Q 01/05

In which city was Kurt Vonnegut born and raised?

A) Chicago

B) Indianapolis

C) Schenectady

D) Cincinnati

Answer · why

B) Indianapolis

His father and grandfather were architects there, and his mother's family fortune came from a brewery closed by Prohibition.

Q 02/05

On what date was Vonnegut born?

A) 11 November 1922

B) 4 July 1920

C) 1 April 1922

D) 25 December 1923

Answer · why

A) 11 November 1922

Armistice Day, which he later noted; his protagonist Billy Pilgrim shares his birth year.

Q 03/05

What was the profession of Vonnegut's father and grandfather?

A) Newspaper editors

B) Hardware merchants

C) Architects

D) Brewers

Answer · why

C) Architects

His great-grandfather Clemens founded the Vonnegut Hardware Company; the family firm designed Indianapolis's Athenaeum.

Q 04/05

Whom did Vonnegut credit with raising him and giving him his values during his first decade?

A) His grandmother Nanette Lieber

B) Ida Young, the family's cook and housekeeper

C) A Shortridge English teacher

D) His older brother Bernard

Answer · why

B) Ida Young, the family's cook and housekeeper

He said the compassionate, forgiving side of his beliefs came from her.

Q 05/05

Which instrument did Vonnegut play in his high-school band?

A) Trombone

B) Drums

C) Trumpet

D) Clarinet

Answer · why

D) Clarinet

At Shortridge High he also co-edited the Tuesday edition of the school paper with Madelyn Pugh, later a writer for I Love Lucy.