Unsung Heroes That Time Has Forgotten: Part II Quiz

Answer: Bob Bartlett

Bob Bartlett (1875-1946) was a Newfoundland-American Arctic explorer who spent 50 years mapping and exploring the waters of the Arctic. However, it is his leadership of the Karluk Expedition (1913) where he saved the lives of many of his shipmates that he is best remembered.

The Karluk was the flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition and had a compliment of 25 (crew and expedition staff). The Karluk became stuck in the ice and eventually sunk. The crew then marched across the ice to Wrangel Island for 80 miles (130 kms). With many of the remaining crew injured, weak or frostbitten he and an Inuk companion (Kataktovik) then travelled over 700 miles (1,100 kms) in 37 days, experiencing temperatures of minus 50 degrees. Returning by the vessel "Bear" they rescued the final 14 survivors in September 1914, six months after Bartlett had set out to find help.

Answer: Eugene Lazowski

Eugene Lazowski (1913-2006) was a Polish medical doctor who saved thousands of Jewish lives during the Holocaust era. The Germans had a phobia about cleanliness and hygiene, so Dr. Lazowski created a fake epidemic that played on the minds of the Germans. By using a medical discovery from his friend Dr. Stanislaw Mastulewicz, he could inject a vaccine into healthy people that would show positive results that they had typhus without actually having the disease. By doing so he created an outbreak of epidemic typhus.

It is estimated he saved approximately 8,000 Polish Jews from being sent to concentration camps. Eugene emigrated to the USA in 1958 and became a professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Answer: Enheduanna

Enheduanna (2285-2250 BCE) was a Akkadian/Sumerian poet and is often considered the world's first known author known by name. Her name translates to "High Priestess of An". She is credited with a model or pattern of poetry, prayers and psalms used throughout the ancient world.

The discovery of her work was only found in 1927 by Sir Leonard Wooley during his excavations of the Sumerian site at Ur.

Answer: Joseph Bazalgette

Joseph Bazalgette (1819-1891) was an English civil engineer. Central London suffered numerous outbreaks on cholera epidemics particularly in the 19th century. As Chief Engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, Joseph Bazalgette created a sewage system or network in Central London.

This was the first time that an effort had been made to cleanse the River Thames, brought about by the Great Stink of 1858. His sewerage system also decreased the incidence of typhus and typhoid epidemics. At the time of his project, the River Thames was little more than an open sewer with no fish or wildlife and obviously an on-going health hazard to humans.

Answer: Tenzing Norgay

Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer. He was one of the first two individuals recorded to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. He achieved this feat with the New Zealander Edmund Hillary. Edmund Hillary was the leader of their party and is usually credited as the first man to conquer Mount Everest, however, it is Tenzing Norgay in the famous photo atop the mountain.

Answer: Alice Catherine Evans

Alice Catherine Evans (1881-1975) was an American microbiologist. She is best known for demonstrating that bacillus abortus (a bacteria found in cattle) caused Brucellosis. Brucellosis is an infected disease in animals that can be transmitted to humans.

She believed that these diseases were being passed to humans through unpasteurized milk. Her findings lead to the pasteurization of milk in 1930.

Answer: David Warren

David Warren (1925-2010) was an Australian scientist. The first modern flight recorder was built by the Finnish aviation engineer, Viejo Hietala in 1942 for test flights for Finnish fighter planes during WWII. However, it was not until 1953 that David Warren developed a device that would record instrument readings and also cockpit voices.

The first prototype was built in 1958. This is now known as the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder and although known as the "black box" it is red in colour.

Answer: Norman Borlaug

Norman Borlaug (1914-2009) was an American agronomist. Agronomy is the science and technology of using plants for food, fibre, fuel and land reclamation.
While working in Mexico in the 1940s as an agricultural researcher, he developed a high-yield and disease resistant wheat varieties. His methods were adopted in Pakistan and India and between 1965-1970 their wheat-yields doubled. His methods helped increase the food production in Asia and Africa. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply."

Answer: Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was an English mathematician and writer. She worked on Charles Babbage's first mechanical computer known as the Analytical Engine. Ada recognised the machine had greater capabilities than just pure calculation and created the first algorithm. She recognised the full value of the computing machine, thus becoming the first computer programmer.

Answer: Nicolas Appert

Nicolas Appert (1749-1841) was a French confectioner and chef and in 1795 the French military offered a 12,000 francs cash prize to anyone that could preserve food for its army. Napoleon once said that "an army marches on its stomach". Appert began experimenting various ways to preserve food.

However, it took nearly 15 years for him to be successful and he won the prize in 1810. He simply put food into glass jars, sealed them with cork, waxed the seals, and then placed the jar in boiling water. He opened the first bottling factory in the world.

This was years before Louis Pasteur proved that heat killed bacteria. Nicolas Appert has become known as the "father of canning".