Historical Figures Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 1307
In 1462, which printer, known for movable type, was forced to leave Mainz?
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johannes gutenberg
Who was the ANC leader released by the South African government on February 11, 1990, after 27 years of imprisonment?
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nelson mandela
Which president had a 32-cent stamp issued in his honor on April 26, 1995?
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richard nixon
Who was one of Queen Anne's top spies and author of 'Robinson Crusoe'?
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daniel defoe
Which emperor scandalized the citizens of Ancient Rome by performing in public in female roles, and is often associated with 'fiddling'?
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nero
Which Unification Church leader is known for conducting mass wedding ceremonies where up to 20,000 grooms might respond with 'I do' at once?
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sun myung moon
In which country did teenager Walter Raleigh fight for the Huguenots?
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france
Which ancient Greek mathematician is known for his theory of right triangles and believed that the planets create their own sounds in their orbits?
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pythagoras
Who is the First Lady whose portrait, painted by her husband, hangs in their grandson David's dining room?
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mamie eisenhower
Which 19th-century woman, known for her 'Turkish Trousers,' introduced Susan B. Anthony to Elizabeth Cady Stanton?
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amelia bloomer
Who was the father of Fatima, the only child who survived him after whom the Fatimids were named?
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muhammad
Which cowboy humorist died in a plane crash in Alaska on August 15, 1935?
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will rogers
Which region was William the Conqueror the Duke of before becoming King of England?
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normandy
Which Tennessee congressman was the subject of tales spread by his Whig allies?
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davy crockett
What trade is Jesus believed to have practiced, as taught by Joseph, before his ministry?
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carpentry
On which day of the week did Stonewall Jackson, a very religious man, prefer to die, and actually did?
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sunday
Which author and revolutionary thinker wrote 'Common Sense' and said, 'These are the times that try men's souls'?
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thomas paine
Who was the Roman general married to Octavia who also had an affair with Cleopatra?
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mark antony
Who is the 10-year-old whose 6-year-old sister was also a 'test tube baby'?
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louise brown
Which seductive queen convinced Mark Antony to execute her hostile younger sister, Arsinoe?
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cleopatra
Who was the civil rights leader whose brother, Charles Evers, served as mayor of Fayette, Mississippi from 1969 to 1981?
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medgar evers
Which future U.S. president established the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation in 1927 to aid polio victims?
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franklin d. roosevelt
Which Englishman began his diaries in shorthand on January 1, 1660, and continued for 9 years?
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samuel pepys
Who hired a staff of about 20 photographers to cover every phase of the Civil War at its outbreak?
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mathew brady
Before becoming a Yippie leader and one of the 'Chicago Seven', what notable figure worked as a pharmaceuticals salesman?
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abbie hoffman
Who led the Bureau of Investigation of the Justice Department under Herbert Hoover?
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j. edgar hoover
In 399 B.C., which philosopher was convicted by a jury of 500 men on a vote of 280 to 220 in Ancient Greece?
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socrates
Which future radio host worked initially with E. Howard Hunt on many covert activities during the Nixon era?
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g. gordon liddy
Which actress, whose death Dr. Noguchi autopsied in August 1962, remains a subject of debate?
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marilyn monroe
How many wives did Ivan the Terrible have, which is one more than the number of wives a famous oft-married English king had?
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7
Which military leader did Woodrow Wilson appoint to command U.S. forces in Europe, known by the nickname 'Black Jack'?
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john j. pershing
Which Asian country was General Cornwallis serving as governor-general of when he died in Ghazipur in 1805?
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india
Which presidential son witnessed the surrender at Appomattox?
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robert todd lincoln
Who was the Italian inventor and Nobel laureate, known as the 'Father of Wireless Telegraphy,' who represented Italy at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919?
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guglielmo marconi
Which historical figure personally crowned his son Louis as Holy Roman Emperor in 813?
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charlemagne
Who graduated from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Liberal Arts in 1933 and later became the First Lady of the United States?
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lady bird johnson
Mother Cabrini came to the U.S. to work among immigrants from which country?
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italy
Which U.S. President was nicknamed 'Little Ben'?
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benjamin harrison
Which historian, known as the 'Venerable,' completed a translation of the Gospel of St. John just hours before his death?
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bede
Which Spanish warrior originally served the Moors and later conquered Moorish Valencia in 1089?
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el cid
Which New Jersey-born explorer attempted but failed to climb the Colorado peak that is now named after him?
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zebulon pike
On April 9, 1865, who told his troops, 'I have done my best for you; my heart is too full to say more'?
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robert e. lee
Which Israeli leader said 'I forbid any eulogies or anything named for me' before her death in 1978?
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golda meir
Which English queen did Gen. Nelson Miles represent the U.S. for at the diamond jubilee celebration in 1897?
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queen victoria
Which U.S. President moved to Independence, MO., at age 6 in 1890 and lived there for most of his life?
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harry s. truman
Which Scandinavian inventor was forbidden to rebuild his Sweden factory after it exploded in 1864?
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alfred nobel
Who created the map exhibited at Barcelona's Maritime Museum, for whom America is named?
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amerigo vespucci
Who was the famous historical figure that Victor Hugo's father served as a general under?
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napoleon
What international organization had Eleanor Roosevelt serve as chairman of its human rights commission?
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united nations
Which French ruler is commonly credited with the saying, 'An army marches on its stomach'?
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napoleon
Who, in 1976, was elected as a Travis County commissioner and later became the governor of Texas?
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ann richards
Who was the king that Einhard wrote a 9th century biography about, titled 'Vita Karoli Magni'?
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charlemagne
Which South American country did King Pedro IV of Portugal also rule as Emperor Pedro I?
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brazil
Who was the chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1803 when the landmark case Marbury v. Madison was decided?
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john marshall
Who was the orator appointed marshal for the District of Columbia in 1877?
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frederick douglass
Who famously stated that she never ran a train off the track and never lost a passenger while leading the Underground Railroad?
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harriet tubman
Whose birthday was formally observed for the first time on February 12, 1866, in Washington, D.C.?
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abraham lincoln
Who was the printer against whom Johann Fust won a judgment in 1455, taking the type used to print a famous Bible?
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johannes gutenberg
Which British monarch was referred to as 'The Faery' by Disraeli?
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queen victoria
Who is the author of the diary first published in 1947 under the Dutch title 'Het Achterhuis', 'The House Behind'?
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anne frank