U.S. History trivia quiz

Identify the President by his earlier gigs.

  1. Editor, sanitarium resident, senator.
  2. Surveyor, planter, soldier, state legislator.
  3. College professor, author, governor.
  4. International aid administrator, agronomist, Secretary of Commerce.
  5. Lawyer, mayor, governor, strikebreaker.

Just some guesses, here:

  1. James Madison

  2. Woodrow Wilson

Oh, and would you believe it? I made it to Paris in just 25 hours. :wink:

  1. Editor, sanitarium resident, senator.
    Harding

  2. International aid administrator, agronomist, Secretary of Commerce.
    Hoover

  3. Lawyer, mayor, governor, strikebreaker.
    Coolidge

  1. This inventor made his fortune salvaging sunken Mississippi River steamboats, built Civil War ironclads, and designed & built a navigation/flood control system near New Orleans [and he wasn’t paid a dime by the Federal Govt until they were sure it worked.]

  2. Another item on the President’s long & varied resume was “Flood Czar” in the aftermath of this very destructive flood.

  3. This building in Chicago was considered to be the first skyscraper.

  4. In Richard Nixon’s Checkers Speech, how did Nixon described this article of clothing worn by his wife Pat. [Hint: it wasn’t pink underwear]?

  5. And one the from Codes, Cyphers & Espionage category. Re: JFK’s aforementioned PT-109, what was the medium of the send help message sent by Kennedy & the ship’s crew?

  1. A “plain Republican cloth coat”.

  2. The messages were on coconut shells, IIRC–something like “NATIVE KNOWS POSIT”.

correct on both- fire away

  1. Incorrect.
  2. Correct.

Hope you enjoy yourself in the City of Lights!

All correct.

  1. James Eads.
  1. George Washington.

  2. Herbert Hoover, after the Mississippi flooded in the mid-1920s.

Some more questions, based on politicians:

  1. In 1958, the Governor of California and the former Senate Majority Leader from that state engaged in an action that ended both their political careers. Who were they, and what was it?

  2. In 1950 and 1952, back-to-back Senate Majority Leaders were defeated by Republicans who would become of note later. Who were they, and who were the Republicans?

  3. He was the last Speaker of the House to leave his post to enter the US Senate.

  4. Only one Senator has represented three states in the United States Senate. Name him and the states he represented.

  5. Name the first US Senator to reach the age of 100.

Okay, this is a complete guess: Daniel Webster, the Gentleman from Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire?

Incorrect. He only served New Hampshire in the House, and he never represented Maine at any level.

Correct. I didn’t ask question 608, so I won’t answer yea or nay, but I think you’re right. And you stumped me on 612-616!

Identify these noteworthy Americans by what they said. Extra credit if you provide context.

  1. “Watson, come here, I want you.”
  2. “The administration of justice is the surest pillar of government.”
  3. “I fired [him] because of the damned insubordination of God’s right-hand man.”
  4. “He doesn’t know chicken shit from chicken salad.”
  5. “They won’t think anything at all, my dear.”

The Home Insurance Building designed by William LeBaron Jenney.

618: Alexander Graham Bell, the first words to pass through his telephone. IIRC he spilled one of the acid baths from one of the batteries on himself and needed assistance cleaning up.

607-611 all correct

Stumped on 612-616 also.

Making a guess on 616 as Claude Pepper.

  1. “I fired [him] because of the damned insubordination of God’s right-hand man.”
    ** Harry Truman said of Gen. Douglas MacArthur**

  2. “He doesn’t know chicken shit from chicken salad.”
    ** Sounds like an LBJ quote**

Correct. 5 time champ is also correct in his two answers. I believe LBJ was speaking of then-House Minority Whip Gerald R. Ford.

Claude Pepper was in the House when he reached 100, wasn’t he? Governor Quinn, did you mean an incumbent senator?

But wasn’t Claude Pepper a Senator back in the New Deal days,

Or are we missing the obvious- Strom Thurmond.

To respond to the last two posts:

Claude Pepper was only 88 or 89 when he died, and 616 was designed as something of a trick- two different Senators (neither of them still in the Senate) reached 100 before Thurmond.