George Washington’s nephew Bushrod was appointed to what position in 1798?

Shortly after George Washington took office as president in 1789, his nephew, Bushrod, asked to be appointed as the federal attorney for Virginia. Washington said no. He wanted to make sure that no one could accuse him of favoritism or corruption in choosing the people who would join his government and, family member or not, if Bushrod wasn’t the most qualified person for the job, he wasn’t going to get it. Bushrod remained a lawyer in Virginia, building his reputation, and in 1798 President John Adams named him to fill a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trivia question: Who was the first chief justice of the United States?

A) John Adams

B) Alexander Hamilton

C) John Jay

D) Earl Warren

Which U.S. institution of higher learning fields the most Division I varsity sports teams? It’s Harvard, which estimates that 20 percent of its student body participates in intercollegiate athletics. Adding a varsity women’s rugby squad in 2013 brought the school’s varsity team total to 42.

In honor of the United Nations’ World Poetry Day, we salute Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali poet who, in 1913, became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. He’s also the only person to have written and composed the national anthems of two countries. His 1911 song, “Jana Gana Mana” (“the leader of people’s minds”), became India’s national anthem in 1950. After Bangladesh gained its independence from Pakistan in 1971, it chose Tagore’s 1905 song “Amar Sonar Bangla” (“my golden Bengal”) as its anthem.

Guglielmo Marconi is the father of modern radio, sending the first transatlantic radio communication — from England to Canada — in 1901. Thirty years after that, at the request of Pope Pius XI, Marconi established the first radio transmission facility at the Vatican. Radio Vaticana still broadcasts today, via land, satellite and internet, in 39 languages.

Sailfish are generally considered to be the fastest fish in the ocean, reaching speeds of more than 68 miles per hour. Their huge dorsal “sail” fin makes them easy to recognize, but when they’re swimming at high speed that fin is tucked down into a “fin groove” to make sailfish more aerodynamic. Not only are they fast, sailfish are big and strong, hunting in packs to prey on schools of smaller fish. When they’re excited — or exhausted — sailfish change color, going from blue to black to dull brown depending on their mood.

There’s just one female inductee in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown and that’s Effa Manley, co-owner of the Newark Eagles. Under her stewardship, the team were Negro League Champions in 1946, led by future Hall of Famers Larry Doby and Monte Irvin. The following year, Doby’s contract was purchased by the Cleveland Indians. Two years after that, Irvin joined the New York Giants.

Trivia answer: John Jay was the first chief justice of the United States.

TRIVIA FANS: Leslie Elman is the author of “Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous and Totally Off the Wall Facts.” Contact her at triviabitsleslie@gmail.com.