Got a 'Thing' about Redheads? Quiz

Answer: Byron

George Gordon Byron was the son of an army officer, Captain John 'Mad Jack' Byron. He inherited the title of Baron Byron on the death of his great uncle in 1798. Byron was a prolific writer, his first works were published when he was just 18 years old.

He is remembered as much for the scandals that surrounded him as he is for his poetry. One such scandal was his affair with Lady Caroline Lamb who described him as 'mad, bad and dangerous to know'. Byron married Lady Caroline's cousin in 1815, but the marriage only lasted just over a year. Following the breakup Byron left England and went to Italy, via Switzerland.

In 1823 he went to Greece to support its struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Byron died on April 19th 1824 from a fever possibly caused by the use of unsterilsed medical instruments.

His body was returned to England and following a refusal for burial in Westminster Abbey was interred at Hucknall in Nottinghamshire.

Answer: Cleopatra

Cleopatra was a Macedonian Greek by birth. Her father was Ptolemy XII who was descended from Ptolemy I, a general in the service of Alender the Great, who declared himself king of Egypt in 305BC. Cleopatra ascended to the throne in 51BC and ruled jointly with her two brothers, Ptolomy XIII and Ptolomy XIV.

In 42BC she had an affair with Mark Anthony which produced twins. Upon his return to Egypt in 37BC they resumed their relationship and this time Mark Anthony made Alexandria his home. Rome invaded Egypt in 31BC and following the battle of Actium Mark Anthony committed suicide, followed four days later by Cleopatra, reportedly using an asp. Asp refers to many types of venomous snake and Cleopatra probably used an Egyptian Cobra after ordering several servants to try out different forms of suicide so she could choose the most effective method.

Answer: Bette Davis

She was born Ruth Elizabth Davis and was raised by her mother following her parents divorce when she was 7 years old. Following a short Broadway career Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930 and was signed by Universal. She achieved little success and so joined Warner Bros. in 1932.

The most successful part of her career followed a court case in which she tried to break free of her contract because she wanted to appear in two films being made in England. She lost the case and returned to Hollywood penniless and in debt.

By the end of the 1940s Davis had established herself as one of Hollywood's leading ladies. During her career she received 10 Oscar nominations, winning two of them. From 1942 until 1945 she was president of the Hollywood Canteen, a club which offered free food and drink to servicemen in uniform. Davis continued to act until 1989 when illness forced her to retire.

She died in October that year in France.

Answer: Boudica

All of the women listed had, by historical account, red hair but only Boudica fits the bill. Boudica was the wife of King Prasutagus, leader of the Iceni tribe during the early years of the Roman occupation of Britain. When he died he bequeathed his kingdom to his daughters and the Emporer.

His wishes were ignored and the lands of the Iceni were annexed. Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped. In reprisal Boudica led a revolt of the local tribes and sacked and burned the settlement of Camulodunum, modern day Colchester.

They then moved on to do the same at Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans). Boudica was finally defeated at the Battle of Watling Street, the exact location of which is subject to debate.

Answer: Geena Davis

She was born Virginia Elizabeth Davis on January 21st 1956. After graduating from university in 1979 she worked as a model until being cast in a minor role in 'Tootsie' in 1982. Her big break came in 'Fletch' in 1985 and this led to roles in 'The Fly' and 'Beetlejuice'.

Her first award was for best supporting actress for her part in 'The Accidental Tourist'. In 1999 she took part in the Olympic trials for the US womens archery team, coming 24th out of 300. She didn't make the team but did compete at the Sydney International Golden Arrow competition as a 'wild card' entry.

Answer: Chris Evans

Chris Evans began his broadcasting career at Manchester's Piccadilly Radio as assistant to established broadcaster Timmy Mallett. He stayed at the station until he was dismissed in 1987. Following this he moved to London and worked for Richard Branson's 'Radio Radio' which provided an overnight service on a number of local radio stations.

He moved to the BBC as a producer on 'GLR' and was given his first presenting job in 1990. In 1992 he moved into television with Channel 4, eventually setting up his own company, Ginger Productions, in 1994. Over the next few years Evans was rarely off the air hosting both radio and television shows.

In 1997 Evans bought Virgin Radio from Branson for £85million pounds and his company became 'Ginger Media'. The first few years of the 21st century were not very successful for Evans, then in 2005 he joined BBC Radio 2.

He started off with a Saturday slot, then moved to the weekday drive time position. In January 2010 he took over the breakfast show from Terry Wogan.

Answer: False

The stories are about 'Little Red'. They are aimed at young children in the 4-8 age range. They follow the adventures of of a young girl and her friends Little Blue, Roany the pony and other friends. She has also written a series of books about a little helicopter called Budgie which were turned into a children's TV series. Sarah married Prince Andrew in 1986 and they divorced ten years later.

They remained friends and shared the upbring of their two daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Following the divorce and according to Royal protocol she lost the title The Duchess of York and is now called Sarah, Duchess of York.

She is patron of several charities and makes regular appearances on TV and radio.

Answer: Ron Howard

Howard began his acting career at the age of just 4 years old making an appearance in a single episode of the western 'Johnny Ringo'. The following year, 1960, he was cast as Opie Taylor playing the son of Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith). Various other roles followed until he landed the part of Richie Cunningham in 'Happy Days' in 1974.

His directorial debut came in 1977 with 'Grand Theft Auto', a low budget comedy. In 1984 he directed Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah in the fantasy movie 'Splash' and over the years was involved with such well known films as 'Cocoon', 'Backdraft', 'Apollo 13' and the two Dan Brown films 'The DaVinci Code' and 'Angels and Demons'.

Answer: Florence Nightingale

Florence was born on May 12th 1820 in the Italian city of the same name. As well as being a nurse she was also a writer and statistician. She entered the nursing profession in 1845, much to the annoyance of her parents, and was instrumental in helping to reform the Poor Laws. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Laws Contrary to popular belief, her work in the Crimean War did not reduce the death rate of wounded soldiers.

It was the actions of a Sanitary Commission sent out in 1855 which resulted in better living conditions for the wounded. Nightingale didn't think that hygiene was a factor until she had arrived back in London and began to compile evidence for the 'Royal Commission on the Health of the Army'. During the 1870s Nightingale was mentor to America's 'first trained nurse', Linda Richards. During the late 1870s and early 1880s Nightingale trained nurses had obtained positions of influence and power within the nursing profession, many of them being appointed Matron at major hospitals.

In 1883 Florence Nightingale was awarded the Royal Red Cross, an award exclusively for nurses that have exhibited exceptional devotion and competency over many years, or performed an act of bravery and devotion whilst at her post. Until 1976 it was an award exclusively for female nurses. Nightingale passed away on August 13th 1910 at her London home. A burial at Westminster Abbey was offered, but was refused by her family. She lies, in peace, in the graveyard of a small village church in Hampshire.

Answer: Antonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678. Because he was baptised immediately it has led to theories that he was a sickly child and not expected to survive. His father was a barber before taking up the violin professionally and taught the young Antonio from an early age.

As a teenager Vivaldi is said to have suffered from asthma which prevented him from learning to play woodwind instruments. At the age of just 15 years he began to study for the priesthood and was ordained ten years later. His nickname of 'the red priest' came from the colour of his hair. Due to his health problem he was only active as a priest for a very short time; he did not, however, renounce his vows.

In 1703 he was appointed director of music at an orphanage which was also a music school. During his time there, apart from one year away when his appointment was not ratified, he wrote the vast majority of his works.

In 1718 Vivaldi began to travel and ended up in Rome in 1722 and the following year wrote his most famous piece, 'The Four Seasons'. Only three portraits of Vivaldi survive today, and only one of them is a colour portrait showing his red hair beneath a blonde wig. Vivaldi died in 1741.