1 Whose personal research notes from the 19th century are still considered too dangerous handle? If it helps, she was portrayed by Greer Garson in an Oscar nominated film in 1943?
2 Whose first job was as a research chemist in BX Chemicals in 1947 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Somerville College, Oxford?
5 If the Raffles Hotel in Singapore has a suite named after its most distinguished resident, Rudyard Kipling, who has a room maintained in her memorial at the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul?
6 Gabrielle Bonheur, along with Paul Poiret, is thought to have revolutionised women’s fashion and is regarded as one of the most iconic designers of the 20th century. How is she better known?
7 She sang ‘Vande Mataram’ in the Independence Session of the Constituent Assembly minutes before Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘Tryst with destiny’ speech. She won the New Delhi Seat in the first Lok Sabha elections on a Kisan Mazdoor Party ticket before rejoining the Congress and subsequently became the first woman to be the Chief Minister of an Indian State. Name her.
8 Who was inspired to join a particular sport after trying athletics and wrestling in school after Dingko Singh from her State won a gold in that sport in the 1998 Asian Games?
9 Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta has sold more than 27 million albums and 146 million singles. Her Born This Way Foundation does sterling work in combating bullying in American schools. By what name is Stephanie better known?
10 Which Indian entertainment legend made her debut as an actress in the Marathi film Mai in 2013? This was five years after she won the Padma Vibhushan.
Answers
1 . Madame Curie; the levels of radioactivity are still too high and her notes are kept in lead-lined boxes
2 . Margaret Thatcher. As PM, she tried her best to make sure that Somerville remained a college exclusively for women
3 . She was the first woman and only the sixth person to swim the English Channel, and beat the previous best time by almost two hours!
4 . Monopoly; Parker Brothers purchased her patent for just $500
5 . Agatha Christie. She wrote most of ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ while staying there
6 . Coco Chanel
7 . Sucheta Kriplani, who became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1963
8 . Mary Kom, from Manipur
9 . Lady Gaga
10 . Asha Bhosle, who, in 2011, made it to the Guinness Book Of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history
Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup; Follow Joy on Twitter @joybhattacharj