Who's Who: Hanging Out Around Sorrento - Again! Quiz

Answer: Lord Byron

Regarded by some as one of the world's greatest poets, Lord Byron wrote classics, such as "Don Juan" (1819) and "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" (1812). Known for his flamboyant lifestyle, he also traveled abroad extensively, embarking on a Grand Tour from 1809-1811.

It was during this time that he first came into contact with Ottoman leaders while visiting Albania and took note of the state of ancient Greek ruins while staying in Athens. He returned to England, only to leave again in 1816, and was destined to never return.

While living in Genoa in 1832, Byron became involved in the Greek movement for independence from the Ottoman Empire, and even sold his British estate to raise money for the cause. He found the Greeks of the day, however, much like the ancient Greeks; their independent nature made it difficult to take a unified action.

While planning an attack on Lepanto he fell ill and died. Even though Lord Byron never took part in any battle, the Greeks regarded him as a national hero.

Answer: John Keats

For a time it appeared that John Keats, known for "Ode to a Nightingale" (1819) and "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" (1816), would become a doctor. By the age of twenty, he had completed an apprenticeship with a surgeon and been accepted as a medical student at Guy's Hospital. Shortly after his acceptance, he was appointed as a Dresser, which meant that he was deemed qualified to help surgeons during their procedures.

The problem was, however, that all of the work and study cut into his writing time.

After being granted an apothecary's license in 1616, a significant event as it meant that he was able to practice medicine as a doctor, surgeon, and apothecary, he began to take more time for his writing, apparently leaving medicine completely by the end of the year. Plagued with ill health, Keats moved to Rome in 1820, and spent the last months of his life in Italy.

Answer: Sir Walter Scott

Known for writing classics like "Rob Roy" (1817) and "Ivanhoe" (1820), Sir Walter Scott was deeply interested in Scottish history and actually made a living as an advocate and judge. While he was Prince Regent, the future George IV gave Scott permission to search for the missing Crown Jewels, also called the Honours of Scotland, which had been hidden away during the reign of the Cromwells.

Although they had been used during the coronation of Charles II, they had not been seen for more than a hundred years. Apparently the story that they were stored in basically what was plain sight in a locked box at Edinburgh Castle was true. For his efforts in the recovery of the Honours, Scott was given the title of baronet, hence his title, Sir Walter Scott, and was also asked to coordinate the event during which the new King George IV was presented to the Scottish people.

Answer: Charles Dickens

It should not be surprising that Dickens, the author of "A Christmas Carol" (1843) and "Oliver Twist" (1837-39), was willing to take on such an endeavor. His experience with poverty as a young boy, and subsequent employment at Warren's Blacking Warehouse, is a well-known event that stayed with him the remainder of his life.

He continued to be concerned about the working conditions of the lower class and agreed to assist with Urania Cottage, a project which he managed for ten years, that was to help unfortunate working women find a better life.

The description of atrocities such as debtor's prison and child labor in Dickens' books served as a impetus for social change as others were inspired to speak out for social justice.

Answer: Percy Bysshe Shelley

Known for his second marriage to Mary Shelley ("Frankenstein" 1818), Percy Bysshe Shelley is well known today for his "Ozymandias" (1818) and "To a Skylark" (1820). Many of his works were enjoyed by underground readers during his lifetime, as they were viewed as being too irreverent and subversive by many.

It was not until after his death that publishers would widely agree to print his works, which went on to have an affect on many different people. Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" (1849) is said to have been influenced by Shelley's poem, "The Masque of Anarchy " (1819), about nonviolence, as well as Mahatma Gandhi's idea of passive resistance.

Interestingly, Shelley's views of vegetarianism came from a friend who had visited India.

He wrote about his change in eating habits in "Queen Mab: A Philosophical Poem" (1813).

Answer: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

After the publication of "The Sorrows of Young Werther" in 1774, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe became well known as a writer; it is said, however, that he believed that his most important work was "Theory of Colours" (1810). Many scientists went on to develop their own theories based on his writing that colors form "from the dynamic interplay of light and darkness through the mediation of a turbid medium".

Some even went as far as to call Goethe the Father of Physics, as he was the first to study the psychological impact of color. Goethe also expanded on the work of Torricelli, constructing a barometer that was named the Goethe barometer, or weather glass barometer.

In fact, Goethe's scientific studies are very impressive, extending to mineralogy, homology, and botany as well.

Answer: Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen is not only considered to be one of the greatest playwrights of his time, with works such as "Peer Gynt" (1867) and "Hedda Gabler" (1891); some believe that, in number of performances, his plays are second only to the great William Shakespeare! He wrote in a time when people expected to see life it as was supposed to be - not as it really was.

For example, "A Doll's House" (1879) examined the roles of men and women in marriage, and it cause much controversy when first released because who would ever think that women needed more than being a wife in order to be fulfilled? Many credit Ibsen with being one of the founders of Modernism, and also a leading advocate in women's rights.

Answer: Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche, known for his statement that "God is Dead" and his nihilist philosophy, actually did come from a family of strict Lutherans. One grandfather held a position of superintendent of a church, and his other was a parson, as was his father.

After attending a Protestant boarding school, he entered the University of Bonn to study religion and philology, leaving after only two semesters, and eventually focused exclusively on studying at the University of Leipzig after stating in a letter to his sister that he had lost his faith.

He eventually earned a doctorate degree there based on his published works, such as "Fate and History" (1862), "On Moods" (1864), and "Homer and the Classical Philology" (1868). His well-known statement, "God is Dead", first appeared in "The Gay Science" (1882).

By then he was half blind, in desperate pain, and suffering from poor health, eventually experiencing a complete mental breakdown in 1889.

Answer: Leo Tolstoy

Although it may be difficult to believe that a person who ultimately became a pacifist would be recognized for bravery in war, but that was the case with Leo Tolstoy. Already a published author ("Childhood" 1852) before serving in the Crimean War, Tolstoy is said to have lived a life of leisure as a young man; he enlisted in the military with his brother after amassing gambling debts.

He was present during the Siege of Sevastopol and was promoted to lieutenant for his bravery. His service time in the military, as well as trips abroad to Europe, however, changed his view of the world. Already disgusted by the needless deaths in battle, he became a pacifist after he witnessed a public execution in Paris.

Many of his later works, like "Anna Karenina" (1877), were commentaries on social conditions or religion, such as "The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886)".

Answer: Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner made a name for himself writing operas, composing both the text and the music for works such as "The Ring of the Nibelung" (1876). He also authored poems, essays, and books that covered many different subjects including "Jewishness in Music" (1850). Adolf Hitler claimed that Wagner was his favorite composer - to Wagner's great misfortune - and his supposed themes of German nationalism were used to help promote Nazism during Hitler's rise to power. Even though it has been said, however, that other Nazis did not share Hitler's love of Wagner, he did publish works that were anti-Semitic, and some of his characters were portrayed using Jewish stereotypes of the time.

By the same token, he was known to have Jewish friends and colleagues.

In addition, there is some evidence that Wagner himself was Jewish, as he was born in the Jewish Quarter of Leipzig. Fair or not, historians continue to debate Wagner's influence on Nazism to this day.