Other People Trivia

91. Another legendary hero, whose very existence is also under question, is the champion archer, William Tell. With which country is this heroic figure associated?

From Quiz Legends or Legendary People

Answer: Switzerland

William Tell's existence cannot be verified by historians. Once again, this doesn't necessarily mean the man didn't exist, but that there is no record of him any document dating from the time when he is said to have lived. The Swiss William Tell, so the story goes, was an expert marksman with the crossbow. During the ongoing struggles between the Austrian and Swiss nations in the early 1300s, an Austrian overlord, Gessler, was installed to forcibly rule over an area in Switzerland where Tell lived. He had his hat hung on a pole in the centre of Altdof (the capital of Canton Uri) and demanded that all who passed by should bow to it. When William Tell, travelling past with his son, refused to do so, he was arrested. Knowing of Tell's legendary skills with the crossbow, Gessler ordered that Tell's punishment should be to prove his skill at that instrument - and shoot an apple off the head of his son. Tell did so, but informed Gessler that his next arrow was earmarked for Gessler himself. According to legend, that's exactly what took place at a later date. For this act, and his overall rebellion against a harsh ruler, William Tell is considered today to be an inspirational and patriotic Swiss hero.

From Quiz He Done Her Wrong

Answer: Elizabeth

Elizabeth met John when they were law students and they married in 1977. After John's admission of an extramarital affair and child, Elizabeth filed for separation in January 2010, intending to divorce after North Carolina's mandatory one-year separation. Elizabeth died of cancer in December 2010.

From Quiz The Birth of Any Nation

Answer: India

Known by the nickname "Netaji" in India, Bose is rarely known outside India because in leading the Indian National Army against the British in World War II, Bose received his aid from Germany and Japan. Like many leaders of Asian independence movements during and after the war, Bose was imprisoned by the British, and after his release, went separate ways from Gandhi by resorting to military force in his efforts to gain Indian independence, thus making him more like Washington than the Mahatma. Although he never got to see Indian independence, as he disappeared in 1945, he was twice elected President of the Indian National Congress, in 1938 and again in 1939, which gives credence to the epithet of "the George Washington of India."

From Quiz They Call me Flamboyant!

Answer: Richard Simmons

Richard Simmons was very overweight in his youth and was close to 270 pounds. Through his own determination he lost about 125 of that. He opened a gym in Hollywood that catered to show business people which led him to television appearences promoting exercise, diet, and himself. His series of VCRs set to rock and roll music were a success and eventually were converted to DVDs. He has been an advocate for New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

From Quiz I Will Wait

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

According to Allan Pinkerton, who wrote "Spy of The Rebellion" published in 1883, Cipriano was a conspirator in an 1861 plot to kill Lincoln in Baltimore. Cipriano was born in Corsica in 1823 and died in Maryland in 1910. He claimed to be a southern sympathizer, and was accused of the plot but not convicted. Pinkerton quotes him as saying of Lincoln, "He must die - and die he shall, and ... if necessary, we will die together." While he waited, others plotted. There was at least one other attempt on Lincoln's life before the final one. He realised this when he found there were bullet holes in his hat.

From Quiz Take My Childhood, Please!

Answer: Jackie Coogan

Jackie Coogan (1914-1984) found out too late that his parents had spent all the money which he had earned as a child actor. He eventually sued his own mother to get the money. His struggle led to the 'Coogan Law' (1939), which protects child actors from losing their hard earned money to greedy parents or guardians. The law was updated in 2002 in order to plug gaps and deal with loopholes.

From Quiz Polymaths

Answer: Galileo Galilei

In 1615 the Inquisition disputed Galileo's findings. The Jesuits, who previously had supported Galileo, turned their backs on him. The Inquisition convicted him of heresy, forced him to recant his views, and was sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life. Galileo is today considered the "Father of Science". Although best known for his astronomical findings, he was a physicist, mathematician, and philosopher. He used his 'house arrest' to continue his scientific studies and published several of his most influential papers. He also made improvements to the telescope and military compasses.

From Quiz He's a Character Too

Answer: Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton (1899-1962) could be the greatest of character actor in films of the 20th century. His roles span from Quasimodo, to the Roman, Gracchus, in 'Spartacus' (1960).

From Quiz I'm Not Mad And Neither Am I

Answer: Albert Einstein

Eduard Einstein was the second son of Albert Einstein's first marriage (to Mileva Maric). Following his mother's death in 1948 he spent the rest of his life at the Burghoelzli psychiatric hospital in Zurich where he died in 1965.

From Quiz Fabulously Famous Fatties

Answer: Henry VIII

Henry VIII (1491-1547) had been a handsome, athletic youth, who wrote love songs, danced beautifully, and was formally named "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope his defense of Catholicism against Protestantism in a well argued treatise in Latin. He was honored by Rome and later was excommunicated due to his arguments against the church in order to marry Anne Boleyn and divorce his Catholic wife, Katherine of Aragon. By his death, he was obese, sick with gout and syphilis. Nevertheless he had ushered England into the modern age.

From Quiz Everybody Loves A Lover

Answer: Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn

Spencer Tracy was 23 when he married his wife, Louise. Their first child was born deaf, and she devoted all her time to him, and trying to find a cure. Soon Tracy was having affairs with various leading ladies, including Ingrid Bergman and Joan Crawford. He first met Katharine Hepburn when they were cast together in "Woman of the Year" (1942) and they began a love affair that lasted until his death. A devout Catholic, he would not divorce his wife, and together they founded the John Tracy Clinic for deaf children. Katharine Hepburn married once, in 1928. The marriage, to Ludow Ogeden Smith, ended in 1934 with a quickie divorce in Mexico. She did not attend Spencer Tracy's funeral out of respect for his wife and children.

From Quiz Someone Like You

Answer: Linda Hamilton

Linda Hamilton (b. 1956) is an American actress who is best known for her role as the character Sarah Conner is the blockbuster movie "The Terminator" and its sequel "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991). Her identical twin sister Leslie Hamilton Gearren is a nurse, but did appear in three different scenes in the first movie as Linda's double.

From Quiz If I Only Had Some Courage

Answer: J Bruce Ismay

Although he vigorously rejected claims that he did anything wrong, he was labelled a coward in society and the press on both sides of the Atlantic. Two towns called Ismay in the USA, one in Texas and one in Montana, both considered changing their names because of the incident. All the other choices have portrayed J Bruce Ismay on film or stage.

From Quiz God's Advice?

Answer: Holyfield said God told him he'd win

Holyfield said God had told him he'd win in the third round. When the third round came and went with Lewis still standing, Holyfield said his energy just went away. Earlier, Lewis had mocked Holyfield for having many children out of wedlock. Maybe God noticed, too.

From Quiz Any Regrets?

Answer: Don't shoot your opponent

Hamilton told Philip to "throw away your first shot" - to fire in the air, because a Christian man could not kill another in a duel. Philip was killed in his duel. A few years later, Hamilton died the same way. Some historians believe it was a way of committing suicide, and Hamilton said on his deathbed that he'd thrown away his shot.

From Quiz A Sorry State of Affairs

Answer: King Henry VIII

Jane was the third wife of King Henry VIII, and had become the object of Henry's attentions during the course of her duties serving Queen Anne Boleyn. Their son, Edward VI, would be Henry's only male heir to the throne.

From Quiz The Skeleton in My Closet

Answer: William S. Burroughs

In 1951, while in Mexico City, American author William S. Burroughs was charged with manslaughter after he shot his girlfriend in the head. He claimed they were both drunk and playing a type of William Tell game, where they shot things off of each other's heads. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years, suspended. In other words he was found guilty of manslaughter but served a total of less than 2 weeks in jail. Allegations of bribery were rampant.

From Quiz Oh No! There's Germs on the GermX Bottle!

Answer: Donald Trump

Donald Trump, of the distinctive hair style and star of "The Apprentice" in America, refuses to press the ground floor buttons in lifts. His fear of germs also means that he refuses to shake hands with people, especially, for some unexplained reason, teachers.

From Quiz Ain't Dead Yet: Gifts from Over the Hill

Answer: Alexander von Humboldt

A good friend of Thomas Jefferson and other world leaders, Alexander von Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) traveled widely to study the earth in a scientific manner. In his mid-seventies he began writing everything known, which he titled "Kosmos". He died at 89 while writing the 5th volume. Bonpland was a French surgeon and botanist who accompanied Humboldt. He died at 85. Polo explored China, India and Japan, and died in 1324 at age 69. Einstein passed in 1955 at 76, having just written a letter urging the world's nations to give up nuclear weapons. "Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen." -Mark Twain.

From Quiz You're an Idiom

Answer: Jessica Tandy

Jessica Tandy won an Oscar for her role as Daisy Werthan, an old Jewish woman in 1950s Georgia, in the 1989 movie "Driving Miss Daisy". The story centers on Daisy and her black chauffeur, Hoke Colburn, played by Morgan Freeman. The other women on the list are Tandy's costars in the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes".

From Quiz I Shot The Cover Girl

Answer: David Bailey

David Bailey was born in London in 1938. Leaving school with virtually no qualifications he started as a photography studio dogsbody before rising to fame in the "Swinging 60s". During that period he photographed everyone from rock stars such as the Rolling Stones and The Beatles, to celebrity gangsters such as the Kray twins. He had a four year relationship with model Jean Shrimpton, during which time she became one of the best known and highest paid models in the world.

From Quiz My Husband and I ...

Answer: Denis

The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, married Denis in 1951, a marriage which lasted until his death in 2003.

From Quiz Living with and Dying with Epilepsy

Answer: Ward Bond

Ward Bond was refused by the military during WWII because of his epilepsy. He had become epileptic in late childhood for an unknown reason. His seizures were fairly well controlled. It was not until after his death that it became publicly known that he was epileptic. At least once his behavior was passed off as a problem with diabetes. He had been afraid that if it became public knowledge that he was epileptic his movie career would be ruined, and he was probably right.

From Quiz Ten Little Piggies

Answer: Henry I

Henry I died in 1135 whilst on a visit to Normandy to see his grandchildren. His death is generally accepted to have been due to food poisoning caused by eating too many lampreys, a type of eel, which he was very fond of. His body was transported back to England and he was buried in Reading Abbey, which he had founded some years before. The Abbey was destroyed during the Reformation and no trace of his grave remains.

From Quiz I'll Have A Serving of Scrambled Losers

Answer: Decca

The audition took place on New Year's Day 1962 in London in front of producer Tony Meehan who had been The Shadows' drummer. They played 15 songs in an hour and were sent on their way with a "We'll get back to you". Eventually the rejection came through, by which time they were talking to EMI which lead to their eventual signing with Parlophone. The funny thing is that three EMI producers (Norrie Paramor, Walter Ridley, and Norman Newell) all also rejected The Beatles. It was only when George Martin, who was in charge of comedy records at Parlophone, heard the Decca tapes that The Beatles got any attention at EMI. In light of this last circumstance the Decca decision doesn't seem quite so stupid after all. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_27_Decca_audition and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Martin for more detail.

From Quiz Thieves, Liars and Hypocrites

Answer: Ronald Biggs

Ronnie Biggs took part in "The Great Train Robbery" on 8th August 1963 when a gang stole £2.6 million from a mail train in England. He was sentenced to 30 years in gaol but escaped and fled to Australia via Finnland. After learning the police were after him he fled Australia and ended up in Brazil where he became something of a celebrity appearing on TV and cocking his snoot at the UK authorities. He recorded two songs for "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle", the Sex Pistols movie. Biggs was always seen as a bit of a lad and something of a folk hero but few remember that he was directly implicated in the bashing of the traindriver who subsequently died as a result of his injuries. Jack Mills was the train driver bashed by Biggs' gang. I've included his name here in an effort to preserve his memory. Malcolm McLaren was the self admitted fraud who gave us the Pistols. He died in 2010. Butch Cassidy helped rob trains and eventually fled to South America but his taste in music was too poor even for the Sex Pistols.

From Quiz Do the Crime, Do the Time?

Answer: Draft evasion

Ali objected to the Vietnam War on the grounds that it was against the teachings of the Koran. He maintained that as a Muslim that he could not partake in any wars unless ordered by Allah. His conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals but was overturned by the Supreme Court in June 1971.

From Quiz Sheer Naughtiness

Answer: Boris Becker

In 2000 Boris Becker was forced to admit paternity of a three year old girl, after DNA tests proved he was the father. It also emerged that this was the result of a brief encounter with model Angela Ermankova in the broom cupboard of a London sushi restaurant. In 2009 Mr Becker set the record straight, saying that the encounter had taken place on the stairs of the restaurant, not in a cupboard.

From Quiz And That's Why the Chicken Crossed the Road

Answer: Plato

Plato's best-known work 'The Republic' discusses the meaning of justice and who is happier, the just or unjust man. 'The Republic' proposes a society ruled by philosopher-kings and guardians where every part of the city works together for the "greater good", hence Plato's probable answer to the question of the chicken crossing the road. Plato was a philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle. The Academy in Athens was the first higher learning institution in the Western World. Plato wrote about many subjects including mathematics, rhetoric, philosophy and logic. Aristotle and Damascius were ancient Greek philosophers, Sophocles was an ancient Greek playwright.

From Quiz Real Castaways

Answer: Island of the Blue Dolphins

O'Dell's "Island of the Blue Dolphins" was based on Juana Maria. In 1811 Juana Maria and her people, the Nicolenos, were hired to assist Russian otter hunters. When the otters started to run out warfare between the two broke out. The Russians killed killed all but 7 of these Aleutian islanders. When the schooner "Peor es Nada" came to the island in an heroic attempt to save the last of the Nicolenos, Juana Maria was inadvertently left behind. The "Peor es Nada" sank a month later in a storm and all the Nicolenos who had been saved from the island died of infectious diseases shortly after arrival at the local mission. It was not until 1853 that Juana Maria was found. She had lived all this time alone and appeared to be well. No one knew what her real name was as no one could speak her language and so they christened her Juana Maria. But like her brethren she died within 7 weeks of being taken off her island and brought to the mission. She succumbed to the European diseases to which she had no immunity.

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Last Updated Jul 05 2025 5:44 AM

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