My Esteemed Predecessor? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kurt von Schleicher

Kurt von Schleicher was a shadowy figure; a right-wing militarist who saw himself as the "savior" of Germany. He gained political power through close association with the ageing President Paul von Hindenburg. Like some other politicians in the early 1930s, Schleicher thought he could co-opt or control the Nazis by striking a political deal. Like others, he was wrong: he and his wife were murdered by the Nazis in 1934.

Answer: John C. Fremont

"The Pathfinder," John Charles Fremont was a controversial military officer and explorer. Fremont served briefly as one of the first two Senators from the newly-admitted state of California in 1850-51. He was married to the daughter of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, a Democrat.

A staunch abolitionist, Fremont joined the new Republican Party, running for President in 1856 under the slogan, "Free Soil, Free Men and Fremont!" (His father-in-law voted Democratic.) Early in the Civil War, Fremont angered the Republican establishment by attempting to emancipate slaves in Missouri.

His rift with Republican moderates led to a brief attempt to wrest the nomination from Lincoln in 1864. After the War, his political and financial standing declined rapidly and he faded from public view until his death in 1890.

Answer: Oliver Ellsworth

Oliver Ellsworth was a gifted lawyer and politician from Connecticut. As a Senator, he was instrumental in drafting the Judiciary Act of 1789, which created the federal court system, over which he later presided as 3rd Chief Justice of the United States from 1796 to 1800.

He wasn't George Washington's first choice: John Rutledge was rejected by the Senate, and William Cushing declined the position. Ellsworth was an effective jurist, but his successor John Marshall cast a long shadow. In Hylton v. United States (1793), Ellsworth (almost) announced the legal precept of judicial review - but Marshall got the credit a few years later. Ellsworth encouraged Justices to join in writing judicial opinions instead of having each Justice write a separate opinion - a practice perfected by Marshall, and sometimes known today as "marshalling the Court." Ah, well.

Answer: René Coty

René Coty (1882-1962) was a right-of-center French politician, not particularly popular in his own day and virtually forgotton since. In contrast to De Gaulle, Coty remained in France during the Nazi occupation and took no part in the resistance, though he was cleared of collaboration after the war.

His election to the presidency in 1954 resulted from a deadlock among more popular right-wing leaders. During Coty's tenure, France was plagued by domestic political tension and the worsening crisis in Algeria. Coty begged De Gaulle to enter the government as a stabilizing figure. With the adoption of a new constitution that greatly enhanced the powers of the president, De Galle became the first President of the Fifth French Republic. (Coty was technically the last President of the Fourth Republic.) After De Gaulle's election, Coty continued to serve in a lesser position until his death in 1962. Bonus trivia: The President of the French Republic is also automatically one of the two co-princes of Andorra, along with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell.

Answer: William J. Burns

At the height of his career, William Burns (1861-1932) was as famous as his successor. After a stint in the U.S. Secret Service, Burns founded a private detective agency. Burns prospered through a combination of his considerable skill and his cordial relations with pulp writers and journalists.

He continued his private work while serving as Director of the Bureau of Investigation, aided by his association with the corrupt Attorney General Harry Daugherty. With the death of President Harding and public disclosure of numerous scandals, Burns was forced to resign in 1924 in a wave of much-needed reform.

After retiring from the detective agency he founded, Burns became a mystery writer.

Answer: Bertha von Suttner

Countess Bertha von Suttner was an ardent Austrian pacifist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her best-selling novel, "Die Waffen Nieder!" ("Throw Down Your Arms"), was published in 1889. She later edited a pacifist journal of the same name.

She likely influenced Alfred Nobel to establish the Peace Prize, and became its first female recipient. She passed away on June 9, 1914, at the age of 71 - a mere three weeks before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. She did not live to see the horrors of the World War she had labored so long to prevent.

Answer: Robert the Magnificent

Robert the Magnificent (1000-1035) was the great great grandson of Rollo the Norseman, who founded the Duchy of Normandy, and the grandson (through his mother) of Conan of Brittany - who was not nicknamed "the Barbarian" or otherwise. Much of Robert's life was spent in warfare against family members, leading to near-chaos in Normandy.

Despite this, he embarked on foreign military campaigns, and even planned an invasion of England. Robert the Magnificent is associated with the legendary "Robert the Devil," a nobleman whose mother supposedly sold his soul to Satan, but who expiated the sin with penance. For whatever reason, Robert apparently had a change of heart later in life, and made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Before leaving for the Holy Land, he named his illegitimate son William as his heir. Robert reached Jerusalem but died on the return journey, leaving the eight year old William as Duke of Normandy.

The rest is history - English history.

Answer: Pepin the Short

Pepin the Younger - Pepin the Short - was the youngest son of Charles Martel. As King of the Franks from 752 to 768, Pepin stabilized his kingdom and embarked on a program of territorial expansion (which sounds nicer than aggressive warfare). He gave several conquered city-states to the Papacy (the Donation of Pepin), which formed the nucleus of the Papal lands of the Middle Ages.

He should not be confused with the title character in the popular musical "Pippin," which is very loosely based on his grandson (Charlemagne's son) Pippin the Hunchback.

Answer: Piero the Gouty

Piero di Cosimo de' Medici was head of the Medici family for only about five years, from 1464 to 1469, but managed to alienate much of Northern Italy in a short time. His first major initiative was to commission an audit of the family finances, which disclosed overdue debts.

He tried to collect these, provoking the ire of the Florentine merchant class. Abroad, Piero faced attack by a roster of Renaissance magnates including the D'Este family, the Sforzas, and Bartolomeo Colleoni. Florence survived, but Piero's chronic ill-health and early demise may have saved the Medici family from complete ruin. Piero did commission some lovely paintings, though.

Answer: Feodor III

History hasn't given Feodor III (1661-1682) a nickname, but it could have been "the Afflicted." Feodor suffered from childhood with a crippling disease, thought to be scurvy. His physical challenges may have led him to focus on the life of the mind.

He was highly intelligent, recieved an excellent education, and embarked on a program of modernizing Moscovy. He attempted to base governmental appointments on merit rather than feudal ancestry. This facilitated the later and more successful reforms of Peter the Great. Feodor also sponsored the teaching of Latin and Greek in order to make Western European science and culture more accessible in Russia - again, presaging Peter's reign.

Although Feodor married twice, he left no issue - likely because of his physical ailments.

This resulted in a complex and bloody dynastic struggle following his death, from which Peter the Great eventually emerged as sole Tsar of Muscovy.