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Quiz about Angela BurdettCoutts A Most Remarkable Woman
Quiz about Angela BurdettCoutts A Most Remarkable Woman

Angela Burdett-Coutts: A Most Remarkable Woman Quiz


Born in 1814, Angela Burdett-Coutts became one of Victorian Britain's greatest philanthropists - a kind of Bill Gates of her day. Hopefully, you can learn something of her life from this quiz.

A multiple-choice quiz by stedman. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
stedman
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
373,047
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
152
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Angela Burdett-Coutts was the grand-daughter of Thomas Coutts. What family business was he involved in, the successor of which still continues today? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Angela Burdett-Coutts was a good friend of Charles Dickens, who shared many of her social concerns. Which one of his novels, published in serial form between 1843 and 1844 and set partly in America, did he dedicate to her? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In the 1840s, Angela Burdett-Coutts and Charles Dickens collaborated in the founding of an establishment in Shepherd's Bush named Urania Cottage. Who were to be its main residents? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Angela Burdett-Coutts remained unmarried until the age of 67. But to which famous military hero and politician did she herself once propose marriage? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Angela Burdett-Coutts also gave substantial amounts of money for schools and housing in the poorer parts of London. What specific establishment did she found in Spitalfields, to help provide women with an essential money-making skill? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Angela Burdett-Coutts was a great benefactor of the Church of England, not only in Britain but overseas. In which of the following overseas locations did she NOT found or endow bishoprics? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In 1872, Angela Burdett-Coutts became the first woman to be presented with what honour? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Who described Angela Burdett-Coutts as "After my mother, the most remarkable woman in the kingdom"? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Why did Angela Burdett-Coutts forfeit three-fifths of her income in 1881? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. During the twentieth century, Angela Burdett-Coutts and her many achievements became increasingly forgotten. But in 1978, which spouse of a British politician published a biography of her, entitled "Lady Unknown"? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Angela Burdett-Coutts was the grand-daughter of Thomas Coutts. What family business was he involved in, the successor of which still continues today?

Answer: Banking

The original Coutts' Bank was founded in 1692, and survives today as a London-based private bank. In 1837, Angela inherited her grandfather's fortune when her step-grandmother died. In today's money, it would have been equivalent to around £130 million, making her reputedly the richest woman in Britain at the time.
2. Angela Burdett-Coutts was a good friend of Charles Dickens, who shared many of her social concerns. Which one of his novels, published in serial form between 1843 and 1844 and set partly in America, did he dedicate to her?

Answer: Martin Chuzzlewit

The dedication reads: "To Miss Burdett Coutts this tale is dedicated with the True and Earnest regard of the author."
3. In the 1840s, Angela Burdett-Coutts and Charles Dickens collaborated in the founding of an establishment in Shepherd's Bush named Urania Cottage. Who were to be its main residents?

Answer: Homeless women

Urania Cottage opened in 1847 as a "Home for Homeless Women", and was a model of its sort. In practice, the majority of inhabitants were women who been forced by circumstances to work as prostitutes, and whom both Dickens and Angela Burdett-Coutts agreed needed to be given a second chance. It was very much a pet project of Dickens, with his partner providing mainly financial support.
4. Angela Burdett-Coutts remained unmarried until the age of 67. But to which famous military hero and politician did she herself once propose marriage?

Answer: The Duke of Wellington

Shortly after inheriting her fortune, she met and became close friends with the Duke of Wellington. In 1847, when she was 33 and he was 78, she asked him to marry her. The Duke felt that the difference in their ages was rather too great, and turned her down.
5. Angela Burdett-Coutts also gave substantial amounts of money for schools and housing in the poorer parts of London. What specific establishment did she found in Spitalfields, to help provide women with an essential money-making skill?

Answer: Sewing school

The decline of the silk trade in the Spitalfields area of East London put many women out of work. By enabling them to learn a new trade, Angela Burdett-Coutts gave them the means to carry on earning a living, typical of the practical nature of her philanthropy.
6. Angela Burdett-Coutts was a great benefactor of the Church of England, not only in Britain but overseas. In which of the following overseas locations did she NOT found or endow bishoprics?

Answer: Denmark

Denmark, not being part of the British Empire, was not a beneficiary of Baroness Burdett-Coutts' philanthropy. She did, however, endow bishoprics in Adelaide and Cape Town, and founded that of New Westminster in British Columbia.
7. In 1872, Angela Burdett-Coutts became the first woman to be presented with what honour?

Answer: Freedom of the City of London

Angela Burdett-Coutts received many honours in recognition of her philanthropic work. In 1871, Queen Victoria granted her a peerage, ennobling her as Baroness Burdett-Coutts of Highgate and Brookfield. The granting of the Freedom of the City of London came the following year.
8. Who described Angela Burdett-Coutts as "After my mother, the most remarkable woman in the kingdom"?

Answer: The future King Edward VII

The work of Angela Burdett-Coutts was recognised and appreciated by many influential and powerful Victorians, from Queen Victoria downwards. The Queen's eldest son, the future Edward VII, was himself an admirer.
9. Why did Angela Burdett-Coutts forfeit three-fifths of her income in 1881?

Answer: She married a foreign national

Under the terms of her grandfather's will, Angela was supposed to forfeit all of her inheritance if she married a foreigner. In 1881 she did just that, marrying her American secretary. After much legal wrangling, she was allowed to keep two-fifths of the income from her inheritance until the date of her death. She lived into the twentieth century, dying in 1906 at the age of 92.
10. During the twentieth century, Angela Burdett-Coutts and her many achievements became increasingly forgotten. But in 1978, which spouse of a British politician published a biography of her, entitled "Lady Unknown"?

Answer: Edna Healey

Edna Healey was the wife of Denis Healey, a prominent Labour politician who held a number of Ministerial positions, most notably Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974-79.

Cherie Blair (wife of Prime Minister Tony) wrote an autobiography entitled "Speaking for Myself". Denis Thatcher (husband of Prime Minster Margaret) was a successful businessman but not a published author. Nigella Lawson has of course written many cookery books, and is the daughter (not wife) of another ex-Chancellor, Conservative politician Nigel.
Source: Author stedman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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