Historical Figures Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 239
Which empire did Theodora become empress of through her marriage to Justinian I?
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byzantine empire
In THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BEN FRANKLIN, which fun-loving 'club' was Sir Francis Dashwood a member of during Franklin's younger days?
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hellfire club
Who is the man, killed on March 5, 1770, whose statue stands in the Boston Common?
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crispus attucks
Who became synonymous with 'traitor' after Churchill mentioned him in a 1941 speech?
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vidkun quisling
Who lived her last 45 years in Chicago's Hull House?
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jane addams
In early 1989, which woman's hairstyle was described by Time as featuring the 'trademark Mary Tyler Moore flip'?
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marilyn quayle
Which emperor, who ruled for 62 years, died at age 87 on January 7, 1989?
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hirohito
Who wrote in her 1903 autobiography, 'Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence'?
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helen keller
Which missionary, considered the greatest Catholic missionary of modern times, introduced Christianity to Japan in 1549?
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francis xavier
What man, who played a significant role in the battle against yellow fever, has a medical center in Washington, D.C. named after him?
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walter reed
In which state, also known as the 'Granite State,' did American author Winston Churchill serve in the legislature from 1903 to 1905?
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new hampshire
Who was arrested over 30 times and paid her fines by selling souvenir hatchets with her name on them?
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carrie nation
Which Scotsman known for his 'brave heart' defeated an English army near Stirling Castle in 1297?
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william wallace
Who was appointed Union Superintendent of Nurses in 1861 at the age of 59?
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dorothea dix
Whose famous wild west show is recreated at Euro Disney with features like cowboys, Indians, and stampeding buffalo?
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buffalo bill
Who was Akhenaten's wife, whose name means 'the beautiful one comes'?
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nefertiti
What color is associated with Cardinal Richelieu in his famous nickname?
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red
Who is the fourth Chief Justice who stated, 'The people made the Constitution and the people can unmake it'?
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john marshall
Who founded the Elsa Wild Animal Appeal in England in 1961 and in the U.S. in 1969?
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joy adamson
Which future Democratic presidential nominee moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1887?
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william jennings bryan
Who was appointed by Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and became the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice?
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louis brandeis
In which trade was Ben Franklin apprenticed to his older brother?
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printing
Who opened a Chicago detective agency in 1850, the same year Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about Hester Prynne's crime?
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allan pinkerton
Who served as Chief Justice from 1953 to 1969 and was the first recipient of the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award?
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earl warren
Who founded The Bank of New York, the USA's oldest continuously operating bank, in 1784?
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alexander hamilton
Who was crowned poet laureate of Rome in 1341 and is famous for his sonnets?
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petrarch
In 1993, which retired black Supreme Court justice received a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom?
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thurgood marshall
Who was the first man to orbit the Earth and died in a plane crash on March 27, 1968?
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yuri gagarin
Who was Henry Wells' famous partner in founding American Express?
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william fargo
Which 18th century lexicographer's first dictionary is on display in the London townhouse where he lived and worked?
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samuel johnson
Who is the orator represented by a statue from Nebraska in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.?
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william jennings bryan
Who, in 1948, identified himself and Alger Hiss as Soviet agents while serving as the editor of Time magazine?
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whittaker chambers
Which woman, born in Hampden, was instrumental in opening hospitals for the mentally ill in over 15 states?
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dorothea dix
Which city was Ludovico Sforza, also known as Il Moro, a duke of?
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milan
Who famously declared that 'A desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy' while attempting to blow up Parliament?
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guy fawkes
Which Spanish conquistador entered Cuzco triumphantly in November 1533?
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francisco pizarro
Who sold mail order footprint patterns before opening his first dance studio at the age of 18 in 1913?
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arthur murray
Who is the courageous woman known for never losing a 'passenger' on the Underground Railroad?
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harriet tubman
Which U.S. President was born on August 20, 1833, at the Ohio home of his grandfather, who also served as president?
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benjamin harrison
Which 11th daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I was executed by guillotine in 1793?
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marie antoinette
Who was appointed as the head of the Kenya Wildlife Service by Daniel Arap Moi in 1989?
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richard leakey
Who was the first black student admitted to the University of Mississippi in 1962?
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james meredith
Who was the final wife of Henry VIII?
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catherine parr
Who was the First Lady whose father, Marvin Pierce, served as the publisher of McCall's magazine?
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barbara bush
Who was the wife of a magazine publisher and served two terms in Congress during the 1940s?
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clare boothe luce
Which state was Prescott Sheldon Bush, the father of George Bush, a U.S. senator from?
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connecticut
Who was the Secretary of State under presidents Kennedy and Johnson that passed away in 1994 at the age of 85?
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dean rusk
Which 19th-century dandy lent his name to an elaborate gentleman's dressing table?
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beau brummell
Who was elected as Florida's first Hispanic governor in 1986, and shares a nickname often associated with 'Robert'?
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bob martinez
Who is the woman appointed by President Clinton as Secretary of Health & Human Services, contributing to the fact that half of the Secretaries have been women?
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donna shalala
Who was the chief whose brother, Tenskwatawa, was defeated by W.H. Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe?
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tecumseh
Which general led the American army into Mexico City on September 14, 1847?
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winfield scott
For which Russian dancer did Michael Fokine choreograph 'The Dying Swan' in 1905?
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anna pavlova
Which company did Ronald Reagan tour the U.S. as a spokesman for from 1952-62 between his TV appearances?
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general electric
Which physicist co-authored 'Why War?' with Sigmund Freud, a publication of The League of Nations?
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albert einstein
In which country was Calixto Garcia Iniguez, a revolutionary to whom a message was sent?
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cuba
Which religious leader gave his last sermon at St. Giles in Edinburgh in November 1572 and died a few weeks later?
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john knox
Who was William Jennings Bryan referring to when he said, 'We have a president who has kept ... us out of war'?
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woodrow wilson
Who began experiments that led to the vulcanization of rubber while he was in prison for debt?
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charles goodyear
Which country offered Albert Einstein the presidency in 1952, which he declined?
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israel