India People: Famous & Historical Trivia

1. Born Estelle Thompson in Bombay in 1911, she was Oscar nominated for her performance in "The Dark Angel". Who is this British actress?

From Quiz Curry in a Hurry

Answer: Merle Oberon

Merle's breakthrough film was "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933) in which she played Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn. This led to a starring role alongside Leslie Howard in "The Scarlet Pimpernel" (1934) where she played Lady Blakeney, which bought her to the attention of Samuel Goldwyn who invited her to the United States. One of her first roles was that of Kitty Vane in "The Dark Angel" (1935) and it provided her with a Best Actress Oscar nomination but she was beaten by Bette Davis. Two years later she was involved in a serious car accident where she received facial injuries that, for a time, threatened her career. She recovered and enjoyed a wonderful career before she finally stood back from the spotlight in 1973. She would pass away six years later.

From Quiz "Also Known As..."

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi's full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was born on 2 October 1869 at Porbander in Gujarat. His mother was Putlibai Gandhi and father was Karamchand Gandhi. He is well known for his Satyagraha movement and use 'ahimsa' (non-violence) as a weapon to resist the British. His spouse was Kasturba Gandhi. He was assassinated on 30 January 1948 (aged 78) in New Delhi, India. He was also the author of several books such as "My Experiments With Truth", "Hind Swaraj" and "Non-Violent Resistance".

From Quiz First in India

Answer: Kalpana Chawla

Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian woman to go in space. She was born on March 17 in 1962 at Karnal in Haryana. She went into space twice, first in year 1997 and the second time in year 2003.

From Quiz Famous Indians

Answer: Dr. Varghese Kurien

Dr. Kurien (born 26 November 1921) is the founder of Amul Dairy. Its products have become famous worldwide. He is the architect behind the success of the largest dairy development program in the world, known as 'Operation Flood'.

From Quiz Famous Indian Personalities

Answer: Kolkata

Mother Teresa (born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. After her death on September 5, 1997 she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta".

From Quiz "Also Known As..."

Answer: Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. Dr. Abul Pakir Jainul Abdul Kalam is unofficially known as "The Missile Man of India". He was an Indian aerospace scientist who has also served as the 11th President of India from 25 July 2002 - 25 July 2007. He won the 2002 presidential election with an electoral vote of 922,884, surpassing 107,366 votes won by Lakshmi Sahgal. He has been awarded "Padma Bhushan" (1981), "Padma Vibhushan" (1990), "Bharat Ratna" (1997), the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration (1997), the "Veer Savarkar Award" (1998), the "Ramanujan Award" (2000), an Honorary Doctorate of Science (2007), the King Charles II Medal (2007), two Doctorates of Engineering (2008 and 2010), the Hoover Medal(2009), "IEEE Honorary Membership" (2011) and the degrees of Doctor of Laws (2012) and Doctor of Science (2014). He has authored several books such as "Wings of Fire", "Ignited Minds", "India 2020", "Target 3 Billion", "Indomitable Spirit", "You are to Blossom", "My Journey" and "Turning Points".

From Quiz First in India

Answer: Rakesh Sharma

Rakesh Sharma was born on 13th January in 1949 at Patiala in Punjab. In 1984 he became the first Indian to go into space.

From Quiz Famous Indians

Answer: Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan

Khan (1890-1988) was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. While many Muslims supported the idea of partition, Khan was strongly against it. For this reason he was also considered to be anti-Muslim.

From Quiz A-Z Famous Indians

Answer: Mathematics

Bhaskaracharya or Bhaskara II lived in ancient India from 1114-1185. He is famous for his book 'Lilavathi' which is a treatise on mathematics. He wrote on topics like quadratic equations, mathematical analysis, calculus, properties of zero, computation of pi, etc. The book was named after his daughter Lilavathi.

From Quiz Famous Indian Personalities

Answer: Lakshmi Mittal

Lakshmi Mittal is a London-based Indian billionaire industrialist and resides in Kensington, London. He is the fifth richest person in the world and the richest Indian as of 2007. The Financial Times named Mittal its 2006 Person of the Year. In May 2007, he was named one of the "100 most influential people" by Time magazine.

From Quiz Non-Resident Indians

Answer: Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury went to the St Peter's English Boarding School at Panchgani, India where he played on a band named The Hectics. According to his teachers, he was one shy pupil!

From Quiz Curry in a Hurry

Answer: William Thackeray

Thackeray's father was a secretary of the Board of Revenue for the East India Company based in Calcutta, which is how William came to be born there. He was still young when his father passed away and was sent to England to complete his schooling. When he turned twenty one he became eligible for his father's inheritance and this took him down a path of idleness and it wasn't long before he'd squandered a good part of his fortune through gambling. This changed when he married Isabella Gethin Shawe and soon found himself with three daughters. With a growing family to support Thackeray advised he started "writing for his life". Thackeray is best known for his satirical style and this was best exemplified in his work "Vanity Fair", published in 1848 but it was his 1844 novel, "The Luck of Barry Lyndon", which caught the eye of Stanley Kubrick, who turned it into the four time Oscar winning film "Barry Lyndon" in 1975.

From Quiz "Also Known As..."

Answer: Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu is often called "The Nightingale of India". She was Indian independence activist, poet and writer. She was born on 13 February 1879 in Hyderabad, India and died on 2 March 1949 (aged 70) in Lucknow, India. She was also the first governor as well as female governor of any state of free India. She was appointed as governor of Uttar Pradesh. Books written by her: "Broken Wings", "The Song of India", "The Bird of Time" and "The Golden Threshold".

From Quiz First in India

Answer: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. He was born on 14th November in 1889. He is also known as 'Chacha Nehru'. His birthday is celebrated as 'Children's Day' in India. He was the Prime Minister of India from 1947-1964.

From Quiz Famous Indians

Answer: Bhagat Singh

Bhagat Singh (1907-1931) was deeply impressed by European revolutions and wanted to establish Socialism in India.

From Quiz Zesty Zoroastrians

Answer: Bombay Samachar

The "Bombay Samachar" (now renamed "Mumbai Samachar") is published in the Gujarati language and is the oldest continuously published newspaper in India. It started as a weekly before becoming a bi-weekly and finally a daily newspaper. Fardoonji Murazban also invented the first native printing press in 1812.

From Quiz A-Z Famous Indians

Answer: The author of a treatise on politics and economics

Chanakya, also known as Kautilya and Vishnugupta was a Brahmin who lived from 250-283BC. He is instrumental in the founding of the Mauryan Empire. According to legends, Chanakya was insulted by the Nandas, who ruled India. He swore revenge against them and helped Chandragupta Maurya to become the King. Chanakya served as Chandragupta's Prime Minister and wrote the famous 'Arthashastra', which is a treatise on economics and politics. He taught at the Takshashila (Taxila) University. He is also believed to have helped Chandragupta forge a deal with Selecus Nikator, Alexander's General.

From Quiz Famous Indian Personalities

Answer: Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand is an Indian chess grandmaster and former FIDE world champion. In the April 2007 FIDE Elo rating list, Anand was ranked first in the world for the first time. He is only the sixth person to head the rating list since its inception in 1970, along with Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik and Topalov.

From Quiz Curry in a Hurry

Answer: Sir Colin Cowdrey

Cowdrey was born on his father's tea plantation in Ootacamund in the Madras Presidency and was virtually thrust into cricket from the moment he could walk. He was sent to England when he was five years old and made his way into the Kent Cricket Club after making a name for himself as a youngster in the Tonbridge School. He scored a century in only his third Test and it was spoken of in such glowing terms by the Australian journalist, Bill O'Reilly, that all of Cowdrey's future Test hundreds would be measured against it. In all, Cowdrey made twenty two Test hundreds in his 114 Test matches, even celebrating his 100th Test with a century against the Australians. For a period of time he was England's most prolific Test run scorer, he held onto 120 catches and he became the first man to score a century against all six (at the time) Test playing nations.

From Quiz "Also Known As..."

Answer: Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi was the daughter of first Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru. She was born on 19 November 1917 at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. She served as the third Prime Minister of India as well as first female Prime Minister of India. She had previously served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting from 1964-1966, Minister of Finance from 16 July 1969-27 June 1970, Minister of Home Affairs from 27 June 1970-4 February 1973 and Minister of Defence from 14 January 1980-15 January 1982. She was assassinated (aged 66) on 31 October 1984 in New Delhi, India.

From Quiz First in India

Answer: W.C. Banerjee

W.C.Banerjee full name was Womesh Chaunder Bonnerjee (1844-1906). In 1885 he became the first meeting of the Indian National Congress. He did much to expand the Congress.

From Quiz Famous Indians

Answer: A. R. Rehman

Rahman (b. 6 January 1967) holds the record for selling over hundred million records worldwide and brought him into the top 25 all time top selling recording artists.

From Quiz Famous Indian Personalities

Answer: Amartya Sen

Amartya Sen was born in Santiniketan, West Bengal. In 1998, he received the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in welfare economics. In 1999, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India. He is a trustee of the Economists for Peace and Security and currently teaches at Harvard University.

From Quiz Curry in a Hurry

Answer: Paddy

Born in 1941, Jeremy was better known as Paddy Ashdown. His parents left New Delhi in 1945 (when Paddy was four) and purchased a farm in Northern Ireland. When he was eleven years old he was sent to Bedford School in England and it was here that the Irish accent he'd accrued led to his newfound nickname. Paddy led the Liberal Democrats from 1988 through to 1999 but it was his call for strong military action in Yugoslavia during the 1990s and his subsequent work as the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina between 2002 and 2006 that brought him international attention.

From Quiz "Also Known As..."

Answer: Jawahar Lal Nehru

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. He was born on 14th November, 1889 in Allahabad, India. He is also known as 'Chacha Nehru'. His birthday is celebrated as 'Children's Day' in India. He was the Prime Minister of India from 1947-1964. He also served as Minister of External Affairs from 15 August 1947-27 May 1964, Minister of Finance from 24 July 1955-30 August 1956 and 13 February 1958-13 March 1958 and Minister of Defence from 10 February 1953-10 January 1955, 30 January 1957-17 April 1957 and 31 October 1962 - 14 November 1962. He died on 27 May 1964 (aged 74) at New Delhi, India. His books include: "The Discovery of India", "Nehru and Sri Lanka", "Spooked", "Letter to Chief" and "An Autobiography" and "Glimpses of World History".

From Quiz First in India

Answer: Rajendra Prasad

Rajendra Prasad was the first President of the Republic of India. He was born on 3rd December in 1884 at Zeeradai in Siwan, Bihar. He was the President of India from 1950-1962.

From Quiz Famous Indians

Answer: Sarojini Naidu

Apart from being a singer Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) was also a renowned freedom fighter and the first woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress.

From Quiz Non-Resident Indians

Answer: Hotmail

He was one of the pioneers of the 'dotcom' revolution. Ironically, his next venture, Arzoo.com went bust. It was an online portal for networks and computing consultation.

From Quiz Curry in a Hurry

Answer: Sir Ronald Ross

Ross was a talented individual. A gifted polymath, he also wrote poetry, composed songs and published novels. He was also an amateur artist and a natural mathematician. He only attended medical studies at the insistence of his father and, initially, was a lazy student, spending more time on his other pursuits than medicine. He eventually joined the Indian Medical Service, with whom he served for twenty five years, and it was during this period that he discovered the malarial parasite growing in the gastrointestinal tract of a mosquito. From this discovery it was then able to be shown that malaria was transmitted by mosquitos which, in turn, would lead to the basis of a cure. It was for this discovery that Ross earned his Nobel laureate . It made him the first British recipient of the Prize and the first to be born outside of Europe.

From Quiz "Also Known As..."

Answer: Sardar Vallabhai Patel

"The Iron Man of India" is Sardar Vallabhai Patel. He was born on 31 October 1884 in Nadia, Gujarat. He served as the first deputy prime minister of India. The birthday of Sardar Vallabhai Patel is celebrated as "National Unity Day" in India. He was born on 31st October 1875 in Nadia, Gujrat. This day originally started to be celebrated as "Unity Day" from year the 2014 when Narendra Modi became prime minister of India. Dahyabhai Patel is the son of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. He was also a freedom fighter who later became a member of the Parliament of India by winning in the Lok Sabha elections of 1967 and 1962. He also served in Rajya Sabha. He died in the year 1973. The sister of Dahyabhai Patel was Maniben Patel. She was also a freedom fighter and member of parliament. She also participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement and Salt Satyagraha and was imprisoned from 1942-1945 in Yerwada Central Jail.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:51 AM

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