Great Recluses Quiz | In Common

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This living recluse, born in 1942, spent most of his time from 1971-1995 isolated in a small cabin he built in Montana. He became a national problem by sending 16 bombs to people and places between 1978 and 1995.

Answer: Theodore Kaczynski

Known as "The Unabomber" from his 35,000 word essay "Unibomber Manifesto," he was a brilliant student who skipped two lower grades and was accepted to Harvard at 16, earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan, and taught at the University of California, Berkeley. He is now serving four life sentences at the Florence Federal Correctional Complex in Colorado.

2. This recluse, born in Houston, Texas became extremely wealthy at age 18 when he inherited his family's oil drill tool business. He had careers in both the film industry (including "Hell's Angels" in 1930 which introduced Jean Harlow) and aviation (where he invented the first retractable landing gear). After a serious plane crash in 1946, he became a recluse for the rest of his life.

Answer: Howard Hughes

He was not always a recluse. During his Hollywood years, he was known as a playboy, and dated such actresses as Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, and Ava Gardner. In aviation, he became a laughing stock over the H-4 Hercules, a huge wooden seaplane that flew only once, that the press called "The Spruce Goose." More recently, Leonardo DeCaprio played him in "The Aviator."

3. This recluse was born Greta Gustafson in Stockholm in 1905. After a legendary film career in both Sweden and the United States, in both silent and talking pictures, she retired abruptly in 1940, and passed away in New York City in 1990.

Answer: Greta Garbo

Her silent film career includes "The Torrent" and "The Temptress." Hollywood was very hesitant to cast her in talking films because of her husky voice and hint of a Swedish accent. Her first two talking pictures were "Anna Christie" (1930), and "Grand Hotel" that won "Best Picture" in 1932.

She was nominated for several Oscars, including her starring roles in in "Anna Karenina" and "Camille,' but did not win an Oscar until she was recognized in 1955 for "Lifetime Achievement."

4. This recluse, born in 1943, was a "hero" of the Cold War when he took on a supposedly invincible Russian in Iceland and defeated him in 1972, becoming the first American World Chess Champion.

Answer: Bobby Fischer

After he defeated Boris Spassky to become World Chess Champion, he refused to defend his title in 1975 against Anatoly Karpov, and was stripped of his title. He withdrew from chess and society for nearly 20 years, but returned in 1992 to defeat Spassky in a private, multi-million dollar match in Yugoslavia.

He then went back into seclusion, at least partly because he had violated US restrictions about participating in events in Yugoslavia. After his passport was revoked, he was detained in Japan, sought refuge in Iceland, and was granted Icelandic citizenship.

He died in Iceland, still a recluse, in 2008.

5. This reclusive poet lived in Amherst, MA from 1830-1886. Fewer than a dozen of her approximately 1,800 poems were published in her lifetime.

Answer: Emily Dickinson

Her grandfather, Samuel Dickenson, founded Amherst College. She was educated at Amherst Academy (now Amherst College) and the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College). She spent most of her time from about 1860 at home. She died in 1886.

Although a few volumes of her poems were published in the 1890s, they were drastically edited. The first full compilation was not published until 1955.

6. This recluse lived from 1919 till 2010. His last published work was in 1965. He wrote, among other things, "Franny and Zooey," and "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters."

Answer: J. D. Salinger

His most famous work, of course, was "Catcher in the Rye" (1951). In 1953 he left New York City and moved to a large home with several acres in Cornish, New Hampshire, where he lived the life of a recluse, cutting off contact with the public. Salinger may have left at least five unpublished works that are supposedly to be released by his estate some day.

7. This recluse, born in 1863 and died in 1944, spent his last four decades essentially in solitude. A Norwegian painter, his works include "Madonna," Puberty" and "Dance of Life" as well as "Christmas in the Brothel."

Answer: Edvard Munch

His most famous work is "The Scream," which sold for over $119 million in 2012, setting at that time a new record. A pre-Expressionist, Munch developed a style all of his own. His works include "Despair," "Melancholy," "Anxiety," and "Jealousy." All of those, and other paintings, reflect his mental condition.

8. This recluse, born in 1926, published one novel which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1960. The central character was Atticus Finch. She then went into seclusion.

Answer: Harper Lee

Before "To Kill A Mocking Bird," she was a law student and an airline ticket agent. She also was a friend of Truman Capote, and assisted him in putting together "In Cold Blood." Her novel "Go Set a Watchman", a prequel to "To Kill a Mockingbird", was published in 2015.

9. This French recluse lived from 1871-1922. He suffered from asthma all his life which led eventually to his withdrawal from society. His most notable work has seven volumes, one title for which is "In Search of [Lost] Time."

Answer: Marcel Proust

The better known title for his major seven volume work is "Remembrance of Things Past." His withdrawal coincided with his involvement in the "Dreyfus Affair," where he sided with Dreyfus and became disillusioned with the aristocracy. He left a voluminous correspondence, of which thousands of letters remain to be published.

10. This recluse, born Roger Keith Barrett, lived from 1946 until 2006, when he died from pancreatic cancer. He was a singer, musician, songwriter, and painter. He was a founder of Pink Floyd.

Answer: Syd Barrett

He had to be replaced in Pink Floyd in 1967 when he did not show up and/or was not able to perform. He did not appear or speak in public from the mid-1970s on. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a founding member of
Pink Floyd,but he did not appear at the ceremony. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2006.

Source: Author lowtechmaster

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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Great Recluses Trivia Quiz

Many famous people are, have been, or became recluses. This quiz tests your knowledge of them.

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