Where's the John? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kennedy

The three clues:

Massachusetts:

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29th, 1917. He attended Harvard (in Cambridge, MA), served as Congressman for the 11th Congressional district (of Massachusetts) from 1946 to 1952, and then as Senator of Massachusetts from 1952 until 1960, when he won the presidency of the United States.

Bay of Pigs:

During his tenure as president, JFK authorized an invasion of Cuba by the CIA supported Brigade 2506, which occurred on April 17th, 1961. The intent was to facilitate the overthrow of Fidel Castro's government alongside the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front. Over 1,400 troops landed on the beach in the Bay of Pigs (south coast of Cuba), but the invasion failed, leading to stronger ties between Cuba and the USSR and eventually, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

Assassination:

On November 22nd, 1963, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas while being driven in the presidential motorcade. The assassin (conspiracy theories aside) was Lee Harvey Oswald, who was himself assassinated two days later by Jack Ruby.

Answer: Rockefeller

The three clues:

New York:

John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. was born in Richford, New York on July 8th, 1839. He moved his company's headquarters from Ohio to New York City in 1884 while also buying a mansion there in the city. Later, he purchased an estate (Pocantico Hills) where he spent the last 40 years of his life in retirement. It became the family estate, with multiple residences. He also established Rockefeller University in NYC in 1901.

Standard Oil:

Standard Oil of Ohio was the name of Rockefeller's company, which he began in 1870. It didn't take long before he had acquired almost every other oil company in the state, creating a monopoly. He expanded into other states, as well as into other businesses (rail, mining, steel production) using cutthroat business practices to achieve his goals.

Philanthropy:

In contrast to his business world, Rockefeller was quite generous philanthropically, establishing schools and universities, financially supporting many education ventures, and supporting public health initiatives. As he grew more wealthy, his giving became more extravagant.

Answer: Dillinger

The three clues:

Great Depression:

At the age of 19 (in 1924), Dillinger was given a heavy sentence (10 to 20 years) for robbing a grocery store and stealing $50. He was convicted of assault and battery, along with conspiracy to commit a felony. Dillinger was paroled in 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, and quickly returned to crime. After less than two months out of prison, he robbed his first bank.

Bank Robbery:

John Dillinger (and his gang) robbed 12 banks in four states over the space of (just over) a year, along with four police stations to acquire guns and ammunition. In total he made off with over $318,000.

Gunned down:

Having received information from one of Dillinger's female 'associates' (read prostitute) about his whereabouts, federal agents laid in wait outside the Biograph Theater. When Dillinger and his two companions came outside after watching "Manhattan Melodrama", Dillinger was shot four times as he attempted to escape capture. He died at the scene; the date was July 22nd, 1934.

Answer: Lennon

The three clues:

Liverpool:

John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England on October 9th, 1940. It was also in the city of Liverpool that The Beatles were born. Originally (in 1956), John Lennon formed a band called the Quarrymen, which related to the school he attended (Quarry Bank High School). In early 1960, the band (consisting of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Stuart Sutcliff) changed their name to The Beatles. In 2002, the Liverpool Airport changed its name to the Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

"Imagine":

"Imagine" is the title of John Lennon's signature song, written and released as part of his second solo album (also titled "Imagine") after the 1970 breakup of The Beatles. While not a record-breaking song at the time of its release, it has since risen to become Lennon's best known solo song, and was named by Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) as one of the 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century.

Dakota:

From 1973 until his death in 1980, John Lennon lived in The Dakota, an apartment building located at 72nd Street and Central Park West in Manhattan (New York City). In the evening of December 8th, Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono left the apartment to go to the Record Plant Studio to work on a song. Before they departed, they signed an autograph for a 'fan' by the name of Mark David Chapman. Later that night, upon their return, Chapman was waiting for them, and he stepped out of the shadows and shot five shots at Lennon's back, hitting him four times.

Answer: Booth

The three clues:

Civil War:

John Wilkes Booth, of course, lived during the US Civil War years, and while he was not a soldier in either army, he was very vocal in his pro-Confederate, anti-abolitionist stance. Prior to the war, he joined a voluntary militia called the Richmond Grays to attend the hanging of abolitionist John Brown and to ensure nothing interfered with it. During the war, while working as an actor, he would use his status to smuggle quinine to the South.

Actor:

Part of an acting family, Booth was a popular actor in his day, traveling around the country to perform. His first national tour as a leading actor was in the year 1860.

Assassin:

Booth joined with a conspiracy (originally) to kidnap President Lincoln, but they changed their plans into a plot to assassinate him, along with Secretary of State William H. Seward and Vice President Andrew Johnson. Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head while he was watching the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater (in Washington, DC) on April 14th, 1865. Lincoln died the next day. Booth escaped the scene despite injuring his leg, and was tracked down over the next two weeks. He was found on April 26th at Richard H. Garrett's farm, in Virginia.

Answer: Wayne

The three clues:

Duke:

Born as Marion Robert Morrison, as a young boy he was not keen on his actual name. He acquired the nickname 'little duke' by always having his Airedale terrier with him, whose name was Duke. As he began working on film with bit parts, his screen name was Duke Morrison.

"Stagecoach":

"Stagecoach" was John Wayne's breakthrough film role, that vaulted him to stardom. When he started working in the film industry in 1926, he began acting as an extra - he has 20 uncredited film roles listed on IMDb. But prior to "Stagecoach", he had already accrued 60 *credited* acting roles. Because he had established a career of B-list and low-budget movies, Wayne had a difficult time getting a significant role in a big-budget movie. After the success of "Stagecoach", Wayne became a star.

Cancer Foundation:

An important legacy of John Wayne's life is the John Wayne Cancer Foundation that was established in 1985 to "bring courage, strength and grit to the fight against cancer". Wayne died of stomach cancer in 1979. Before his death, he tried to fight the disease by participating in cancer research projects, but in the end, his six-pack-a-day smoking habit got the better of him.

Answer: Carpenter

The three clues:

Director:

John Carpenter began making movies from an early age, beginning with short horror films while still in grade school. In university he collaborated on the short film "The Resurrection of Broncho Billy" (1970), which won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. He had some success over the next few years, but hit it big with 1978's "Halloween". Over his career since 1962, Carpenter has more than 25 directing credits, including shorts and television.

Composer:

Carpenter came from a heritage of music in his family, with a music professor for a father. When he made his first 'real' films, he not only directed them, but he also co-wrote the scripts and scored the music. He also wrote the "Halloween Theme" from the aforementioned movie.

"Halloween":

And already mentioned above, Carpenter is perhaps best known for his breakthrough film "Halloween", which defined the slasher-film formula that would be copied by so many since. "Halloween" was a terrific success, grossing $65 million on a measly $320,000 budget.

Answer: Ringling

The three clues:

Brothers:

There were seven brothers in the Ringling family, and five of them together formed the Ringling Brothers Circus in 1884. Apart from John, the other brothers who were part of the circus business were Alf, Al, Otto, and Charles. Youngest brother Henry joined with them in 1886.

Sarasota:

In 1927, John (now the sole owner of the business, as all his brothers had died) moved the winter headquarters of his circus to Sarasota, Florida. He and his wife had been spending their winters there since 1909. With other interests in real estate, John (along with brother Charles) helped develop much of the Sarasota region. John Ringling was inducted into the Florida Artists' Hall of Fame in 1987.

Circus:

The Ringling Brothers bought out Barnum & Bailey's Circus in 1907, operating both traveling circuses separately for a time, then combining them in 1919. In 1929, John bought out every other remaining traveling circus show in the United States.

Answer: Williams

The three clues:

Juilliard:

Part of Williams' musical education was at The Juilliard School in New York City from the mid to late 1950s, where he studied piano with Rosina Lhévinne, a prestigious Russian-born pianist. While in NYC, 'Little Johnny Love' Williams worked as a jazz pianist in clubs and in studios.

Boston Pops:

From 1980 until 1993 Williams was the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Since that time he has remained associated with the Boston Symphony as a 'Laureate Conductor', often returning to conduct special concerts.

"Star Wars":

The "Star Wars" movies are most certainly not the only films for which John Williams has written music, although they may be among his most iconic. In fact, Williams has more than 150 music film and television credits, over 50 Oscar nominations, and 5 wins (in the 20th century).

Answer: Tolkien

The three clues:

Oxford:

From 1925 to 1959, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an Oxford professor. He was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College for 20 years, and then he became the Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College for 14 years.

Signals officer:

During the First World War, Tolkien took his commission with the Lancashire Fusiliers, receiving training as a signals officer. His service on the front lines was limited, though, as illness brought him back home to England on more than one occasion, and he was deemed unfit for combat duty.

Middle Earth:

Tolkien wrote more than just "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, but they are the works for which he is, arguably, the most well-known. And those are not the only works he wrote that take place in the same realm. There is also "The Silmarillion", the "Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth", and "The Children of Húrin", each of which were published posthumously by J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher.