Fill Me In (#1) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wendell

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was famous for these poems among many, "Old Ironsides," "Chambered Nautilus," and for his book, "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table." He combined the life of a poet-writer with that of being a doctor. He was famous for writing "The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever" (1843) which argued in behalf of improved sanitary techniques in obstetrics and surgery. His life reflected many of the tensions of his times. He was born the same year as Charles Darwin, 1809.
Along with his friend who also had three names, James Russell Lowell, he was one of the initial editors of the prestigious journal, "The Atlantic Monthly."
His son, who fought in the American Civil War, is named, not surprisingly, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Incidentally, he and his son had many personal battles.

Answer: Taylor

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a poet and also an essayist who wrote on the functions of imagination. His thinking had a profound influence on Romantic and Transcendental thinkers of his time. He spent a long time writing with William Wordsworth. They fashioned an extensive 1798 study called "Lyrical Ballads."

Answer: Beecher

In her famiy, Harriet Beecher Stowe had various famous abolitionists and preachers. Interestingly, she published a book one year after "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to prove to others that what she wrote was really true. She introduced in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" some unforgettable characers such as Simon Legree, Topsy, Eva, and Eliza.

Answer: McNeill

James Abbott McNeill Whistler became very famous for his complete commitment to a non-didactic way of painting. His affiliation with the artistic world caused him to spend hours and hours "purifying" his abode before a visit of his strait-laced mother.

He led a bohemian life, spontaneously travelling to Chile and equally spontaneously under the influence of European musicians and artists. In 1871, he completed his most famous painting "Arrangement in Grey and White: Portrait of the Artist's Mother." Whistler had wanted his mother to stand, but she found that too tiring. Apparently, it took dozens of meetings for him to complete it. Overall, the painting is amazingly non-representational in that some of the painting is devoted to experiments in shapes and color.

Answer: Allan

Edgar Allan Poe is a writer whose personal life was clouded by tragedy and novelty. His wife was virtually a child. His days were marred by alcoholism. Since his writing was meticulously melodic, the famous writer Emerson referred to Poe as "the jingle man."

Answer: Fox

William Fox Talbot invented the "calotype" which is a process which became the norm instead of the daguerreotype. The daguerreotype disappeared commercially by the end of the American Civil War. One big problem was that the daguereotype was not reproducible. Interestingly, Talbot also has the honor of being one of the few people to interpret cuneiform writings from Nineveh.

Answer: Christian

Hans Christian Andersen wrote over one hundred and fifty amazingly creative fairy tales which are great blends of social analysis, dreaming and character analysis. Born into a poor family, Andersen's father insisted that his son learn to make his own toys. Such activity helped develop his astounding inventive gifts. He had total sympathy with underdogs and personal hardship. His first poem was called "The Dying Child." The following passage from "The Ugly Duckling" captures the essence of Andersen's eloquence and empathy:

"He now felt glad at having suffered sorrow and trouble, because it enabled him to enjoy so much better all the pleasure and happiness around him; for the great swans swam round the newcomer, and stroked his neck with their beaks, as a welcome."

Answer: David

Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" has been called a model of nature writing in its directness, its simplicity and its kinship with making and building naturally. His essay called "Civil Disobedience" influenced activists such as Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi. Thoreau became very famous for refusing to pay the poll tax and spending one night in jail.

Answer: Singer

John Singer Sargent was a very well travelled man, having been born in Florence, Italy. He was said to have completed at least 900 oil paintings. Highly travelled and highly educated in the Europe of his times, he was a strong minded person whose art included portraits of the depth of Velasquez' famous "Las Meninas." His greatest works include "The Lady with the Rose," and "Portrait of Madame X." Sargent called the latter "the best thing I have ever done."

Answer: Alva

Thomas Alva Edison's father was named Samuel "The Iron Shovel" Edison, Jr. Stories are legend about how many patents he had. Homeschooled and hard of hearing, Edison was nonetheless one of the most prodigious inventors the world has known. Edison has said that he is proud of the fact that he never invented anything that would help people to kill.