Historical Explorers Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 44
Which race of warrior women did Francisco de Orellana claim to encounter while searching for El Dorado's gold in Brazil?
Very Easy
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amazons
Which Venetian explorer was the first known European to visit the regions that are now Thailand and Vietnam?
Very Easy
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marco polo
Who served as the governor of Yangchow, China between 1282 and 1287?
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marco polo
Which Italian explorer visited the island of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean around the year 1292?
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marco polo
Which explorer discovered the island of Saint-Barthelemy in 1493 and named it after his brother, Bartholomeo?
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christopher columbus
Which group of Scandinavian adventurers traveled as far east as Persia and as far west as the New World during the Middle Ages?
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vikings
Which explorer left for his second voyage in September of 1493 with a fleet of seventeen ships, fourteen more than his first trip?
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christopher columbus
In 1820, which continent might have been first seen by Fabian von Bellingshausen, who thought it was just ice?
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antarctica
Which Venetian explorer traveled in the service of Emperor Kublai Khan from 1275-1292?
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marco polo
In which country did William Adams, the first Englishman to visit, become a nobleman granted by the Shogun?
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japan
Which middle-aged Italian explorer visited the island of Sumatra in 1292?
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marco polo
Which explorer, who discovered Grenada in 1498, is represented by the ship on Grenada's coat-of-arms?
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christopher columbus
Who was the Venetian who, along with his father and uncle, reached Shang-tu, the summer capital of Kublai Khan, in 1275?
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marco polo
Which explorer built a fort using lumber salvaged from the Santa Maria after it ran aground in 1492?
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christopher columbus
Which noted Norseman is believed to have visited the Labrador peninsula around 1000 A.D.?
Easy
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leif erikson
Which explorer was hoping the river later named after him would lead him to the Pacific, but only made it to Albany?
Easy
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henry hudson
Which explorer set out from Central America in January 1531 with about 180 men and 3 ships to conquer Peru?
Easy
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francisco pizarro
Which explorer sailed to North America using the ships named Hopewell, Half Moon, and Discovery?
Easy
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henry hudson
Who gave the island of Hispaniola its name, which was later corrupted to Espanola?
Easy
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christopher columbus
Who was the explorer that explored Greenland in 1607 and then the Albany, New York area in 1609?
Easy
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henry hudson
Which explorer built a fort called La Navidad on Hispaniola in December 1492 using the timber from one of his ships?
Easy
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christopher columbus
Who is the Danish explorer that discovered St. Lawrence Island in 1728, which is now part of Alaska?
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vitus bering
Who submitted his plans for exploration to King John of Portugal in 1482?
Easy
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christopher columbus
Pedro Alonzo Nino, the first known black man in the Americas, served as the navigator for which famous explorer in 1492?
Easy
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christopher columbus
Who left a tent and the Norwegian flag at the South Pole on December 17, 1911?
Easy
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roald amundsen
Which explorer proved that Asia and North America were separated by water between 1727 & 1729?
Easy
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vitus bering
Which Danish explorer joined the Russian navy in 1704 and served in the war against Sweden?
Medium
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vitus bering
Which captain left England on his first voyage to the South Seas in 1768 at the age of 39?
Medium
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james cook
Which explorer was sent in 1805 to take a 'peak' at the upper Mississippi?
Medium
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zebulon pike
Which explorer reached Panama during his fourth voyage to the New World from 1502 to 1504, but did not cross the isthmus?
Medium
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christopher columbus
Who sailed the Kon-Tiki from Peru to the Tuamotu Islands in the South Pacific in 1947?
Medium
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thor heyerdahl
Which Danish explorer was commissioned by Peter the Great in 1725 to explore the Pacific coast of Siberia?
Hard
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vitus bering
Which 17th century Dutch explorer is credited with discovering and naming Van Diemen's Land, an island now named after him?
Hard
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abel tasman
Who was the 20th-century Norwegian explorer whose ship, the Gjoa, was exhibited in San Francisco from 1906 to 1972 before being returned to Oslo?
Hard
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roald amundsen
Who led an expedition to Tahiti in 1768 to help astronomers study the transit of Venus across the sun?
Hard
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james cook
Which explorer, attempting to land on New Zealand's South Island in 1642, was attacked by Maoris?
Hard
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abel tasman
Who was the captain of the Discovery in 1611 who could not keep his mutinous crew at bay?
Hard
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henry hudson
In which exotic Mali city was Alexander Gordon Laing killed by natives soon after visiting?
Very Hard
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timbuktu
Which Dutch explorer is known for discovering Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand, but found them disappointing due to the lack of great wealth?
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abel tasman
Who was the Dutch explorer commissioned in 1642 to find the Great Southern Continent?
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abel tasman
Which Trenton-born Colorado explorer, who was killed in an 1813 assault on York, Canada, was famously 'piqued'?
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zebulon pike
Who is the French explorer associated with the discovery of the St. Lawrence River and possibly accompanied Verrazano on his 1524 voyage to North America?
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jacques cartier
Which explorer landed on Canada's Gaspe Peninsula in 1534 and claimed the area for France?
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jacques cartier
Who was the explorer after whom the island group containing Kwajalein, the first Japanese possession the U.S. captured in WWII, is named?
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john marshall
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