I Was There Trivia Quiz

Answer: Robert Lincoln

Robert Lincoln (1843-1926) was the son of President Abraham Lincoln. He was not present at the shooting of his father but was present at his death the next day. He grew up to be the 35th U.S. Secretary of War and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. President Garfield invited him to accompany him to the Sixth St. Train Station in Washington D.C. where he was assassinated by Charles Guiteau. Later President William McKinley invited him to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, where the President was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz.

When invited by a later President to attend his inauguration, he declined. Another unusual event in his life occurred around 1863, when Edwin Booth saved his life by catching him from falling off a train platform. Two years later Edwin's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Robert's father, Abraham Lincoln.

Answer: Howard Carter

English archeologist Howard Carter was one of the most innovative and forward thinking men in his field. He was on scene for the discovery of at least three Pharaonic tombs. He is probably best known for his discovery of the untouched tomb of Tutankhamen, will was still intact and full of fabulous treasures.

He spent almost ten years removing the objects from the tomb to be catalogued and displayed in museums throughout the world.

Answer: Vicki Lawrence

Vicki Lawrence is a multi-talented performer. She performed in many roles in the popular television program "The Carol Burnett" show as well as in "Mama's Family" (1983-1990). She has co-authored two books, as well. She has released at least three successful albums. There are not many people who can claim to be a successful actress, writer, singer, comedian, and dancer on a job resume.

Answer: No

Franziska Schankowska, also known as Anna Anderson, claimed for decades to be Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last Russian Tsar and Tsarina. Extensive study was done to disprove her claims, but there were those who truly believed she was Anastasia .

Although she had a lengthy history of mental illness, Anderson was skilled at deceit and was able to convince many people, even those who had known the family personally. Her ruse allowed her to leave war-torn Russia and to live in a manner that her poor background had precluded.

She attempted to claim some of the Tsar's estate in what became one of the longest running lawsuits in Germany. Misinformation released by the Russian government and rumors that members of the family were still alive led to numerous imposters, all claiming to be various members of the Romanov family.

In 1991, the bodies of the Tsar and his family were finally discovered and DNA testing proved that the 17 year old Anastasia had died along with the rest of her family that cold morning in 1918. Anna Anderson had died in 1984, but some of her DNA had been preserved, and after testing, there was no doubt that she was NOT who she claimed to be.

Answer: Robert Clary

Robert Clary was a French born actor who portrayed the character Corporal LeBeau ("Frenchie") in the popular television comedy "Hogan's Heroes". In 1942, Clary had actually been deported to the Nazi concentration camp located at Ottmuth. After about a year he was sent to the notorious camp known as Buchenwald. Before the war, he had been the youngest of 14 children.

After his liberation from the camp he found out that 12 of his family members had killed shortly after arriving at Auschwitz. He emigrated to the U.S. and had a successful singing and acting career.

He is best known for his portrayal of "Frenchie", and was somehow able to separate the terrible things that happened to him in real life, from the slapstick antics portrayed in the show.

He has been quoted as saying that he had no problem playing a character which made Nazis look foolish.

Answer: Colonel Paul Tibbets

When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, Paul Tibbets was the man piloting the B-29 that dropped the bomb, codenamed "Little Boy". Tibbets went on to a successful career in the military, retiring as a Brigadier General in 1966. In 1952 the film "Above and Beyond" Tibbets was portrayed by well-known actor Robert Taylor.

He also worked at the Pentagon as the director of Management Analysis. In 1964 he became the military attaché to India. He appeared to have some mixed emotions as to his role in the bombing but never condemned the American government nor himself for an act which helped bring about World War II.

Answer: Christopher Walken

Actress Natalie Wood drowned in mysterious circumstances while on a boat trip in 1981, at the age of 43. Besides the boat captain Dennis Davern, the only people on the boat were Wood, Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken who was Wood's costar on the movie "Brainstorm" (1981), which was released posthumously. Christopher Walken went on to a prolific acting career which spanned almost half a century.

He has played a variety of roles, from comedy, drama, and horror. He is known for rarely turning down any kind of role, believing that he can learn something from each new role and viewing all offers as a compliment to his ability. And while he was there the night Natalie Wood died in mysterious circumstances, he has never been viewed as a serious suspect in any way.

Answer: Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) was a noted member of Parliament as well as a naval administrator. These distinctions are not what made him famous. As a young man Pepys kept a private diary which is of historical significance because he provides firsthand accounts of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the Great Fire of London, and the Great Plague of London.

His diary also provides details of the Restoration, daily matters being handled by Parliament, as wells as his daily activities and personal life. Pepys' diary is thought to be one of the most significant writings of the time because it included facts and details about historic moments in time that were not recorded anywhere else or had not survived the test of time.

Answer: Mark Twain

Mark Twain was a very talented man. He was very interested in science and was good friends with Nikola Tesla, who was known for his contributions to alternating current electricity. As a young man he was an apprenticed typesetter, before becoming a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi.

He even tried silver mining for a while. Twain held three patents, one of which was for a trivia game! He was born when Halley's Comet appeared in 1835, and predicted for years that he would die when the comet returned. And in 1910, he did just that!

Answer: John Jacob Astor IV

John Jacob Astor IV was one of the wealthiest men in North America when he died at the age of 47 aboard the Titanic in 1912. He was often called Jack by friends and family and "Jack Ass" by the press, which he openly disdained. He was an astute business man who helped stabilize his family's fortune.

His novel "A Journey in Other Worlds" depicted his view of life on Jupiter and Saturn in the year 2000. He held patents for a new type of bicycle brake, a pneumatic road-improver, and he helped develop one of the first turbine engines.

He also fought bravely in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War with his volunteer artillery unit that was known at the "Astor Battery".