Problem: Thelonious Sphere Monk was born two years after his sister Marion on October 10, 1917, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and was the son of Thelonious and Barbara Monk. His badly written birth certificate misspelled his first name as "Thelious" or "Thelius." It also did not list his middle name, taken from his maternal grandfather, Sphere Batts. A brother, Thomas, was born in January 1920.

In his early teens, Monk toured with an evangelist, playing the church organ, and in his late teens he began to find work playing jazz. In the early to mid-1940s, he was the house pianist at Minton's Playhouse, a Manhattan nightclub. Much of Monk's style was developed during his time at Minton's, when he participated in after-hours cutting contests, which featured many leading jazz soloists of the time. Monk's musical work at Minton's was crucial in the formulation of bebop, which would be furthered along by other artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Christian, Kenny Clarke, Charlie Parker, and, later, Miles Davis. Monk is believed to be the pianist featured on recordings Jerry Newman made around 1941 at the club. Monk's style at this time was later described as "hard-swinging," with the addition of runs in the style of Art Tatum. Monk's stated influences included Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, and other early stride pianists. In the documentary Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser, it is stated that Monk lived in the same neighborhood in New York City as Johnson and knew him as a teenager.  Mary Lou Williams, who mentored Monk and his contemporaries, spoke of Monk's rich inventiveness in this period, and how such invention was vital for musicians, since at the time it was common for fellow musicians to incorporate overheard musical ideas into their own works without giving due credit. "So, the boppers worked out a music that was hard to steal. I'll say this for the 'leeches,' though: they tried. I've seen them in Minton's busily writing on their shirt cuffs or scribbling on the tablecloth. And even our own guys, I'm afraid, did not give Monk the credit he had coming. Why, they even stole his idea of the beret and bop glasses."  In 1944 Monk made his first studio recordings with the Coleman Hawkins Quartet. Hawkins was one of the earliest established jazz musicians to promote Monk, and the pianist later returned the favor by inviting Hawkins to join him on a 1957 session with John Coltrane.

How did they help?

Answer with quotes: Monk's style at this time was later described as "hard-swinging," with the addition of runs in the style of Art Tatum.


Problem: Patrice Emery Lumumba (alternatively styled Patrice Hemery Lumumba; 2 July 1925 - 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first Prime Minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from June until September 1960. He played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and Pan-Africanist, he led the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) party from 1958 until his death. Shortly after Congolese independence in 1960, a mutiny broke out in the army, marking the beginning of the Congo Crisis.

Patrice Lumumba was born on 2 July 1925 to a farmer, Francois Tolenga Otetshima, and his wife Julienne Wamato Lomendja, in Onalua in the Katakokombe region of the Kasai province of the Belgian Congo. He was a member of the Tetela ethnic group and was born with the name Elias Okit'Asombo. His original surname means "heir of the cursed" and is derived from the Tetela words okita/okito ('heir, successor') and asombo ('cursed or bewitched people who will die quickly'). He had three brothers (Ian Clark, Emile Kalema, and Louis Onema Pene Lumumba) and one half-brother (Tolenga Jean). Raised in a Catholic family, he was educated at a Protestant primary school, a Catholic missionary school, and finally the government post office training school, where he passed the one-year course with distinction. Lumumba spoke Tetela, French, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba.  Outside of his regular studies, Lumumba took an interest in the Enlightenment ideals of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. He was also fond of Moliere and Victor Hugo. He wrote poetry, and many of his works had an anti-imperialist theme.  He worked in Leopoldville and Stanleyville as a postal clerk and as a travelling beer salesman. In 1951, he married Pauline Opangu. In 1955, Lumumba became regional head of the Cercles of Stanleyville and joined the Liberal Party of Belgium, where he edited and distributed party literature. After a study tour in Belgium in 1956, he was arrested on charges of embezzlement from the post office. He was convicted and condemned one year later to twelve months' imprisonment and a fine.

So how did he get into a higher position?

Answer with quotes: In 1955, Lumumba became regional head of the Cercles of Stanleyville and joined the Liberal Party of Belgium,


Problem: Epstein was born to a secular Jewish family in New York City and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts. He attended Brookline High School (a 1991 graduate), and played baseball for the Brookline High School Warriors, but dreamed of working for the Red Sox. Epstein attended Yale University where he lived at Jonathan Edwards College. He served as sports editor of the Yale Daily News.

On October 12, 2011, Epstein agreed to a five-year contract worth $18.5 million with the Chicago Cubs. On October 19, 2011, it was reported that Epstein's official title with the Cubs would be President and that San Diego Padres general manager Jed Hoyer would take the GM position with the Cubs.  On October 23, 2011, he took out a full-page ad in The Boston Globe, thanking Red Sox fans and the team's owners for their support. Two days later, the Cubs officially introduced Epstein as president of baseball operations. While the Red Sox were already a winning team when Epstein was hired in Boston, the Cubs were coming off a fifth-place finish in the National League Central and had a depleted farm system. The Cubs finished in last place in the National League Central for the first three years of Epstein's presidency, as the focus was to acquire young talent rather than maximize short-term competitiveness. After a three-year, top-to-bottom rebuild, the Cubs clinched a playoff berth in 2015; their first since 2008. They advanced to the National League Championship Series, where they were swept by the New York Mets.  Epstein re-signed with the club on September 28, 2016, with a five-year contract estimated to be worth up to $25million. The Cubs finished the 2016 season with a 103-58 record, the best in the MLB and their best since the 1910 season. In the playoffs, they defeated the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS. The Cubs proceeded to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, winning their first pennant since the 1945 season and sending them to the World Series. The Cubs then won their first World Series championship since 1908, when they defeated the Cleveland Indians in 7 games, breaking the so-called "Curse of the Billy Goat".

is Epstein still with the Cubs?

Answer with quotes:
Epstein re-signed with the club on September 28, 2016, with a five-year contract estimated to be worth up to $25million.