Yankee Doodle Did What?! Trivia Quiz

Answer: George Springer

George Chelston Springer III was born in 1989 in New Britain, Connecticut and attended the University of Connecticut, where he was named an All American and Baseball Player of the Year in his conference. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in 2011, and played for that team between 2014 and 2020. In 2021 he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, playing both in the outfield and as designated hitter. In 2017 he was World Series Most Valuable Player, with Houston. His love of the defunct National Hockey League team from Hartford has been displayed in Toronto by his wearing of batting gloves specially made for him in Whalers' colours. (These gloves may or may not be responsible for his resurgence as a hitter in the 2025 season.)

Beyond the playing field, Springer is an advocate for awareness regarding stuttering, which has been part of his own life since childhood, particularly supporting and encouraging kids who stutter not to let it hold them back.

Answer: Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King was born in 1947 in Portland, Maine and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maine in 1970. His knack of making the ordinary seem frighteningly horrific has been displayed in almost all of his long list of novels, novellas and other works, starting with "Carrie" in 1974 and progressing through the decades to "11/22/63" in 2011 and beyond. Many of his works use Maine as their setting, at least in part. Besides horror he has also written extensively in the fantasy genre, as well as crime, thrillers and non-fiction, sometimes using pen names (Richard Bachman being one).

Many of his novels have been adapted as motion pictures, but it is the opinion of this quiz author that the books are always better, mostly because the films are never quite as scary as one's imagination, especially as stimulated by King's writing. Your experience may be different. King's list of awards for writing is long, totalling over one hundred (and counting) including Bram Stoker Awards for horror, World Fantasy Awards and the O. Henry Award in 1996 for the short story "The Man in the Black Suit".

Answer: Joshua Chamberlain

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born in 1828 in Brewer, Maine and died in Portland, Maine in 1914. During those 85 years he distinguished himself both as a military leader and a politician. One could also add educator to the list.

During the American Civil War, he served as an officer in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, serving at Fredericksburg, and most notably at Gettysburg, in July 1863, where he distinguished himself during the engagement at Little Round Top on the second day of the battle. For his actions on that day he received the Medal of Honor. He continued to serve and was gravely wounded in 1864, but survived to finish the war as a brigadier general, and was present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House in April 1865.

In 1867 he became Maine's 32nd governor, serving four one year terms thereafter, as a Republican. After that he returned to Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, where he had both studied and taught before the conflict. In 1871 he was appointed Bowdoin's president, a position which he held until 1883.

Answer: Lizzie Borden

Lizzie Andrew Borden (1860-1927) spent almost her entire life in Fall River, Massachusetts, even though for much of it many of her neighbours believed her to be a murderess. Lizzie's mother died when Lizzie was very young, so she and her sister Emma lived with their father, Andrew and his second wife Abby during their formative years. Although well-to-do, Andrew was frugal and did not spend his money unwisely. It was known that there were disagreements within the Borden family, and when, in August 1892, Andrew and Abby were found murdered with an axe, suspicion fell on Lizzie. Conflicting stories and other anomalies led to Lizzie's acquittal.

No one else was ever charged with the murders, and the general consensus is that Lizzie Borden did indeed wield the axe that killed Andrew and Abby, with several theories as to why having been put forward.

Answer: John F. Kennedy

Had I said president instead of statesman, you would have immediately known to choose John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963), I imagine. He was, of course, both, as well as having been a heroic naval officer during the Second World War. The story of his courage and leadership as captain of the ill-fated PT-109 has been told in both book form and on the silver screen, with Cliff Robertson playing the young JFK. He also was an author, notably of "Profiles in Courage", published in 1956.

He was born in Brookline, Massachusetts into a prominent family, educated at Harvard, and after his wartime service went into politics, serving in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In 1960 he ran as the Democratic candidate for President, and won, becoming the 35th President of the USA (and its first Roman Catholic president). He was assassinated during a trip to Dallas, Texas in November 1963.

Answer: Alan Shepard

Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (1923-1998) was born in Derry, New Hampshire, and educated at the US Naval Academy (Annapolis) and Naval War College. During WWII he served at sea in the destroyer USS Cogswell in the Pacific, training as a naval aviator after the war's end. Having served for some time as a test pilot, he was selected as one of NASA's original "Mercury Seven" astronauts in 1959.

In May 1961, Shepard made a suborbital trip into space in his Freedom 7 capsule, becoming the first American space traveller, and second human in space after the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who had orbited Earth one month earlier. Shepard returned to space in 1971, aboard Apollo 14, famously "playing golf" on the moon during that expedition. (He hit a couple of golf balls, actually.)

Answer: Sarah Silverman

Sarah Kate Silverman was born in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1970. She has been said to have described her initial attempt at stand up comedy, at age 17, as "awful". Subsequent endeavours have been much more successful, if at times controversial. Her sometimes raunchy humour has been seen on TV shows from "Saturday Night Live" to "The Sarah Silverman Program", and she has performed in such films as "Wreck-It Ralph" (voice) and the drama "I Smile Back" (2015).

She has adapted her memoir "The Bedwetter" into an off-Broadway musical.

Answer: James B. Angell

James Burrill Angell (1829-1916) was born in Scituate, Rhode Island and graduated from Brown University, in Providence, RI, in 1849. He became a professor at his alma mater, giving this up during the American Civil War, to edit the Providence "Journal" full time.

In 1866 he accepted the position of president of the University of Vermont, in Burlington, serving in that capacity until 1871 when he accepted a similar position at the University of Michigan, becoming its third president. He held the post until 1909, but took leaves of absence in order to undertake a number of diplomatic missions in places such as China and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). His son, James Rowland Angell (1869-1949), born in Burlington, VT, followed his father in a career as an educator, serving as president of Yale University 1921-1937.

Answer: Ethan Allen

Ethan Allen (1738-1789) is most often associated with his leadership of the patriotic Green Mountain Boys of Vermont during the American Revolution, though he was born in Litchfield, in the then Connecticut Colony. He was a farmer and writer as well as a soldier and politician.

He led the Green Mountain Boys in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, but was later captured by the British when attempting an assault on Montreal. After some time he was released as part of a prisoner exchange, returning in 1778 to what had become the Vermont Republic the previous year, receiving a hero's welcome.

He remained prominent in Vermont affairs until his death, after which he was buried in Burlington, VT.

Answer: Jody Williams

Jody Williams was born in Rutland, Vermont in 1950 and received degrees from the University of Vermont (Burlington, VT); the School of International Training (Brattleboro, VT) and Johns Hopkins University (Washington, DC). She is founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), as well as a chief strategist and spokesperson for the ICBL.The Nobel Peace Prize for 1997 was awarded in equal parts to the ICBL itself, and to Ms Williams as its coordinator.

She has continued to advocate for human rights, women's rights and the pursuit of peace in the world.