Rome! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hernando DeSoto

The Spanish explorer and conquistador, Hernando Desoto, was searching for gold, silver, and a passage to China as he passed through the area now known as Rome in northwest Georgia, as well as throughout the southeastern U.S.

The most agreed upon route taken by de Soto indicates that it probably took him from his landing point near what is now Bradenton, Florida, (south of Tampa), into eastern Georgia, through the Carolinas, Tennessee, on into northwest Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and eventually to Texas.

Answer: Sequoyah

The first issue of the "Cherokee Phoenix" was published in both the English and Cherokee languages on February 21, 1828.
As Sequoyah's dealings with white men increased, he became a proficient silversmith and became fascinated with the concept of "talking leaves" as he called the words that were written on paper. He determined that his people also needed the ability to communicate to each other with a written language as well, and thus set out to produce the Cherokee alphabet.

The first editor of the paper was Galagina Oowatie. His Anglicized name became Elias Boudinot, a name which he "borrowed" from a New Jersey statesman.

The paper has been published from time to time since its inception, and as recently as 2014 could be found as an online publication.

Information regarding the other possible answers: Tomochichi belonged to the Creek tribe, while Hiawatha was a co-founder of the Iroquois confederation, and Tecumseh was a leader of the Shawnee tribe.

Answer: Nathan Bedford Forrest

General Nathan Bedford Forrest defended Rome well against the Union forces that were advancing upon it, thus saving it from destruction (unlike Atlanta, about 60 miles to its southeast).

Prior to the war General Forrest had generated a great deal of wealth in such pursuits as being a planter, a real estate investor, and as a slave trader.

After the conclusion of the war, his endeavors as a slave trader were ended, but he then became an early member of the Ku Klux Klan which was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee. He became involved in the Klan in either late 1866 or early 1867. Some believe that he was the first Grand Wizard, although there is no actual evidence to that effect.

He later denounced the activities in which the Klan had begun engaging in, and distanced himself from it.

In 1875, he delivered a speech in which he addressed a group of black voters and advocated racial reconciliation and an easing of racial tensions.

Answer: Woodrow Wilson

Ellen Axson Wilson married Woodrow Wilson in 1885 at her grandfather's home in Savannah, Georgia.

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the U.S. is famously known for his efforts in pursuing what he termed a "League of Nations", the predecessor to the United Nations. He was subsequently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for his attempts at creating the League of Nations.

Ellen Wilson, his first wife, died in 1914 of complications from Bright's disease, a kidney ailment, and is buried among family members in Myrtle Hill cemetery in downtown Rome, Ga.

Answer: Henry Ford

Henry Ford first met the founder of the Berry Schools, Martha Berry, at the home of Thomas Edison. After extending an offer to help and hire Italian designers to plan the structure, he requested that his contribution remain anonymous. The two girl's residence halls, East Mary and West Mary Halls, along with a dining facility were constructed on campus. The two residential halls were named after Henry Ford's mother.

As a result of his request for anonymity, these buildings at Berry College were not called The Ford Complex until after his death in 1947.

Answer: a bronze statue of a wolf nursing two little boys

Benito Mussolini sent "New Rome" a gift from "Old Rome" in the form of a statue of the Capitoline wolf nursing the legendary founder of Rome, Italy, Romulus and his brother Remus.

The statue was hidden away during the years of WW2, due to anti-Italian sentiment, for fear that it would be damaged by vandals. It did not reappear until well after the war's end, and then went back on display in front of the City Hall in 1952.

Answer: Sterling Holloway

Sterling Holloway left Georgia shortly after his 15th birthday and headed for New York, where he got his start in show business. He began with small, walk-on parts in the theater industry, migrating eventually first to radio, then television, and later to films.

His accomplishments are too numerous to mention here in their entirety, but a very short listing would include his voice characterizations for many Disney films; "Alice In Wonderland" (the voice of the Cheshire cat); "The Arisocats", (voice of Roquefort); "The Jungle Book", (the voice of Kaa).

In addition, he also appeared in various movies with the likes of Fred McMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Lon Chaney, Joan Crawford, Bing Crosby and David Carradine.

His television appearances were also numerous, and he appeared as a guest on such programs as "Hazel", "The Real McCoys", "F Troop", and "Gilligan's Island".

He also lent his voice to commercial advertisements like Sugar Bear on the Sugar Crisp commercials, sang the jingle for Puppy Chow, "Puppy Chow for a full year, 'til they're full grown", as well as providing the voice for Woodsy Owl in U.S. Forest Service ads.

Sterling Holloway passed away in Los Angeles, California in 1992.

Answer: George Stephen Morrison

George Morrison was born in 1919 in Rome, Georgia, and in 1938 began a career at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Besides attaining status as a rear admiral later in his career, he had also gained experience in the skies as a naval aviator early on, flying many missions during WW2 in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

He was later awarded the Bronze Star during the Korean Conflict, and in 1964 was in command of the Navy's carrier division during the Tonkin Gulf Incident. Two years later, in 1966 he was promoted to Rear Admiral.

In 1971, his son, Jim Morrison, of "The Doors" fame, died on the same day that his father was delivering a speech in Washington, D.C.

Answer: Charles Fahy

Charles H. Fahy served not only served as the Solicitor General for the U.S. government, he was also later a United States federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

During WW1, Fahy was an naval aviator and received the Navy's second-highest medal for valor, the Navy Cross. Only the Medal of Honor ranks higher.

One of the most controversial issues that occurred during his tenure was that of the Japanese detentions in relocation camps across the U.S. during WW2. In the case of "Korematsu vs. United States" it was alleged that Fahy had suppressed evidence that seemed to indicate that Japanese Americans as a whole posed no threat to the U.S.

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice filed notice that it had been in error in segregating Japanese into concentration camps during WW2.

Each of the other men in the choices given all served at one time or another as U.S. Solicitor General.

Answer: Eric Haney

Eric Haney, a native of Lindale, Georgia, a community that lies just a couple of miles south of Rome, was one of the original members of Delta Force upon its inception.
Operation Eagle Claw was ordered by then-president Jimmy Carter, another native Georgian, during the Iran hostage crisis. Operation Eagle Claw was one of the very first missions that involved Delta Force, and unfortunately it proved to be an abysmal failure, costing the lives of eight U.S. servicemen and causing the U.S. government embarrassment and a loss of prestige around the globe.

After that disaster, the government realized that critical changes needed to be implemented, and thus created two additional task forces to enhance future operations in conjunction with Delta Force: the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), and the Navy's former Seal Team Six, which was renamed the Special Warfare Development Group.