It’s International Women’s Day in March, and to celebrate I’ve brought together two things I love – brilliant and interesting women, and quizzes! Fierce hearts change the world, and these are some of the fiercest.
So how’s your Inspiring Women trivia? There are seven questions, featuring women from history and the present day. Just click on the question to reveal the answer…
Who was the first to discover the complete skeleton of a Plesiosaurus in 1826?
Mary Anning. She had a quite extraordinary life, which among other things, included being struck by lightning, narrowly escaping a landslide that killed her dog, and just missing a runaway cart that nearly crushed her. being crushed by a runaway cart.
I highly recommend listening to these brilliant, bitesize radio programmes by Greg Jenner, one of the historians behind Horrible Histories. They’re great entertainment for all the family (we listen on car journeys) and Mary Anning is one of the subjects! Homeschool History: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000hmmf
Which suffragette threw herself in front of King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby on 4 June 1913 and suffered fatal injuries?
Emily Wilding Davison. One of the most militant fighters in the Votes for Women cause, she was arrested nine times, went on seven hunger strikes, and was force-fed to break her strike on forty-nine occasions.
In 1955, 'The First Lady of Civil Rights' became famous for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger - what was her name?
Rosa Parks. There is an AWESOME Horrible Histories song all about her, and I urge you to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Koeio4fqwmU
Nicole Kidman won a Best Actress Oscar for portraying which English writer in the 2002 film The Hours?
Virginia Woolf – who was said to be ahead of her time in a number of ways. I remember reading Orlando as a student and not having a CLUE what was happening – I might just give it another look with the benefit of age and experience!
She's the former managing director of Birmingham City F.C. and was Small Business Ambassador to the UK Government under David Cameron; who is she?
Karren Brady, now probably most famous for pulling (quite justified) incredulous faces at the efforts of various suited twonks to perform simple business tasks for Lord Alan Sugar on The Apprentice.
On which denomination British bank notes did the following women appear: (a)Florence Nightingale (1975 - 1994), and (b)Elizabeth Fry (2002 - 2017)?
Florence was on the old (huge) tenners, and Elizabeth Fry (famous prison reformer) was on the “new”, smaller fivers. They were both serious ‘disruptors’ of their day (the women, not the notes!).
What year was Greta Thunberg born, the environmental champion and campaigner?
Greta was born on 3 January 2003, in Stockholm, Sweden…and I can confirm that at the age of 20, I was definitely not campaigning for anything on a global scale!
How did you do? Hopefully it wasn’t too tricky, and most importantly I hope it’s brought some truly inspiring women to mind – because thinking about what women can achieve in the face of some serious adversities is what this day is all about.
