Historical Figures Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 1307
Who became the first black associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in October 1967?
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thurgood marshall
During many of his survey expeditions, John C. Fremont was accompanied by which Kentucky-born guide and Indian agent?
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kit carson
Who is the geodesic dome designer who worked as a meat lugger for Armour & Co. in his 20s?
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buckminster fuller
Which famous female aviator married publisher George P. Putnam in 1931?
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amelia earhart
What queen did Julius Caesar infuriate the Romans by placing a gold statue of in the temple of Venus Genetrix?
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cleopatra
Which orator was forced to flee to Canada after being accused of conspiring with John Brown?
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frederick douglass
Which prominent religious position did Celestine V abdicate from after just five months in 1294?
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pope
What name links an English empirical philosopher and the author of 'The Star-Spangled Banner'?
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locke & key
Who was crowned Emperor of the Romans on December 25, 800, and is sometimes called the Father of Europe?
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charlemagne
Who was honored by a Boston monument in 1888, along with four others, for dying in the Boston Massacre?
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crispus attucks
Who was executed when Elizabeth I was just 2 years and 8 months old?
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anne boleyn
Which city was Marco Polo returning to after 24 years when he found it at war with Genoa and was captured?
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venice
Which Dean served as Secretary of State during the 1960s?
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rusk
Who held the office of Astronomer Royal from 1720-1742 and was a friend and financier of Newton?
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edmond halley
In which country was Sultan Abdul-Hamid II deposed in 1909, having 370 women and 127 eunuchs in his harem?
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turkey
Which hero of Spain, who died in 1099, had a horse named Babieca that no one was allowed to ride after his death?
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el cid
In which country did Gandhi live during the Boer War and serve the British as a medical volunteer?
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south africa
Who was the educator born in Massachusetts in 1796 that helped create the United States' first state board of education?
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horace mann
Who was the educator that founded the National Negro Business League in 1900?
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booker t. washington
Who was the editor of 'The Lily', a 19th-century newspaper focused on women's issues, and known for her advocacy for women's fashion reform?
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amelia bloomer
Which future first lady was adopted in her teens by Dr. Loyal Davis after her mother married him?
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nancy reagan
Who is referred to as 'The Lady with the Lamp'?
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florence nightingale
Who was born near Gzhatsk in 1934, promoted to major in 1961 shortly before liftoff, and died in 1968?
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yuri gagarin
Who co-founded the New England Woman Suffrage Association in 1868 and is known for writing 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic'?
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julia ward howe
Who was the British pottery maker that died on January 3, 1795, in Etruria near Stoke-on-Trent?
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josiah wedgwood
Which queen's son Louis XVII, who probably died of natural causes at age 10, was believed by many to have been poisoned?
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marie antoinette
Who was nicknamed 'Little Sure Shot'?
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annie oakley
Who served as the military governor of Judea from 26 to 36 A.D.?
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pontius pilate
Who was the Ugandan heavyweight boxing champion from 1951 to 1960 and later became a dictator?
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idi amin
Who headed the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Labor during the 1980s?
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elizabeth dole
At which university did Isaac Newton enter as a subsizar in 1661?
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cambridge
Who led a group of men in 1775 to cut the Wilderness Trail through the Cumberland Gap?
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daniel boone
Who became the National Security Advisor in 1987 and later served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, being an African-American?
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colin powell
Which Israeli military leader lost his left eye in 1941 while scouting positions in Syria?
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moshe dayan
Who met his writing partner in Paris during the 1840s with revolution in the air?
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karl marx
Who gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I on September 7, 1533?
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anne boleyn
Who graduated last in his class at West Point in 1846 and led a famous charge at the Battle of Gettysburg?
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george pickett
Who is the sage whose grandson Tzu Ssu is attributed with the 'Doctrine of the Mean' or 'Chung Yung'?
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confucius
Who founded and edited a newspaper called the North Star prior to the Civil War?
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frederick douglass
Who became the first governor of metropolitan Manila in 1975 after being a former beauty queen?
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imelda marcos
Which Argentine leader returned to his country in 1973 after 18 years in exile?
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juan perón
Who fired Archibald Cox in 1973 and had his Supreme Court nomination rejected by the Senate in 1987?
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robert bork
Who was known as 'The Lady with the Hatchet,' unrelated to Lizzie Borden?
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carrie nation
Who, known for his charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, sold insurance after the Civil War?
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george pickett
Which famous American's criticisms of Aaron Burr's character led to their fatal duel in 1804?
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alexander hamilton
Which renowned British nurse nearly succumbed to Crimean fever during the Crimean War?
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florence nightingale
Which ex-slave, known as the 'Moses of Her People', helped more than 300 slaves escape to freedom during the Civil War?
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harriet tubman
Who was the 16th-century writer of the hymn 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God'?
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martin luther
Who was the historic figure that in 1848 took 85 men, 2 cannons, and 800 muskets from South America to Italy, raising questions about how he got through customs?
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giuseppe garibaldi
Who opened her first Casa Dei Bambini in 1907?
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maria montessori
Who was married to Marie Josephine Rose Tascher de la Pagerie from 1796 to 1809?
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napoleon
Who, nicknamed 'Little Phil', is known for burning the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War?
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philip sheridan
Who was the first judge to preside over the Watergate scandal cases?
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john sirica
Who was elected as the provisional president of Israel on May 16, 1948, famously associated with the phrase 'to life, to life'?
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chaim weizmann
Which U.S. steel magnate established the Hero Fund Commission in 1904?
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andrew carnegie
Which Pawtuxet Indian, who later became friends with the Pilgrims, had previously been sold into slavery in Spain?
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squanto
Which historical figure was King Henry II referring to when he said, 'Who will free me of this turbulent priest?'
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becket
Who invented an audiometer to detect vestigial hearing in the deaf among his many creations?
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alexander graham bell
What is the name of the Swedish diplomat who saved 100,000 Jews and holds a Guinness World Record for saving lives?
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raoul wallenberg
Who was the future Supreme Court justice that graduated first in his class from Howard University Law School in 1933?
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thurgood marshall