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In 2002 novelist Patricia Cornwell wrote a non-fiction book in which she claims to have discovered the true identity of Jack the Ripper. Who was her candidate?

Walter Sickert. Sickert - a name not previously advanced by the major investigators of Jack's identity - is offered by Cornwell as the Ripper. The evidence is suggestive, but not irresistible. Many are not fully convinced. (The other names provided here as alternate choices are also suspects.)

Sir Edmund Hilary is generally credited with being the first man to make it to the summit of Everest. Another expedition - 30 years earlier - may have reached the summit first. Who led that earlier expedition?

George Mallory. George Mallory tried Everest more than once during the 1920s. On one expedition, he disappeared ... only to have his lifeless body discovered near the summit by a subsequent expedition many years later. Mallory apparently had an accident - but it's unclear whether it occurred before he reached the summit (and was still en route to it) or whether it occurred after he had reached the summit (and was on his way back down). Hilary didn't make it to the top until the 1950's. (The other choices are Polar explorers.)

Americans have been taught that Columbus discovered America in 1492. In 2003 author Gavin Menzies suggested that the continent was discovered prior to Columbus in 1421. By whom?

China. The book is about 'the Chinese discovery of America in 1421'. It may be true .... but what about the Vikings centuries earlier?

In one of his plays, Shakespeare describes this King of England as a deformed man with an evil character. Historians, however, are not convinced that the characterization is accurate. Who is the king in question?

Richard III. It's a world famous historical drama, but how much literary license did Shakespeare use?

Incredible though it may seem, there are still people who resist abundant evidence and logic and insist that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John Kennedy. One such book is called "Case Closed": it gives an "explanation" of the "magic bullet theory". Who wrote this work of fiction masquerading as "fact"?

Gerald Posner. There's so much evidence today from eyewitnesses, scientific tests and the players involved - it's damn near impossible to adhere to the Warren Commission's "lone nut" theory: that's comparable to buying Richard Nixon's explanation of the 18 minute gap in his tapes. (Epstein and Lane are critics of the Warren Commission; each has written on the subject.)

Author Lee Miller has offered a theory about the fate of the "lost" Roanoke colony. She claims that the reason for the failure of the colony involved a plot to discredit a prominent person. Who does Miller say was the target of the campaign to discredit?

Walter Raleigh. In her book claiming to solve the mystery, Miller argues that Raleigh was too much of a "golden boy" at court to please certain factions there. The failure of the colony - his colony - was thus intended to tarnish his image.

An organization known as TIGHAR claims to have possibly solved the mystery of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. A key piece of evidence upon which they rely is which article of women's clothing?

A shoe. TIGHAR claims to have found various pieces of evidence on an island known as Nikumaroro. One piece of evidence is a part of a woman's shoe that was worn at the time of the disappearance. It's an interesting possibility - but hardly conclusive, especially when there is other contradictory evidence out there.

A biography entitled "The Man Who Kept The Secrets" sheds some light onto the curious death of Marilyn Monroe. Who is the man in the title?

Peter Lawford. Lawford took many secrets with him to the grave. (The book also makes it clear that Lawford's life was a heck of a rough ride.)

A biography of Natalie Wood ("Natasha") discusses a possible "witness" to her last hours. Who is this witness?

A man on another boat. Apparently, a fellow on another boat in the general vicinity of Wood's boat claimed to have heard voices through the fog: cries for help, laughter, etc.

A movie, "Auto Focus", was released (and had a short run) a while back. Which person's life did it describe?

Bob Crane. It was about the life and death of Bob Crane. (It doesn't really provide any new insight into his murder.) Blake's problems are ongoing; Fuller and Reeves died under mysterious circumstances. Sadly, no new information in any of these areas as the quiz is placed on line.