[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
A perfect five out of five! 
[/QUOTE]
Most impressive! 
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Here are my questions which which still remain unanswered. I’m afraid I lost track of others’ unanswered questions - you’re welcome to repost them, too, and then give answers after, say, a 48-hour deadline.
Here goes:
What was the significance of [this date]?..
556. March 1, 1803
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The famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” column first appeared in what newspaper?
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The first vice president sworn in outside of the U.S. was sworn in where, and why?
[/QUOTE]
I’ll take a guess at a few of these:
What was the significance of [this date]?..
556. March 1, 1803
The Lewis and Clark Expedition set out?
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The famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” column first appeared in what newspaper?
The New York Sun? (I did not look this up, but I seem to remember Cecil reran this for Christmas last month.) -
The first vice president sworn in outside of the U.S. was sworn in where, and why?
Hubert Hunphrey? Because he was out of the country at the time of Kennedy’s assassination and’or when LBJ named him?
Sorry, all incorrect. As it happens, Lewis and Clark and the New York Sun had already been given as guesses.
- March 1, 1803
The Louisiana Territory was purchased??
[QUOTE=Siam Sam]
556. March 1, 1803
The Louisiana Territory was purchased??
[/QUOTE]
Also no. Getting warmer, though.
Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific?
I feel I really ought to know this one, whatever it is.
[QUOTE=Siam Sam]
Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific?..
[/QUOTE]
Nope. It’s not about the Louisiana Purchase or L&C.
- The famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” column first appeared in what newspaper?
The Baltimore Sun
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Also no. Getting warmer, though.
[/QUOTE]
Alaska was purchased? (Seward’s folly, right?)
[QUOTE=Petey]
562. The famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” column first appeared in what newspaper?
The Baltimore Sun
[/QUOTE]
Correct!
Really Not All That Bright, no, it wasn’t the purchase of Alaska (that was after the Civil War, more than sixty years later).
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Correct!
Really Not All That Bright, no, it wasn’t the purchase of Alaska (that was after the Civil War, more than sixty years later).
[/QUOTE]
In 1868. See? I remember THAT one. But this 1803 one is getting me. I’m really resisting the strong temptation to look it up. I’m guessing the Burr-Hamilton duel, then?
- Franklin Pierce’s VP (something along the lines of William Rufus King) was sworn in in Havana, and had been out of the country trying to improve his health (It didn’t work- He died a couple of months into the term without ever going to Washington)
[QUOTE=Siam Sam]
In 1868. See? I remember THAT one. But this 1803 one is getting me. I’m really resisting the strong temptation to look it up. I’m guessing the Burr-Hamilton duel, then?
[/QUOTE]
Per the OP, thanks for not looking it up, but no, it’s not the Burr-Hamilton duel either.
Governor Quinn, correct as to VP William King. He was very ill with tuberculosis and Congress passed an act permitting him to take the oath on foreign soil, in Cuba. He died just two days after returning to his plantation. He was VP about a month and a half.
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Governor Quinn, correct as to VP William King. He was very ill with tuberculosis and Congress passed an act permitting him to take the oath on foreign soil, in Cuba. He died just two days after returning to his plantation. He was VP about a month and a half.
[/QUOTE]
So you could also say he was the only VP never to set foot at all in Washington while VP.
Actually, too, now that I think about it, Alaska was purchased in 1867, I think, not 1868.
Ironically, Rufus King had a county named after him, in the state of–where else? Washington.
Recently I understand the county was retroactively named for Martin Luther King, Jr., as Ol’ Rufus was discovered to have–gasp!-- owned slaves.
movingfinger, you’re right about King County’s redesignation. It’s the greater Seattle area - a few years ago, they explicitly “renamed” it after MLK and not the late obscure VP.
Here are the answers to my as-yet unanswered questions:
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
…
494. What is distinctive about the group portrait intended to mark the occasion [of the signing of the 1783 Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolution]?
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When Bill Clinton was on trial in the Senate in 1999 after being impeached by the House, commemorative pens were presented to every senator. What was wrong with the pens?
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Before 9-11, what was the only ship entitled to regularly fly the First Navy Jack?
What was the significance of [this date]?..
556. March 1, 1803
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President Reagan preferred to celebrate Christmas here.
… -
Who was the first President to leave the U.S. during his term in office, and where did he go?
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President Truman conducted his famous 1948 “Whistlestop Campaign” aboard this plush, armored, distinctively-named railroad car.
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What was noteworthy about President Nixon’s return from his historic 1972 state visit to China?
… -
The Point of Beginning, from which all western U.S. cartography is drawn, is near this Ohio town.
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Thomas Edison originally hailed from this Ohio town, and kept a lab there.
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JFK’s Secret Service codename on the day of his assassination was _________.
Identify these noteworthy Americans by what they said. Extra credit if you provide context.
618. “The administration of justice is the surest pillar of government.”
621. “They won’t think anything at all, my dear.”
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As the Navy joke goes, what individual prevented two carriers from being named USS America?
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He was Theodore Roosevelt’s only VP, of whom TR, unimpressed by his range of options, said, “Who else was I going to pick?”
What was the significance of [this date] in American history?..
634. July 4, 1960
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This Secretary of State said archly that one of his President’s proudest achievements “should not be sullied by any taint of legality.”
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He was Grant’s very talented and well-respected Secretary of State but, despite his name, wasn’t known for his swimming skills.
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An entire room is set aside for the White House’s collection of this particular kind of antique utensils.
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What used to occupy the ground now occupied by the West Wing?
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JFK watched a military review on the South Lawn not long before he died, and Jackie asked an infantry unit from what foreign country to return for his funeral?
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The Lincoln boys asked for the pardon of a doll, which the President granted in writing. What was the doll’s name?
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What did FDR decide he needed in the White House, after learning of Churchill’s?
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Lee Fisher, now lieutenant governor of Ohio, won his only election as Ohio attorney general by this easy-to-remember majority.
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A McGovern campaign staffer wrote this popular folk song in 1972.
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“Hail to the Chief” is the customary march of the President. What’s the Vice President’s?
Who said it, and why?
683. “Now look - that damned cowboy is President!”
686. “If you can’t drink their booze, eat their food, screw their women and then vote against them, you shouldn’t even be here.”
687. “He serves his party best who serves his country best.”
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William Clark, Reagan’s first national security advisor, kept this nickname/title from a previous gig.
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This Bush 41 OMB director was criticized for his ego and arrogance.
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Capricia Penavic Marshall held this title late in the Clinton Administration.
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What four words appeared on the flags flown by the privateers commissioned by Gen. Washington?
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This is the ring of the Pentagon in which the SecDef has his offices.
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Which uniformed military service was the last to have its own intelligence branch?
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Before he gave his famous “I have a dream” speech, [the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther] King delivered a “rough draft” of it at this Cleveland-area church.
Who said it, and why?
712. “Whenever I hear someone defend slavery, I have a strong desire to see it tried [on] him personally.”
[/QUOTE]
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The British diplomats refused to sit for the portrait; only the American diplomats are shown on the unfinished canvas, with a blank space where the Brits would’ve been.
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The pens had a misspelled word, viz: “Untied States Senate.”
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Before 9-11, the oldest commissioned ship on active service (not the Constitution, but whichever modern ship was actually out sailing the Seven Seas) had the privilege of flying a replica of the First Navy Jack. Since 9-11, by order of the SecNav, all U.S. warships fly it.
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Ohio statehood.
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Camp David, supposedly so that the White House staff could spend the holiday with their families.
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Woodrow Wilson, when he went to the Versailles Peace Conference.
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Ferdinand Magellan.
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Nixon timed his return so that he could go directly from Andrews AFB by helicopter to Capitol Hill, and immediately report to a joint session of Congress on his trip. It’s shown in the opening scene of All the President’s Men.
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East Liverpool, Ohio, my hometown.
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Milan, Ohio.
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Lancer.
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George Washington.
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Lincoln’s reputed last words, after his wife affectionately teased him by asking what people at Ford’s Theatre would think of them holding hands and sitting so close together.
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Harry Truman. He cancelled the first carrier of that name after WW2, and then President Clinton named the second carrier (slated to bear that name) after him.
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Garrett Hobart.
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The adoption of the 50-star flag, now the longest-used U.S. flag design ever.
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John Hay, speaking of TR’s Panama Canal finaglings.
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Hamilton Fish.
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Vermeil (silver plated with gold).
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A conservatory/greenhouse.
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Ireland.
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The President’s order read, in its entirety, “The doll Jack is pardoned. A. Lincoln.”
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A map room.
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1,234 votes.
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“The City of New Orleans,” popularized by Arlo Guthrie.
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“Hail, Columbia.”
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Marcus Hanna, McKinley’s kingmaker, after TR succeeded the assassinated leader.
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Jesse Unruh, longtime Speaker of the California House of Representatives.
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Rutherford B. Hayes.
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Judge.
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Richard Darman.
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White House Social Secretary (she was a law school classmate of mine).
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“An Appeal to Heaven.”
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The E Ring.
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The Marine Corps.
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St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, in May 1963.
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Abraham Lincoln.
Some more Ohio history.
- He was mayor of Cleveland when it became the first city of its size to default since the Great Depression.
- This river was so notoriously polluted that chemicals floating on its surface caught fire in the late 1960s (it’s a lot cleaner now, fortunately).
- John Glenn hailed from this Ohio town.
- Why did Mayor Ralph Perk of Cleveland and his wife decline an invitation to a state dinner during the Nixon Administration?
- This notable crimefighter served a stint as Cleveland’s safety director.
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
715. This river was so notoriously polluted that chemicals floating on its surface caught fire in the late 1960s (it’s a lot cleaner now, fortunately).
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This notable crimefighter served a stint as Cleveland’s safety director.
[/QUOTE] -
The Cuyohoga (sp?) AIUI the fire is the subject of at least one song.
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Elliot Ness
Congresscritters
719. This Representative and later Senator from Michigan wrote a book about his experiences in the US Congress called Oh, Congress.
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This long-time Missouri Congressman, later oversaw a long court-ordered school desegregation case as a Federal Judge.
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This New York CIty Congressman was noted for her brash personality and a taste for large, floppy hats.
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This Midwestern Senator, known for his expertise at securing federal appropriations for his state, has been quoted, “I’ll bring the pork, and the BBQ sauce, too!.”
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This is the large US Congressional District by area.
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki]
715. The Cuyohoga (sp?) AIUI the fire is the subject of at least one song.
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Elliot Ness
[/QUOTE] -
The Cuyahoga, yes. I think Randy Newman wrote a song about it.
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Correct.
My guesses:
- William Hungate.
- Bella Abzug.
- Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.)
- Alaska’s first (and only) district?