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One On One - 101 True Encounters

Complete this daisy chain of true historical encounters.
All credits to Craig Brown for discovering this amazing chain and writing the incredible book One On One.
This quiz is half a chance to test your knowledge of 20th century society, but also a chance to marvel at the complex network of everyone who ever met anyone.
If you don't know one, please move on! Some of these people you might not know if you're not British, but they're famous to someone out there
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Last updated: February 8, 2023
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First submittedJune 6, 2021
Times taken167
Average score31.4%
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Date
Location
Description of Meeting
Person
 
 
This dictator of Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler
22 August 1931
Briennerstrasse, Munich
... is run over by this British peer and landowner
John Scott-Ellis
Summer 1923
Chirk Castle, Wrexham, North Wales
... who as a child talks of the Boche with this English author of 'The Jungle Book'
Rudyard Kipling
June 1889
Elmira, New York State
... who meets his hero, the author of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'
Mark Twain
February 1909
Stormfield, Connecticut
... who takes on as a prodigy and talks at length with this deaf and blind author
Helen Keller
December 1952
66 Fifth Avenue, New York
... who discovers the joy of jumping with the help of this modern dancer and choreographer
Martha Graham
Autumn 1978
316 East 63rd Street, New York
... who without a word takes the breath away from this pop singer, known for 'Like A Prayer'
Madonna
15 March 1991
The Ivy Restaurant, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
... who has a first and only date with this pop singer and dancer, known as the King of Pop
Michael Jackson
14 May 1984
The White House, Washington DC
... who is received at the White House to front an anti-drink driving campaign by this actress and First Lady
Nancy Reagan
15 October 1981
The White House, Washington DC
... who is interviewed by this leading pop artist, known for Campbell's Soup Cans
Andy Warhol
20 December 1978
1040 Fifth Avenue, New York
... who is never invited to parties hosted by this socialite and ex-First Lady
Jackie Kennedy
5 June 1961
Buckingham Palace, London
... who awkwardly discusses paintings of horses at a dinner with this Queen of the United Kingdom
HRH Queen Elizabeth II
18 May 1972
4, route du Champ d'Entraînement, Bois de Boulogne, Paris
... who visits the deathbed of her uncle, this abdicated ex-King of England, now a Duke
The Duke of Windsor
12 November 1968
4, route du Champ d'Entraînement, Bois de Boulogne, Paris
... who watches in horror as his wife is swung around by Richard Burton with the latter's wife, this actress from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Elizabeth Taylor
6 June 1955
Marfa, Texas
... who brings out nerves in this Rebel Without A Cause actor while filming Giant
James Dean
23 September 1955
The Villa Capri, Hollywood
... who is forewarned of his impending death by this English actor known for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Alec Guinness
4 August 1955
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, London W1
... who crawls around on a church floor picking up jewels with this English writer known for 'Brideshead Revisited'
Evelyn Waugh
4 February 1949
The Ambassador Hotel, Park Avenue, New York
... who is deliberately difficult when he meets this Russian composer of The Rite of Spring
Igor Stravinsky
December 1939
Burbank Studios, Los Angeles
... who allows that piece to be used in Fantasia, the third animated feature film by this pioneer of animation
Walt Disney
27 August 1964
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles
... who resists demands for alterations to the script of Mary Poppins from this author of the original book series
P. L. Travers
30 October 1949
The American Hospital of Paris, Neuilly-sur-Seine
... who with other devotees attends the funeral of this Russian mystic philosopher and spiritual teacher
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff
June 1934
Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin
... who makes a disciple of, then makes sauerkraut for, this architect and designer
Frank Lloyd Wright
Autumn 1957
The Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue, New York
... who designs a house for Arthur Miller and his wife, this actress, model and sex symbol
Marilyn Monroe
19 September 1959
The Café de Paris, Hollywood
... who wears her sexiest dress to a Twentieth-Century Fox dinner on the American tour of this Russian premier
Nikita Krushchev
23 April 1956
Harcourt Room, Palace of Westminster, London
... who launches into a tirade against democratic socialists after a throwaway remark by this future deputy leader of the Labour Party
George Brown
22 November 1963
Rediffusion TV Studios, Kingsway, London WC2
... who launches into a tirade against American actors when joined in the Green Room by this method actor, known for his performance in Baby Doll
Eli Wallach
February 1974
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
... who despite a bitter feud in the press is welcomed in person by this singer known as 'Ol' Blue Eyes'
Frank Sinatra
September 1966
The Daisy, Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles
... who pays a waiter to punch this writer and investigative journalist, known for The Boys in the Band
Dominick Dunne
April 2007
The Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Los Angeles
... who during a court recess urinates next to this pioneering music producer, known for his 'Wall of Sound' approach
Phil Spector
June 1977
Whitney Recording Studios, Los Angeles
... who after three weeks of writing and recording songs together pulls a gun on this Canadian singer-songwriter known for 'Hallelujah'
Leonard Cohen
Winter 1967
The Chelsea Hotel, 222 West 23rd Street, New York
... who shares a lift with, then later writes 'Chelsea Hotel' about, this rock singer known for her cover of 'Piece of My Heart'
Janis Joplin
August 1970
The Chelsea Hotel, 222 West 23rd Street, New York
... who takes under her wing this singer-songwriter and poet, known for her album Horses
Patti Smith
November 1969
Horn and Hardart automat, West 23rd Street, New York
... who is mistaken for a very pretty boy and treated to a cheese sandwich by this beat poet and writer
Allen Ginsberg
May 1957
Room 9, The Villa Muniriya, 1, rue Magellan, Tangier
... who gives nude pictures of himself and his boyfriend to this British figurative painter
Francis Bacon
1977
Warwick House, St James's Place, London SW1
... who boos and hisses when no one else dares criticise the singing of this English princess and sister of the Queen
HRH Princess Margaret
Spring 1968
20 Thurloe Square, London SW7
... who watches a blue movie with this English theatre critic
Kenneth Tynan
1970
United Nations Plaza, New York
... who engages in a high-profile feud, culminating in a $500 bet, with this novelist, known for 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and 'In Cold Blood'
Truman Capote
1979
Le Restaurant, Bel Air, Los Angeles
... who discusses reincarnation then loudly sings classics with this jazz singer of 'Is That All There Is?'
Peggy Lee
24 February 1970
The East Room, the White House, Washington DC
... who plants an unsolicited kiss on the cheek of this U.S President, the only to ever resign from office
Richard Nixon
20 December 1970
The White House, Washington DC
... who awards a Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Special Agent Badge to this singer known as 'The King of Rock and Roll'
Elvis Presley
27 August 1965
Perugia Way, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
... who receives four starstruck Beatles, including this co-lead singer and bassist
Paul Mccartney
27 June 1965
The Adriana Hotel, Rome
... who is judged a "bad-mannered little s***" after a backstage meeting with this English playwright known for Hay Fever
Noël Coward
29 July 1946
Biarritz
... who is serenaded "really quite sweetly" by this Russian aristocrat, known for a certain high-profile murder
Prince Felix Youssoupoff
29 December 1916
The Moika Palace, St Petersburg
... who poisons, then shoots, then has to shoot a further four times to kill this Russian mystic and friend of the Tsar
Grigori Rasputin
21 June 1915
Tsarskoye Selo, nr St Petersburg
... who boasted loudly about his sexual encounters with the Tsarina, much to the annoyance of her husband, this last Emperor of All Russia
Tsar Nicholas II
23 May 1903
Kremlin Square, Moscow
... who is amazed when the bells of the Kremlin ring, seemingly at the will of this escape artist and illusionist
Harry Houdini
23 June 1914
SS Imperator
... who uses a simple trick to completely baffle this characteristic ex-US president known for his anti-trust policies and huggable bedtime friends
Theodore Roosevelt
6 May 1906
The White House, Washington DC
... who struggles to get a word in edgeways over the incessant talk of this English author of 'The War of the Worlds'
H. G. Wells
22 July 1934
The Kremlin, Moscow
... who after a three-hour discussion about socialism decides he has "never met a more candid, fair and honest man than" this Georgian ruler of the Soviet Union
Josef Stalin
Early June 1936
6 Malaya Nikitskaya Street, Moscow
... who presents a poisoned box of candy to this Russian writer and founder of socialist realism
Maxim Gorky
13 January 1900
21 Ulitsa Lva Tolstogo, Moscow
... who is disappointed when he finally meets his hero, this Russian author of 'War and Peace'
Leo Tolstoy
December 1876
Moscow Conservatory, Bolshaya Nikitskaya
... who is initially enthusiastic about, but afterwards begins to doubt the legitimacy of, this Russian Romantic composer of Swan Lake
Pyotr Il'ich Tchaikovsky
May 1888
Moscow Conservatory, Bolshaya Nikitskaya
... who sits on the Conservatory's examining board and is blown away by the efforts of this Russian composer and virtuoso pianist
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Summer 1931
The Garden of Allah, Los Angeles
... who initially drowns out, then is drowned out by, this harpist and comedy actor known for his films with his three brothers
Harpo Marx
Summer 1928
Villa Galanon, Cap d'Antibes
... who is left "naked to the world" after having his sunbathing towel pulled away by this Irish playwright of Pygmalion
George Bernard Shaw
12 September 1895
Penallt, Monmouthshire
... who crashes his bicycle into this British philosopher and mathematician
Bertrand Russell
October 1964
43 Hasker Street, London SW3
... who insists on making cucumber sandwiches for this English actress from Ryan's Daughter
Sarah Miles
January 1961
Bray, the Republic of Ireland
... who for a film role has to pretend to be raped by this English actor known for his title role in Billy Budd
Terence Stamp
February 1968
F2, Albany, Piccadilly, London W1
... who provides interior design advice to this British leader of the Conservative Party and future Prime Minister
Edward Heath
December 1934
Hauteville, St Peters, Kent
... who as a child tries to sing Christmas carols to, but is turned away by, this German-born British painter
Walter Sickert
June 1927
11 Downing Street
... who gives painting advice to this British politician and future wartime Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Summer 1951
St James's Theatre, London SW1
... who barges into the dressing room of this English actor, known for his celebrated roles as Richard III and Heathcliff
Laurence Olivier
21 May 1951
4 Christchurch Street, London SW3
... who has dinner with a feeling-phony-version of this author of 'The Catcher in the Rye'
J. D. Salinger
Late August 1944
The Ritz Hotel, 15 place Vendôme, Paris
... who in Paris meets one of his literary heroes, thirty years his senior: this author of 'A Farewell to Arms'
Ernest Hemingway
Autumn 1924
La Closerie des Lilas, 171, boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris
... who in Paris meets one of his literary heroes, thirty years his senior: this English author of 'The Good Soldier'
Ford Madox Ford
November 1899
Montmartre, Paris
... who in Paris meets one of his literary heroes, thirty years his senior: this Irish author of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'
Oscar Wilde
November 1891
9, boulevard Malesherbes, Paris
... who loses his nerve and walks out on having dinner with this French author of 'Remembrance of Things Past'
Marcel Proust
19 May 1922
Hôtel Majestic, avenue Kléber, Paris
... who has every attempt at conversation fended off by this Irish author of 'Ulysses'
James Joyce
30 July 1931
31 Hyde Park Gardens, London W2
... who fends off every attempt at conversation from this British politician and diarist
Harold Nicolson
August 1967
Sissinghurst Castle, Cranbrook, Kent
... whose purple border is complimented by this younger British diarist and photographer
Cecil Beaton
Early March 1967
La Mamounia Hotel, Marrakesh
... who is offered LSD in a car by this singer from The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger
Spring 1967
Harley House, Marylebone, London NW1
... who is told he should go into politics by this British journalist and Labour politician
Tom Driberg
June 1976
601 Mountjoy House, the Barbican, London EC2
... who tries to have his wicked way with a young Martin Amis after being left alone by this English-American journalist and anti-theist
Christopher Hitchens
14 September 2005
Baruch College, 55 Lexington Avenue, New York
... who trades abuse in a fruitless public debate on the Iraq war with this British politician and future leader of the Workers Party of Britain
George Galloway
23 January 2006
Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
... who is voted off Celebrity Big Brother after an argument with this English comedian and TV presenter
Michael Barrymore
May 1996
Bayswater, London W2
... who is befriended and helped after rehabilitation by this British royal and wife of Prince Charles
Diana, Princess of Wales
3 March 1981
Goldsmiths' Hall, London EC2
... who receives advice on being a princess from this film actress and Princess of Monaco
Princess Grace
Winter 1961
Grimaldi Palace, Monaco
... who after public outcry has to withdraw from making Marnie with this English film director known as the 'Master of Suspense'
Alfred Hitchcock
September 1950
6005 Camino de la Costa, La Jolla, California
... who walks out after increasingly frustrating attempts at developing a script for the film adaptation of 'Strangers on a Train' with this author of 'The Big Sleep'
Raymond Chandler
October 1944
Warner Brothers Studio, Burbank, Los Angeles
... who is unable to work out the plot of his own novel after being begged for help by this director of Scarface
Howard Hawks
July 1930
Lakeside Country Club, Burbank, California
... who over a game of golf settles his differences with this aviation millionaire and builder of the Spruce Goose
Howard Hughes
Spring 1940
7000 Romaine Street, Los Angeles
... who builds a special bra for Jane Russell to the amazement of his assistant, this producer of the James Bond films
Cubby Broccoli
November 1965
Kurt's of Mayfair, London W1
... who after a meeting in a barbershop, finds a successor to Sean Connery in this Australian actor who played Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
George Lazenby
8 February 1970
Studio 5B, London Weekend Television
... who accuses several senators of collusion in a plot to kill President Kennedy, on a TV programme hosted by this British television interviewer
Simon Dee
5 June 1970
Studio 5B, London Weekend Television
... who has as his final ever guest this 100th Archbishop of Canterbury
Michael Ramsey
May 1919
The Headmaster's Study, Repton School, Derbyshire
... who is punished at school by his future predecessor, this 99th Archbishop of Canterbury
Geoffrey Fisher
Summer 1931
Repton School, Derbyshire
... who is photographed by an unassuming pupil, this British-Norwegian author of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'
Roald Dahl
Summer 1972
Iver Grove, Iver, Bucks
... who cannot recommend writing children's books enough to this English author of 'Lucky Jim'
Kingsley Amis
November 1959
Slough
... who after a remark about Princess Margaret several months ago, is dropped off in the wrong place in revenge by her future husband, this British photographer
Tony Armstrong-Jones
November 1966
Chez Moi, Addison Road, Holland Park, London W14
... who receives a call from this Australian comedian and creator of Dame Edna pretending to be his mother
Barry Humphries
November 1963
Gotham Book Mart, 41 West 47th Street, New York
... who while having his hair cut listens to this Spanish surrealist artist talk nonstop about Aboriginals
Salvador Dalí
19 July 1938
39 Elsworthy Road, London NW3
... who sketches his hero, this Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
August 1910
Leiden, Holland
... who elicits reconsideration of his marital relationship from this Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer
Gustav Mahler
23 April 1909
Rue de l'Université, Paris
... who refuses to kneel while modelling for this French sculptor, known for The Thinker
Auguste Rodin
1900
Rue de la Gaîté, Paris
... who is fascinated by and nearly has sex with this pioneer of modern dance
Isadora Duncan
18 September 1926
Hôtel Welcome, Villefranche-sur-Mer
... who starts a free-for-all fight at a party eventually broken up by this French poet and author of 'La Belle et La Bête'
Jean Cocteau
February 1936
The Karoa, South China Sea
... who forms a fleeting friendship with this English silent film actor, best known for his character The Tramp
Charlie Chaplin
14 July 1937
Beverly Hills Tennis Club, Los Angeles
... who plays pro-celebrity tennis doubles with this comedy actor, famous for his films with his three brothers and his comedy cigar
Groucho Marx
June 1964
3 Kensington Court Gardens, London W8
... who shows off his serious side and knowledge of poetry to this English poet, known for 'The Waste Land'
T. S. Eliot
14 April 1943
Aeolian Hall, 135-137 New Bond Street, London W1
... who provokes giggles at a reading of that poem from this Queen of The UK, wife of George VI
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
5 June 1972
Windsor Castle
... who talks about kitchens with this socialite and wife of ex-King Edward VIII
The Duchess of Windsor
22 October 1937
Berchtesgaden, the Bavarian Alps
... who takes tea with this dictator of Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler
+3
Level 90
Jun 12, 2021
Very cool quiz. Challenging and interesting. Totally absorbing. My only recommendation would be to add maybe five more minutes. A little more time to savor would be nice.
+2
Level 71
Jun 14, 2021
Wow, this is incredible! I know you didn't do the research yourself, but it still must have taken quite a while to read the book, make the quiz, and (maybe?) verify some of the information. Pretty tough, but worth taking, and it's rather satisfying how it all comes together in the end. You've definitely got a well-earned nomination from me!
+1
Level 76
Oct 23, 2021
thanks for the nomination! definitely took a while but worth it to see the amazing chain all come together and learn about some of the people i hadn't heard of
+2
Level 75
Feb 7, 2023
More time please. This isn't the sort of quiz that allows you to eventually get them all by random guesses. Would have been nice to have enough time for a complete first pass and then maybe a chance to go back to some of the ones that strained my brain initially. As it is, I had to scramble through the last dozen or so just to try to read them and pop in any obvious answers.
+1
Level 76
Feb 8, 2023
totally fair, thanks for the feedback. i'll up it to 30 minutes since time is really not meant to be a pressure for this quiz