What Ever Happened to You-Know-Who? Quiz

Answer: Harold Stassen

Harold Stassen tried winning the Republican nomination in 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1988, with limited effectiveness and enthusiasm. Mr. Stassen was eventually and good-naturedly lampooned as the "perennial, never-say-die candidate".

Answer: Alf Landon

Alf Landon had appeared to have such promise. He was the only Republican governor in the entire country to win re-election as governor in 1934. However, Landon proved to be an ineffective campaigner and lost to Roosevelt in a landslide.

Answer: Eugene V. Debs

Debs had worked with the American Railway Union when they struck the Pullman Palace Car Company. As a leader of the ARU, he was imprisoned for the strike, and whilst in prison he studied socialism. He ran for president five times, the last time from his jail cell. After being imprisoned under the Espionage Act, he was pardoned by President Warren Harding.

Answer: Rutherford B. Hayes

This election didn't have any hanging chads, but Florida was in a contested election this time too. The Republicans and Democrats on the Commission agreed to let Hayes win as long as federal troops would be withdrawn from the South and Democratic governors won in those states.

Later, it was Rutherford Hayes who opened up the first presidential library in the United States.

Answer: George Wallace

In 1972 Arthur Bremer tried to kill Wallace while he was running in Maryland for president. Wallace survived, but had to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Other comments by Wallace over the years included "If some anarchist lies down in front of my automobile, it will be the last automobile he will ever lie down in front of". He also said that the only four letter words that hippies did not know were w-o-r-k and s-o-a-p. Many years later, he became a born-again Christian, and he apologized for his previous segregationist policies.

Answer: Ross Perot

During the summer of 1992, Ross Perot was leading in the polls over both Bill Clinton and George Bush. He ended up getting 19% of the popular vote, but no electoral votes. In 1996 he formed the Reform Party and ran again. He was not allowed to compete in the presidential debates, and this time he only got eight per cent of the vote.

Answer: Theodore Roosevelt

While Teddy Roosevelt had already been president, he was dissatisfied with Taft's policies, so he ran against him. This effectively split the Republican party and helped Wilson win. Roosevelt on the Progressive (Bull-Moose) Party got 27% of the vote, far less than Wilson's 42%, but more than Taft's 23%.

This is the only time since 1864 where a third party out-polled an established political party.

Answer: Dwight Eisenhower

Eisenhower declined to run for president in either party in 1948. Later he revealed himself to be a Republican and he ran for president as a Republican in 1952.

Answer: Shirley Chisholm

While she didn't win the nomination, she had a successful legislative career. Later, Shirley Chisholm surprised many people when she visited George Wallace, an avowed segregationist, in the hospital after he had been shot. Over the years, Wallace moderated his stands, became a born-again Christian, and then worked to help Chisholm pass a bill to provide a minimum wage to domestic workers.

Answer: Henry Flagler

At an early age, he had invested in Flagler and York Salt company, but it failed. But he learned to only invest in the future after a careful investigation. Later he became a successful partner in Standard Oil with John D. Rockefeller. He had turned his failure into a learning experience, and became a huge success.

Flagler invested much of himself in the development of Florida. He even built the Over-the-Sea Railroad from Miami to Key West over miles of water. Flagler's home, Whitehall, in West Palm Beach was said to be "more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world."

But old age is a challenge, even for someone as wealthy and successful as Henry Flagler. One day in 1913, he fell down a marble staircase in Whitehall. He never recovered from his injuries from the fall, and died soon after.