Those We Lost in 2010 Pt I Trivia Quiz

Answer: He survived the atomic bomb blasts at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki

It's difficult to work out whether that made him the luckiest or the unluckiest man in Japanese history but it undoubtedly made him remarkable.

Yamaguchi was a draughtsman who worked for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In May 1945, he was sent on secondment by his company to undertake a project in the city of Hiroshima. On August 6th, the day he was due to end his stay in the city, the "Enola Gay" unloaded the first atomic bomb detonated in anger over the city. Yamaguchi was badly burned but managed to flee the city to return to the safety of his home, 180 miles to the east in Nagasaki. Three days later, he returned to work and told of his experiences on his final day in Hiroshima. His story was not believed. His director, refusing to accept that a bomb existed that could destroy a whole city, told him that he had "gone a little mad". It was shortly after this rebuke that Yamaguchi "saw another flash and the whole office, everything in it, was blown over."

Though there were reckoned to be over 150 people who suffered a similar fate to Yamaguchi, only he was officially registered as a victim of the bomb in both cities. After the death of his son in 2005, a death he blamed on his son's early exposure to radiation, Yamaguchi became a public supporter of nuclear disarmament.

Answer: "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

Miep Gies was one of the Dutch residents who helped to hide the Frank family in a secret room in Otto Frank's spice company offices, despite the dangers to herself. After the Franks had been discovered and transported to the concentration camps but before their apartment had been cleared by the German authorities, Gies retrieved Anne Frank's diary and kept it safe. After the war, she gave the diaries to Otto Frank having never read them herself. Otto Frank had them transcribed and then published in 1947.

Miep Gies was honoured for her actions by the German and Dutch governments and the Israeli Holocaust Museum. She has also had an asteroid named after her.

Answer: Jean Simmons

Making her debut in the unremarkable 1944 British movie "Give Us the Moon", aged just 16, Jean Simmons soon graduated to far more challenging and high-profile roles. Shortly after her Oscar nomination in 1948, Simmons began a relationship with the already married Stewart Granger (whom she was to later marry). Fearing the damage of bad publicity, the Rank studio sold her contract to Howard Hughes's RKO and she moved to America.

Her time at RKO was not happy. It produced many films, though few of any lasting quality. She sued Hughes to be released from the contract and only after her victory did she begin to get the quality of part that her talent deserved.

Possibly her finest movie role, though not one that earned her an Oscar nomination, was as an evangelist in "Elmer Gantry" (1960) alongside Burt Lancaster in the title role. Her most successful role was on the small screen. In 1983 she received an Emmy for her role in the TV mini series, "The Thorn Birds".

Answer: J.D. Salinger

Holden Caulfield first appeared in a short story by Salinger entitled, "Slight Rebellion off Madison" in 1946. His re-appearance in the 1951 novel, "Catcher in the Rye" both made Salinger's name and created a fame for him with which he never became comfortable. After publishing two sets of short stories and one novella, "Franny and Zooey", Salinger withdrew totally from public life in 1963 claiming that, "publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy."

That privacy was maintained until his death, although an account of his day to day existence during his years in seclusion was published in 1973. That memoir, "Looking Back" was written by Joyce Maynard, with whom he had a 10-month affair when she was 18 years old. She revealed that Salinger wrote every day, leading many to hope that manuscripts would become available for public consumption after Salinger's death.

Answer: Chemical Ali

Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death four times before his execution was carried out. Amongst the crimes for which he was responsible was the poison gas attack that killed 5,600 civilian Kurds in the northern Iraqi town of Halabja in 1988. Ali had been appointed governor of Kurdistan by his cousin, Saddam Hussein, a year earlier. His rule over the province is believed to have led to the death of approximately 100,000 civilians.

Chemical Ali was ranked as number five on the list of America's most wanted Iraqis during the invasion of the country in 2003. This ranking saw him assigned the King of Spades playing card. The Ace of Spades was Saddam Hussein.

Answer: Charlie Wilson

The film in question was "Charlie Wilson's War" (2007), also starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julia Roberts. Though not quite a warts and all portrayal of the congressman, it nevertheless refused to shy away from some of the more controversial aspects of his personality, such as his love of a drink, of a pretty girl and allegedly of illicit drugs.

The crux of the story, however, was more concerned with his actions in escalating US involvement in Afghanistan. Having heard over the wires of the suppression of resistance fighters by Communist forces in Afghanistan in 1980, Wilson visited Pakistan and was shown the results of the Soviet actions across the border. Horrified by what he saw, Wilson arranged for the budget for covert operations in the area to be significantly increased. The bulk of the funds went towards arming and training the main resistance force, the mujahideen.

The results of his intervention were mixed. Though US Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, described him as an example of how "one brave and determined person can alter the course of history", that change was both good and bad. The increased support he provided undoubtedly helped the Afghans to succeed in removing the Soviet Union from their country but the choice of the people who were supported was not as discriminating as it might have been. Among those who benefitted include senior members of the Taliban, who went on to rule Afghanistan in an equally brutal manner and provided the platform for some of the greatest terrorist atrocities to be committed against the United States.

Answer: Alexander McQueen

Lee Alexander McQueen's body was found the day before his mother's funeral was due to take place. It is believed that the grief of losing his mother was a significant factor in the depression that led to his suicide.

McQueen's rise to the top of the world of fashion was due, in no small measure, to the unconventional nature of his designs. After an apprenticeship on London's Savile Row and a spell in Milan, McQueen undertook a master's degree in fashion design. The collection he put together for his graduation was spotted and bought by fashion editor, Isabella Blow. The publicity this brought him helped to launch his career.

McQueen was named British Designer of the Year on four occasions. His first award, in 1996, made him one of the youngest ever winners of the accolade.

Answer: Georgia

Kumaritashvili was the first death at an Olympic Games since Nicolas Bochatay, a Swiss speed skier, was killed at the Albertville Winter Games in 1992. The Georgian lost control of his luge during the final turn of his final practice run down the luge track. He exited the curve whilst still high on its wall and as he crashed to the other side of the track his body was catapulted out of the run and against one of the steel pillars that supported the track's roof. Though the track attendants were with him immediately, he died shortly after reaching hospital.

Despite the shock felt by the Olympic movement, the decision was taken to go ahead with the luge competition as the track, though very fast, was not considered to be at fault for Kumaritashvili's death.

Answer: Dick Francis

Dick Francis had enjoyed many years of success as a jockey, including a long spell wearing the colours of the Queen Mother, before the 1956 Grand National, a race he had never won. In the 1956 race, Francis was riding the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch. He had ridden a great race and as the horses entered the final straight, Devon Loch appeared to have an unassailable lead. However, 45 metres from the finishing line, the horse collapsed unexpectedly, handing victory to the chasing horse ESB. Many explanations have been given for Devon Loch's strange collapse, from jumping over a shadow it thought was a fence to the sudden onset of cramp. Francis himself believed that the horse got over-excited due to the crowd noise. Whatever the reason, "to do a Devon Loch" has entered the British sporting vernacular as meaning "to throw away a winning lead".

Injury led to the end of Francis's jockeying career a year later and he turned to writing instead. His autobiography "The Sport of Queens" was published in 1957 and his first thriller, "Dead Cert", five years later. He was nominated for an Edgar award for Best Novel for three consecutive novels before a fourth, "Forfeit" finally won him the prize in 1970. Two further novels, "Whip Hand" and "Come to Grief" also claimed the same prize. All of his crime novels were set in the world of racing.

Answer: Alexander Haig

Alexander Haig was a career soldier turned unlikely diplomat. Haig joined the US Army after graduating from West Point and was honoured for his role in both the Korean and Vietnam wars.

The transition from soldier to diplomat was not always a smooth one. Haig's blunt style brought frequent accusations of pomposity and his unusual use of words saw a new word coined: "Haigspeak". His best remembered quote was an example of a poor choice of phrase. After the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981, Haig declared "I'm in control here". Pilloried by the press for his misunderstanding of the legal structure of government, Haig was attempting to state the political reality of the situation; that whilst Reagan was hospitalised and Vice-President Bush was temporarily unavailable, Haig was temporarily in charge of the executive branch of government.