Historical Figures Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 1307
Which former leader was denounced as 'a tyrant' by Khrushchev at a February 1956 Communist Party Congress?
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joseph stalin
Which American general's defeat at Paoli led to the evacuation of Philadelphia during the American Revolution, earning him the nickname 'Mad'?
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anthony wayne
What name did the Inuit of Greenland give to the associate of Robert Peary known for being 'kind little Matthew'?
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matthew henson
Who was Rome's greatest orator, also known by the name Tully?
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cicero
Which First Lady visited the leaders of seven nations in the Caribbean and Latin America in May and June of 1977?
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rosalynn carter
Who bequeathed a friend a copy of her husband's inaugural address that was signed by Robert Frost?
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jacqueline kennedy onassis
Philip II, who attempted to invade England in the 16th century, was the ruler of which country?
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spain
What was the maiden name of the newspaper founder originally named Mary Morse Baker?
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mary baker eddy
Who mentioned 'educational relations make the strongest tie' in his will while establishing scholarships?
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cecil rhodes
Which ruler, besides commissioning the famous tomb for his wife, also constructed the Khass Mahal in his palace?
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shah jahan
Which Israeli prime minister was the first to sign a peace treaty between Israel and an Arab country?
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menachem begin
Who, born on December 23, 1933, was the fifth child of Emperor Hirohito?
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akihito
Which famous missionary and medical doctor, known for his work in Gabon, was also an accomplished Bach-playing organist?
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albert schweitzer
Which character did Scottish scientist John Arbuthnot popularize in 1712 to satirize British politics?
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john bull
Who was the last ruler of Egypt from the Ptolemaic dynasty?
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cleopatra
What is the Latinized first name of a famous figure associated with the meaning 'God's gift' and known for riding naked through the streets?
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lady godiva
Who took over as editor of the transcendentalist journal The Dial from Margaret Fuller in 1842?
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ralph waldo emerson
Which English scientist & philosopher, also known as Friar Roger, foresaw the invention of the airplane?
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roger bacon
Who was the notorious outlaw identified by 1995 DNA tests from a body exhumed in Missouri?
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jesse james
In 1192, Enrico Dandalo, who was in his 80s, was elected Doge of which city?
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venice
Which American Revolution figure denounced the Stamp Act before the House of Burgesses by declaring, 'If this be treason, make the most of it'?
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patrick henry
Who was convicted in 1953 for leading the Mau Mau movement in Kenya and later became its president?
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jomo kenyatta
Which Norse explorer was honored in the U.S. on October 9, 1977, as per the official proclamation?
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leif erikson
What is the first name shared by the notable 18th century potters Spode and Wedgewood?
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josiah
Which deposed First Lady became a citizen of Tonga in 1991?
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imelda marcos
Who was the first president of International Planned Parenthood and came from a family of 11 children?
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margaret sanger
At what age did Louis XIV declare, 'Today I am a man,' and remove his mother as regent?
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13
Which 19th century American naval officer was in command of the U.S.S. Fulton when he opened U.S. trade with Japan?
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matthew perry
In 1986, which Nobel Prize winner was allowed to return to Moscow after a 6-year exile in Gorky?
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andrei sakharov
Which educational institution did Stonewall Jackson join as an instructor in 1851?
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virginia military institute
In a 1980s letter, which Soviet leader said Samantha Smith reminded him of 'Becky, Tom Sawyer's friend'?
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yuri andropov
Which philosopher and economist was named lord rector of the University of Glasgow in 1787?
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adam smith
Who was the Dutch-born dancer executed by firing squad in Vincennes in 1917?
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mata hari
Which Roman emperor became cruel and mentally unbalanced following a serious illness in 37 A.D.?
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caligula
Who offered a $50,000 reward in 1898 through his New York Journal for the detection of the perpetrator of the 'Maine Outrage'?
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william randolph hearst
Which former premier of the Soviet Union was denied a state funeral when he died in 1971?
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nikita khrushchev
Who was the chief justice who wrote the opinion in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954?
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earl warren
Who, along with his son Louis the Pious, established Aachen as the capital of the Frankish kingdom during the Middle Ages?
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charlemagne
Who was the editor that founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1832?
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william lloyd garrison
On which Hawaiian island did Belgian priest Father Damien minister to lepers?
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molokai
Which religious leader, who was briefly a Baptist and later a non-denominational Christian, founded Rhode Island as a center of religious liberty?
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roger williams
Who began marketing packaged frozen fish in 1925?
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clarence birdseye
Who is the individual mediums still hope to receive a specially coded message from, and who died on October 31, 1926?
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harry houdini
Who is known for undertaking long fasts during the Vietnam War and the 1980 Iran hostage crisis?
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dick gregory
Who was nicknamed 'The Steel King'?
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andrew carnegie
What is the name of the woman who allegedly murdered her parents with an ax in 1892 and died in 1927?
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lizzie borden
Who began delivering supplies to the Civil War wounded at the age of 39 in 1861?
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clara barton
Who is the founder of the New York Post whose portrait appears on the ten-dollar bill?
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alexander hamilton
Which woman from Lesbos did Plato refer to as the 'tenth muse'?
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sappho
Who was the first woman to run for the U.S. presidency and was married at age 15?
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victoria woodhull
Who was the husband of Sarah, who became chairperson of Handgun Control Inc. in 1989?
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james brady
Which founder did Rhode Island commemorate with a statue in Statuary Hall in 1872?
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roger williams
Who became the second wife of a Ugandan president in 1975, identified only as a 19-year-old soldier named Sarah?
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idi amin
Who wrote about 60% of the essays in 'The Federalist'?
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alexander hamilton
Which superintendent of Union army nurses during the Civil War was known as the 'Gentle Warrior'?
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dorothea dix
Which 19th-century little 'general' is featured in the Hertzberg Circus Collection in San Antonio?
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tom thumb
Who was the historical figure known for her adventurous life and the possible loss of her parents while they were settling in Salt Lake City?
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calamity jane
Which admiral was involved in the surrender of Manila in 1898, alongside General Merritt, marking the end of the Spanish-American War?
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george dewey
Who was the first head of Tuskegee Institute, for whom the high school Martin Luther King, Jr. graduated from at age 15 was named?
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booker t. washington
What alias did Robert Leroy Parker adopt in honor of a rustler he rode with as a teenager?
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butch cassidy