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Quiz about Hail to the Chiefs Wife 4 Barbara Bush

Hail to the Chief's Wife [4]: Barbara Bush Quiz

How much do you know about the woman her husband affectionately called "Bar"? This is #4 in a series on American First Ladies.

A multiple-choice quiz by brewster76. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
brewster76

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
308,723

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
695

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Barbara Pierce, born in 1925, had a famous ancestor who was also an American president. Name him. Hint

Franklin Pierce

Millard Pierce

Grover Pierce Cleveland

Franklin Roosevelt

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which pursuit was a lifelong passion of young Barbara Pierce's that she passed on to her own children? Hint

Stamp collecting

Physics

Fashion

Athletics

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Question 3 of 10

3. Barbara Pierce and George Herbert Walker Bush had to postpone their wedding until he had completed what? Hint

Law school

A divorce from his first wife

Prison sentence

Military service in WWII

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Question 4 of 10

4. What was the name of Mrs. Bush's springer spaniel who is the credited author of a best-selling book about her time in the White House? Hint

Tillie

Lillie

Billie

Millie

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Question 5 of 10

5. Mrs. Bush's sons George W. and Jeb were also elected officials. Which of the following positions was NOT held by either one or other of her sons? Hint

President of the United States

Governor of Texas

Congressman from Texas

Governor of Florida

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Question 6 of 10

6. Barbara Bush achieved a first in presidential campaigning by doing what? Hint

First mother of a candidate to support the opposition

First wife of a president to run for elected office

First candidate's wife to address a national convention

First mother of a candidate to appear on television in support of her child

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Question 7 of 10

7. Once her husband was elected president which White House tradition did they renew that had not been done since the Taft administration? Hint

Posing for a public kiss on the Truman balcony

Opening the White House to a public open house after the Inauguration

Refusing to serve liquor in the White House like "Lemonade Lucy" Taft

Open up the Lincoln Bedroom to the highest bidder

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Question 8 of 10

8. Many First Ladies take on "pet projects" that focus the nation's attention on an area of interest or import to them. What was Mrs. Bush's cause? Hint

"Just Say No" to drugs

Eliminating illiteracy in the U.S.

Beautification of national highways and parks

Breast cancer awareness

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Question 9 of 10

9. Barbara Bush accomplished another first for a First Lady when she did what? Hint

Won a medal in swimming at the 1992 Senior Olympics

Announced "Gentlemen, start your engines" at the 1990 Indianapolis 500

Threw out the first pitch at a major league baseball game (Texas Rangers) in 1989

Ran the 1991 Boston Marathon

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Question 10 of 10

10. Up to and including Mrs. Bush, how many women have been both the wife and mother of a U.S. president? Hint

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Barbara Pierce, born in 1925, had a famous ancestor who was also an American president. Name him.

Answer: Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was an uncle, many times removed, of Barbara Pierce Bush. She was born into an affluent family in the New York suburbs. Her father was a president of the McCall Corporation, the publisher of such magazines as McCalls and Redbook. Her mother, Pauline Pierce, died in a car accident when Mrs. Bush was only 23.

2. Which pursuit was a lifelong passion of young Barbara Pierce's that she passed on to her own children?

Answer: Athletics

Mrs. Bush was raised in a family of accomplished athletes in Rye, New York. She excelled at several sports including tennis and swimming throughout her life. Her mother-in-law Dorothy Walker Bush was also a fine athlete.

3. Barbara Pierce and George Herbert Walker Bush had to postpone their wedding until he had completed what?

Answer: Military service in WWII

Barbara Pierce and George H.W. Bush met at a dance when she was only 16. They were wed in 1945 when she was 19 and Mr Bush was 21. While a Navy pilot during WWII, Mr. Bush named his planes for his sweetheart at home: Barbara, Barbara II, and Barbara III.

4. What was the name of Mrs. Bush's springer spaniel who is the credited author of a best-selling book about her time in the White House?

Answer: Millie

"Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush" (1990) was a memoir about the first dog's life in the White House. An episode of the famous 1990s sitcom "Murphy Brown" was about Millie.

5. Mrs. Bush's sons George W. and Jeb were also elected officials. Which of the following positions was NOT held by either one or other of her sons?

Answer: Congressman from Texas

George W. made an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1978. He later was elected Governor of Texas and served for six years prior to his election as president. John Ellis Bush (Jeb) was a two-term governor of Florida.

6. Barbara Bush achieved a first in presidential campaigning by doing what?

Answer: First candidate's wife to address a national convention

Mrs. Bush spoke at the 1988 Republican convention, the first wife of a nominee to do so. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the first First Lady to seek political office, running for the US Senate from New York in 2000. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy made several television appearances in support of her son, John. And while the movie "W" suggested that Barbara Bush was surprised by George W's decision to seek the presidency, there is no credible evidence she actually torpedoes his ambitions.

7. Once her husband was elected president which White House tradition did they renew that had not been done since the Taft administration?

Answer: Opening the White House to a public open house after the Inauguration

The Clintons continued the tradition of a post-swearing in open house for the public when they succeeded the Bushes in 1993. Lucy Hayes ran a dry White House during her husband Rutherford Hayes' tenure as president leading to her moniker "Lemonade Lucy."

8. Many First Ladies take on "pet projects" that focus the nation's attention on an area of interest or import to them. What was Mrs. Bush's cause?

Answer: Eliminating illiteracy in the U.S.

Nancy Reagan pioneered the "Just Say No" campaign. Park and highway beautification was the work of Lady Bird Johnson. Betty Ford focused the nation's attention on breast cancer when she made public her own mastectomy while serving as First Lady.

9. Barbara Bush accomplished another first for a First Lady when she did what?

Answer: Threw out the first pitch at a major league baseball game (Texas Rangers) in 1989

George W. Bush, Barbara's son, was a minority owner (less than 1%) of the Rangers at the time. While it is a tradition for presidents and former presidents to throw the first pitch at baseball games, no First Lady had done so prior to Mrs. Bush.

10. Up to and including Mrs. Bush, how many women have been both the wife and mother of a U.S. president?

Answer: 2

Mrs. Bush shares this distinction with Abigail Adams.

Anna Symmes Harrison was the wife and grandmother of Presidents William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison, respectively.

Source: Author brewster76

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