August 27 is the birthday of British tennis player John Lloyd. Lloyd had a middling career but is mostly remembered for being married to American tennis star Chris Evert. On ‘Mr Evert’s’ birthday, we have a quiz on spouses overshadowed by their partners.

1 Constance Mary Lloyd was a prominent Irish feminist and children’s writer. But she was completely overshadowed by the man she married in 1884, and even Constance , her biography, focused on their relationship rather than her life. To whom was she married?

2 The love story of performers Subir and Uma and the subsequent tensions as she becomes more successful than him is the plot of a hit film of the ’70s. Identify the film

3 Pierre and his brother were renowned scientists who together discovered Peizoelectricity in 1880. However Pierre is better remembered for his collaborations with his wife, who amassed an even bigger reputation than him. Who did Pierre hitch up with after meeting her in the University of Paris?

4 Frank Butler was one of the top marksmen of the 19th century who made his living challenging people to shooting competitions in Wild West shows. He was smart enough to marry a teenager who outshot him, and played a devoted second fiddle to her all his life. Who did he marry?

5 American adventurer George Putnam published Charles Lindbergh’s extremely successful autobiography and was looking for a candidate for a transatlantic flight to be sponsored by a socialite. He was so enamoured by the candidate that he ended up marrying her. Name his famous second wife.

6 American Gene Goodenough is a senior executive for an energy firm in the US. His marriage to which celebrity made him a fixture in Indian gossip columns?

7 A gold medallist right through her academic career, she was the first ever female engineer hired by Telco. Her stories have been widely published; one even adapted as a dramatic series on Zee Television. However, it is safe to say that her husband is even better known. Who?

8 Shiny Abraham is an Asian Games medallist who won 67 medals in her glittering international career. Her husband, Wilson Cherian, is also an Arjuna awardee. In which discipline did he represent the country?

9 Roshanara Khan was the maiden name of one of India’s finest classical music exponents and the teacher of luminaries like flautist Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Nikhil Banerjee. She stopped performing publicly after the mid-’50s, ostensibly because her celebrity husband was insecure about performing with her. Who did she marry as a 14-year-old, and separate from in her late-twenties?

10 When this spouse of a female head of state was asked who wore the pants in the family, he replied that he did, and then hastened to add that he also washed and ironed them. Identify this famous couple, who remained married for 51 years till his death in 2003.

Answers

1. Oscar Wilde

2. Abhimaan, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee

3. Marie Sklodowska, who took the name Marie Curie after marriage

4. Annie Oakley, who was also the subject of an Irving Berlin musical, Annie Get Your Gun

5. Aviator Amelia Earhart

6. Preity Zinta

7. Narayana Murthy, who co-founded Infosys. Sudha has also done pioneering work in computer science education in Karnataka

8. Swimming

9. Pandit Ravi Shankar

10. Margaret and Denis Thatcher

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup

Follow Joy on Twitter @joybhattacharj

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