Historical Figures Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 1307
Which political science educator was appointed U.N. Ambassador by President Reagan?
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jeane kirkpatrick
Which Underground Railroad conductor had rewards totaling $40,000 offered for her capture during the Civil War?
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harriet tubman
To which branch of the U.S. military did Lee Harvey Oswald belong?
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marines
In which country was Boutros Ghali, the Coptic Christian Premier, assassinated in 1910?
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egypt
Whose body was moved from St. Helena to Paris in 1840 and entombed in the Church of the Dome?
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napoleon
Which former Secretary of Defense has been appointed publisher of Forbes Magazine?
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caspar weinberger
What is the name of the woman who dressed like a man and may have served as a scout for Custer?
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calamity jane
What was the name of the beloved horse tamed by Alexander the Great, in whose honor he built a city after its death?
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bucephalus
Which Austrian monk, known for his experiments between 1856 and 1863, tested at least 5,000 pea plants?
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gregor mendel
Who was Chicago's first woman mayor, elected four years before Harold Washington became the city's first black mayor?
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jane byrne
William Clark of the Lewis & Clark Expedition served as a lieutenant under which general known as 'Mad'?
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anthony wayne
Who was the leader of the People's Temple responsible for the deaths of more than 900 followers in 1978?
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jim jones
Which world-famous aviatrix was a social worker in Boston in the 1920s?
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amelia earhart
Which feminist, who edited a journal called the Lily, is most famously associated with baggy trousers?
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amelia bloomer
Who received an 11-year prison sentence for income tax evasion in October 1931, the stiffest sentence ever for such a crime at the time?
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al capone
Who was the U.S. Army surgeon that wrote the report 'The Prevention of Yellow Fever' in 1901?
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walter reed
Who did Antonia Novello succeed in 1990 to become the first female Surgeon General?
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c. everett koop
Who sent a telegram to FDR in 1944 reading, 'Isolationism is dead' after their victory on Election Day?
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harry s. truman
Which queen of Egypt likely fell out of favor with her husband, Akhenaton, during the 12th or 14th year of his reign?
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nefertiti
What nickname was given to Black Panther Elmer Pratt, who was released in 1997 after evidence was suppressed at his 1972 trial?
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geronimo
Who was the Lord Chancellor of England in the 16th century who was canonized in 1935?
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thomas more
Who was the first Greek historian known for attempting to write a history of the world up to his own time?
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herodotus
Which famous female author was married to Samuel Gridley Howe, who clandestinely supported John Brown's Harpers Ferry raid?
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julia ward howe
Who is the author of the 1922 book 'Women, Morality And Birth Control'?
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margaret sanger
Who became the first woman elected governor of New Jersey on November 2, 1993?
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christine todd whitman
What is the shortened name of the 11th-century Spanish hero whose full nickname ends in 'Campeador'?
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el cid
Who was the Salem-born assistant Alexander Graham Bell famously called for in 1876?
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thomas a. watson
Who founded the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in 1881 and was a leader in Christian Science?
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mary baker eddy
Which Supreme Court justice began practicing law in 1933 after graduating from Howard University?
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thurgood marshall
Who was the famous general associated with the horse named Traveller?
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robert e. lee
In which northern Egyptian city was Saint Athanasius born and later became a bishop?
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alexandria
Which revolutionary, known for writing 'Common Sense', left school at age 13 after refusing to learn Latin?
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thomas paine
Which commodore, not Lionel Richie, had a Nashville university named after him?
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cornelius vanderbilt
In 1778, which smallpox vaccine developer wrote a paper on the murderous habits of the young cuckoo bird?
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edward jenner
Who was the Civil War general known for saying 'War is Hell' who served as president of the seminary and military academy that became LSU?
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william tecumseh sherman
In 1776, at the age of 70, Benjamin Franklin was one of three Congressional Commissioners to which nation?
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france
Which Soviet leader gave the Kennedys a dog named Pushinka, a pup of Strelka, the first Soviet dog in space?
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nikita khrushchev
Which American-born dancer aided the French resistance during World War II?
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josephine baker
On which island did Napoleon rule as a principality during 1814 and 1815?
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elba
Who was the advisor to Burma's first premier, U Nu, who later became a U.N. Secretary-General?
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u thant
Which famous nurse worked as an obstetrical nurse in Manhattan before founding the first birth control clinic?
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margaret sanger
Which former New York governor, who was born to Italian immigrant parents and struggled with English when he started school?
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mario cuomo
What surname, which was also that of his friend the noted playwright, did Lawrence of Arabia use as an alias after 1923?
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george bernard shaw
Who became New York City's first black mayor in 1990?
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david dinkins
Which southern state had Edmund Randolph as its first attorney general before he became the first attorney general of the USA?
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virginia
Which Mongol conqueror had a father named Yesugei who was poisoned when he was a boy?
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genghis khan
Who is the American activist known for shaking up society in the 1960s and authoring 'Revolution for the Hell of It' and 'Steal This Book'?
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abbie hoffman
Who was the Ethiopian emperor whose wife, Wayzaro Menen, was a great-granddaughter of Menelik II?
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haile selassie
What country did Andreas Vesalius serve as physician to King Philip II?
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spain
Who was the woman for whom Polly Thomson served as companion and interpreter until her death in 1960?
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helen keller
Who was the 76-year-old Red Cross 'angel' who distributed supplies in Cuba during the Spanish-American War?
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clara barton
Who was instrumental in founding both the British South Africa Company and the De Beers Diamond Company in the 1880s?
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cecil rhodes
Who was the former Panamanian strongman who published the memoir 'America's Prisoner'?
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manuel noriega
Who was the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad in 1921?
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hirohito
Who was the Spanish warrior who captured Valencia from the Moors in 1094?
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el cid
Which unfortunate young noblewoman was only 15 years old when she began her 9-day reign over England in 1553?
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lady jane grey
Which 18th-century bishop, after whom a California university city is named, wrote 'Westward the course of empire takes its way'?
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george berkeley
What is the middle name of General Sherman that honors a great Shawnee chief?
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tecumseh
Which 19th century Boston Unitarian minister was the grandnephew of Nathan Hale?
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edward everett hale
Who became director of Research in Contemporary Cultures at Columbia University in 1948?
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margaret mead