Famous People from Lancashire Trivia Quiz

Answer: Robert Peel

Robert Peel was born in Bury on 5th February 1788, the son of a wealthy cotton manufacturer. In 1809 his father bought him the Parliamentary seat of Cashel in Tipperary and he entered the House of Commons when he was just twenty-one. In 1829, as Home Secretary, he founded the Metropolitan Police Force in London, and as a result the new policemen were given the nicknames of 'Bobbies' or 'Peelers'. Peel had a short period as Prime Minster from 1834 to 1835, and then returned to the office in 1841.

In 1846 he repealed the Corn Laws (which had previously protected British agriculture from foreign imports) but because of intense opposition to this policy, Peel was forced to resign in the same year. He died in 1850 after a fall from his horse.

Answer: Tom Finney

Tom Finney was born in Preston in 1922 and became a professional footballer in 1940 with Preston North End. He was called up to the army in 1942 but received an early discharge after the war, not because he was a footballer, but because his skills as a plumber were urgently needed.

He continued to play for Preston for the rest of his professional life. He also won 76 England caps and was once the all-time leading scorer with 30 goals. After his retirement he received the OBE and finally a knighthood in 1998. Nat Lofthouse also played for the same team, Bolton Wanderers, for his whole career from 1939 to 1960. Stanley Matthews was born in Stoke-on-Trent, and played for Blackpool from 1947 until 1961. Matt Busby was born in Scotland and was the manager of Manchester United 1945-69.

Answer: Gracie Fields

Gracie Fields was born as Grace Stansfield in 1898 in a room over her grandmother's fish and chip shop in Rochdale. She made her professional debut at the Rochdale Hippodrome theatre in 1910 and this was followed by success in the West End of London, and then in 15 films between 1931 and 1945.

She gained a devoted following with her comic songs and monologues, presented in a northern, working class style. In 1978 she opened the theatre in Rochdale named after her and the following year was created a Dame by the Queen.

She died in Capri on 27 September 1979.

Answer: James Hilton

James Hilton was born in Leigh in 1900. His novel 'Lost Horizon' in 1933 popularized the phrase 'Shangri-La' which was the name of a mysterious kingdom in the Far East where four European travellers were stranded when their plane went off course. The phrase became a byword for a happy place, isolated from the world and Franklin D Roosevelt used this name for his presidential retreat in Maryland (later to be renamed Camp David).

Other well-known books by Hilton include 'Goodbye, Mr Chips' (1934) and 'Random Harvest' (1941).

Answer: Rex Harrison

Reginald Carey ('Rex') Harrison was born in 1908 and started his career in 1924 in Liverpool. He won both a Tony and an Oscar for his role as Professor Henry Higgins in 'My Fair Lady'in 1964. He also starred as Doctor Doolittle in 1967. He had six wives: Colette Palmer (1934-42), actress Lilli Palmer (1943-57), actress Kay Kendall (1957-59) who died of leukaemia, actress Rachel Roberts (1962-71) who committed suicide, Elizabeth Harris (1971-75) who was the first wife of fellow-actor Richard Harris, and Mercia Tinker who became his widow in 1990.

Answer: Mary Peters

Mary Peters was born at Halewood, near Liverpool and moved to Ballymena in Northern Ireland when she was eleven. She started competing in the pentathlon when she was seventeen and won the gold medal at the Olympic Games at Munich in 1972, setting a new world record.

She was also won three Commonwealth gold medals. She campaigned for more sports facilities in Northern Ireland, and an athletics stadium in Belfast is named after her.

Answer: Richmal Crompton

Richmal Crompton-Lamburn was born in Bury in 1890, the daughter of clergyman Edward Lamburn and his wife Clara Crompton. Richmal became a teacher and began to write short stories under the name of Richmal Crompton. By 1919 she had invented her most famous character and her story about 'Just William' was published that year.

She went on to write 38 more books about the comical schoolboy.

Answer: Miles Standish

After the voyage of the 'Mayflower', Standish was elected Military Captain of the colony by the leaders of the Pilgrims and he signed the Mayflower Compact in 1620, which established the government of the new colony. He is said to have founded the town of Duxbury (in Massachusetts) which was named after the original Standish estate in Chorley.

Answer: Robert Runcie

Robert Runcie was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991. He officiated at the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer in 1981 and also invited and welcomed the Pope to England in 1982. He supported the ordination of women and was often a critic of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government.

Runcie is buried in St. Albans Cathedral as he was the bishop of that diocese before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury.

Answer: Othello

Frank received the nomination for best actor in a supporting role for his role as Iago in 'Othello' but lost out to Martin Balsam in 'A Thousand Clowns'. Olivier also received a nomination for best actor as Othello, but he too lost out, to Lee Marvin in 'Cat Balou'. Frank appeared in all the other films, playing the lead role in 'Casanova' in 1971, Porthos in 'The Three Musketeers' in 1973, and Jacob Marley in 'A Christmas Carol' in 1984.

He has appeared in many other films, including a role as the father in the highly acclaimed film 'The Pianist' in 2002.