Who Was That Mass Man? Trivia Quiz

Answer: John Hancock

Hancock was the President of the Continental Congress at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. According to legend, Hancock said that he signed his name that way so that King George could read it without his spectacles. The well known signature actually appeared on a later copy known as the engrossed copy, which is the copy currently on display at the National Archives in Wahington, D.C.

Answer: Eli Whitney

A cotton gin mechanically removes the seeds from cotton fiber which was formerly a very labor intensive job. Some historians say that his invention may have helped lead to the US Civil War. Once the cotton gin made cotton profitable it rejuvenated the plantation system and slavery which would eventually contribute to the war.

Answer: Theodor Geisel

He was born in Springfield in 1904. He attended Dartmouth College and eventually worked his way up to being the co-editor in chief of the college humor magazine the "Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern". He was caught drinking gin in his dorm and since it was during prohibition, his punishment was being banned from extracurricular activities so he had to resign.

He continued to write for the magazine but under the pen name of Seuss.

Answer: Conan O'Brien

Conan was born in Brookline and graduated as valedictorian of his Brookline High class. He then attended Harvard and graduated magna cum laude. He worked as a writer on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons" before landing his first talk show "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". He then briefly hosted "The Tonight Show" before landing his own talk show on TBS called "Conan".

Answer: NAACP

Du Bois was born in Great Barrington and rose to national prominence as the leader of the Niagara Movement, which was a group of activist campaigning for equal rights for African Americans. His group opposed the Atlanta Compromise, which was an agreement that said that Southern blacks would submit to White political rule in exchange for a promise to receive basic education and economic opportunities.

In 1909 he attended the National Negro Conference in New York, which lead to the creation of the National Negro Committee.

This committee led to the creation of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which advocated for equal rights for all. He was offered and accepted the position of Director of Publicity and Research.

Answer: Tom Glavine

Glavine was born in Concord but grew up in Billerica where he attended high school and lettered in both baseball and hockey. He played in the major leagues from 1987-2008. Among his many achievements are: World Series MVP, ten time allstar, 2 time Cy Young winner, 4 time Silver Slugger Award and a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee.

He was drafted 69th overall in the 1984 NHL draft by the LA Kings. He was drafted two rounds ahead of Brett Hull and five rounds ahead of Luc Robitaille who are both NHL Hall of Famers.

Answer: Henry Knox

Knox was the oldest son of a Boston family. When his father died, he left school at the age of 12 to help support the family by working as a clerk in a bookstore. This is where he taught himself valuable skills that he would later need. When the war began he joined the fighting in Boston.

When Washington arrived with the army he was impressed with the work that Knox had done so he had John Adams get him a commission as a colonel. He eventually became commander of the artillery and set up a school for artillery and officers which would lead to the establishment of the US Military Academy at West Point.

After the war he was the young nation's first Secretary of War. Fort Knox in Kentucky is one of several things named after Henry Knox.

Answer: John Cena

Cena was born in West Newbury and after high school attended Springfield College where he earned NCAA Division III All American honors as a center on the football team. In addition to his wrestling career, he has appeared in many movies and television shows.

In my opinion, his most impressive accomplishment is his involvement with the Make A Wish Foundation. He has granted more than 500 wishes, the most of anyone in the history of the foundation.

Answer: James Bulger

Bulger began his criminal career early recording his first arrest at age fourteen. After serving a stint in Alcatraz, for armed robbery and hijacking, he returned to Boston and managed to stay out of jail until his capture in 2011. By the early 1970s, he and his gang were in control of the South Boston underworld. Around this time he was recruited as an FBI informer. During this time he and his gang were heavily involved in extortion, loan sharking, drug and arms smuggling among other things. In April 1994 a task force including DEA, Mass State Police and Boston PD began to probe his gambling operation. Fearing that the FBI had been compromised they were not informed. Around Christmas, he was tipped off by his FBI handler that he was about to be indicted on RICO charges, fled and remained in hiding until his capture in June 2011.

In 2013 he was convicted of 31 of 32 counts and sentenced to 2 consecutive life terms plus 5 years in federal prison.

Answer: Rocky Marciano

Marciano was born in Brockton to parents that had both emigrated to the US from Italy. HIs original last name was Marchegiano but he changed it to Marciano at the request of his handlers because his real name was too hard to pronounce. He won his first 16 professional fights by knockout.

He ended up with a professional record of 49 wins and no loses with 43 of the wins coming by knockout. He is the first heavyweight champion to retire with an undefeated record. He died one day short of his 46th birthday in a private plane crash.