Before They Were in Politics

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Which of these national leaders did not start out as a concert pianist? Thomas Jefferson (US) Moshe Sharet (Israel) Ignaz Paderewski (Poland) All of these leaders were pianists.

2. As long as we're talking about musical politicians (and many royal family members have been musicians), is England's King Henry VIII most widely considered to be the composer of "Greensleeves"? Yes No

3. This German ruler had a collection of 15 pianos, more than the best known piano makers of his day had. He even commissioned a first-rate composer to write a fugue for these pianos. He was also a composer himself, and his instrument was the flute. Who was he? King George I None of these Kaiser Wilhelm I King Frederick the Great of Prussia

4. This man was also a decent violinist, but he was more famous for his work as a physicist. He was even offered the symbolic title as the first president of a new country which had become independant during his lifetime, but he turned down the presidency. Who was he? Albert Einstein Sir Isaac Newton Niels Bohr Max Planck

5. Colin Powell, one of the most recent secretaries of state in the US, speaks at least two languages fluently. True False

6. One question about a man who was famous after his days in politics. Carlo Gesualdo, an Italian prince, is best known for having murdered his wife and her lover, whom he'd caught in the act of adultery. He escaped punishment for his crime, and ended up doing what for most of the rest of his life? composing dark, anguished music living in an insane asylum writing a book under the pseudonym N. Machiavelli none of these

7. Captain Logo, of the North Carolina football team, said the following: "...I was the heir to the throne, but when I was chosen as Captain of the North Carolina State football team I had to choose between politics and football..." What title did he turn down? Chief of a Navajo tribe in Arizona Paramount Chief of American Samoa None of these Both of these

8. What was Ahmad Tibi, a (former) Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament, before he got involved in politics? An author A lawyer A clergyman A gynecologist

9. Which of these was not invented by Benjamin Franklin, who went on to form the American Postal service? The lightning rod The lightbulb Bifocal glasses The Franklin stove

10. In ancient times, rulers would be groomed for their positions starting at very early ages. Crown princes would always be crown princes before they were kings. And then came a new idea of democracy. Where was this new system of government first practiced? Rome Philadelphia Athens Sparta