How It All Ends Trivia Quiz

Answer: Thomas Edison

President Hoover's statement included the following: "In response to this universal desire to pay personal respect to Mr. Edison's memory, I suggest that all individuals should extinguish their lights for one minute on Wednesday evening, October 21, at 7 o'clock Pacific time, 8 o'clock mountain time, 9 o'clock central time and 10 o'clock eastern time". Thomas Edison (1847-1931) held over 1,000 patents in his name including ones for the electric light, motion pictures, and sound recordings. I hoped that seeing the stamp with a lantern pictured on it would get you thinking about light sources and Thomas Edison.

Henry Ford is associated with automobiles. Alexander Graham Bell is associated with the telephone. Wilbur Wright, and his brother Orville, are associated with the airplane.

Answer: Julius Caesar

Both Gaius Suetonius Tranquilius (c. AD 69-c. AD 140) and Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (c. AD 46-AD 120) felt that Gaius Julius Caesar did not say anything at the moment of his death. The phrase usually associated with his death is "Et tu, Brute?" or "And you, Brutus?" This found its most popular expression in William Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar". Caesar was killed by a conspiracy of Senators who felt that he was planning to make himself King of Rome. I hoped that seeing Enrico Fermi on this stamp might make you think of Italy which was the center of the Roman Republic and later Roman Empire.

Answer: Harriet Tubman

Although all of the choices were women who had a connection to the abolitionist/anti-slavery movement, only Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913) was still alive in 1911. Best known for assisting dozens of African-Americans in escaping from slavery via the Underground Railroad, she also served as a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War. Having spent much of her later life in Auburn, New York, she donated a piece of land to the African Methodist Episcopal church of Auburn that was developed in a rest home for aged African-Americans. Just before her death, she told those present, "I go to prepare a place for you". I hoped that the stamp with the word Maryland would make you think of Harriet Tubman who was born and grew up in Maryland.

Answer: Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521) was born into a wealthy Portuguese family and led an expedition of five Spanish ships in a round-the-world voyage. Only one of the five ships completed the full voyage. Magellan died in a battle that pitted his crew against the forces of Lapu-Lapu, a regional leader in the Philippines. I was hoping that the stamp with a picture of Margaret Mitchell (two names starting with M) would make you think of Magellan.

Answer: Anne Frank

Anne Frank (1929-1945) was born in Germany, but spent most of her life in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in February or March of 1945 and the camp was liberated in April 1945. Her diary covers the years 1942-1944, including the time she, her family, and others lived in the famed "Secret Annex".

It is now a historic site that can be visited. I had the opportunity to visit the annex when I was in Amsterdam in 1996. At the time, one could not take pictures inside the building. I recall that the rooms seemed very small for several people. Perhaps because of the large number of visitors, the rooms were left unfurnished apart from a display in the center of each room that showed what the rooms would have looked like. For me one of the most striking features was that on one wall I could see several faded pictures of celebrities that had been cut out from newspapers and magazines still glued to the wall. "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" (1947) is the best-selling book that was originally written in Dutch. I was hoping that the image of Audrey Hepburn might get you thinking of the Netherlands and then Anne Frank. Audrey Hepburn also lived in the Netherlands during World War Two when it was occupied by the Nazis.

Answer: Kim Il-Sung

Kim Il-Sung (1912-1994) was the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) from 1948 until 1994. In 1998, he was named the "Eternal President of the Republic", a title that has endured over time. During the 1960s and 1970s, North Korea actually was more economically prosperous than South Korea. Kim Il-Sung was succeeded as day-to-day leader by his son, Kim Jong-Il. I hoped that the stamp with a scene from the Korean War might get you thinking about Korea and therefore Kim Il-Sung.

Answer: A large number of rockets attached to a chair

Depending on the version of the story, Wan Hu either lived in about 2000 BC or in the 16th century AD. In either case, he had servants light forty-seven rockets that were attached to a chair in which he was seated. After the (rather large) explosion, rockets, chair, and Wan Hu were never seen again.

He is sometimes described as attempting to be the first astronaut. I hoped that the picture of the chair would get you to think of the right choice.

Answer: Ethiopia

Zewditu (1876-1930) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930. She was born as Askala Maryam, and was known for politically conservative beliefs and religious devotion. She was succeeded by Ras Tafari, who used the regnal name Haile Selassie I. I hoped that the stamp with the image of the earth and the letter E would get you to think of Ethiopia.

Answer: Eva Peron

Maria Eva Duarte de Peron (1919-1952) died of cervical cancer at the age of 33. Before she married Colonel Juan Peron, she had been a model, radio actress and movie actress. Unpopular with the wealthy classes of Argentina, she was very popular with the less wealthy.

Her cancer diagnosis probably played a role in her withdrawing from the running to be elected vice-president of Argentina. I was hoping that the image of James Monroe would get you to think first of the Monroe Doctrine and then Latin America which includes Argentina.

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) was the 32nd president of the United States (1933-1945)--through much of the Great Depression and World War Two. He is known for the various proposals to combat the Depression that are known as the New Deal (the so-called "alphabet soup" agencies).

At the time of his death, he was in Warm Springs resting and seeking treatment for the polio with which he was diagnosed in his late '30s. I hoped that the stamp with the word New York might get you to think of Franklin D. Roosevelt who was the only one of the four choices who was a lifelong resident of New York state.