Are you a history buff? A pop culture fanatic? CNN hosts and anchors are putting their knowledge to the test on “CNN Quiz Show: Famous Americans Edition.” Before it airs on November 30 at 9 p.m. ET, we put together some facts about famous Americans that might help you play along at home.
Helen Keller was examined by Alexander Graham Bell when she was 6 years old. Keller had been blind and deaf since she was a toddler. It was Bell who referred her to Anne Sullivan, who later taught Keller how to communicate.
A play and several films have been based on the story of Keller’s life. “The Miracle Worker,” by William Gibson, was originally written as a play and was later made into a film. The film version starred Anne Bancroft as Sullivan and Patty Duke as Helen. They both won Oscars for those roles in 1962.
Legendary musician Jimi Hendrix was a member of Little Richard’s band, but the two allegedly clashed after Hendrix drew too much attention for his flashy clothes, hair and guitar playing.
Hendrix began playing guitar at age 11 and before finding fame on his own he also played with the Isley Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner and Sam Cooke.
Andre Benjamin, a member of hip hop group Outkast, played Hendrix in the 2013 movie “Jimi: All Is by My Side.”
In March 2014, the U.S. Postal Service dedicated a stamp to Hendrix as part of its Music Icons series.
On April 14, 1865, just hours before his assassination, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation establishing the Secret Service, although it wouldn’t have helped Lincoln.
The Secret Service’s mission at the time was to investigate and prevent counterfeit money.
President Barack Obama’s secret service code name is “Renegade,” first lady Michelle Obama is “Renaissance,” Malia Obama is “Radiance” and Sasha Obama is “Rosebud.”
Presidential candidate Ben Carson’s Secret Service code name is “Eli,” Donald Trump is “Mogul.”
Before adopting the pen name Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens went by the pseudonyms Epaminondas Adrastus Perkins and Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass. “Mark twain” was riverboat jargon for water 2 fathoms deep.
On March 17, 1905, when Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt married in New York, Teddy Roosevelt walked Eleanor down the aisle. As sitting President, Teddy was able to do it because he was already in New York for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th president of the United States and the first to win a Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded for his mediation in the Russo-Japanese war.
On January 6, 1919, Roosevelt died in his sleep at his home in Oyster Bay, New York. He later became the only 20th century president enshrined on South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore monument, which placed him in the company of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.
