Amusing Quotes from History's Great Figures Quiz

Answer: "Now at least I know where he is"

Alexandra, grieving beside the king's deathbed, made this remark to Lord Esher. Edward VII lived from 1841 to 1910 and was King for the last ten years of his life only, following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria, in January 1901. When Edward died in 1910, these two quotes from the time perhaps indicate the personality of the man: Lord Esher wrote privately that Edward was "kind and debonair and not undignified - but too human" and his sorrowing son George V wrote in his diary that he had lost "his best friend and the best of fathers ... I never had a cross word with him in my life. I am heart-broken and overwhelmed with grief".

Answer: "We have that trouble in our family too"

Prince Philip (born 1921) is also known as the Duke of Edinburgh. Born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, he renounced both those titles to marry Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain in 1947. He also converted from his Greek Orthodox faith to that of the Anglican faith and, though educated in, and spending a great deal of his youth in England while still a Prince of Greece and Denmark, became a British subject in order to marry the British royal princess. On their marriage, Elizabeth's father, George VI, gave Philip the titles of His Royal Highness and Duke of Edinburgh. Philip, who had worked his way up to the rank of Commander in the British Royal Navy, gave up his career when Elizabeth became queen in 1952, in order to support her in that role.

He was a great sportsman when younger, developed the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme for young people, and became a very active patron of over 800 charitable organisations.

Answer: "Do the best you can. It doesn't happen very often"

Tolstoy (1828-1910) sprang from an old Russian noble family. Initially he was a restless youth who disliked study, left university early, and spent long hours gambling. It was only after he joined the army that his love of reading and writing began. It was then that his belief in non-violence began as well and when he would begin to eventually turn his back completely on his inheritance, his wealth and his nobility.

His great works of literature include "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina". His commitment to the belief of non-violence found expression in his great work "The Kingdom of God is Within You".

Answer: "I murdered my grandmother this morning"

Seldom, if at all, was his comment met with anything but murmurs of polite agreement. Only on one occasion did a listener, more attentive than usual, respond with "I'm sure she had it coming." Roosevelt (1882-1945) was the only President of the United States to serve more than two terms.

This great leader held office from 1933 to 1945 and died of a cerebral haemorrhage on the 12th April of that year.

Answer: "Enough, lad. I wish the entire army would charge like that"

Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 and was assassinated in 1865, after leading his country through one of the most tumultuous times in its history. This great man was mostly self-educated, rising from a poor frontier family to becoming a country lawyer to the leader of the United States of America.

This is another indication of the compassion of the man: When once touring the sick ranks of injured soldiers, and seeing the suffering of one soldier in particular, he placed his hand on the young man's head, his eyes filled with tears and he was heard to softly murmur, "Poor lad. Poor lad".

Answer: "Don't say so in England, madam, for they will tax it!"

The Dublin-born Swift (1667-1745) was a noted satirist, essayist, pamphleteer, poet. He also became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, the only position the then Queen Anne would grant him. His "Gulliver's Travellers" almost saw him executed over its brilliant lampooning of English society.

His "Modest Proposal" in particular was a savagely satirical attack on the impoverished state in which the Irish found themselves as a result of the British treatment of their inhabitants.

Answer: "No, but I was bewildered once for three days"

Daniel Boone (1734-1820) was an American folk hero, pioneer, frontiersman, and explorer in the early days of that nation. This was particularly so for the area of Kentucky, which, at that time was not part of the thirteen colonies. It used to be known as the Commonwealth of Kentucky instead. Boone forged the Wilderness Road through the Appalachian Mountains to do this, and by the end of the 1700s, more than 200,000 people had followed Boone's path to settle this new area.

In addition to this, Boone matched his remarkable achievements in the area of exploration by serving three terms in the Virginia General Assembly as well. Among his many other accomplishments, he also became a surveyor, and a merchant, and became bankrupt now and then along the way.

He spent his final years out in Missouri with his family where he continued to hunt and trap as often as his health would allow him. At the age of 76, and only ten years before he died, he took another long trip exploring the far west Yellowstone River.

Answer: "No enemy should invade us with more than 3,000 men"

Ah, what a man, what a mission! George Washington was at the helm of all America would stand for, from 1775 to 1799. He was elected unanimously as the first president of the newly independent country, served in that capacity from 1789 to 1797 and well and truly earned the title of father of his country. On his retirement from that position in 1797, he felt only a profound sense of relief and a knowledge on having done his best, and he looked forward to spending the rest of his time on his beloved Mount Vernon developing his farming and business interests.

It was, however, not to be. With the greatest reluctance, he allowed himself to be persuaded to return as head of the army in what looked to be a looming war with France. He served in that position from July 1798 to December 1799 when, having caught a chill on a brief spell back to inspect his properties in the freezing rain and snow on December 12, his health suddenly deteriorated.

The great man passed away at 10pm on December 14 at the age of 67.

His last words were "Tis well".

Answer: "It doesn't look well for a general to receive fire from behind"

On Washington's death in 1799, people throughout the world were saddened on hearing of the passing of such a great leader. Napoleon, in spite of his country's troubled relationship with the USA, ordered ten days of mourning throughout France. In America, people wore mourning clothes for months as a mark of respect. Plans were made by the government to build a giant mausoleum at a staggering cost, for the time, of $200,000, to move his body to the Capitol, but this plan was defeated by the South. Today his tomb continues to remain where he was at his happiest - at his home at Mount Vernon. "Tis well".

Answer: "I pray God to spare my friends from a similar clemency"

During the course of his life, More (1478-1535) was a lawyer, philosopher, writer, statesman, and finally, he rose to one of the most important positions in the land, that of Lord Chancellor. More, by virtue of his faith and his convictions, opposed the king's separation from Rome, and refused to accept that Henry was Supreme Head of the Church of England.

He stated that the Reformation was heresy. Furthermore, he refused to sign a letter asking the Pope to annul Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon to enable the king to marry Anne Boleyn, and subsequently refused to attend the coronation of the king's new queen as well. That was too much for Henry to swallow and More was brought to trial under the trumped up charge of treason.

The court dared not find him anything but guilty - and off went his steadfast head.

He was canonised by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and, oddly enough, also added to the Church of England's calendar of Saints and Heroes in 1980.