B Is for Bismarck Trivia Quiz

Answer: Babylon

Babylon was a major city near the Euphrates river. It was founded (according to texts from many centuries afterwards) some time in the 23rd Century BC. At first it was a monarchy limited to the city boundaries, but between 1830 BC and 1531 BC the first Babylonian Empire covered a far-flung narrow zone around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, from the city almost to Aleppo (modern day Syria). Hammurabi (1810 BC -1750 BC) was the best known king of this first Babylonian state, and some sources state that a few years later Babylon was the largest city in the world. (I have to remark that there are very few reliable data as to city population for those days.)
The Bible tells that people started building a city with a huge tower, which would reach unto the clouds, until the Lord disapproved. He scattered the people and confused their languages, and the Hebrew word for "confusion" (Babel) was given to the city with the uncompleted tower.
After a decline during the Assyrian era, Babylon came again to prominence around 615 BC. The second Babylonian Empire was around that time founded by Nabopolassar with the aid of the Medean king Cyaxares, and in 604 BC the famous king Nebuchadnezzar II began his reign.
Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned in the Bible as the king who conquered all of Israel. He is also credited with the building of the famed Ishtar Gate and of the Hanging Gardens, the latter being one of the Seven World Wonders of the ancient world. The Hanging Gardens would later be interpreted as terraces with flowering plants on various floors of the palace.

Answer: Joseph Banks

Joseph Banks (1743-1820) is the man we're looking for. He studied natural history and botany at Oxford. In 1766 he was elected a member of the Royal Society, and he set sail to Canada to study the fauna and flora of Newfoundland and Labrador. Banks joined captain Cook on his first voyage to the south Pacific (1768-1771). On his return to England he started pleading for colonization of Australia, and indicating Botany Bay (about 13 km south of Sydney) as an ideal starting point.
The First Fleet sailed in 1788 to Botany Bay, but eventually settled in Jackson Cove (renamed Sydney after the British Home secretary).
Bennelong (1764-1813) was a native inhabitant of Australia when the British arrived with a First Fleet in 1788. The Aboriginals avoided all contact with the newcomers, but soon Bennelong learned English and taught the governors Arthur Phillip and John Hunter the local (aboriginal) language.
Busby (1802-1871) was the first to import grapes to Australia and to plant them. But he was also the first Resident (function which we would now name "ambassador" or "consul") to New Zealand. Busby drafted the Declaration of Independence of New-Zealand and the Treaty of Waitangi (relations with the Maori people).
Bligh (1754-1819) was a vice-admiral in the British navy. From 1806 until 1808 he was governor of New-South-Wales.

Answer: Paul Barras

Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras (1755-1829) was one of the great politicians during the years following the French Revolution. He was one of the people who voted for the execution of King Louis XVI. Barras was one of the men who led the revolt against Robespierre, who had sent too many people to the guillotine. With Robespierre eliminated (and guillotined), the French government was divided over five "Directeurs": Barras, de la Reveillerie, Rewbell, Letourneur and Carnot, with Barras as the one who in fact pulled the strings. Barras would administer the domestic affairs, Rewbell was the chief diplomat, Carnot acted as the chief of the army.
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich, Herzog Von Braunschweig (1735-1806) was not a French subject: he was a German duke and the nephew of Frederick II the Great. Braunschweig fought the French revolutionary armies twice.
Etienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne (1727-1794) was Archbishop of Toulouse. Louis XVI appointed him as Minister of Finance in 1787, a function he held only for one year.
Marc-Antoine de Bourdon de Vatry (1761-1828) was briefly the French Minister of Navy and Colonies, from July until November 1799.

Answer: Ahmed Ben Bella

Ben Bella (1916-2012) distinguished himself as in the Second World War in the Allied forces. But after the war was over, he found in Algeria major discontent with the French colonial rule. Ben Bella became one of the leaders of the Front de Libération National.
When Algeria was declared independent in July 1962, Ben Bella organized an election for the head of the government. He won the election quite convincingly and became prime minister and later President (September 1963). Ben Bella had left-wing ideas for the economic structure of his country: he encouraged the factory labourers to take control of the industrial plants, and prepared land redistribution for the farmers. But his government had some dictatorial aspects: only one single political party was allowed, opponents of the regime disappeared into prison (or worse) without trial...
In 1965 Ben Bella was deposed by the army, led by his friend and successor Houari Boumédienne.
Elizabeth Bagaaya (born 1936) was in 1974 Minister of Foreign Affairs in Uganda, after having retired from her modelling career.
Steve Biko (1946-1977) was a South-African student and anti-apartheid activist. He died from being severely beaten during interrogation.
Jean Bedel Bokassa (1921-1966) staged a coup d'état in the Central African Republic in 1966. He appointed himself as President, later as Emperor (after having changed the constitution). In 1979 French troops ousted him.

Answer: Benedict of Nursia

Benedict of Nursia (480-543) chose the life of an hermit around 500. He founded a dozen monasteries and wrote the "Rule of Saint Benedict": a pamphlet on how monks should behave (with strong emphasis on obedience and humility) and how a monastery should be led. The adage "Ora et Labora" ("Work and Pray") is ascribed to him: the monks should divide their waking hours between prayer on the one hand and community work or manual work on the other hand.
Bonaventure (1221-1274), a member of the Franciscan order, is best known for his biography of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Blessed Bartholomew of Braganza (1200-1270) was a Dominican, introduced to the order by Saint-Dominic himself.
Bladulf (died 630) was a monk who refuted Arianism. The Arian King Arioald of the Lombards had him killed.

Answer: Otto von Bismarck

Otto Edouard Leopold, Prinz von Bismarck, Herzog von Lauenburg (1815-1898) is the full name of the so-called Iron Chancellor. Von Bismarck was born in Prussia into a wealthy family. He studied law at the university of Göttingen and agriculture at the university of Greifswald.
Bismarck's political career started in 1847, when Germany did not yet exist as a nation state: there were the two main German-speaking monarchies (Prussia and Austria-Hungary) and 37 smaller or larger independent countries who conferred in a confederated league. During von Bismarck's time as Prussian representative to this Confederation (1851-1859), he felt that there was need for a centralization in the German territory. And he was of course in favour of Prussia (his own country) taking the lead.
In the next years von Bismarck used diplomatic and military means to create a German Empire that included all German-speaking territories except Switzerland and Austria. Prussia first annexed Holstein and the southern part of Schleswig in a short war with Denmark. In a blitzkrieg with Austria-Hungary Prussia added Frankfurt, Hanover, Hesse-Kassel and Nassau, and forced the replacement of the German confederation by a loose coalition of North German states (Austria having no part in this coalition). Finally Bismarck tricked France into launching a war for which it was not prepared, and as a result annexed most of Alsace and much of Lorraine in 1871.
In 1871 von Bismarck proclaimed the unification of Germany and accepted the Chancellorship. As Chancellor he tried to oppose every force that would weaken "his" Germany.
Beiersdorf (1836-1896) was the founder of the eponymous cosmetics company, best known for their trade mark Nivea.
Brandt (1913-1992) was Chancellor of West Germany from 1969 until 1974 and is best known for the Ostpolitik (diplomatic thaw in the relations between West- and East-Germany).
Bürkle de la Camp (1895-1974) was a general in the medical department of the German army.

Answer: Simon Bolivar

Simon José Antonio de la Santisima Trinidad de Bolivar y Palacios (1783-1830) is luckily known under the shortened name Simon Bolivar. His full name is a bit too long to write down every time in this info section. Bolivar was born in Caracas and joined the army in 1797 (fourteen years old). In 1810 Venezuela obtained de facto independence, and Bolivar fought in the ensuing wars until 1821, when the state of Gran Colombia (which comprised present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela or large parts of these). Bolivar was the first President of Gran Colombia and was confirmed in his nickname El Libertador ("The Liberator").
Bolivar and general José de San Martin then freed Peru, and Bolivia (that split from Peru) was named in his honour.
In 1830 Gran Colombia split into Venezuela, New Granada (today Colombia and Panama) and Ecuador, and Bolivar resigned.
Boff (born 1938) is a Brazilian theologian.
Borges (1899-1986) was an Argentinian writer.
Botero (born 1932) is a Colombian painter and sculptor. 

Answer: Boyne

In 1688, the Glorious Revolution had resulted in the deposition of King James II of England (who also ruled Scotland as James VII). The crown then was offered to William III of Orange, who would thus become King of England, reigning jointly with his wife, Mary II. But James did assemble armies in order to regain control of the British islands. James was Roman Catholic, as were his troops. William and his army were protestant.
In 1690 James marched with his troops (mainly Irish soldiers and French mercenaries) southwards to Dublin. William had a larger force consisting of several nationalities.
William routed the Jacobite army, but did not pursue them. This explains why there were very few casualties for a confrontation totalling more than 50,000 soldiers: only about 1,500 Jacobites and about 700 Williamites met their demise on the battlesite.
The Battle of Breslau (1757) was fought between Prussia and Austria. Austria won.
In the Battle of Blenheim (1704) the French and Bavarian armies were defeated by a grand alliance including England, Scotland, Austria, Prussia and others.
Bull Run was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. The confederates won both the First Battle of Bull Run (1861) and the Second Battle of Bull Run (1862).

Answer: John Breckinridge

The Confederate government only existed between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War. The only President of the Confederate States was Jefferson Davis. While Davis and his vice-president Alexander Stephens stayed on for the whole period, this was not so for the confederate secretary of war. This latter function was filled at first by Leroy Pope Walker, then by Judah P. Benjamin, followed by George W. Randolph and by James Seddon. The last in the list was John C. Breckinridge.
Breckinridge (1821-1875) was born in Kentucky and served as Vice-President of the United States under James Buchanan during the years 1857-1861. He was one of the four candidates for the presidential election in 1860, and won almost all southern states.
After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Major General Breckinridge fought for the confederate states in a dozen of the main battles. In February 1865 he was appointed as Confederate Secretary of War.
Burnside (1824-1881) was a Union Major General.
Burr (1756-1836) was Vice-President of the United States from 1801 until 1805.
Biden (born 1942) was Vice-President of the United States from 2009 until 2017.

Answer: Lord Byron

George Gordon Lord Byron (1788-1824) was a prolific poet. His best known major poems are "Don Juan" and "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage".
Byron travelled extensively, especially in the Mediterranean region. In Venice he learned Armenian and even collaborated on an Armenian-English dictionary.
When the Greeks started an uprising in 1821 against the Ottoman empire, Lord Byron was one of the volunteers who travelled to Greece to offer his support to the rebels. Alas, Lord Byron fell ill and died in Missolonghi. The Greek people still consider him one of their heroes from the war for independence, even if he didn't die as a result of the fighting.
Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941) is best known for founding the Scouts' movement. He also published several books.
Beardsley (1872-1898) was an author, but is better known for his illustrations.
Bunyan (1628-1688) was a preacher and author. His best known work is "The Pilgrim's Progress".