Mixed Famous People Trivia

1. Who opened the Liverpool John Lennon Airport?

From Quiz People Who Were Honoured With a Smooth Landing

Answer: Yoko Ono and Queen Elizabeth II, Golden Jubilee's Celebrations (2002)

John Lennon's life has been chronicled in great detail, but the renaming of the Liverpool airport in his name does not feature in authorised and unauthorised biographies of his life. Liverpool Airport, known as Speke Airport after the Liverpool suburb it is located in, was privatised in 1991, and the owners decided to rename it in Lennon's honour in 2001, 21 years after his death. Until that time, renaming places was the province of heads of states - making this Beatle the first celebrity to receive this honour. Liverpool John Lennon Airport was the first British airport to be named after a person. To use his name, the airport needed consent from his widow Yoko Ono. She agreed and made the announcement in the airport in 2001. A year later during the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations, Ms Ono and the Queen officially opened the airport in July 2002. As an added commemoration, a life-sized statue of John Lennon was unveiled at the airport by Yoko Ono and Cherie Booth (the British PM's wife) in March 2002, prior to the official airport opening. Also unveiled at that time was a by-line for the airport: "Above us only sky", a lyric from his anthem "Imagine" (1971). This question was flown into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1.

From Quiz Dig Deep Into This "Famous Disinterments" Quiz

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Big Jim Kenally assembled his gang of graverobbers, and they were John Hughes, Terrence Mullen, Lewis C. Swegles and wagon driver William Nealy. Little did Kenally know however was that Swegles was operating undercover as an informant for the U.S. Secret Service to snitch out counterfeiters. In 1876, Kenally was back in Chicago while the other four entered Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois, where Lincoln and his sons (wife Mary would join them later) were entombed. The gang was sure there would be a payday inside, but they faced difficulties with the lock, and even then after breaking in, the lead-lined coffin proved too heavy for them to remove. The cover was screwed in very securely and they were running out of time. Swegles went outside, ostensibly to get Nealy the coachman to help out, but instead he signaled the authorities. Hughes and Mullen however, managed to elude everyone and get away. They would be arrested later in Chicago and stand trial in 1877. Lincoln's body would be removed and moved to various graves until finally entombed in that same Springfield cemetery.

From Quiz Love Times Two

Answer: Siam (Thailand)

Heycock and Prince Bira first married in 1938, the first year that the speed obsessed Prince entered the European Motorsport Championship. He continued to race in various championships and following their divorce in 1949, his motorsport career took off when he lined up in the first ever Formula One race, held at Silverstone in 1950. He continued to race in Formula One until 1955, gaining several top ten places and making his mark in his cars, painted in the colour now known as Bira Blue. He also competed in sailing events at the Olympic Games of 1956, 1964, 1968, and 1972 as well as marrying a further four times between 1951 and 1967. His final marriage came in 1983, when he remarried his first wife, Ceril, and they were together until his death in London in 1985. Bonus info: Prince Bira's grandfather, King Mongkut, was the inspiration for the musical, "The King And I" (1951). Extra bonus info: Prince Bira was the first Thai driver in Formula One and there wouldn't be another until Alex Albon in 2019, 69 years later.

From Quiz Mixed People

Answer: Joan Fontaine

Joan and Olivia both won acedemy awards for best actress in a leading role. Their name was really de Havilland but their mother did not want Joan to be known by the same name as her sister. Olivia had many starring roles including Melanie Wilkes in 'Gone With the Wind'. One of Joan's most noted roles was in Hitchcock's 1940 version of 'Rebecca' for which she was nominated for an acedemy award.

From Quiz Socially Distant

Answer: Bobby Fischer

In 1956 at just the age of 13, Bobby Fischer won "The Game of the Century", which pitted him against one of America's strongest chess masters in Donald Byrne. And he won it convincingly. Two years later he became the youngest person to become a grandmaster. He won the World Chess Championship in 1972 against Boris Spassky of the USSR in a match that embodied the Cold War. But when the time came to defend his title in 1975, Fischer had issue with the format and refused to play. The title went to the USSR's Anatoly Karpov, by default. Fischer removed himself from public life until 1992 when he emerged from his isolation to play a 'rematch' against Boris Spassky. Fischer won the game, but by virtue of it being held in Yugoslavia (a country under US sanctions) he broke the law, and the government issued a warrant for his arrest and revoked his passport. Fischer eventually found a haven in Iceland, where he was granted citizenship and lived out his remaining years.

From Quiz 20th-Century People Who Promoted World Peace

Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhael Gorbachev (born 1931) was the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party from 1985 to 1991. He withdrew Russian troops from Afghanistan and had summits with President Reagan to limit nuclear arms. His policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restricting) led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 ending the Cold War. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

From Quiz Ten Great Conquerors in the History of the World

Answer: Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan (1162-1227) was originally known as Temujin of the Borjigin tribe. His father was a khan of this small tribe, and was murdered when Temujin was very young. His family was then discarded and he was left to die. He survived, however, grew in strength, and united the nomadic tribes in northern China. His conquest of northern China and territories as far as Afghanistan paved the way for his grandson, Kublai Khan, to conquer the whole of China, and found the Yuan Dynasty. In his lifetime, he conquered land area four times the size of Alexander the Great and twice the size of the Roman Empire.

From Quiz Age Does Not Matter

Answer: Germany

Heinrich Nestle (1814-1890), known as Henri Nestlé, was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and founded the Nestlé Company. He trained as a pharmacist for four years, and, at the age of 20, he moved to Switzerland where he started to manufacture nut oils and carbonated mineral water. After years of experiments, Nestlé, concerned with the high infant mortality rate, combined cow's milk with grains and sugar, and in 1867 launched "children flour", a substitute for breast milk, which quickly became popular. He developed other products, including condensed milk, that allowed chocolatier Daniel Peter to formulate milk chocolate. This partnership resulted in the creation of the Nestlé Company in 1879, when Henri Nestlé was 65 years old.

From Quiz One Good... TWO BETTER. Famous Teams

Answer: Eydie Gorme

Steve and Eydie met in 1953, when they were regulars on a local New York City TV show hosted by Steve Allen. They were married in 1957 and remained married until her 2013 death at the age of 84.

From Quiz United States of Non Americans

Answer: Grace Kelly

Albert's citizenship was passed down "jus sanguinis" or by right of blood as all children born to an American citizen automatically inherit citizenship, until they are of an age to be able to renounce it if desired. Should Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have children, they will also be USA citizens too, regardless of where they are born unless Markle gives up her American citizenship. Albert's mother, Grace Kelly was a movie star who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in April 1956 and died following a car accident in 1982.

From Quiz Vine Of The Times

Answer: Mario Andretti

Andretti was a supremely gifted racing driver, also becoming the first driver to have won IndyCar races in four different decades following his 1993 victory at Phoenix International Raceway. He founded his winery and vineyard in the Napa Valley of California in 1996, with long time friend Joe Antonini, the former CEO of Kmart and their Chardonnay attracts much praise for its buttery, oaky taste, along with a robust Pinot Noir, with savoury tastes of bacon fat and smoke mingling with the red berries.

From Quiz Big Star In The Big House Vol. 5

Answer: Fanny Hill

Cleland was charged with "corrupting the King's subjects" and completely disavowed the book at the trial. As a result it was withdrawn and it would be 1970 before an uncensored version was published in UK, whilst in USA, the book was published in 1963 and the resulting legal battle over obscenity was concluded in 1966 when the United States Supreme Court ruled that Fanny Hill did not meet the standards for obscenity. Although famed for being pornographic, the novel contains no vulgar descriptions or scientific terms for genitalia, instead using euphemisms to describe such areas.

From Quiz You Know Me, I'm Famous

Answer: Marie Curie

Maria Sklodowska was born in Poland in 1867. She left for Paris, France in 1891 and completed her studies in chemistry, mathematics and physics there at the University of Paris. She married Pierre Curie in 1895, becoming a naturalised citizen by marriage. Madam Curie achieved many firsts in her life. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win it twice and the first to win it in two different sciences. Together with her husband, she discovered radium and ultimately paid the price for it by dying of aplastic anaemia from exposure to the radiation.

From Quiz The More, the Marrier

Answer: Henry VIII

Henry, once the most eligible prince in Christendom, worked his way through six wives. Number one was Katherine of Aragon, whom he divorced in order to marry - Number two, Anne Boleyn, whom he beheaded in order to marry - Number three, Jane Seymour, who died as a result of childbirth. She was followed by - Number four, Anne of Cleves, who apparently smelled nasty and was divorced in favour of - Number five, the teenage Katherine Howard, who was accused of adultery and beheaded. Number six was Katherine Parr, who was more a nurse than a wife to him, as by this time Henry was grossly fat and suffering from disgusting leg ulcers. She survived him, and remarried (it was her third marriage) to Thomas Seymour, and promptly died in childbirth. The only one of his wives to have achieved anything like 'happy ever after' was Anne of Cleves, who retired to a nice house on a pension and was regarded as Henry's 'sister', presumably because it would have been politically impossible to execute her. She outlived Henry by ten years, and seems to have had a very pleasant life, never remarrying but lacking nothing for her comfort.

From Quiz Extraordinary Women of the 20th Century: Part I

Answer: Elizabeth Arden

Elizabeth Arden (1878-1966) was a Canadian-American businesswoman. She coined the business name for a former partner, Elizabeth Hubbard, and from Lord Tennyson's poem "Enoch Arden" thus becoming Elizabeth Arden. Coco Chanel (1883-1971) was born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. Her signature product is Chanel No. 5. Estée Lauder (1908-2004) born Josephine Esther Mentzer. As a child she was known by the nickname Estée and she and her husband Joseph Lauder started the company in 1946. Mary Kay (1918-2001), born Mary Kathlyn Wagner, started Mary Kay Cosmetics in 1963 in Dallas, Texas. She later became Mary Kay Ash when she married her third husband Melville J. Ash in 1966.

From Quiz Not Quite Right - Or Is That Left

Answer: Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most brilliant men in history, wrote from right to left and in mirror image. This is certainly easier for a person using their left hand, especially writing with ink, although it appears he may have been ambidextrous. In the 15th century, people were superstitious and it was thought left handers were "of the devil", so it is rare to find someone from this period whose work has been studied and whom scholars believe to be left handed.

From Quiz Interesting Facts on Famous People

Answer: Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?

Harry Morris Warner (1881-1958) was one of the founders of the film, television and music production company, Warner Brothers, along with his three brothers, Albert, Sam and Jack. He served as the company's president until two years before his death. Originally from Poland, the family had moved to the United States in the 1880s. After trying many occupations, and then moving into the fledgling movie business, the brothers formed their own production and distribution company by 1912. Rin Tin Tin was their most important star for quite some time, with Jack Warner saying the dog "seemed to display more intelligence than some of the Warner comics". It was a cut throat business, though, with the other major companies often putting Warner Brothers on the verge of financial ruin. In 1925 Sam Warner purchased a radio station, with the idea that perhaps they could incorporate synchronised sound in films as well, but initially Harry Warner wasn't impressed with the idea, making his famous statement quoted in the above question. Eventually he relented, however, and Warner Brothers made Hollywood history by becoming the company, in partnership with Vidaphone, responsible for the film industry's first talkie, "The Jazz Singer" in 1927. Tragically though, what began as a dream, became a reality, and grew to an outstanding success over the years that followed, even after the early death of Sam, finally fell apart in 1956, when Jack Warner betrayed Harry in a business deal of mammoth underhanded proportions. He secretly bought back all the shares in the company after the brothers agreed to put their stock on the market - and put himself in as company President in Harry's place. The brothers never spoke again. Harry's health collapsed almost overnight as a result of this act and he died two years later - some say of a broken heart.

From Quiz Call Me Al

Answer: Capp

Al Capp was introduced to drawing as a form of therapy after his leg was amputated above the knee, following an accident with a trolley car at the age of nine. Andy Capp is a British comic strip created by cartoonist Reg Smythe.

From Quiz My Shoes Make News

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II's father, George VI, had been seriously ill for some time and performed very few royal duties in the months before his death. Elizabeth was on her way to Australia and New Zealand for a royal tour and had stopped in Kenya on the way. According to her, she was out for a walk to see the sun rise over the mountains when an eagle swooped down and only just missed her. She stated afterward that that must have happened around the time of her father's death.

From Quiz Intelligent Life on Earth

Answer: Stephen W. Hawking

Stephen W. Hawking grew up in a family that was big on academics and not so big on financial security. They moved around a bit and Stephen did not always do well at school, though he was clearly gifted in science early on. As a child, he and his math teacher built a computer from spare parts from a clock and a telephone switchboard.

From Quiz Material Girl

Answer: Marilyn Monroe

Although in life her excesses did not run to "things" - at least not when measured by movie-star standards - Marilyn Monroe is the original "Material Girl," since her performance of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" ("Talk to me, Harry Winston!") from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" was the inspiration for the famous Madonna video. Marilyn's nude photo portraits, taken when she was an unknown starlet, can be said to be the foundation on which the "Playboy" empire was built. Other iconic photos taken during the filming of "The Seven Year Itch," in which air forced upwards through sidewalk grates by New York subway trains exposed her legs and panties, may have been responsible for the breakup of her marriage to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. Marilyn longed to be taken seriously as an actress, and attended the Actors' Studio in New York to develop her craft. She was chronically tardy, initially due to shyness and stage fright and later also to her dependence on prescription drugs, which were probably responsible for her death in 1962.

From Quiz Hero with a 'Heart'

Answer: Confucius

While Confucius is today remembered primarily for his many pithy quotations, he was also a kind teacher who was known to break from tradition in his teaching methods, preferring to form personal relationships with his students. Much of his philospohy was based around treating others with kindness, while exercising self-discipline. He once wrote: "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."

From Quiz Stroke of Genius

Answer: William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, born in England in 1564, was an English author, who became famous for writing masterpieces such as "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", "Othello" and "Macbeth", amongst others. Today, his works are considered some of the best.

From Quiz Interesting Facts on Famous People No 2

Answer: He shot his own plane down

As he entered a dive and fired a short burst from the cannons in the new state of the art machine, Attridge was going so fast that he overtook his own bullets and the plane was hit. It began to grind and shudder and the windshield buckled inwards onto the pilot. He headed back to his landing strip, but the plane began to lose power so quickly that the very experienced pilot knew he wouldn't make it. He crash landed into a group of trees, demolishing all in the 300 foot distance it took the plane to stop, and breaking off the right wing in the process. Attridge suffered a broken leg and three busted vertebrae as a result of his deadly accurate aim.

From Quiz America's Most Flaunted

Answer: Barbara Hutton

Barbara Hutton was the daughter of the co-founder of banking giant E.F. Hutton & Co. and the granddaughter of Frank Woolworth of the Woolworth department store empire. Hutton's mother died when she was five years old and her father sent her away to boarding schools for the next 13 years. By 1924, when she was six years old, Hutton's personal fortune (held in trust) was estimated at $28,000,000 ($375,000,000 at early 21st century values). By age 21 Barbara's personal net worth had increased to an estimated modern equivalent of $750,000,000. As part of being "introduced" to New York's elite society at 18 years old, Hutton was given a debutante ball. Despite being in the middle of the Great Depression Hutton's family spared no expense. The party was the subject of intense interest from the local, national and even international press. The estimated cost of the party was $60,000 or roughly $875,000 at current prices. The perceived indifference to the suffering of the majority of the US population caused the media of the time to dub Hutton and other similar wealthy young women the "poor little rich girls". Unfortunately, in Barbara Hutton's case the moniker proved true, as her wealth did not shield her from a life of disappointment and heartache. She was married seven (!) times to various men who frequently abused her physically and psychologically and used her for her wealth. An exception was between 1942-1945, when she was married to Hollywood legend Cary Grant, who by all accounts treated her kindly and loved her deeply. Hutton's only child, a son from her second marriage to Count Kurt von Haugwitz-Reventlow, died in a plane crash in 1972. Hutton suffered from anorexia and battled prescription painkiller abuse all her adult life. Generous to a fault, lonely and damaged, Hutton died nearly penniless in 1979 living in Los Angeles' Beverley Wilshire Hotel. As a fitting tribute in 1987 actress Farrah Fawcett starred in the biography of Hutton's life "Poor Little Rich Girl: the Barbara Hutton Story". Doris Duke was also a Depression era debutante and child of tobacco baron, James Buchanan Duke. Doris Duke, like Barbara Hutton lived a privileged life that played out in the society pages. Janet Lee Bouvier was the mother of Jackie Kennedy and herself a famous Depression era debutante. Kathy Hilton is the mother of Paris and Nicole Hilton.

From Quiz Facts on Famous People

Answer: The Birdman of Alcatraz

Stroud lived from 1890 to 1963. He spent the greater part of his life in various prisons, from 1909 until his death. Originally committed for twelve years for murder, he proved to be an exceptionally violent prisoner. During his first stint for murder, he assaulted several people, and in 1916 stabbed a guard to death. He spent the remainder of his life in solitary confinement, segregated from all but the most necessary of human contact for an agonising forty-two years. During his time in prison, Stroud found a nest filled with injured birds. He took them and cared for them until they were old enough to care for themselves. It was from this experience that his interest in birds sprang, and, over the years that followed, he became known as an expert in the field of ornithology. Most of this work was centred on canaries, the only birds he was allowed to have. He wrote two acclaimed books on his work, "Diseases of Canaries" and "Stroud's Digest on the Diseases of Birds". He also contributed to several important strands of bird pathology, and discovered a cure for one avian disease. Because of all the letters he received, which involved the prison authorities having to read and copy each one, attempts were eventually made by those who controlled Stroud's life to put an end to his avian activities. This went as far as attempting to have him transferred. Stroud resisted, but to no avail. He was transferred to Alcatraz, where he spent the remainder of his life - and where he was not allowed to keep his beloved birds. He switched to studying law and writing to fill in his time instead. He wrote "Bobbie", which was an autobiography, and "Looking Outward: A History of the US Prison System from Colonial Times to the Formation of the Bureau of Prisons". The Warden, however, banned their publication. He died, from ill health, at the age of seventy-three, on 21 November, 1963, having spent all but nineteen years of his life in prison. With forty-two of those years in solitary confinement, this seems to well and truly qualify as cruel and unusual punishment. Information for this question was obtained from the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stroud

From Quiz Brilliant Businessmen!

Answer: Ray Kroc

Kroc discovered the restaurant while selling milkshake machines. He started out as a franchisor, and eventually decided to buy the restaurant outright. Colonel Sanders started KFC, Dave Thomas started Wendy's, and Robert Peterson started Jack in the Box.

From Quiz It Could Be Worse...

Answer: The St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Al Capone ordered a hit on Moran and his men, by setting up a fake delivery of hijacked whiskey to a garage Moran owned at 2122 North Clark St. Moran was late for the appointment, and as he approached the garage he spotted a police car parked nearby. Believing this might be a police shakedown, he stopped instead for a cup of coffee nearby. Unknown to Moran at the time, the police car actually held several members of Capone's gang, including two who were dressed as police officers. After they entered the garage, witnesses heard the sound of machine guns firing, and then the five men came out and drove away. Police found the bodies of seven of Moran's men, who had been lined up against a wall and shot. While Bugs Moran missed the massacre, this event proved the turning point in the conflict between Capone and Moran. After the massacre, Capone consolidated his power and emerged the leader of organized crime in Chicago.

From Quiz Wild and Untamed Thing

Answer: George Best

Best was one of the best footballers to play at the highest levels of English football. In his career with Manchester United he was part of the team which won the European Cup in 1968, and he won the award of European Footballer of the Year in the same year. Best's celebrity lifestyle took its toll in alcohol dependency and he received a liver transplant in 2002. Even this failed to stop his drinking, which led indirectly to his death in 2005. Among his other sayings are 'In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life' and 'I've stopped drinking, but only while I'm asleep'.

From Quiz Your Daddy's Rich

Answer: Woolworth

Hutton's mother was the daughter of Frank Winfield Woolworth, although daddy was also rich, being the co-founder of E.F. Hutton and Company, an investment bank. Barbara's share of the family fortune was left in trust to her when her grandmother died and made her one of the richest women in the world by the time she reached the age of 21. The money did not bring her happiness, and she was known as 'The Poor Little Rich Girl' in the press. Hutton married and divorced seven husbands, including Cary Grant, with none of her marriages lasting to their fifth anniversary.

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