They're Dead, Jim: 1940-1949 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) was a major figure in the Russian Revolution (1917) and the early Soviet Union, serving as the founder and commander of the Red Army. A brilliant orator and writer, he was an ardent Marxist who feuded with Joseph Stalin after Lenin's death. As Stalin consolidated power, Trotsky was forced into exile, eventually settling in Mexico. There he continued to write and criticize Stalin's regime until he was assassinated by a Spanish communist agent with an ice axe under orders from the Soviet secret police.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig (1903-1941) was a much loved baseball player who spent his entire career with the New York Yankees. He played in 2,130 consecutive games, earning him the nickname "Iron Horse". In 1939, Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable neurological disease that affects muscle control.

He retired that same year and gave his famous farewell speech to the Yankees faithful, calling himself "the luckiest man on the face of the Earth." He died just two years later.

Answer: Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) was a Canadian writer whose 1908 novel "Anne of Green Gables" became an international classic. Set on Prince Edward Island, the story introduced us to Anne Shirley, an imaginative and spirited orphan who found fans all around the world. Montgomery wrote numerous sequels and other works, but she struggled privately with depression and the pressures of fame.

Her official cause of death was heart failure.

Answer: Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was a Serbian-American inventor and engineer whose innovations in electricity, particularly alternating current, helped transform the modern world. Brilliant but underappreciated in his lifetime, Tesla held hundreds of patents and dreamed up futuristic inventions, from wireless power transmission to death rays.

In his later years, Tesla became increasingly reclusive and eccentric, living in New York hotels and feeding pigeons. He died of penniless and alone, but his reputation has more recently been revived as one of history's greatest inventors.

Answer: Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller (1904-1944) was one of the most popular bandleaders of the Big Band era, known for his smooth arrangements and great melodies. At the height of his career, Miller gave it up to support the troops during World War II, joining the U.S. Army Air Forces and forming a military band to boost morale.

While en route to perform for American soldiers in France, his plane disappeared over the English Channel in bad weather and was never found. His vanishing act at age 40 remains a source of speculation and mystery today.

Answer: George S. Patton

George S. Patton (1885-1945) was a bold and aggressive U.S. Army general who played a crucial role in World War II, leading successful campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, and across Western Europe. Known for his fierce discipline and sharp tongue, Patton was both admired and criticized.

After the war ended, he remained in Germany during the occupation. In December 1945, Patton was severely injured in a car accident near Mannheim and died twelve days later.

Answer: John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) was a British economist whose revolutionary theories challenged classical economics and laid the foundation for much of modern macroeconomics. In response to the Great Depression, he argued that governments should intervene in the economy through spending and fiscal policy to manage demand and reduce unemployment.

His ideas were adopted by many Western nations during and after World War II.

Answer: Al Capone

Al Capone (1899-1947) was one of the most notorious criminals in American history. Rising to power during the 1920s, he built a vast bootlegging and gambling empire in Chicago and became a symbol of the anarchy that resulted from national Prohibition.

Despite his violent reign and suspected involvement in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Capone was ironically brought down for not paying income taxes. He served time at Alcatraz, where his health deteriorated due to syphilis. Released in poor condition, he spent his final years in seclusion at his Florida estate before dying of complications from a stroke and pneumonia.

Answer: Orville Wright

Orville Wright (1871-1948), together with his older brother Wilbur, invented and built the world's first successful powered airplane. On December 17, 1903, the "Wright Flyer" took off near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and the rest is history. While Wilbur died young in 1912, Orville lived to see aviation evolve from primitive biplanes to jet engines. Orville died in Dayton, Ohio, the same city where the brothers had built their early flying machines.

Answer: Lead Belly

Lead Belly (1888-1949), who real name was Huddie Ledbetter, was a prolific and influential musician whose repertoire included folk, blues, spirituals, and work songs. He was known for his strong voice, distinctive twelve-string guitar playing, and a vast collection of songs he either wrote or adapted from oral tradition. Discovered by John and Alan Lomax, he became a major figure in the American folk revival.