Compiled by Anne S. K. Turkos
Each month The Silver Terp includes a number of UMD-related trivia questions. Each months questions are below. Scroll down to get to later months!
August 2024 – THEME: The Founding of the University (August 2024 Answers)
1. How many faculty members were on the staff the first fall the University of Maryland opened? a. one; b. three; c. ten
2. Who was the first president, and how long did he remain in that position. a. Charles Benedict Calvert, one year; b. Benjamin Hallowell, one month; c. John M. Colby, less than one year.
3. Who was the first student to register in the initial class? a. William B. Sands; b. Thomas Franklin; c. George H. Calvert
4. Which United States cabinet member spoke at the college’s opening ceremonies? a. Jacob Thompson; b. Joseph Henry; c. James Moore Wayne
5. How many official names has the University of Maryland had since its founding? a. one; b. two; c. three.
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September 2024 – THEME: Faculty (September 2024 Answers)
6. Who was the first female member of the faculty? a. Agnes Saunders; b. Adele Stamp; c. M. Marie Mount
7. Who was UMD’s first African American faculty member? a. Raymond Johnson; b. M. Lucia James; c. Sylvester James Gates, Jr.
8. Who is the only faculty member ever featured on a U.S. postage stamp? a. Mary Shorb; b. Catherine Fenselau; c. Eugenie Clark
9. Which faculty member is considered to be the first professor of entomology in the United States? a. Willis Johnson; b. Townend Glover; c. Thomas Say
10. How many buildings on campus are named for faculty members, including deans? a. five; b. twelve; c. thirteen
October 2024 – THEME: Testudo (October 2024 Answers)
11. How much did the original statue of Testudo weigh? a. 300 pounds; b. 400 pounds; c. 550 pounds
12. Where was the original statue of Testudo first located? a. McKeldin Library; b. Ritchie Coliseum; c. Byrd Stadium, now known as SECU Stadium
13. The bronze and fiberglass forms of Testudo are familiar sights on campus. What other shape has Testudo taken? a. motorized vehicle; b. green “space alien”; c. enormous inflatable; d. all of these
14. Which campus tradition is most commonly associated with Testudo? a. leaving offerings at the original statue of Testudo in front of McKeldin Library; b. rubbing Testudo’s nose for good luck; c. getting a golden lapel pin from the UMD president
15. The statue of testudo was often kidnapped in the early years after its dedication. What is the most distant location to which Testudo is known to have been taken? a. Johns Hopkins University; b. George Washington University; c. Florida
November 2024—THEME: Terps in Politics (Answers)
16. How many Terps have served as governor of Maryland? a. two; b. three; c. five.
17. Who was the first female reporter to cover a national political convention from the floor? a. Catherine (Cassie) Mackin; b. Andrea Mitchell; c. Dorothy Fuldheim.
18. How many Terps have served as U.S. Senators? a. one; b. three; c. five.
19. How many sitting U.S Presidents have visited campus? a. one; b. five; c. six.
20. Only one Terp who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives has been both a Rhodes Scholar and a presidential appointee. Who is he? a. Esteban Torres; b. Tom McMillen; c. Steny Hoyer.
December 2024—THEME: The Big Show (Answers)
21. Former professor of English Jack Salamanca had an association with which famous singer? a. Darius Rucker; b. Bruce Springsteen; c. Elvis Presley.
22. How many movies contain scenes filmed on campus? a. one; b. three; c. five.
23. The Diamondback has been the springboard for several cartoonists who have hit it big on the international performing arts scene. Which one is a Tony Award-winner? a. Aaron McGruder; b. Jeff Kinney; c. Ken Waissman.
24. With the presidential inauguration coming up, the Mighty Sound of Maryland marching band will be anxiously waiting to see if they are invited to march in the inaugural parade as they have on five occasions. In which inaugural parade did the band first appear? a. Woodrow Wilson’s on March 5, 1917; b. Dwight Eisenhower’s on January 20, 1953; c. John F. Kennedy’s on January 20, 1961.
25. Alumnus Munro Leaf, Class of 1927, authored which children’s book made into an Academy Award-winning film? a. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; b. The Story of Ferdinand; c. The Yearling.
January 2025—THEME: Honored Terps (Answers)
26. Who was the first Terp to win a Nobel Prize? a. Herbert Hauptman; b. William Phillips; c. Juan Ramón Jiménez.
27. Who was the first African American to receive an honorary degree from the university? a. Ralph Waldo Ellison; b. John Hope Franklin; c. Marian Wright Edelman.
28. Hundreds of Terps have proudly served their country in the armed forces. How many have received the nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor? a. one; b. two; c. three.
29. To date, more than 20 UMD faculty members and alumni have won Pulitzer Prizes in a variety of categories. In what year did a Terp first win a Pulitzer? a. 1959; b. 1971; c. 1973.
30. Of the 13 Terps, both alumni and faculty, who have received MacArthur Fellowships, how many are also in the UMD Alumni Hall of Fame? a. two; b. four; c. six.
February 2025 – THEME—International Terps (Answers)
31. When did the Maryland Agricultural College admit its first international students? a. 1871; b. 1877; c. 1915.
32. Who was the first Korean student to graduate from the University of Maryland? a. Min Chow Ho; b. Jeong H. Kim; c. Pyon Su.
33. How many Terps have served as Ambassadors? a. 10; b. 15; c. 18.
34. Alumnus Galo Plaza Lasso served as president of which South American country from 1948 to 1952? a. Ecuador; b. Peru; c. Chile.
35. Which Terp alumnus was the serviceman most hated by Reischsmarshal Hermann Goering during World War II? a. Robert Sinclair Booth; b. Richard Durkee; c. Don Gentile.