Isn't it a usual practice to convert names of foreign monarchs to English (e. g. Catherine the Great of Russia or Good King Wenceslas?) Shouldn't you accept William II as a name for the German Emperor, then? Also, only two English monarchs got married in the Westminster Abbey - Henry I in 1100 and Richard II in 1382 (sic Wikipedia), whereas in more recent times, principal members of the Royal family usually wedded in chapels of various royal palaces (for example, Queen Victoria in St George's Chapel in Windsor). It has been only in the 20th century when Westminster Abbey became a popular wedding venue for some (British, not English) Royals - no king or queen, though. Otherwise, a very nice quiz!
It's not a usual practice it's just an arbitrary quirk of popular custom. Tsars Nikolai, Yketerina, Aleksandr and Piotr are almost always changed to Nicholas, Catherine, Alexander and Peter. Willem of Orange is changed to William. Salah ad-Din is bastardized into "Saladin," etc.
but on the other hand, Charlemagne is never called Charles the Great, Suleiman the Magnificent is not Solomon, Francisco Franco is not called Francis, Louis does not become Lewis, and Kaiser Wilhelm is not Cesar/Emperor William.
I think if it's written in a language with English characters, we don't Anglicize it. German and French use the English/Latin alphabet, Russian and Arabic don't. I just figured that out myself.
@YantheMan Then how come William of Orange is referred to as such? I believe that was modern-day Netherlands area, which probably used the Latin alphabet, which is what many nations use, especially in Europe and the Americas.
@Corrode that depends on which William of Orange you mean, as this name doesn't only refer to William III of England, but also to William the Silent. In the Netherlands, 'Willem van Oranje' almost always refers to the latter.
Yes, but all of them were crowned there since 1066 except Edwards V and VIII, the two shortest reigning kings, neither of whom lasted a year. Never call a prince Edward
Possibly not, but theirs were the first heavier-than-air, man-carrying aircraft to take off, do maneuvers and land. Their places in aviation history far surpass those of other early aviation pioneers such as Langley and Santos-Dumont.
In the years after the Wright Brothers invented their plane, there were a lot of doubts especially from Europeans. Other inventors such as Santos-Dumont had flown planes that were less than impressive. For example, Santos-Dumont's 1906 flight was the first to be certified by the Aéro-Club de France. It flew for a few seconds at a whopping 5 meters above the ground. Then Orville Wright showed up in 1908 and flew figure eights around the field. Not only did the Wright Brothers invent the first heavier-than-air powered aircraft in 1903, but they made rapid improvements that quickly culminated in planes that were able to climb and bank. As @texdave said, their achievements far surpassed any of their contemporaries.
Got Cardinal Wolsey by accident because I was trying to be a smartass and type Wellington's real name (Wellesley), but I horribly misspelled it as Woolsey.
Struggled with Wagner question because I was thinking of the film version of The Ring. Doesn't help that the composer is Hans Zimmer, who is also German.
I disagree. He flat out broke laws of the land in a flagrant and obnoxious manner. He was given many opportunities to tone things down but instead was more flamboyant. Not no mentioned coercive and taking advantage of vulnerable young men.
I don't think it is historically accurate to say he was persecuted.
but on the other hand, Charlemagne is never called Charles the Great, Suleiman the Magnificent is not Solomon, Francisco Franco is not called Francis, Louis does not become Lewis, and Kaiser Wilhelm is not Cesar/Emperor William.
There's no rule about this it's just convention.
Wolsey just doesn't look English to me
I don't think it is historically accurate to say he was persecuted.
The 19th century Liberal would be for small government, free speech, free markets, and equality of all citizens before the law.