William Who? Trivia Quiz

Answer: William Wallace

William Wallace was born in January, 1272 in Elerslie, Scotland, and
died in August, 1305, in London, where he was executed as a traitor. He was a Scottish nobleman who fought against King Edward (Longshanks) of England. He supported Scottish independence, and he and his army defeated the English, but were later defeated themselves.

Answer: William Tell

William Tell is supposed to have lived in the 13th Century. The story goes that a man named Gessler forced Tell to prove his skill by shooting an apple from Tell's son, Walter's, head. Tell did so, and then informed Gessler that if he had hit his son, the next arrow would have been for Gessler.

The "William Tell Overture", a famous piece of music (also associated with "The Lone Ranger" on television!) was composed by Gioachino Rossini in 1829.

Answer: William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, and died in 1616. He spent much of his working life in London, where he acted and wrote poetry and plays. He was married to Anne Hathaway, and although he had three children he has no living direct descendants. Famous works include "Romeo and Juliet" and "Twelfth Night".

Answer: William lV

William, Duke of Clarence, was 52 years old when his father George lll died. His elder brothers George and Frederick died a few years later, leaving William as heir to the English throne. William was born in 1765, became king in 1830, and died in 1837. He had ten children with his long-time mistress Mrs Jordan, but none of his four legitimate children survived.

Answer: William the Conqueror

William of Normandy (sometimes called William the Bastard, but better known as William the Conqueror) was born in Normandy in around 1027 or 1028, and died in France in 1087. In 1066 he invaded England and overcame the army of King Harold to become William l of England. Two of his sons, William Rufus (William ll) and Henry Beauclerc (Henry I) also became Kings of England.

Answer: Wee Willie Winkie

Many nursery rhymes are very old, but "Wee Willie Winkie" was written in around 1841 by poet William Miller, a Scot who was born in 1810 and died in 1872. Only the first few lines are well known now.

Answer: Wilkie Collins

William Wilkie Collins was born in London in 1824 and died in 1889. One of his best known books, "The Moonstone", was first published in 1868. He was also well known for his own favourite among his works, "The Woman in White".

Answer: Will Kempe

William Kempe (or Kemp) was born some time around 1560 and died in about 1603. In the 1590s, Kempe was a clown with the group of players known as the Chamberlain's Men, which included William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage. Kempe was famed for his jigs, and after his departure from the Chamberlain's Men, he became well known as a morris dancer. He is thought to have died of the plague.

Answer: Will Scarlet

Will Scarlet is one of the companions of Robin Hood, Little John and Friar Tuck in the stories about Robin, the "merrie men" and their arch enemy, the Sheriff of Nottingham. Will Scarlet (occasionally known as "Will Scarloke") is present in the earliest form of the legend, unlike Maid Marion, who was added rather later.

Answer: Wild Bill Hickok

James Butler Hickok was born in Illinois in 1837, and fought in the Civil War. At some time in his life he picked up the nickname "Wild Bill" (according to one source he was originally known as "Duck Bill" because of the shape of his face). Sometime around 1864, Hickok killed a man named Tutt in a gunfight, but, after an investigation, he was released from custody.

After many more adventures, he was killed during a card game in 1876.

Answer: William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumbria. He was one of five children, and his parents died when he was quite young. In 1795, he received a bequest and was able to take up a literary career. His sister, Dorothy, acted as his secretary. Wordsworth later married Mary Hutchinson. Wordsworth became Poet Laureate in 1842, and died in 1850.

His most famous poem is "THE DAFFODILS", which begins with the famous line - "I wandered lonely as a cloud".

Answer: Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid was born Henry McCarty in New York City in 1859, but later began using his stepfather's surname, Antrim. After his mother died in 1874, young Henry took up with a horse thief. He killed his first man in 1877 and changed his name to "William Bonney".

After killing several other people (some estimates put the number at 21), Billy the Kid was shot by sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881.

Answer: William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin in 1865. He became involved in the Irish Independence Movement after meeting Irish nationalist Maude Gonne. Yeats' best known poems include "The Wanderings of Oisin", published in 1889, and "The Rose", (1893). He died in France in 1939, but his body was returned to Ireland for burial in 1948.

Answer: They both starred in famous science fiction TV series.

William Shatner was born in Montreal in 1931. He is an actor and writer, best known for his role as Captain James T(iberius) Kirk of the Starship Enterprise in "Star Trek", which was made between 1966 to 1969. He has reprised the character in some movies. William Hartnell was born in 1908, and died in 1975.

He was a well known actor whose most famous role was probably that of the first Doctor in "Dr Who". Hartnell played the role for three seasons from 1963, and later reprised it in an episode called "The Three Doctors".

The character appeared again in "The Five Doctors", but Hartnell was unable to appear, so it was played by Richard Hurndall.

Answer: Buffalo Bill

William Frederick Cody was better known as Buffalo Bill. Born in 1846, Cody was U.S. army scout, a buffalo hunter, and a showman. His "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" show has helped create the legend of the "wild west'. Cody died in 1917.