Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Quiz

Answer: Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf was the author of 'To the Lighthouse', 'Mrs Dalloway' and 'The Waves'.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography was published in 2004 as a significantly revised and updated edition of the original Dictionary of National Biography.

Answer: Schweppervescence lasts the whole drink through

Oh yes, 'Schweppervescence' it was! Apparently, a later slogan ran 'How many Schwepping days to Christmas?'

Answer: Adrian IV

Possibly the most significant event of Adrian's reign (at least for the British Isles) was the papal bull of 1155 which conferred overlordship of Ireland on Henry II. The consequences are still unravelling ...

Answer: Robin Hood

In fact, there were 11 more or less mythical characters, but Robin Hood was the only one whose biographer was brave enough to say that the evidence for his existence did not stand up to scrutiny. All the others left open the possibility that they were at least legends based on the lives of real people.

The 2004 Dictionary includes entries for such imaginary figures as Britannia and John Bull.

Answer: 3

Lady Jane Grey is by far the most famous, actually ruling England for nine days in 1553 before the rightful Queen Mary deposed her.

Matilda, daughter of Henry I, used the title 'Empress' in her war against her cousin King Stephen who had grasped the throne from her. In the end they compromised - Stephen was king, but Matilda's son Henry became his heir.

The third pretender was Lavinia Janetta Horton Ryves whose mother had claimed legitimate descent from George III. Her claims were shown to be based on forged documents.

Answer: They were all politicians.

The oldest of the three, Sir Winston Churchill was a seventeenth century royalist politician. If he had a middle name, we don't know it, he wrote nothing of any significance and laid low during the Civil War.

Sir John Winston Spencer Churchill was a nineteenth century Conservative politician who had a number of different responsibilities, including Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill hardly needs to have his achievements listed. He was sent to Sandhurst (to train as an Army Officer) by his father, who didn't think he would be clever enough for university. Hard to imagine of a man who later won the Nobel prize for literature and yet is even more famous for his political and military achievements! He was the first Briton to be honoured by having a US warship named after him in 1999.

Answer: Queen Adelaide

He tuned pianos for several wealthy people in the Worcester district, including Queen Adelaide, widow of William IV. He frequently took Edward with him on these outings, to show off his musical talents. But in later life, Elgar's father seemed less sure of his son's talents, apparently never believing him to be quite as a good a composer as other people said!

Answer: John Lennon

Dick Francis and Nelson Mandela were still alive and going strong in 2001. And Bob Marley wasn't British. John Ono Lennon is certainly listed, but so is a John Lennon (1768-1846), who was a merchant navy officer with an eventful career fighting off pirateers - read all about it at www.oxforddnb.com

Answer: The Vegetation of Metals

The title is taken from a phrase at the beginning of the paper: 'that metalls vegetate after the same Laws ...' He also wrote some fairly unorthodox theological papers and experimented with optics by sticking needles in his own eyes. All in the name of science, of course!

Answer: Pytheas

Fergus I of Scotland, King Leir (Lear) and Loegaire Lorc all have earlier dates, but there is no evidence for their existence! Pytheas was a Greek explorer in the 4th century BC, who came to Britain and whose descriptions of the country exist only in quotations used by later Greek writers. It's hard to tell who was the earliest Briton, since dating is pretty inexact that far back and there were a number of kings flourishing in the 1st century BC.

I hope you've enjoyed the quiz. Here's to many more years of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.