Name __________________
Social Studies 8
Date ______
If you break the concept of “social studies” down to its simplest components, it is really the
analysis of society and the impact that its players have had throughout time. As today’s
newsmakers will comprise tomorrow’s history glossary, it is important to keep current with
current events. Below you will find an eclectic mix of individuals that were making
headlines while you were sleeping this summer until noon. While your initial reaction may
very well be, “These people existed over the summer?,” with a little hard work and help from
our friends, the Internet and print, you will fare well. Good luck.
1. _________________________ New York State governor. Made national headlines when
he spearheaded the movement to legalize gay marriage in New York State.
2. _________________________ Famed CNN on air personality and sportscaster. Longtime
host of Sports Tonight. Passed away in June after a battle with cancer.
3. _________________________ Sixteen-year old Michigan basketball recruit that survived
two fatal plane crashes, one that took the life of his parents.
4. _________________________ North Carolina player who made winning upset shot
against Houston in 1983 died in a bus crash in late June.
5. _________________________ Alleged shooter in the Medford, NY pharmacy massacre
that left three day and a community shattered and searching for answers.
6. _________________________ Mother and accused killer of her three-year old daughter
Caylee, this lady was acquitted of murder and was released from jail on July 11, 2011. Her
trial was dubbed as the “social media trial of the century”.
7. _________________________ Second in line to the British throne, this twenty-nine year
old married his longtime girlfriend Kate in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey then had
a high profile visit to Canada in July.
8. _________________________ This wildly popular former first lady and active feminist
passed away on July 8, 2011, at the age of 93 . Her greatest legacy was raising awareness of
addiction when she announced her long-running battle with alcoholism.
9. _________________________ After eight seasons in the NBA, and helping pro basketball
gain a foothold in the China, this 7’ 6” star player retired.
10. _______________________________Army Ranger who became only the second living
recipient of the Medal of Honor for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
11. _________________________ Texas baseball fan who tragically fell to his death while
trying to catch a ball thrown by Josh Hamilton at a baseball game.
12. _________________________ Creator of classic sitcoms The Brady Bunch and
Gilligan’s Island, this TV legend died at the age of 96. He is survived by his wife of sixtynine years, and their four children.
13. _________________________ Overpaid Yankee legend with diminishing skills reached
shoo-in first ballot Hall of Fame status when he notched his 3,000th hit during a five hit
performance against Tampa Bay Devil Rays on July 9, 2011.
14. _________________________ Billionaire head of global media empire News Corp has
seen his reputation and net worth plummet as a result of his now-closed British tabloid News
of The World’s role in an international phone hacking scandal.
15. _________________________ English actor who rose to prominence playing the boy
wizard in the Harry Potter film series, this actor has begun to reinvent himself in his starturning role on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
16. _________________________ This tortured but brilliant chanteuse, perhaps as well
known for her battles with substance abuse than her Grammy-winning music, died
mysterious in the UK at the tender age of twenty-seven.
17. _________________________ Owner of the Long Island Islanders who is “exploring all
options” after the measure for a new Nassau Coliseum failed by a 57% to 43% margin in a
public referendum.
18. _________________________ As Executive Director of the Player’s Union for the NFL,
this man negotiated a ten-year labor agreement with Commissioner Roger Goodell that
helped end the 4 ½ month lockout. The deal also makes the NFL the first professional sport
to subject its players to random testing for Human Growth Hormone (HGH).
19. _________________________ Right-wing extremist and the confessed perpetrator of
multiple attacks in Norway on July 22 that left 77 people dead, scores wounded and a nation
at a loss as to how such an horrific attack could take place.
20. _________________________ Disgraced former Congressman from Oregon who
resigned his seat in the House on August 3rd in the wake of allegations of an “unwanted”
sexual encounter with the teenage daughter of a campaign donor
21. _________________________ As Speaker of the House, this man played a key role in
the debt ceiling negotiations with the White House. He had to negotiate with members
within his own caucus, particularly the Tea Party, to get an agreement that the Republicans
could support.
22. _________________________ As Senate Majority Leader, this man played a behind-thescenes role in the debt crisis, negotiating with the House Speaker, the Senate Minority Leader
and the White House. He has called the deal “unfair” and “lousy”.
23. _________________________ Recently separated from her husband Marc Anthony, this
singer and actress can find comfort in the twenty million dollar contract she just signed that
will keep her as a judge on American Idol for one more season.
24. _________________________ This African-American football player who became an
actor after he retired from the game died this summer. His best-known role was as Moses
Hightower in the first six Police Academy movies
25. _________________________ This man, a polygamist sect leader, is perhaps best known
for his conviction of two felony counts of child sexual assault based on his forced “marriage”
to a twelve and a fifteen-year-old girl is currently on a hunger strike.
26. _________________________ President Obama has called for the departure of this man,
the embittered Syrian President and former US ally who is accused killing thousands of his
countrymen and stifling political opposition against his regime.
27. _________________________ Popular former two-term Democratic governor of New
York, perhaps best known for keeping the city from going bankrupt in 1975, passed away at
the age of 92.
28. _________________________ Suffolk County police Sergeant was killed in an off-duty
car wreck. He was remembered for his straight-talk and honesty.
29. _________________________ Woman who made headlines for her wacky comments as
a Representative from Minnesota is now in the news as a surprise frontrunner for the
Republican Presidential nomination after winning the Iowa straw poll.
30. _________________________ Event that killed seven Afghan commandos in addition to
the 30 American troops and an interpreter, represented the worst loss of military lives in a
single incident in the nearly 10-year-old war.
31. _________________________ A proud spy and Nazi foe, this woman, credited with
saving the lives of hundreds of Allied soldiers and downed airmen during world War II
escorting them through occupied France to safety in Spain, died at the robust age of 98.
32. _________________________ Mississippi African American man who authorities say
was intentionally run down by a white teenager in a pickup truck. A Civil rights investigation
has been opened.
33. _________________________ the oldest living survivor of the World War II Bataan
Death March died at the age of 105.
34. _________________________ Academy-award winner. Fitness guru and long-time
activist, this lady is making the talk show rounds to promote her new book on how middle
aged American can make their lives happier and more fulfilling.
35. _________________________ and _________________________ were sentenced by
the Revolutionary Court in Iran after being accused of spying for the United States and
entering the country illegally. There was no evidence presented to the public.
36. _________________________ , _________________________ and
_________________________, also known as “The West Memphis Three,” were freed after
two decades in prison for the murder of three eighth year-old boys after pleading guilty to
murder in a plea deal.
37. _________________________The former Governor of Illinois, recently saw his
convictions for corruption (including trying to sell President Obama’s Senate seat) upheld.
His sentencing, scheduled for October 6, will likely yield a ten-year jail sentence.
38. _________________________A social crusader who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the
1940s and exposed their hateful ways in a book, died at the age 94.
39. _________________________The five-time men’s US Open champion recently made
headlines by equaling Andre Aggasi’s Grand Slam win record at 224 victories.
40. _________________________ As the COO of LIPA, this man has been under attack for
not restoring Long Island’s power quickly after Hurricane Irene.
41. _________________________ Forced to resign as head of the International Monetary
Fund after allegedly sexually assaulting a Manhattan maid, this man was freed from house
arrest after the case against him was dropped for lack of evidence.
42. _________________________ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Songwriter, who co-authored
classics Stand By Me, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and Hound Dog, died at the age of 78.
43. _________________________ Terrorist group Al Qaeda’s “number two” man (after the
death of Osama bin Laden in May) was killed in Pakistan on August 22.
44. _________________________ Longtime Libyan leader who, following months of
uprisings, fled the capital, Tripoli, relinquishing control.
45. _________________________ U.S. asks for extradition of convicted and freed Libyan
bomber of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
46. _________________________ Indian social activist and main figure in anti-corruption
movement went on a hunger strike until his demands were met.
47. _________________________ Innovative co-founder and chairman of Apple computers
resigned from the CEO position in August.
48. _________________________ This modern muckraking journalist for Rolling Stone
magazine has been raising the ire of Wall Street with his investigative articles on corruption
in the financial industry.
49. _________________________ In a surprise development, the Mets announced that they
had ended their long negotiations to sell a minority stake of the team to this hedge fund
manager.
50. _________________________ The Long Island man who spotted and reported Nazi
spies landing in Amagansett in 1942 - during the heart of the WWII - and helped foil a plot
against America, died at the age of 90.
The Answers
1. Andrew Cuomo
2. Nick Charles
3. Austin Hatch
4. Lorenzo Charles
5. David Laffer
6. Casey Anthony
7. Prince William
8. Betty Ford
9. Yao Ming
10. Leroy Petry
11. Shannon Stone
12. Sherwood Schwartz
13. Derek Jeter
14. Rupert Murdoch
15. Daniel Radcliffe
16. Amy Winehouse
17. Charles Wang
18. Demaurice Smith
19. Anders Breivik
20. David Wu
21. John Boehner
22. Harry Reid
23. Jennifer Lopez
24. Bubba Smith
25. Warren Jeffs
26. Bashar al-Assad
27. Hugh Carey
28. Robert Reecks
29. Michelle Bachmann
30. Navy SEALs downed in Afghanistan
31. Nancy Wake
32. James Craig Anderson
33. Albert “Doc” Brown
34. Jane Fonda
35. Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer
36. The West Memphis Three - Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr., Jason Baldwin
37. Rod Blagojevich
38. Stetson Kennedy
39. Roger Federer
40. Michael Hervey
41. Dominique Strauss Kahn
42. Jerry Leiber
43. Atiyah abd al-Rahman
44. Moammar Gadhafi
45. Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi
46. Kisan Baburao Hazare – Anna Hazare
47. Steve Jobs
48. Matt Taibbi
49. David Einhorn
50. John Cullen