A Decade of Difference (10) Trivia Quiz

Agatha Christie was an English novelist from Torquay who became one of the most widely read mystery writers in the world. Her detective fiction is built around misdirection and carefully staged revelations, especially in novels featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Books such as "Murder on the Orient Express," "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," and "And Then There Were None" helped define the Golden Age mystery style. Christie also wrote the play "The Mousetrap," which became famous for its unusually long stage run.

Spencer Tracy was an American actor from Milwaukee whose screen style was known for restraint rather than theatrical flourish. He became one of Hollywood's major stars and was the first actor to win back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Actor, for "Captains Courageous" and "Boys Town." Tracy appeared in films such as "Father of the Bride," "Inherit the Wind," and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," the last of which paired him again with Katharine Hepburn.

His reputation rested on natural delivery and the sense that he was thinking on screen rather than merely performing.

Akira Kurosawa, a Japanese filmmaker from Tokyo, directed some of the most influential films in world cinema. "Rashomon" brought international attention to Japanese film, while "Seven Samurai" became a main inspiration for many action and western films around the world. Kurosawa's films often focus on characters under moral pressure, forced to choose between duty and survival when no option is clean or easy.

He also directed "Ikiru," "Yojimbo," "High and Low," and "Ran," and he received an honorary Academy Award in 1990 for his contributions to cinema.

Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born American professor and writer whose output was enormous even by science-fiction standards. His exact birth date is uncertain because of incomplete records in post-revolutionary Russia, but he celebrated it as January 2, 1920.

He is best known for the "Foundation" series and his robot stories, especially the Three Laws of Robotics, which gave later writers a framework for thinking about machines and ethics. Beyond science fiction, Asimov wrote mysteries, essays, and popular books on subjects such as history, chemistry, and astronomy.

Tim Horton was a Canadian hockey defenseman from Cochrane, Ontario, and later a businessman whose name became even more familiar through the Tim Hortons restaurant chain. On the ice, he spent most of his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and helped them win four Stanley Cups in the 1960s. Horton was valued as a strong defenseman who could handle difficult moments and physical play.

Patrick Stewart is an English actor from Yorkshire who built his career first on the stage before becoming an international television and film figure. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s, where classical theater trained the voice and authority that later made him famous as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Stewart also played Professor Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" films.

He was knighted in 2010 for his accomplishments in drama.

Stevie Wonder, born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, became a Motown prodigy while still a child. Blind since infancy, he developed extraordinary skill as a singer, songwriter, keyboardist, harmonica player, and producer. His albums, such as "Talking Book," "Innervisions," "Fulfillingness' First Finale," and "Songs in the Key of Life," helped expand soul and pop music within the United States.

He has also been active in civil rights and humanitarian causes, including the campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a U.S. federal holiday.

Diego Maradona was an Argentine footballer from Villa Fiorito near Buenos Aires, and is remembered as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. A small, explosive attacking midfielder, he could dribble through crowded defenses and create chances almost from nothing.

He led Argentina to victory at the 1986 World Cup, where he scored the infamous "Hand of God" goal by using his hand to knock the ball past England's goalkeeper, a foul the referee did not see. At club level, his years with Napoli turned him into a legend in southern Italy, where he helped the team win its first Serie A titles.

Sadiq Khan is a British Labour politician who was elected mayor of London in 2016. Born in London to a British Pakistani family, he worked as a human rights lawyer before becoming the member of parliament for Tooting in 2005. As mayor, Khan has dealt with as varied issues as transport policy, housing, air quality, policing, and London's role after Brexit.

His election also made him the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital.

Venus Williams is an American tennis player whose power and aggressive baseline game helped reshape women's tennis. Coached early by her parents, Richard Williams and Oracene Price, she rose with her sister Serena from public courts in Compton (near Los Angeles) to the top of the sport. Venus won seven Grand Slam singles titles, including five at Wimbledon, and she has also been a dominant doubles player with Serena.

She played a major role in the push for equal prize money at Wimbledon, where women and men began receiving equal singles prize money in 2007.