The Post Quiz: Ellis Island Stories- Answers

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Do you have your passport ready?

Ellis Island Stories: Answers

Ellis Island Immigration Centre, New York.

So many stories. And they're all amazing. How many of these could you guess?

Here are the answers.

  1. Did Annie Moore become rich or famous?
    Not in her lifetime. But she had at least eleven children. Her husband was a German immigrant who worked at a fish market. Annie died in 1924, and is now celebrated in song.
  2. This 3-year-old boy from Smolensk Oblast only spoke Yiddish, but his head was already in the stars when he arrived. What did he do for the laws of robotics?
    He invented them. Isaac Asimov came through Ellis Island with his parents in 1923.
  3. In 1904, Polish-born Maksymilian Faktorowicz was a highly paid makeup artist for the Imperial Russian Opera. However, he was deeply worried about the political situation. So he and his family travelled to America in steerage class. What made this daring businessman famous in the US?
    In a word, cosmetics. What? You haven't heard of Max Factor? (The immigration people changed his name for him.)
  4. In 1920, a young English stilt-walker named Archie showed up at Ellis Island as part of a travelling show. What happened to him?
    He turned into Cary Grant. Suave, debonair, the definition of cool...in short, about as far as he could get from Bristol poverty.
  5. When he was ten, Salvatore came through Ellis Island with his family. If they'd only known who they were letting in….but maybe Papa Antonio made them an offer they couldn't refuse. What did this fortunate son do to change America?
    He organised crime. Lucky Luciano created all those crime families in New York City – and inspired all those movies, too.
  6. This Hungarian actor first entered the US illegally in 1920. A merchant seaman, he jumped ship in New Orleans. In 1921, to legalise his status, he reported to Ellis Island, where they officially let him in. The immigration officials apparently weren't frightened of this political dissident, but he scared the daylights out of moviegoers for years. Who was he?
    Belá Ferenc Blaskó, aka Bela Lugosi.
  7. In 1906, the Polish Rickover family escaped the pogroms and showed up at Ellis Island with their children, including six-year-old Chaim. He must have enjoyed the boat ride. What did this new American grow up to become?
    Jimmy Carter's boss. At least, while the future President was in the Navy. Admiral Hyman Rickover was a controversial workaholic. Not everybody liked him, but he built a nuclear naval force.
  8. When Dalip Saund came to the US from Punjab in 1920, an official told him, 'You are now a free man in a free country.' How did Dalip Saund show his appreciation for the gift of freedom?
    He became a US Congressman. That wasn't a small deal. This Berkeley graduate overcame a lot of prejudice to get there.
  9. Arthur Stanley Jefferson arrived from England in 1912. We have no record as to how many jokes he cracked at Ellis Island. But the world fell in love with him and his fat friend. Who was this comedian?
    Stan Laurel, of Laurel and Hardy fame.
  10. Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo made a name for herself as Yma Sumac when she came to Ellis Island from Peru in 1954, the last year of operation for the site. Yma became a huge singing sensation. Even though a publicity stunt hinted that Yma was really a Brooklyn housewife named Amy Camus, she was really Peruvian, and her stage name means 'How beautiful!' in Quechua. What great ancestral connection did Yma Sumac claim?
    She was a real Inca princess. Yes, descended from the last Inca emperors. Which proves two things: Ellis Island hosted some pretty classy people. And Incas make impressive music.

Did any of this surprise you? History's like that – a new discovery around every corner. The US is better for most of its immigrants. Although some of us think the Brits should have kept Henny Youngman

The Statue of Liberty, New York.
Post Quiz and Oddities Archive

Dmitri Gheorgheni

23.02.15 Front Page

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