Tales of the Lady Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lady Godiva

While it appears that Lady Godiva was a historic person, her famous ride, naked through the streets of Coventry, may have been more legendary. Godiva was a common name in the England of her time; the Godiva in the story, however, was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and lived just before the Norman conquest in 1066.

She and her husband were noted to have been generous towards the Church; the Normans are believed to have carried much of their gold and silver offerings back to France! Her name continued to appear on the Domesday Book after her husband's death, and it is believed she was one of the few Anglo-Saxons and the only women to remain a major landholder after William I conquered England.

Answer: Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane was a great-granddaughter of King Henry VII. Near the end of his life Edward VI named Lady Jane, also known as Lady Jane Dudley, as his successor in his will. The Privy Council instead decided to support Mary I as Queen of England, even though she and her sister, Elizabeth, were still viewed by many as being illegitimate. Lady Jane, who had already taken residence in the Tower of London as was customary for English monarchs before their coronation, found it to be her prison instead. She and her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, were accused of high treason, although they were not immediately executed.

Their fate was determined by a rebellion - of which they had no part - against the Mary's marriage to Phillip II of Spain. Jane's father and brothers did participate, however, and sealed their fate, along with the fates of Lady Jane and her husband.

Answer: Iron Lady

Not only was Margaret Thatcher the longest-serving prime minister of England of the twentieth century, she was also the first woman to hold the position! Her nickname, Iron Lady, is said to have come from a Soviet newspaper, "Red Star", after she gave a speech in 1976 regarding her ideas of Russian imperialism and what she perceived as their desire to take over the world.

The author, Captain Yuri Gavrilov, did not intend it as a complement; he said that it was a reference to Otto von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor of Prussia.

It was, however, used by many to refer to what was her uncompromising leadership stye. By the way, she is said to have taken the name as a compliment!

Answer: Lady Bird Johnson

Her real name was Claudia, however, it appears that few ever called her that! As a young child, her nurse said she was "purty as a ladybird", and the nickname stayed with her for the remainder of her life. While her family is said to have called her "Lady", her husband, President Lyndon B. Johnson, called her "Bird". Apparently that was the name that she used on her wedding license, one that as a young girl she was said to dislike.

As First Lady of the United States, her project was the beautification of the area around Washington, D.C., and this program was responsible for planting millions of flowers, according to an article in the "Washington Post".

She also promoted legislation, known as "Lady Bird's Bill" that became known as the "Highway Beautification Act", which sought to limit the number of billboards and begin roadside planting programs.

Answer: Lady Rebecca

Lady Rebecca Rolfe, also known as Pocahontas, was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, leader of the Tsenacommacah, the Powhatan people in tidewater Virginia. While being held to ransom by the English during a period of hostility with the Indians, she converted to Christianity, and when freed, choose to stay with the English.

Her husband, John Rolfe, is credited with being the first Englishman to successfully cultivate tobacco in America, and it became the most important cash crop of the colony. Historians still debate the exact circumstances under which she is said to have saved John Smith's life; perhaps it was a story that became fabricated after she was accepted into English society.

Answer: Lady Lindy

After Amelia Earhart, or Lady Lindy, experienced her first flight at the age of twenty-three, she wrote "I knew I had to fly". She began her first lessons shortly after, but in order to get to the airfield she not only had to take a bus, but walk four additional miles! A year after Charles Lindbergh's successful solo flight across the Atlantic, she was invited to join a group (financed by Amy Guest, who really wanted to be the first woman to make the trip but declined because of the danger) who planned a similar flight route - as the keeper of the flight log. Upon the return to the United States, Earhart became an overnight celebrity, but was determined to fly the route solo - which she did in 1932. Weather conditions, however, forced a landing in Northern Ireland rather than Paris; nevertheless, she was the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic.

Answer: Lady Day

Born Eleanora Fagan, Billie Holiday immersed herself in music to escape a difficult childhood, especially enjoying the records of Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. After her mother moved to Harlem, New York, she began singing in nightclubs there, changing her name to in honor of Billie Dove, and Clarence Holiday, who some thought may have been her father.

She was discovered by John Hammond when she was seventeen, and signed to record songs in the swing style, eventually performing with big bands, such as Count Basie and Artie Shaw. Lady Day, a nickname that came from Lester Young, a friend and music partner, is considered by many to be the best jazz vocalist of all time.

Answer: Lady of the Lamp

Florence Nightingale famously rose to prominence during the Crimean War; after finding deplorable living conditions for the wounded and sick soldiers (a startling number died from disease rather than actual battle wounds) she wrote to "The Times", asking the British government to provide better facilities. Hygienic practices were implemented with great success, and "The Times" described her as "a "ministering angel" without any exaggeration in these hospitals, and as her slender form glides quietly along each corridor, every poor fellow's face softens with gratitude at the sight of her.

When all the medical officers have retired for the night and silence and darkness have settled down upon those miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds".

In 1857, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, continuing with that theme, wrote a poem in which he called her "a lady with a lamp".

Answer: Lady Baden-Powell

Olave St Clair Baden-Powell married Robert Baden-Powell, who is regarded as the founder of The Boy Scouts' Association and the Girl Guides. Thirty-two years younger than her husband, she worked tirelessly with him, developing and working in recreational huts for soldiers during the First World War, driving him to engagements, and helping with his correspondence.

After her husband died, Lady Baden-Powell took on an even greater role in the Guide Movement, traveling world-wide to begin new memberships - it is estimated that by 1961 there was a membership of 6.5 million Scouts - until her doctor said her health would no longer permit such a rigorous schedule.

Answer: Lady Anne Clifford

When her father died in 1605, Lady Anne inherited a title, Baroness de Clifford, from a barony that had been created in 1299; the estate, however, went to her father's brother, Francis. She gained control of the estate when Francis died with no heirs, only because she refused to give up what she believed to her birthright.

Not only was she a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I as a child, she also danced with Anne of Denmark, consort to King James I at masques, and performed in some court masques that were written by Ben Johnson.

In addition to being a patron of authors and literature, from 1603-1616 she kept a diary, which has made her an important literary figure of the time.