They Died in the Seventies Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The following people died in the 1960s (i.e. incorrect answers):

Helen Adams Keller was born in northern Alabama in 1880. She lost her sight and hearing at age 19 months. She overcame her profound disability with the aid of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, to become an influential author, disability advocate, suffragette, and civil rights supporter. She was the first blind, deaf person to earn a degree in the US, conferred by Harvard University in 1904. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest awards an American could attain. She had a series of strokes in the 60s and died in her sleep in 1968, aged 87.

Mary Jo Kopechne's death in 1969 overshadowed her successful career as a political campaigner for Senator Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, where she was one of six "Boiler Room Girls", important key employees within the campaign. After Kennedy's assassination, she continued to work for the Democratic Party. On July 18, 1969, Kopechne attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. Senator Ted Kennedy, Robert's younger brother, offered to drive her to catch the last ferry back to the mainland about 11.15 pm. Along the way, he drove off a bridge, and the car landed on its roof in water. Kennedy managed to free himself but did not report the accident or Ms Kopechne until the next morning. She had drowned or suffocated inside the car. The controversy surrounding the event damaged Ted Kennedy's career and ended any chance that he might have run for President. Ms Kopechne was buried at St. Vincent's Cemetery in Larksville, Pennsylvania, alongside other family members. She was 29.

The following people died in the 1970s (i.e. correct answers)

Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1943. She became one of the most successful rock singers of her era, firstly as the lead singer of psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company and then as a solo artist. She performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. She had five singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, including "Me and Bobby McGee", which reached number one in March 1971. Her most popular songs include her cover versions of "Piece of My Heart", as well as her original song "Mercedes Benz", which was her final recording, laid down three days before she died of a heroin overdose on October 4, 1970. While she was one of the first members of the 27 Club (Brian Jones from the Rolling Stones died in July 1969; Jimi Hendrix died three weeks before Joplin, and Jim Morrison of the Doors died in July 1971), this infamous theoretical club raised little awareness until 1994 when Kurt Cobain died at the same age.

Audie Murphy, born in 1925 in Hunt County, Texas, was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. As a soldier, he was the most decorated enlisted soldier in US military history. He received every military combat award for valour and bravery available from the United States Army for his service in WWII. Despite suffering from what was to be known as PTSD, he was brought to Hollywood after WWII by James Cagney and had a successful acting career. Despite starring in mainly westerns, he played himself in "To Hell and Back" in 1955. He was an accomplished songwriter: His most well-known songs were "Shutters and Boards" (1962) and "When The Wind Blows In Chicago" (1965). Audie Murphy died in a plane crash in Virginia on May 28, 1971, aged 46. Murphy was afforded a burial with military honours at Arlington National Cemetery.

Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 - December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States. In his tenure as President, from 1945 when Roosevelt died until 1953, He took responsibility for dropping two atomic bombs on Japan in the latter parts of WWII. He shepherded the US through the aftermath of WWII, establishing NATO and the Truman Doctrine, both designed to give America a global presence, denounce isolationism, and contain communism. His administration was criticised when he left office, but history has shown him to be one of America's most effective presidents. He outlived the next two US presidents, Eisenhower and Kennedy. The 36th President, Lyndon B Johnson, died four weeks after Truman.

Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881- 1973) was a Spanish painter who spent most of his adult life in France. He was best known as a painter, but he was also a sculptor, potter, and theatre designer. He was certainly one of the 20th century's leading and influential artists. He co-founded the Cubist movement, developed constructed sculpture, and was instrumental in introducing collage as a major art form. His most famous works are the "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" (1907- which was one of the first Cubist works), and "Guernica" (1937), which raised awareness of the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War. He died of a heart attack on the morning of 8 April 1973. He was still painting at 3 am on the morning of his death.

Charles Lindbergh was born in Detroit on February 4, 1902 and was a pioneering aviator and military officer. He claimed the Orteig Prize by being the making the first person to fly non-stop from New York to Paris, a solo flight of 33 hours. This was not the first trans-Atlantic flight, but it did set a new flight distance world record of almost 3200 km or 2000 miles. He was named the inaugural Man of the Year in 1927 by "Time" magazine. He went on to become an acclaimed military officer and author, but was criticised for his right-wing political views. He suffered personal tragedy when his firstborn son was kidnapped and murdered in 1932. He died of lymphoma in Hawaii in 1974, aged 72.

Mark Donohue Jr. was born March 18, 1937, in New Jersey, and was an American race car driver and engineer who set up and then raced his own car. He won the 24 Hours of Daytona (1969) and the Indianapolis 500 (1972). He had 14 starts in the Formula 1 competition between 1971-5. He was practising for the Austrian Grand Prix in August 1975 when a tyre failed, and he crashed. He did not appear to be seriously hurt, but lapsed into a coma and died from a cerebral hemorrhage the next day.

Agatha Christie was born into a wealthy family in Torquay, England, in 1890. She was best known for being a mystery and crime author, with two of her characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, being among the best-known fictional characters in literature. During her lifetime, she became the best-selling fiction writer of all time, with her novels exceeding two billion sales. She worked in hospital dispenseries during both world wars (where she accumulated a great deal about poisons) and accompanied her second husband on archeological digs in exotic locations. These occasions contributed to her knowledge, particularly of poisons and travel, both of which peppered many of her books. She was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1971 for her contribution to Literature. She died of natural causes at her home in Oxfordshire on 12 January 1976, aged 85.

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. He went on to become one of the most influential people of the 20th century. In 1954, at Sun Studios, pushed by producer Sam Phillips, Presley wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a universal audience. He pioneered rockabilly music, which was a fusion of rhythm and blues and country music. He sold ten million records in a year, not without controversy. Many thought Elvis' performance style was too provocative. He sold over 500 million records (that traversed many genres including pop, country, rock and roll, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, adult contemporary, and gospel). He won three Grammy Awards and was inducted, posthumously, into several musical Halls of Fame. He also made commercially successful movies, usually musicals (most were critically panned). His career spanned 23 years, but years of drug abuse and unhealthy eating caused him to die prematurely, aged 42, on 16 August 1977. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 2018.

Sir Robert Menzies, born 20 December 1894, was an Australian politician who became the 12th prime minister of Australia from 1939 to 1941 and from 1949 to 1966. He became Prime Minister in April 1939 when the sitting Prime Minister, Joseph Lyons, who led the United Australia Party, died suddenly. Menzies left for England early in WWII to assist the British government with the war effort. He became a hero for the Australian people, but lost the support of his party and had to resign. He formed a coalition of 14 centre-right parties and called the new entity the Liberal Party of Australia. He was elected Prime Minister when a coalition of the Liberal Party and Country Party formed a coalition and majority government in 1949. He remained Prime Minister until 1966, when he resigned aged 71. He was the longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia in the 20th century, with 18 years in charge, ten years more than any other. He had a stroke later that year and was permanently paralysed on one side of his body. He was knighted by the Queen in 1977. He died from a heart attack in May 1978.

Sid Vicious, real name Simon John Ritchie, was born in Lewisham, UK, on 10 May 1957. He had a troubled childhood with no father figure and a mother who was a heroin addict. He became the Sex Pistols' second bass guitarist, but he could not play well, so Steve Jones played bass on the debut album, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols". However, band manager Malcom McLaren wanted him in the band to build the band's anti-establishment image. He said, "If Johnny Rotten is the voice of punk, then Vicious is the attitude". Vicious used heroin throughout his short stay with the Pistols. After leaving the band, he continued his dysfunctional relationship with American Nancy Spungen, but she was stabbed to death in 1978, and Vicious was a suspect but never charged. He was later charged with assaulting Todd Smith with a broken beer bottle. He went to jail in Rikers Island and was required to detox. He overdosed on 2nd February 1979. He was 21.

The following well-known people died in the 1980s (i.e. incorrect answers):

John Lennon, born in 1940, was one of the most influential musicians of all time, both as a Beatle and as a solo artist. He was gunned down in front of his home in Manhattan on 8 December 1980.

Terry Fox was a Canadian athlete and cancer activist who raised millions by trying to run across Canada from east to West. Unfortunately, his cancer stopped him, and he succumbed to osteosarcoma complications on 28 June 1981. He was 22.

Grace Kelly, born in Philadelphia in 1929, had two distinct careers: She was a much-loved Hollywood movie star who gave it all up to become the Princess of Monaco when she married Prince Rainier III in 1956. She died on September 14 1982, when she suffered a slight stroke whilst driving her car. She survived the subsequent crash but had another stroke later that day and was declared brain dead. She was 52.

Karen Carpenter, born in Connecticut, was the lead vocalist and drummer she formed with her older brother Richard, The Carpenters. The duo were both commercially and critically successful. Blessed with a three octave contralto range, she was listed in "Rolling Stone"'s greatest singers of all time. She died in February 1983, aged 32, from complications arising from anorexia nervosa.