Whose Statue is This? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Christopher Columbus

In the early 18th Century, known as Ohio County and part of the French Empire, the region in the center of what is now the state of Ohio was popular with fur traders. A village called Franklintown (after Benjamin Franklin) was established at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers in 1797, but a year later a flood washed away the settlement. Shortly thereafter, in 1803, Ohio became the 17th state of America.

The new state legislature finally decided that, rather than choosing an existing city as their state capital, they would build a centrally-located city from scratch.

The area which was, at the time, dense forest used only for hunting, was officially founded designated as the City of Columbus on February 14, 1812 and named after explorer Christopher Columbus. The Italian explorer who sailed to the Americas in the later 15th Century has been honored with numerous statues around the world.

In the U.S. there is the Columbus Fountain at Union Station in Washington D.C as well as Columbus statues in Providence RI, in Columbus Park in Brooklyn NY and outside Coit Tower in San Francisco CA. Elsewhere, Columbus is honored is stone at Plaza de Colon in Madrid, Spain, in Barcelona, Spain, at the Parque de Santa Catarina on the island of Madeira, in Belgrave Square in London, and of course at the Piazza Principe in his home town of Genoa in Italy.

Answer: Honus Wagner

When first Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was held in 1936, Ty Cobb received the most votes with Honus Wagner and Babe Ruth tied for second. Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson were the other two selected at that stage. Those five, along with 20 more, were the original inductees when the Hall opened in 1939.
Born Johannes Peter Wagner in Chartiers PA in 1874, Honus Wagner was a shortstop who played his entire 20-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is widely considered the greatest player of the deadball-era and the best shortstop of all time.
The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, of which only 57 were ever issued when the set first came out between 1909 and 1911, is one of the rarest and most valuable of all baseball cards. A near-mint condition T206 sold for $2.8 million in 2007!
The life-size statue of Honus Wagner swinging the bat was forged in 1955 and originally stood outside Forbes Field. When the Pirates moved (twice since then), so did Wagner's statue, and it now stands the main gate at PNC Park.

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Pamplona is the historic capital of Navarre region in northern Spain. The city is famous worldwide for the annual San Fermín festival, held every July, and in particular for the 'Running with the Bulls'. The festival was the subject of Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises", and the novelist is honored with the pictured statue in the city.
Born Ernest Miller Hemingway in Oak Park IL in 1899, he wrote seven novels and numerous short stories between 1926 and 1952. His novels are considered classics of American literature, particularly "A Farewell to Arms", "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and his final novel published during his lifetime, "The Old Man and the Sea". His combined body of work earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

Answer: Denmark

The pictured statue of King Frederick VII of Denmark stands in the city of Odense, the country's third largest city which stands on the island of Funen in southern Denmark. Born Frederik Carl Christian in Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen in 1808, Frederick was the son of King Christian VIII of Denmark and Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

He became king at the age of 39 on the death of his father. Although married three times, with his first two marriages ending in scandal and divorce, Frederick failed to produce legitimate offspring, so his death in 1863 marked the end of the House of Oldenburg's rule in Denmark which dated back to 1448. You might be surprised to discover, therefore, that Frederick VII is one of the most beloved monarchs in Danish history -- this arises partially from his personality and also from his relinquishment of absolutism.

Answer: Ferdinand Magellan

He was born Fernão de Magalhães in Sabrosa in the former province of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro in the northeastern corner of Portugal sometime around 1480. Ferdinand Magellan organized and led the first mission to complete a full circumnavigation of the world (although he himself did not make the full trip).

The Strait of Magellan, a navigable sea route at the southern tip of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego is named for him. There are also two craters on the Moon and one on Mars named after him. The pictured statue stands in the Praça do Chile in Lisbon.

Other statues of Magellan can be found as widely disbursed as Punta Arenas in Chile and Le Parc du Palais d'Antoniadis in Alexandria, Egypt. By contrast, if you visit the Punta Engaño in the City of Lapu-Lapu, Cebu in the Philippines, you can see a 66-foot tall bronze statue of Datu Lapu-Lapu, the native leader who defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Mactan on 1521, killing Magellan in the process.

Answer: Lord Olivier

Born Laurence Kerr Olivier in Dorking, Surrey in 1907, Lord Olivier is widely considered one of the (and perhaps 'the') greatest actor of the 20th Century. He became Sir Laurence Olivier in the Birthday Honors list of 1947, and thus became the youngest actor ever knighted. Prime Minister Harold Wilson elevated him to the peerage in 1970, making him the first actor so honored.
Olivier was first nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for "Wuthering Heights" in 1939. He would eventually receive a total of nine nominations in that category, a record he shares with Spencer Tracy. He was also nominated once for Best Supporting Actor and once for Best Director (for "Hamlet" in 1948). His only win in the Best Actor category came for "Hamlet", a film for which he also collected the Best Picture award. He was also twice given an Academy Honorary Award -- one for "Henry V" in 1947 and a second for his lifetime achievement in 1979. To his Oscar wins should also be added three BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and five Emmys. Olivier was voted #14 in the American Film Institute's poll to find the greatest 100 screen actors of all time.
The pictured statue of Laurence Olivier was unveiled at the time of a National Theatre celebration of the centenary of his birth in 2007. It features Olivier as Hamlet and was sculpted by Angela Conner.

Answer: William Hogarth

William Hogarth. born in London in 1697, is widely considered 'the father of English painting'. His works include everything from classic portraits to satires and cartoons. Although a serious portrait painter, Hogarth is best remembered today for his series of cartoon-like drawings, first the 6-part "A Harlot's Progress" from 1731 (which were destroyed in a fire in 1755) and particularly its sequel from 1735, "A Rake's Progress" which can be seen today in the Sir John Soane's Museum in London. A later 6-part series known as "Marriage à-la-mode", painted between 1743 and 1745, are on display in the National Gallery. The Hogarth statue, which stands in Chiswick High Road opposite Turnham Green Terrace in west London, was sculpted by Jim Mathieson (1931-2003).

His house in Chiswick is now a museum. Fittingly, perhaps, for a man who produced some of the world's first 'comic strip art', he is also commemorated by one of London's busiest road junctions -- the "Hogarth Roundabout".

Answer: Neil Armstrong

Neil Alden Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio in 1930. In July 1969, at the age of just 38, he became perhaps the most famous man on the planet when he became the first human to step onto the Moon. He will be forever remembered as the man who spoke one of the most famous lines in history: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Although accepted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), at the age of 17 Armstrong chose instead to go to Purdue in neighboring Indiana. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1955 (two years at college, three years of service in the U.S. Navy and then two more years at Purdue). He completed his Masters degree (in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Southern California) only after his trip to the moon (in 1970).
A crater near the landing site on the Moon and an asteroid are named after him, as are numerous schools around the U.S. The Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum is located in his hometown and the New Knoxville airport (where he took his first flying lessons) is also named for him. In 2007, Purdue University named their new $50-million engineering building "The Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering" in a ceremony that was attended by Armstrong and 14 other Purdue graduates who had also been into space. The pictured statue stands (sits?) outside the building.

Answer: Lake Geneva

Born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town, Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) in 1946, Freddie Mercury was one of the true performing geniuses of his generation. He was the frontman, vocalist and one of the primary songwriters for the English rock band Queen from their formation in 1970 until his death in 1991. Standing almost 10-feet tall, the pictured statue by Czech sculptor Irena Sedlecká was unveiled in Montreux, Switzerland overlooking Lake Geneva in 1996.

The band lived and worked at their studio in Montreux for most of the last years of Freddie's life. Since 2003, fans have gathered here annually in early September (September 5 is Freddie's birthday) to pay tribute on "Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day".

Answer: Bobby Moore

Born Robert Frederick Charles Moore in Barking Essex just on the eastern outskirts of London in 1941, Bobby Moore made more than 500 appearances in 16 season playing for West Ham United in the London's 'East End'. Between 1962 and 1973, he made 108 appearances for England (a record at the time of his retirement although since surpassed by Peter Shilton and David Beckham).

His 90 appearances as captain also tied Billy Wright's record. For any Englishman old enough to remember, though, it will be that day in the Summer of 1966 when Moore lifted the World Cup as England captain after the 4-2 extra-time victory against Germany that will never be forgotten.

As a player, though, he was also one of the greatest defensive players (and perhaps the greatest) ever to play the game. The statue outside Wembley was unveiled by one of Moore's 1966 teammates, Sir Bobby Charlton, in 2007.

The statue itself, which has Moore looking down 'Wembley Way' is twice life-size and is the work of Scottish sculptor Philip Jackson. Jackson also produced the sculpture of Moore holding the Jules Rimet Trophy aloft along with Geoff Hurst, Ray Wilson and Martin Peters that was erected in 2003 at the junction of Barking Road and Green Street near West Ham's Boleyn Ground.