Remarkable Quotes From Remarkable People Quiz

Answer: Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx (1890-1977) was born Julius Henry Marx. Fast talking and a rapid thinker, the puns poured out of this incredibly funny man. He also had a remarkable sensitive side which he rarely revealed to the public, but which is more than evident in the profoundly moving quote above.

He made thirteen films with his team of siblings, The Marx Brothers, including "Night at the Opera" (1935), which has been ranked by the American Film Institute in their list of the top twelve funniest films ever made.

Answer: Alexander Graham Bell

Scientist, inventor and engineer, Bell was born in 1847. The invention, of course, for which he is most noted is the telephone. The fact that both his mother and wife were deaf had an influence on which path Bell's life would take. In addition to his work as an inventor, he spent many years working as an instructor and a teacher of people with hearing disabilities.

This fine man passed away in 1922.

Answer: Thomas Edison

Edison was an American scientist and inventor who developed an amazing array of various devices that, even to this day, in one way or another, are used in the everyday life of people around the world. These included, for example, the phonograph, a battery for an electric car (how amazing is that back then?) and the movie camera. Perhaps the one invention that, more than any other, epitomises his name, is the electric light bulb. Where would we be without it? (Yes Johnny dear, in the dark, I get it, now run along). With this invention, Edison then developed and implemented the concept of supplying electricity to all homes and businesses, paving the way for the myriad of electrical appliances we now use today, without a second thought, in all aspects of our lives. Edison himself patented more than 1,000 inventions.

This remarkable man passed away in 1931. If you want to hear his actual voice talking into a phonograph, then I recommend you check out the most interesting article on Thomas Edison's life in Wikipedia.

Answer: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Emerson (1803-1882) was a writer and lecturer. He headed the late 19th century Transcendentalist Movement with its concepts of the ideal spiritual state transcending the physical, realised through intuition rather than established religions. He was considered one of the greatest lecturers of the time, holding his audiences spellbound, and he gave more than 1,500 lectures during the course of his lifetime. Subjects he lectured on included individuality, freedom, the limitless goals mankind can achieve, and also on the connection of the soul to the universe about it. Never a very healthy man at the best of times, Emerson sadly began to lose his memory in his later years. By 1879, he stopped his lecture tours altogether as a result of the embarrassment he felt over this.

He died in 1882 after going for a walk in the rain, when the cold he caught as a result of this, developed into pneumonia.

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Born in 1854, poor old Oscar Wilde, who wrecked his life on the shores of an illicit passion, was an Irish writer, playwright and poet renowned for his brilliant, scintillating wit. His was the pen that gave us, for example, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and the "Importance of Being Ernest" and "A Woman of No Importance".

Many of his plays are constantly re-interpreted and presented afresh today on stage and in film. The true story of his trial, imprisonment and the tragedy of his life after that event makes dark and disturbing reading, and is a fine testimonial to the hypocrisy of the times.

In 1900 in Paris, Wilde died, destitute and ill, and deserted by almost everyone who had once worshipped his brilliance. Such is life, indeed.

Answer: Mark Twain

Mark Twain, aka Samuel Clemens, was born in 1835 and died in 1910. He was an American writer whose works well and truly deserve their place on the list of great American literature. Deceptively simple, amusing and charming, Twain's books capture the essence and innocence of America in its earlier days when belief in the great American dream was still at its height. An example of the many levels of his writing can be found in his novel, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (published in 1885). On its surface level, it's a ripping good yarn about a boy's adventures on the Mississippi and designed to appeal to many who like their reading light and easy. Yet, on another level, this amazing work is an allegory of mankind's journey through life and all its unexpected twists and turns as we rush headlong into our future, carried along by forces over which we sometimes have very little control.

It well and truly deserves to be called "the Great American Novel."

Answer: Mohandas Gandhi

Gandhi, born 1869, was the leader of the country of India during its struggle for independence from the British Empire in the first half of the twentieth century. His method of passive resistance against the authorities would later inspire many similar struggles for freedom throughout the world. On taking his place as leader of the National Congress in 1921, Gandhi's story is not just the story of India's independence, it is a tribute to how one voice can open the way to usher in equal rights for all, religious harmony and the ability for a nation to stand on its own two feet on the world stage. Of course there are controversies associated with this giant of a man.

There always are when that one voice speaks out above all the rest, but Gandhi, whether you love him or hate him, truly deserves the title "Father of the Nation" of India. Gandhi died in 1948, assassinated on his way to a prayer meeting.

Answer: Helen Keller

Helen Keller, born 1880, was a truly remarkable American woman who was both deaf and blind, yet who went on to achieve her Bachelor of Arts degree and become an author, activist and lecturer. She campaigned for women's and worker's rights, socialism and other rather socialist causes which probably didn't endear her terribly in the eyes of the establishment of the time. Keller was not born blind and deaf, but at the tragically early age of just 19 months, contracted the illness which had such a devastating effect on these two senses.

When she was seven, the remarkable Anne Sullivan came into her life and began to teach the frustrated and angry little child how to communicate, in spite of the darkness and stillness which surrounded her always. From this, Keller would go on to become renowned as a world famous speaker and author of twelve books and numerous articles.

She met every American president from Cleveland to Johnson and her many famous friends included Mark Twain, Charlie Chaplin and Alexander Graham Bell, all of whom were inspired by her courage and humanity.

Helen Keller died in her sleep in 1968 at the age of 87, after a lifetime of inspiration, achievement and compassion for the downtrodden, weary and heartbroken.

Answer: Theodore Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt (1858-1919) was the 26th President of the United States. He worked in all areas of government before becoming president in 1901, and was also a fine naturalist, explorer, author and soldier. Early in his career, he first gained fame for fighting police corruption in New York City. Later on, he led a regiment called the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American war when it began in 1898 and for his valour, would eventually earn a posthumous Medal of Honor in 2001.

They certainly waited long enough to confer that upon him! Following this war, he became governor of New York and within a couple of years was Vice-President of the United States.

He became president in 1901 following the assassination of William McKinley. His was the driving force behind the Panama Canal completion and he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending the Russo-Japanese War.

His attitude to America taking its place on the world stage was summed up in his expression, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." In later life, following his time as president, and whilst on an expedition of exploration to South America, he contacted malaria.

This had such a bad effect on his health that it was the eventual cause of his death in 1919 at the age of 60.

Answer: Vince Lombardi

Born in 1913, Lombardi rose through the ranks of player, then assistant coach and finally head coach in American football. Initially his career began along a different path when he spent two out of a six year training program to become a Catholic priest.

After the first two years had passed however, and though he remained a devout Catholic all his life, Lombardi decided the life of a priest was not meant for him. Best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, and for his outstanding motivational skills, Lombardi went on to accomplish a 106-34-6 record as a head coach and never suffered a losing season.

He died from cancer in 1970 at the age of 57.