Historical Figures Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 1307
In which city did Charles Bulfinch serve on the Board of Selectmen from 1791 to 1817?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
boston
Who is the central figure whose writings are contained in the ancient Persian holy book called the 'Avesta'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
zoroaster
Who was the King of Sparta that brought his wife, Helen, back home again after the Trojan War?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
menelaus
Which Democratic president officially dedicated the Panama Canal on July 12, 1920?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
woodrow wilson
Who was the emperor whose 1553 execution by Pizarro's men marked the end of the Inca civilization?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
atahualpa
Which Kurdish general recaptured Jerusalem from the crusaders in 1187?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
saladin
Which future First Lady urged her husband John in 1776 to 'remember the ladies,' or else?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
abigail adams
Which American was given a gold sword and made a chevalier of France by King Louis XVI?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
john paul jones
Who served as James Buchanan's Vice President and later became a Confederate general in 1861?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
john c. breckinridge
Who was appointed as a colonel in the 21st Illinois Volunteers in 1861?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
ulysses s. grant
In ancient religion, whom did Elijah defeat when he bested 450 prophets of this Canaanite weather god?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
baal
Who was the ex-slave who served as an advisor to Lincoln and became U.S. minister to Haiti at the age of 72?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
frederick douglass
Who was the man that, after purchasing Manhattan for the Dutch, assisted the Swedes in buying land in present-day Delaware?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
peter minuit
Which German archaeologist, in 1876, told the King of Greece, 'I have gazed on the face of Agamemnon'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
heinrich schliemann
Who was the first Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt and lived to be nearly 99 years old, making him the longest-lived holder of the office?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
john nance garner
Which individual, born near Stavropol and who became the Communist party secretary of that city in 1970, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
mikhail gorbachev
Who was the first elected black governor in the USA and a Bronze Star recipient for bravery in Korea?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
douglas wilder
Which district was overseen by Robin Hood's nemesis, the sheriff?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
nottingham
Who wrote 'The New Colossus' in 1883 to help raise funds for the Statue of Liberty?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
emma lazarus
Who became the U.S. minister to Haiti in 1889 and was also a great orator and former slave?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
frederick douglass
Which general took control of Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great, a fact 'ptold' by a little birdie?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
ptolemy
Which First Lady, who assumed the role in 1945, got angry if her old friends treated her differently after she became First Lady?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
bess truman
In which city was Casanova imprisoned under the roof of the Doge's palace in 1755 after being denounced as a magician?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
venice
Who escaped to the North in 1849 and later settled in Auburn, New York, where her name is now preserved?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
harriet tubman
Who was the hero of Manila Bay and president of the General Board of the Navy who died in 1917?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
george dewey
Which 19th century German is famous for having their name become synonymous with a guidebook?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
baedeker
Who was appointed special counsel on ethics by the Texas governor in 1991, after serving as a Congresswoman?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
barbara jordan
Who was the USA's leading air ace in World War I, credited with shooting down 22 enemy planes and 4 balloons?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
eddie rickenbacker
Who served as premier of France during WWI after teaching French at a Connecticut girls' school?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
georges clemenceau
Which Oxford clergyman translated the Bible from Latin into English around the year 1380?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
john wycliffe
Who was the lone inmate of Spandau Prison from 1966 to 1987?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
rudolf hess
Who was the Whig candidate in the 1852 presidential election who held the rank of general in three wars?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
winfield scott
Which financier and advisor to presidents coined the expression 'cold war' in 1947?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
bernard baruch
Who was the 15-year-old girl whose reign as queen of England lasted only 9 days?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
lady jane grey
Which French Protestant reformer caused unrest among 16th century Genevans by implementing strict religious laws?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
john calvin
Who was the first woman appointed by Ronald Reagan to head the U.S. delegation to the United Nations?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
jeane kirkpatrick
Who published the first issue of The Liberator on January 1, 1831, and continued to release it weekly until 1865?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
william lloyd garrison
Who is known as the son of Pepin and the king of the Franks, often called the Father of Europe?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
charlemagne
Who was the first senator from Maine to denounce Senator McCarthy on the Senate floor?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
margaret chase smith
After relocating to England, which Confederate spy married her former captor, lieutenant Sam Hardinge?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
belle boyd
Which cardinal, a dominant force during Henry VIII's reign, founded Oxford's Christ Church College?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
thomas wolsey
Who won the U.S. Presidential election by a margin of only 9,464 votes, was inaugurated on March 4, 1881, and was assassinated later that year?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
garfield
Which great Apache chief is said to have escaped from U.S. troops in 1861 with three bullets in his body?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
cochise
Who was the American steel king born in a weaver's cottage that is now part of a museum in Dunfermline, Scotland?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
andrew carnegie
Who is the Danish astronomer whose father served as the governor of Halsingborg Castle?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
tycho brahe
During which war did Socrates serve as a hoplite, or infantryman?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
peloponnesian war
Which actress, known for her role in 'Rear Window', was reported by Guinness to be Eisenhower's favorite?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
grace kelly
PreviousPage 22 of 22