Great Danes (NOT the canines) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Margarete I

Margarete I Valdemarsdatter (1389-1412) was the first woman to rule in her own right the kingdom of Denmark (oldest kingdom on earth), as well as Norway and Sweden, as the Kalmar Union. At the time a female regent was not generally acceptable in northern European countries, but she proved an excellent and prudent ruler, reacquired lost possessions and wealth and remained neutral while influencing political alliances through contracts and royal liaisons.

Her adopted son (her grand-nephew), Eric of Pomerania ruled the three countries after her death. Margarete was from the House of Estridsen, and she is entombed at Roskilde Cathedral, where all Danish monarchs are laid to rest - after they die.

Answer: Isak Dinesen

Dinesen (1885-1962) wrote several books, one of which was made into the film "Out of Africa", which starred Meryl Streep, who captured perfectly a Danish accent, Ralph Fiennes and Robert Redford. The book and film chronicle her attempt to manage a large farm in Africa.

Answer: Soeren Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard (which means "churchyard") lived from 1813-1855. His philosophy encompassed theology, poetry, and critical essays on organized Christianity. He left many journals with his family, over 7,000 pages. Much of it may have been destroyed after his death, but enough remains to show the angst, despair and isolation he felt.

His purpose seemed to be to *find* purpose. One of the last things he wrote was, "People understand me so little that they do not even understand when I complain of being misunderstood." What little I've read of his writing leaves me thinking of him as a lost soul who kept looking for answers and found none.

Answer: Niels Bohr

Bohr (1885-1962) received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. He developed a model of the atom which remains valid today in many cases. Bohr was awarded many medals and honors, including the impressive Order of the Elephant in 1947. He also founded the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Copenhagen University and collaborated with many other scientists of his day. Bohr also predicted the existence of a new element, which was later found and named Hafnium (the Latin name of Copenhagen).

In 1943 Bohr fled to freedom in (neutral, but helpful) Sweden to avoid arrest by the Nazis. The element Bohrium is also named for him.

He made his way to Britain and then to the US. He and Albert Einstein discussed and collaborated on many theories.

Answer: Vitus Bering

Known as Ivan Ivanovitch Bering (Johann, son of Johann) in the Russian Navy, Vitus lived from 1681-1741. He died on Bering Island at the age of 60. He is well known for his two major explorations of Asia and from there to the western coast of the Americas. By 18 he was already a sailor; he travelled for many years and was selected by Peter the Great to lead the first expedition to the Kamchatka peninsula.

He also lead the second one. His exploration helped advance evidence that there had once been a land "bridge" between Siberia and North America.

He and several men from his company reportedly died from scurvy, although this has been disputed. All the men in these explorations suffered from stormy weather and lack of provisions for much of their travels.

Answer: H.C. Andersen

In Denmark, he is usually referred to as H.C. Andersen, which would very likely sound like Jose Andersen to a non-Dane. Andersen felt under-appreciated when sent off to school where he was discouraged from writing and abused 'to improve his character'.

At first his publications of fairy tales was not well received, but after he composed a poem about being a Scandinavian (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian family), his later stories were read and enjoyed by both adults and children. By 1845 "The Little Mermaid" appeared in a periodical, and his stories were anticipated enthusiastically.

He also published travelogues and continued his fairy tales. Andersen met and visited Charles Dickens in England and the two authors seemed to enjoy an understanding of the suffering of children during the industrial revolution.

There seems little to tell of his love life, which never came to fruition. At some point he proposed to Jenny Lind, who politely turned him down. By the time of his death in 1875, H.C. was considered a 'national treasure'.

He may have been 'the ugly duckling' of his tale in his own mind.

Answer: Peter Freuchen

Freuchen (1886-1957) was an Arctic explorer, journalist, anthropologist and author. When his (first) Inuit wife died of Spanish Flu, he wanted to bury her in Upernavik. The church refused because Navarana was not baptized, so Peter buried her himself. They had two children together. Freuchen was later harshly critical of the Christian church who sent missionaries to the native people without bothering to understand their traditions and culture.

He and Knud Rasmussen established the Thule Trading Station in 1910 at Uummannaq, Greenland. It was the most northerly trade station in the world and the home base for many expeditions from 1912-1933. In 1912 Rasmussen and Freuchen journeyed 620 miles across the inland ice to test explorer Peary's theory that Pearyland was divided from Greenland by a channel. The arduous journey almost killed both of them. It was claimed at the time that this was 'the finest (journey) ever performed by dogs'.

Freuchen went on to win the "$64,000 Question" on the topic of the Seven Seas (one of his many books), and he was employed as a consultant in the film industry for polar-related scripts. Freuchen married two more times. He died in Alaska and his ashes were scattered over Thule Mountain near the USAF Air Base.

Answer: Victor Borge

Victor (1909-2000) was born into a Jewish and musical family. Victor performed his own first piano recital at the age of eight, and was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 1918. His first major concert was in 1928, and he was soon on stage with his combination joking and piano playing. He began telling anti-nazi jokes. During the Nazi occupation (1940-45) of Denmark, Victor managed to escape from Finland to America. Borge spoke no English, but picked it up from films. He adopted his stage name, and in 1941 started with Rudy Vallee's show, soon after hired by Bing Crosby for his Kraft Music Hall show. By 1946 he had his own show on NBC, The Victor Borge Show. He clowned around on the piano, but he was an excellent pianist to make such terrible music as he did. He cleverly used the English language in some routines, such as his phonetic pronunciation skits, and his 'inflationary numbers' where 'wonderful' becomes 'twoderful' and so on. He also interacted with the audience. There was very little he did not make fun of.

Victor's "Comedy in Music" show at the John Golden theatre in NYC in 1953 became the longest running one-man show in history with 849 performances when it closed in Jan., 1956. Victor toured up to his last days, about 60 times a year when he was 90 years old.

Answer: Tycho Brahe

Brahe (1546-1601) became known for his accurate and clear observations of the celestial bodies. He was also known as an alchemist. His theories changed many of the Aristotelian beliefs of the times. Brahe was granted an estate on the island of Hven and the necessary money to found the Uraniaborg as an institute for research. Brahe and King Christian IV of Denmark clashed in 1597, and Brahe was invited to Prague by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, where he became the official astronomer. He built two new observatories and was assisted by Johannes Kepler until 1601. Kepler later used Brahe's data to develop his own laws of planetary motion. Tycho, who realized that astronomy required very precise measurement, built some of his own instruments, and assiduously studied the skies.

Though Tycho Brahe should indeed be remembered for his vast accomplishments, he had his nose 'bent out of shape' and had a duel with his third cousin, another nobleman, over the credibility of some formula. During the duel, Tycho lost the bridge of his nose. He had a metal replica made and glued it on. It was most likely made of brass.

Tycho had a Morganatic marriage with a commoner, and they had eight children.
After three years the marriage was recognized as legal but did not change the status of either parents or children, who were not permitted to inherit from their father or use his coat of arms. The couple were together for 30 years.
Tycho was not a poor man,and was said at some point to have owned 1% of Denmark's wealth. In a friendly bet with a friend over trading his pet elk for a horse, Brahe reported that sadly the elk had consumed too much beer, gotten drunk, fallen down the stairs, and died. Oh, dear!

Answer: Margrethe II

Known to her close friends as 'Daisy', Margrethe Alexandrine Ingrid Thorhildur (her Icelandic name) is of the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, and through marriage to Henrik, Prince Consort of Monpezat. Her mother was Ingrid of Sweden and father was King Frederick IX. When she was born in 1940, only males could ascend to the Danish throne. The emergence of women in the 20th century and the popularity of the royal family, had the constitution change its rules to allow women to ascend in the absence of male heirs. When King Frederick IX died in 1972, Margrethe ascended the throne. Her son, Frederick X, is now the heir presumptive.

Margrethe is an accomplished painter, illustrator and speaks French, English, Danish, German and Swedish fluently. She aided in the illustration of Tolkien's Danish version of "Lord of the Rings". Queen Margrethe is a chain smoker, but in 2006, ceased smoking in public.

The queen acts as a goodwill ambassador, and attends many public events as well as representing Denmark in other countries. She has no political power. As of early 2014, Margrethe is only the second queen regnant of Denmark.