IN: Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, November 9, 1914 -  January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. At the beginning of World War II, Lamarr and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes, which used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers. Although the US Navy did not adopt the technology until the 1960s, the principles of their work are arguably incorporated into Bluetooth technology, and are similar to methods used in legacy versions of CDMA and Wi-Fi.

On August 10, 1933, Lamarr married Mandl, an Austrian military arms merchant and munitions manufacturer who was reputedly the third-richest man in Austria. She was 18 years old and he was 33. In her autobiography Ecstasy and Me, she described Mandl as an extremely controlling husband who strongly objected to her simulated orgasm scene in Ecstasy and prevented her from pursuing her acting career. She claimed she was kept a virtual prisoner in their castle home, Schloss Schwarzenau.  Mandl had close social and business ties to the fascist government of Italy, selling munitions to Mussolini, and although like Hedy, his own father was Jewish, had ties to the Nazi government of Germany, as well. Lamarr wrote that Mussolini and Hitler attended lavish parties at the Mandl home. Lamarr accompanied Mandl to business meetings, where he conferred with scientists and other professionals involved in military technology. These conferences were her introduction to the field of applied science and nurtured her latent talent in science.  Lamarr's marriage to Mandl eventually became unbearable, and she decided to separate herself from both him and her country. In her autobiography, she wrote that she disguised herself as her maid and fled to Paris, but by other accounts, she persuaded Mandl to let her wear all of her jewelry for a dinner party, then disappeared afterward. She writes about her marriage:  I knew very soon that I could never be an actress while I was his wife.... He was the absolute monarch in his marriage.... I was like a doll. I was like a thing, some object of art which had to be guarded--and imprisoned--having no mind, no life of its own.

What year did he marry the first time?

OUT: 1933,


IN: Roberts was born in Warrington, Lancashire, England, the son of Benjamin Roberts, an alcoholic blacksmith and ship plater, and Ann Everington, a seamstress. In the year of his birth both parents converted to the LDS Church. Benjamin Roberts then abandoned his family. Roberts later wrote, "My childhood was a nightmare; my boyhood a tragedy."

During the transitional period following 1890, the LDS Church disbanded its People's Party, "and the Saints were encouraged to align themselves with the national parties." Roberts became a fervent Democrat and was elected Davis County Delegate to the Utah State Constitutional Convention in 1894. Roberts proved a vocal member of the Convention, particularly in his opposition to women's suffrage.  In 1895, Roberts was the losing Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, and Roberts believed LDS Church leaders, who were predominantly Republicans, "had unfairly influenced the election by publicly reprimanding him and fellow Democrat Moses Thatcher for running for office without express permission of the Church." The LDS Church then issued the "Political Manifesto of 1895," which forbade church officers from running for public office without the approval of the church. Both Roberts and Thatcher refused to agree to the Political Manifesto and were suspended from their ecclesiastical offices. Roberts, believing such a requirement was a basic infringement of his civil rights, capitulated just hours before a deadline of March 24, 1896, signed the manifesto, wrote a letter of apology to the First Presidency, and was reinstated. Thatcher was more stubborn: he refused to sign, was expelled from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and barely evaded excommunication. In 1898, Roberts was elected as a Democrat to the 56th Congress, but the House of Representatives refused to seat him because of his practice of polygamy. The prolonged battle that ensued to keep his seat, which was not successful, left Roberts bitter.  The governor of Utah had appointed Roberts a chaplain in the Utah National Guard; in 1917, when the United States declared war on Germany, Roberts volunteered to serve as a U.S. Army chaplain. The age limit of forty was waived--Roberts was then sixty--and Roberts became chaplain to the 145th Field Artillery, which arrived in France in September 1918 but did not see action before the Armistice was signed in November.

What did he do in Utah?

OUT: Roberts proved a vocal member of the Convention, particularly in his opposition to women's suffrage.


IN: The Osmonds are an American family music group with a long and varied career. The Osmond Brothers began as a barbershop quartet consisting of brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay Osmond. They were later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy, both of whom enjoyed success as solo artists as well. With the addition of Donny, the group became known as The Osmonds, and enjoyed its greatest success as both a boy band and a hard rock ensemble.

Donny, and to a lesser extent, Marie and Jimmy, soon began to emerge as solo artists. Jimmy was becoming "big in Japan", and in 1972 had a #1 hit in the United Kingdom with "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool". Marie, then 13 years old, hit #1 on the US country chart in 1973 with "Paper Roses" (a song originally recorded by Anita Bryant a decade prior). Donny had a string of pop hits with a string of covers of earlier teen-pop songs, including "Go Away Little Girl" (#1, originally by Steve Lawrence), "Puppy Love" (#3, a Paul Anka composition) and "The Twelfth of Never" (#8, originally recorded by Johnny Mathis). From 1971 to 1976, he had 12 Top 40 hits, including 5 in the Top 10; for most of these, the Osmonds were still performing as a full band, but backing and giving star billing to Donny for songs on which he sang lead.  Donny's popularity, and his numerous solo hits, have led many to assume he was the group's lead. Merrill was nevertheless the usual lead singer; Donny would usually sing the choruses on songs billed to The Osmonds, thus being a "co-lead". (The family resemblance between Donny and Merrill at the time likely made the confusion worse; in later years, Merrill grew out his beard and let his hair go gray to distinguish the two.) Donny's emergence as a solo star and the record company's desire to appeal to the teen-girl audience often thrust Donny out in front of the group.  By now the family was touring, recording, creating and producing for five technically separate artists: The Osmonds, Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond and Jimmy Osmond -- plus Donny and Marie had begun recording duets and had hits with "I'm Leaving It Up to You" (#4) and "Morning Side of the Mountain" (#8). Through all the stress and pressures created by these many efforts, the family hung together. The 2001 ABC-TV movie Inside the Osmonds depicts the family mottoes as being "It doesn't matter who's out front, as long as it's an Osmond" family, faith, and career. In that order".  The original Osmonds as a group still produced hits. In 1974, "Love Me for a Reason" reached #10 in the US and #1 in the UK. The Irish boy band Boyzone took the song to #2 in the UK in 1994.

What year did the solo careers takeoff?

OUT:
Jimmy was becoming "big in Japan", and in 1972 had a #1 hit in the United Kingdom with "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool".