstone in Rockville, Maryland. Some believe that the last line of "The Great Gatzby" is a reference to the futility of our attempts to escape the past, a rather fitting epitaph.

Answer: False

Babe Ruth passed away as a result of cancer in 1948. He is buried in the Gate of Heaven cemetery in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York. His epitaph reads "May the divine spirit that animated Babe Ruth to win the crucial game of life inspire the youth of America".

The origin of the quote, "If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself" is disputed, but is sometimes attributed to another baseball great, Mickey Mantle.

Answer: Dean Martin

The Rat Pack was a group of show business friends who met at Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's home in the 1960s. They performed together on stage and screen, as well as continuing their solo careers. Dean Martin was a singer, performer, and actor whose signature songs included "Everybody Loves Somebody", a line from which his epitaph is taken.

He passed away in 1995, and is buried in Los Angeles.

Answer: George Burns and Gracie Allen

George Burns and Gracie Allen married in 1926. They performed together on vaudeville, radio and television until her death in 1964. George Burns continued to perform in show business after her death up until weeks before his own demise. He did not remarry, and when he died at the age of 100, he was buried beside his love with the brief, but lovely epitaph on their gravestone.

Answer: True

Given that Churchill was a Nobel laureate for literature, so it is no surprise that he wrote his own epitaph. He also had a good sense of humour, as evidenced by the words that now appear on his grave: "I am ready to meet my Maker.  Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."