Problem: Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 - November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at The Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and his acclaimed short films, Benchley's style of humor brought him respect and success during his life, from his peers at the Algonquin Round Table in New York City to contemporaries in the burgeoning film industry. Benchley is best remembered for his contributions to The New Yorker, where his essays, whether topical or absurdist, influenced many modern humorists. He also made a name for himself in Hollywood, when his short film How to Sleep was a popular success and won Best Short Subject at the 1935 Academy Awards, and through his many memorable appearances in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940) and Nice Girl?

Although Benchley was known for misleading and fictional autobiographical statements about himself (at one point asserting that he wrote A Tale of Two Cities before being buried at Westminster Abbey), he actually was the great-grandchild of the founder of Benchley, Texas, Henry Wetherby Benchley, who was jailed for his help with the Underground Railroad. Robert Benchley was born on September 15, 1889, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Maria Jane (Moran) and Charles Henry Benchley. Robert's older brother, Edmund, was rushed to the Spanish-American War days after graduation from West Point (1898), and was killed almost immediately. The Benchley family were attending a public Fourth of July picnic when a bicycle messenger brought the notification telegram. In unthinking, stunned reaction, Maria Benchley cried out "Why couldn't it have been Robert?!", while the latter, who was nine years old, was standing by her side. Mrs. Benchley apologized profusely and tried hard to atone for the remark. Edmund's death had considerable effects on Robert's life, particularly in the form of Edmund's fiancee Lillian Duryea, a wealthy heiress. It is believed that Edmund's death in battle seeded pacifist leanings in Robert Benchley's writings. The period, however, was full of strong literary reactions to the Great War, and Benchley was aware of, for instance, the anti-war writings of A.A. Milne. Robert Benchley met Gertrude Darling in high school in Worcester. They became engaged during his senior year at Harvard, and they married in June 1914. Their first child, Nathaniel Benchley, was born a year later. A second son, Robert Benchley, Jr., was born in 1919. Nathaniel became a writer himself, and penned a biography of his father in 1955. He was a well-respected fiction and children's book author. Nathaniel had talented sons as well: Peter Benchley was best known for the book Jaws (which inspired the film of the same name), and Nat Benchley wrote and performed in an acclaimed one-man production based on Robert's life.

How did Edmund fair in the Spanish-American War?

Answer with quotes: and was killed almost immediately.

Problem: OK Go is an American rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion) and Andy Ross (guitar, keyboards and vocals), who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan. The band is known for its often quirky and elaborate one-take music videos. The original members formed as OK Go in 1998 and released two studio albums before Duncan's departure.

Though the band had offers from bigger labels, the band signed to Capitol Records in April 2001 believing that, as the first signing by newly hired label president Andy Slater, they would get more attention and support. The band released its debut album, OK Go, on September 17, 2002, after it was pushed back by the label from its original June release date. The album was recorded at the Capitol Studios in Los Angeles and, though the original plan was to do minor tweaks to the original demos, the band ended up rerecording everything and adding five new songs, including the first single "Get Over It," which later appeared in Triple Play Baseball and Madden NFL 2003 video games. To promote the release, the label sent out miniature ping pong tables to press outlets, a reference to the "Get Over It" video directed by Francis Lawrence. In support of the album, the band toured with a diverse group of acts including the Vines, Phantom Planet, Superdrag, the Donnas, Fountains of Wayne, and Mew, and played a number of festival shows including Leeds in 2002 and 2003, and NoisePop, Reading, Witnness, and T in the Park in 2003. In the United States, the album reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and #107 on the Billboard 200 Chart. In the United Kingdom, the first single "Get Over It" debuted at no. 27, in the UK singles chart on March 16, 2003, and the band performed it on that week's edition of Top of the Pops. Also that week, the single's video was named video of the week by Q magazine.

Was it successful?

Answer with quotes: In the United States, the album reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and #107 on the Billboard 200 Chart.

Problem: Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, (; born Lourens Alma Tadema Dutch pronunciation: ['l^ur@ns 'alma: 'ta:d@,ma:]; 8 January 1836 - 25 June 1912) was a Dutch painter of special British denizenship.

Alma-Tadema's output decreased with time, partly on account of health, but also because of his obsession with decorating his new home, to which he moved in 1883. Nevertheless, he continued to exhibit throughout the 1880s and into the next decade, receiving a plentiful amount of accolades along the way, including the medal of Honour at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889, election to an honorary member of the Oxford University Dramatic Society in 1890, the Great Gold Medal at the International Exposition in Brussels of 1897. In 1899 he was Knighted in England, only the eighth artist from the Continent to receive the honour. Not only did he assist with the organisation of the British section at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, he also exhibited two works that earned him the Grand Prix Diploma. He also assisted with the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904 where he was well represented and received. During this time, Alma-Tadema was very active with theatre design and production, designing many costumes. He also spread his artistic boundaries and began to design furniture, often modelled after Pompeian or Egyptian motifs, illustrations, textiles, and frame making. His diverse interests highlight his talents. Each of these exploits were used in his paintings, as he often incorporated some of his designed furniture into the composition, and must have used many of his own designs for the clothing of his female subjects. Through his last period of creativity Alma-Tadema continued to produce paintings, which repeat the successful formula of women in marble terraces overlooking the sea such as in Silver Favourites (1903). Between 1906 and his death six years later, Alma-Tadema painted less but still produced ambitious paintings like The Finding of Moses (1904). On 15 August 1909 Alma-Tadema's wife, Laura, died at the age of fifty-seven. The grief-stricken widower outlived his second wife by less than three years. His last major composition was Preparation in the Coliseum (1912). In the summer of 1912, Alma Tadema was accompanied by his daughter Anna to Kaiserhof Spa, Wiesbaden, Germany where he was to undergo treatment for ulceration of the stomach. He died there on 28 June 1912 at the age of seventy-six. He was buried in a crypt in St Paul's Cathedral in London.

What other awards did he win?

Answer with quotes:
the Great Gold Medal at the International Exposition in Brussels of 1897.