Historical Figures Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 1307
Which Egyptian queen, who was possibly a cousin of her husband Akhenaton, is known for her iconic bust sculpture?
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nefertiti
What Native American, also called Tisquantum, was a key helper of the Pilgrims and one of the first to visit Europe?
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squanto
What milling product did Samuel Chase try to monopolize using congressional insider information?
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flour
Who was the Frankish king whose son Louis conquered Barcelona in 801?
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charlemagne
Which First Lady arranged for the safe transport of papers and paintings out of the capital during the War of 1812?
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dolley madison
Who received his doctorate in philosophy in 1841 and published 'The Communist Manifesto' in 1848?
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karl marx
Which largest Caribbean island was governed by Hernando De Soto?
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cuba
Who is the nursing pioneer who is said to have stayed in her room for the last 40 years of her life?
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florence nightingale
Whose 73-year-old son announced in London in 1989 that he had ascended to the throne of Ethiopia?
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haile selassie
What pirate has a national historical park named after him, which includes the site of the Battle of New Orleans?
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jean lafitte
Who reportedly said, 'Gas is running low...we are flying at 1,000 feet' in 1937 while piloting an aircraft?
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amelia earhart
Which famous person joined the U.S. Army on March 24, 1958?
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elvis presley
Who was the 20th-century wilderness photographer who previously had a career as a professional musician?
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ansel adams
Who is the Christian Science founder whose memorabilia is displayed at the Longyear Museum in Brookline, Massachusetts?
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mary baker eddy
Which legendary lawman was born in Monmouth, Illinois, and not in Dodge City or Tombstone?
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wyatt earp
Who, in his second inaugural address, stated that slavery was 'somehow, the cause of the war'?
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abraham lincoln
Who is the founder of Methodism known for a rule that begins, 'Do all the good you can by all the means you can'?
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john wesley
Which markswoman, as a young girl, shot wild game to help pay off most of the mortgage on her family farm?
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annie oakley
In 1854, which notable woman left England to serve in a military hospital in Scutari, Turkey?
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florence nightingale
What are the last names of the Springfield, Mass. gunmakers Horace and Daniel, who were well-known in the Old West?
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smith & wesson
Who was the historical figure that died in 1804, a day after engaging in a duel with Aaron Burr?
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alexander hamilton
Which orator met with Lincoln in 1863 to advocate for full equality for black troops?
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frederick douglass
In 1845, the remains of which frontiersman and his wife Rebecca were moved from Missouri to Kentucky?
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daniel boone
Who was the woman involved in a 'marriage' with Mark Antony, despite him already being married to a woman in Rome?
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cleopatra
Which future president was described by Lincoln with the phrase, 'I can't spare this man; he fights'?
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ulysses s. grant
Which U.S. president once appeared in an advertisement stating he was sending Chesterfields to all his friends for Christmas?
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ronald reagan
Which legendary Swiss folk hero is associated with a crossbow used in trademark symbols of Swiss exported products?
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william tell
Which Mongol leader died in 1227 after falling from his horse?
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genghis khan
Who was declared Queen of Queens in 34 B.C. and had a son, Ptolemy XV, who was proclaimed King of Kings?
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cleopatra
Who was appointed as FBI director in 1924 and served under every president from Coolidge to Nixon?
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j. edgar hoover
Alberta was named in 1882 for Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, a daughter of which queen?
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queen victoria
Who was bankrupt four years after gold was discovered at his mill on January 24, 1848?
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john sutter
Which thuggish Hun did Priscus visit in the 5th Century and live to tell the tale?
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attila
Who did not meet his father until he was 15 or 16, but traveled to China with him at age 17?
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marco polo
In 1980, which presidential daughter advised her father that nuclear arms control was the most critical issue of the time?
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amy carter
Which famous queen died in 1901 on the Isle of Wight, ending her 64-year reign?
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queen victoria
Which leader had Eva and Isabel as his second and third wives, respectively, with the latter being a dancer?
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juan perón
Who became a professor of painting & sculpture at NYU in 1832 and later invented the telegraph?
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samuel morse
What color was Elizabeth I's hair, a characteristic of the Tudor family?
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red
Who was famously known as the 'Hero of Appomattox'?
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ulysses s. grant
Who is commemorated on Reformation Day, October 31, for posting his 95 Theses in 1517?
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martin luther
Which American frontiersman, born in 1734 near Reading, Pennsylvania, has a boro named after him in Kentucky?
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daniel boone
Which future U.S. President served as the editor of The Princetonian while attending Princeton in the 1870s?
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woodrow wilson
Which First Lady recounted that actor William Holden kissed her after her wedding but couldn't remember if her own husband did?
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nancy reagan
Who was financially supported by Engels in the 1850s, yet often had to subsist on bread and potatoes with his family?
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karl marx
Who worked as a portrait painter before designing the first successful steamboat?
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robert fulton
Who published a book on etiquette in 1922 after being motivated by reading one filled with errors?
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emily post
Which man was inspired by Bertha von Suttner to create a peace prize and saw her become the first woman to win it?
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alfred nobel
Which 1940's Harvard yearbook lists a future U.S. president with an intended vocation as law?
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john f. kennedy
Who became a tutor to Alexander the Great after leaving Plato's Academy?
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aristotle
Which country did Che Guevara serve as president of the national bank?
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cuba
Which French premier in 1919 played a significant role in negotiating the Treaty of Versailles?
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georges clemenceau
Who is the famed nurse that the little girl who fell off a swing called her new hero after being released from the hospital today?
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florence nightingale
Who dictated a detailed account of their Asian travels while imprisoned in Genoa in 1298?
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marco polo
As a dedicated abolitionist, Thoreau served as a 'conductor' on what historical network that helped enslaved people escape to freedom?
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underground railroad
Who had 17 acres surrounding her cottage transferred to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1938?
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anne hathaway
Who was the wife of TV's Starsky who dedicated her last six years to combating pediatric AIDS?
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elizabeth glaser
Who was briefly an actor in the West Indies before becoming a naval hero in the Revolutionary War, as mentioned in 'Captains Courageous'?
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john paul jones
Who is the South African president known to be the son of a Tembu tribal chief?
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nelson mandela
Who won the California GOP gubernatorial primary over ex-San Francisco mayor George Christopher on June 7, 1966?
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ronald reagan