Isabels, Isabelles, and Isabellas Quiz

Answer: Isabella of Castile

Queen Isabella of Castile (1451-1504) ruled Spain jointly with her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon. Their daughter, Katherine of Aragon, was the first wife of King Henry VIII of England.

Answer: She was educated in traditionally male fields because her parents had no sons.

Isabella was the oldest of five children, including three younger brothers. She was married to the Marquis of Mantua. When he was captured in battle in 1509, she took over as ruler. She established a salon for artists and poets, and personally requested Leonardo daVinci to draw her portrait.

Answer: The House of the Spirits

Isabel Allende was born in Chile, but immigrated following the military coup in her country. Her first novel, "The House of the Spirits," was published in Spanish in 1982, and in English translation in 1985. "Eva Luna" was published in 1985 (Spanish) and 1988 (English), and "Stories of Eva Luna" came out in 1989 (Spanish) and 1991 (English). "Like Water for Chocolate," which was published in 1992, was written by Mexican author Laura Esquivel.

More information about Isabel Allende can be found at www.isabelallende.com

Answer: Ingrid Bergman

Rossellini's first movie appearance was in "A Matter of Time" (1976). Bergman starred in the same movie. Her father, Roberto Rossellini is a film director. In addition to acting, Rossellini has had a successful career as a fashion model.

Answer: The Jeffersons

"The Jeffersons" was created and produced by Norman Lear, who also created "All in the Family." Sanford played Louise Jefferson. Sherman Hemsley played her husband, George. The show ran from 1975-1985.

Answer: Edward II

They were married in 1308. The marriage was, to put it mildly, not a happy one. In 1327, she and her lover, Roger Mortimer, successfully conspired to overthrow the king and replace him on the throne with her son, Edward III.

Answer: Argentina

Juan Peron's first wife, Eva, did not hold an official position when Peron was president of Argentina in the 1950s. (Eva Peron's life was dramatized in the musical "Evita.") His second wife, Isabel, became vice president when he regained power in the 1970s. Her government was overthrown by a military coup in 1976.

Answer: Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) was born Isabella Baumfree. Her "Ain't I A Woman" speech begins "That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches. No one ever helped me into any carriages or over mud puddles. And ain't I a woman?"
Angelina Grimke and her sister Sarah were the first white women to speak publicly for the abolition in the United States.
Harriet Tubman (1826-1913) was an escaped slave who led hundreds of others to freedom in the North via the "underground railroad."
Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was an African-American journalist who campaigned against lynching.

Answer: figure skating

Brasseur, with her partner Lloyd Eisler, won the bronze medal in pairs figure skating at the Winter Olympics in 1992, and again in 1994. Another Isabelle in figure skating is Isabelle Duchesnay, who competed for France in ice dancing with her brother, Paul Duchesnay.

Answer: North Carolina

The Hurricane first hit North Carolina, and then headed north through Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland. It continued through Pennsylvania and Delaware, but by then it had been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm. The next hurricane of the season, Hurricane Juan, was much further north and came ashore in Nova Scotia. I originally planned to ask how many deaths the storm was responsible for, but found conflicting numbers from different newspaper articles posted on the Web, so decided to ask about geography instead.