Scots or Maybe Not Trivia Quiz

Answer: Canada

James Montgomery Doohan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1920. Doohan's on-screen heroics were surpassed by his exploits during the Second World War. He served in the Royal Canadian Artillery Regiment and was wounded when he lost one of his fingers on the first day of the Normandy D-Day landings.

Answer: Rhodesia

Alexander McCall Smith was born in 1948 in Rhodesia, which is now known as Zimbabwe. Educated in both Bulawayo and Edinburgh, Smith's most famous literary creation is Precious Ramotswe of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Answer: Iceland

Magnus Magnusson was born in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1929. He moved to Scotland when he was nine months old and is best known for his 25 years as host of Mastermind which began in 1972. Magnusson was also a prolific author, writing books on archaeology and histories of Iceland, Scotland, Ireland and his old school, Edinburgh Academy.

Answer: England

English born McSporran is best known for his time with Wycombe Wanderers where he was nicknamed 'Jocky'. A speedy striker with an eye for goal, his career was blighted by injury, so much so that at the age of 31 he retired from the game.

Answer: Canada

Piper was billed as being from Glasgow, Scotland but in reality he was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1992 he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship at the Royal Rumble when he defeated The Mountie.

Answer: England

Born in London in 1940, Andy Cameron is best known for composing and singing 'Ally's Tartan Army' in 1978. The football anthem preceded one of Scotland's biggest sporting disappointments, when the soccer team crashed out of the World Cup in Argentina, losing 3-1 to Peru and drawing 1-1 with Iran.

The Ally in the title of the song was Ally MacLeod, a larger than life Scottish football manager who convinced the nation that Scotland were going to win the World Cup. The song faired better than the team, reaching number six in the UK charts.

Answer: India

Born in Bombay, India, in 1900, to Scottish parents, Jardine was to become central to one of the most controversial cricket tours of all time. He was appointed captain of the English touring team to Australia in 1932-33, where he adopted the vicious bodyline tactic against the hoasts. Bodyline in layman's terms means, bowling at the man rather than at the wickets, a very intimidating approach, and certainly not seen as being very sporting.

Answer: England

The Queen Mother was born in London in 1900, daughter of Lord and Lady Glamis. She is often associated with Scotland as she spent much of her formative years growing up at Glamis Castle.

Answer: India

Elsie Inglis was born in India on 18 August 1824. Although she was brought up in a time when women were not encouraged to achieve academically, she was fortunate to have very forward thinking parents. Elsie embarked on her medical training at the innovative Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women, she continued her studies at Glasgow University.

In 1894 on her return to Edinburgh from a spell working in London, Elsie set up a maternity hospital for the poor of the city. In 1906 she founded the Scottish Women's Suffragette Federation, an organization established initially to get women the vote, but eventually played a significant part in helping to win World War I.

Answer: England

Sandy Lyle was born in Shrewsbury, England in 1958 to Scottish parents.
His family had moved to England in 1955 where his father took up the position of resident professional at Hawkstone Park golf course. Sandy turned professional in 1977 and decided that he would represent Scotland, he reached the peak of his career in 1985 when he one the British Open at Sandwich.

Answer: India

Born in Calcutta, India in 1941, Hamish always maintained he was conceived in Glasgow. A larger than life character, his most memorable song was 'Cod Liver Oil and the Orange Juice,' a humorous and outrageous send up of the American gospel song 'Virgin Mary Had a Little Baby'.

Answer: England

Originally named Edward Montague Compton, Compton Mackenzie was born in England in 1883. It wasn't until 1928 that he moved to Scotland, setting up home in Barra where he derived much inspiration for his writing. 'Whisky Galore' his most famous book was made into a film which kept its name in Britain, however it is better known as 'Tight Little Island' in America.

As with many converts, Mackenzie was a fervent Scot and founder member of the Scottish National Party.

Answer: Scotland

Baird was born in Helensburgh, Scotland in 1888. After demonstrating his invention to the Royal Institute on 26 January 1926, he established the world's first TV station. Making a mockery of the Scots reputation of being grasping and mean, Baird rejected an offer of £100,000 for his creation, explaining that he would have not been able to sleep at night possessing that amount of money.

Answer: Scotland

Barrie was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland on 9 May 1860. Peter Pan was first performed at London's Duke of York's theatre in 1904. When Barrie died in 1937, he bequeathed the copyright for Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London.

Answer: Scotland

Bell was born at 14 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, Scotland on 3 March 1847. In 1870, Bell initially emigrated to Canada, thereafter he relocated to Boston. Working on aids to assist deaf people, lead to him patenting his version of the telephone in 1876.

Answer: Scotland

Born in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1835, Carnegie emigrated to America in 1848 to stay with a relative in Pennsylvania. By working hard, being lucky and ruthless in business, he managed to amass his first million dollars by the time he was thirty years old.

As Carnegie grew older, he decided to distribute his great wealth amongst many other philanthropic ventures. He was responsible for setting up over 2,500 libraries in Britain and North America.

Answer: Scotland

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May, 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Better known as an author, Doyle was also a doctor of medicine. He worked as a ship's surgeon on a whaling ship as well as serving as a physician during the 1899-1902 Boer War in South Africa. Doyle used a forensic medicine teacher at Edinburgh University, Dr Joseph Bell as the basis for his detective Sherlock Holmes.

Answer: Scotland

Alexander Fleming was born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1881. After his father died Fleming, aged just 13, moved to London where he later embarked on the path of a medical student. In 1928 he discovered penicillin but did not develop it for production.

Answer: Scotland

John Paul Jones was born in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland on 6 July 1747. The boy who had ran off to sea by the age of thirteen, was to become known as the 'Father of the American Navy'. An extraordinary life by any standards, John Paul at the age of just 17 was third mate on the King George of Whitehaven, a vessel involved in the slave trade.

He became a captain by the age of 21, served in the American Navy, before becoming a Rear Admiral in the Russian Navy.

Answer: England

Although not born in Scotland, Joanne Kathleen Rowling has chosen to live there for many years. In fact Joanne is English, born near Bristol in 1965. Her most famous character, Harry Potter, shares the same birthday with her but was born in 1980.

Answer: Scotland

Born in Bathgate near Edinburgh, Scotland in 1973, Franchitti is married to American actress Ashley Judd. The Scot has won the IndyCar series championship twice in three years. In 2007 Franchitti won 4 races on his way to lifting the championship, in 2009 he went one better by winning five times when regaining the crown.

Answer: China

Eric Liddell was born in 1902 in Tientsin, China to Scottish parents. A deeply religious man as well as a brilliant sprinter, he refused to take part in the heats for the 100 meters in the Paris Olympics of 1924. He had been selected for his strongest distance, but had to change to the 400 meters because of his refusal to compete on a Sunday. Undaunted he participated in the 400 meters and the 200 meters, winning a gold medal in the former and a bronze medal in the latter. Liddell was not just a champion athlete, he represented Scotland on seven occasions at rugby union.

The story of Eric Liddell's athletic achievements and his religious beliefs were told in the Oscar winning 1982 film 'Chariots of Fire'.

Answer: Scotland

Mary Queen of Scots, was born at Linlithgow Palace, Scotland on 8 December 1542. The infant Mary was crowned at Stirling Castle on 9 September after the death of her father James V. Living through turbulant times in Scottish history, Mary, her mother, and her four childhood friends - the 'Four Marys' decided to move to France for safety.

Answer: Scotland

John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland in 1838. The environmentalist and his family emigrated to America in 1849, where he made a huge impact in the American conservation movement. His achievements were of such magnitude in California that he is commemorated on the California state quarter released in 2005, and has more places named after him than any other person.

Answer: Scotland

Although born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1953, Tony Blair moved to Australia as a baby. When he and his family returned to Britain, it was to Durham in the north of England. At the age of 14 he moved back across the border to continue his education at Fettes boarding school in the Scottish capital.

It is worth a mention that Tony Blair was elected Prime Minister of the UK at the age of 43, the same age as President Kennedy was when he took office in the US.