Here Lies .... Who? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wallace Beery

Born in 1885, Wallace Fitzgerald Beery joined the circus and trained elephants! In 1913 he moved to Hollywood and acted in over 200 films throughout his career alongside the likes of Gloria Swanson (whom he married and divorced) and died from a heart attack in 1949!

Answer: Maurice James Butler

The Royal Irish Rifles were an Irish Regiment of the British Army before 1918, 'The Buffs' as they were known, were raised when war broke out with Holland in 1665.

Answer: Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC in Macedonia. His father, Philip of Macedonia (the then King) allowed Alexander to command the cavalry whilst still a teenager! After Alexander ascended to the throne he took just twelve years to conquer almost the entire known world.

Answer: Robert Lee Frost

Pulitzer Prize winning American poet quoted as saying, 'The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get to the office' and also 'A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel'.

Answer: Jackie Gleason

Herbert John 'Jackie' Gleason or 'The Great One' and the 'Abdominal Showman' as he was nicknamed, enjoyed not only wine, women and song, but work, as well!

Answer: Stan Laurel

Son of an actor, Stan Laurel made his stage debut in Glasgow. He went to the US in 1910 and in 1913 he was Charlie Chaplin's understudy! His first film with Oliver Hardy was 'Forty-Five Minutes from Hollywood' in 1926. Oliver Hardy's epitaph reads; "Genius of comedy, his talent brought joy and laughter to all the world".

Answer: Jack London

Born John Griffith Chaney, Jack London, American author and actor, is perhaps best known for his novel, 'Call of the Wild'. He was born in 1876 and died of uremic poisoning in 1916.

Answer: Polly Nichols

42 year old Mary Ann 'Polly' Nichols was disembowelled by Jack the Ripper on 31 August 1888 and was the first victim of the infamous 'unknown' murderer. His other victims were Annie Chapman (murdered on 8 September), Elizabeth Stride (murdered on 30 September) and Mary Kelly (murdered on 9 November) - all in 1888.

Answer: Allan Pinkerton

Born in Scotland in 1819, he was the world's first private detective. He formed the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1852 and the company logo inspired the term 'Private Eye'.

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe

Born in 1809, the son of actors, Poe and his siblings were orphaned before he turned three. Best known for his poems and short stories he is said to have invented the detective story! He died in October, 1849.

Answer: Will Rogers

Born William Penn Adair Rogers in 1879, he was so adept with a lasso that he was listed in the Guinness Book of Records! He became a star on Broadway and in the movies, as well as being a popular broadcaster and writer. He died in 1935.

Answer: Belle Starr

Myra Belle Shirley was born in 1848. During the American Civil War, she spied on Union troops for the Confederacy! She was a friend of Jesse James who sometimes hid out at her home and influenced her into turning to crime. She was shot and died at the age of 40.

Answer: Virginia Woolf

Famous British author, born Virginia Stephen in 1882, she suffered from mental illness for years and drowned herself in March 1941. The suicide note to her husband read; "I have a feeling I shall go mad. I cannot go on . . . . . . I hear voices and cannot concentrate on my work. I have fought against it but cannot fight any longer. I owe all my happiness to you but cannot go on and spoil your life".

Answer: Sir Christopher Wren

This epitaph is actually in Latin, "Lector, si monumentum requiris circumspice". Sir Christopher Wren was born in 1632 and spent his early life in Windsor Castle playing with the King's son who later became Charles II! He was knighted in 1673 and died in London in 1723.

Answer: W B Yeats

Irish poet, William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin, in 1865. Yeats was involved in politics and his work reflected this. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1923 and died in 1939 at the age of 73.