Mary Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mary Tudor

Upon the death of Henry VIII, his only legitimate son, Edward VI, ascended to the throne. The sickly Edward ruled from age nine to fifteen before dying of tuberculosis. An attempt was made to have Edward's cousin, Lady Jane Grey, assume the crown but this was thwarted, and Mary Tudor became Mary I of England. She had been used as a political pawn with rumors of proposed marriage to several of nobility in Europe. She eventually married Philip of Spain in 1556 but the marriage produced no heirs, only two false pregnancies. The alliance was much more to Spain's advantage as it harmed Anglo-French trade.

Mary's background as a Catholic motivated her to set aside the Protestant reforms of her father and Edward and restore Catholicism to England. This meant moving men of power and position of the Protestant faith from office. It is estimated that about 280 political and religious leaders were executed, mostly burned at the stake. In addition, about 500 of the richest Protestants suffered a similar fate. History records Mary I as 'Bloody' Mary.

Answer: Mary Magdalene

During the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene came to be regarded as a reformed prostitute, although no scripture supports this. However, Jesus is reported to have cast demons from her. On the contrary, the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches consider her a saint. Even Bahá'í Faith accords her special esteem.

Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code"(2003) speculated that Jesus survived crucifixion, married Mary Magdalene, and lived a simple pastoral life. Because of the popularity of the book and subsequent film, organized churches have denounced that scenario.

Answer: Melvin and Howard

"Melvin and Howard" concern a fantasy meeting between Melvin and the legendary millionaire Howard Hughes. Steenburgen plays his wife Lynda who leaves him to dance in a sleazy strip club. She returns and Melvin convinces her to enter a game show contest. Her tap dancing gets her off to poor start but she rallies to win the American Dream--living room furniture, a piano, and $10,000 cash.

Personally, her performance in "Cross Creek"(1983) as writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is her best. She has been married to actor Ted Danson since 1995 and in recent years have worked together on several projects such as playing themselves on the comedy series "Curb Your Enthusiasm".

Answer: Typhoid Mary

In the early part of the twentieth century in the New York area, Mary Mallon worked as a cook in several well-to-do homes. During this time she is believed to have infected as many as fifty-three persons with typhoid fever, at least three of whom died. A public health researcher, George Soper, was able to connect the dots and identify Mallon as the source of the infection. Doctors diagnosed Mallon as an "asymptomatic typhoid carrier", that is, she carried the disease but had no symptoms herself.

As a cook she did not practice sanitation and never washed her hands. Uncooked foods was where the infection was spread mainly. When confronted by health authorities, she refused to give stool and urine samples and was aggressively resistant to treatment so she was arrested and placed in a treatment center. It was believed that the infection came from a diseased gall bladder but Mallom refused surgical removal.

She was released and told not to work as a cook. She found work as a laundress but quit that job, changed her name to Mary Brown, and went back to cooking, thus spreading the disease further. She was detained a second time and spent the rest of her life in confinement, dying in 1938 at age 69. An autopsy found the diseased gall bladder.

Answer: Mary, Queen of Scots

It is difficult to summarize Mary, Queen of Scots' life, filled with intrigue and with a mixture of political, amorous, and religious overtones. In 1567, following her marriage to Bothwell, who was widely believed to have murdered her first husband, a group of twenty-six Scottish noblemen rebelled. Mary's forces were defeated and she was taken prisoner and forced to abdicate the Scottish throne. In the following year, Mary managed to escape from prison and fled to England.

Mary's presence in England and her implicit request for asylum created a very difficult situation because she claimed to be the rightful queen of England.

Elizabeth was unsure what to do with Mary so held her in confinement for several years. Mary's name was linked to plots against Elisabeth. In 1587 she was charged with treason, tried by a special tribunal, convicted and beheaded in Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire.

One source describes Mary's death. "Mary was not beheaded with a single strike. The first blow missed her neck and struck the back of her head. The second blow severed the neck, except for a small bit of sinew, which the executioner cut through using the axe. Afterward, he held her head aloft and declared, "God save the Queen." At that moment, the auburn tresses in his hand turned out to be a wig and the head fell to the ground, revealing that Mary had very short, grey hair ... Items supposedly worn or carried by Mary at her execution... or touched by her blood were burnt in the fireplace of the Great Hall to obstruct relic-hunters."

Answer: Todd

Mary Lou Todd Lincoln came from a wealthy Kentucky slave-holding family, was well educated, and moved to Springfield, Illinois in her teens. She was courted by both Stephan Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, political rivals. She married Lincoln in 1842 and had four sons, only one surviving to adulthood. During his political career, Mary Todd Lincoln was supportive of her husband on controversial issues.

She had a lifelong struggle with migraine headaches and mental illness that have been speculated upon by historians and journalists and in recent years by revisionists. Her son, Robert Todd Lincoln, had her institutionalized. Following this ordeal, she spent her declining years in Europe, although returning to die in Springfield in 1882.

Answer: Women and children

Mary Cassatt was born in Pennsylvania in 1844 but lived most of her life in France. In her art classes she found that she was not allowed to view live models. Going to France she found that the École des Beaux-Arts did not accept women. However, she did her own self-study of the classic masterpieces and entered the circle of impressionist artists, notably Edgar Degas. Her relationship with Degas is generally considered professional and not intimate although they shared adjoining studios and shared many opinions. Degas taught her the use of pastels.

A few years ago her impressionist painting "In the Box" sold for over four million dollars. In the picture two young ladies, one with binoculars, are at the theater.

Answer: Retton

One of her gymnastic moves was called the Retton Flip has now been barred as dangerous on the uneven bars. Her gymnastic training and performance resulted in hip dysplasia that required surgical intervention. Her rigorous training for gymnastics was such that she never formally finished high school. In her adult life Retton has been both a religious and political conservative. She has done extensive television commercial endorsements, acted as a commentator at gymnastics events, and made many public appearances.

Question: Mary Lou Retton made a cameo appearance in "The Naked Gun 33 1/3"(1994). Who was her 'date'?

Answer: "Weird Al" Yankovic

Answer: Larry Hagman

Larry Hagman--his father's name--was a television icon for his role of Major Tony Nelson in "I Dream of Jeannie"(1965-1970) and for J.R. Ewing in "Dallas"(1978-1991).

His mother created the roles of Nellie Forbush in "South Pacific"(1946) and
Maria von Trapp in "The Sound of Music" (1959) on Broadway.

The role of Peter Pan had historically been played by adult women but Martin is most remembered because in 1960 she brought it to the mass audience of network television. For many years it was an annual treat, like "The Wizard of Oz" or "It's a Wonderful Life", but it became dated and was passed around among several cable networks.

Answer: Mary Baker Eddy

Mary Baker Eddy overcame ill health and personal struggle through her faith that the Bible held the key to not only salvation but inner peace on earth. She wrote at a when women could not vote and were barred from pulpits, seminaries, and the medical profession.

Her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (1875) has sold over ten million copies. Eddy was constantly revising it up until her death in 1910. Many cities have Christion Science Reading Rooms. One offspring of the movement is the "Christian Science Monitor", a newspaper established by Eddy in 1908. The editors were given control to report news and editorial opinion but must contain a devotional in each issue. Through the years it has won or been nominated for many Pulitzer prizes.

Sadly, historians have found that Eddy may have plagiarized much of her concepts from Phineas Quimby, a Christian and spiritualist.