Florida Facts and History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Spain

Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer and adventurer. Other Europeans may have discovered Florida earlier but there is no historical record of it.

Answer: "feast of the flowers"

Juan Ponce de Leon was the Spanish explorer that discovered Florida in 1513. The actual name he gave Florida was "la Florida".

Answer: True

Saint Augustine was named by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles. Menendez was told to explore and colonize Florida. He was also named the first governor of Florida.

Answer: James K. Polk

Florida became a state on March 3, 1845 only a few months into Polk's Presidency. Andrew Jackson also had some influence on Florida, having been being named the military Governor of Florida in 1821.

Answer: John Branch

John Branch was Governor of the Florida Territory when it became a state. William Duval was the first non-military Governor while the state was still a territory. William D. Moseley was the first elected Governor of Florida.

Answer: FSU, UF, Stetson University, Rollins College

Florida State University was established in 1851, the University of Florida in 1853, Stetson University in 1883, then Rollins College in 1885. They were the earliest founded Universities in Florida.

Answer: Seminole Wars

The Apalachee and Seminole Indian tribes were both located in Florida. There are still Seminoles in Florida but most of them were forced west by 1859.

Answer: St. Petersburg

None of these battles were very important to the outcome of the war but the biggest took place at Olustee. Battles were also fought at Tampa, the Natural Bridge and St. John's Bluff.

Answer: Raiford

Florida's State Prison was moved to Raiford in 1877. There is a Lynyrd Skynyrd song titled "Four Walls of Raiford"; it was written by Jeff Carlisi and Ronnie Van Zant.

Answer: Zena B. Dreier

Her vote was cast in Fellsmore, Florida in 1915.

Answer: Joseph Giuseppe Zangara

Joseph Zangara, also known as Giuseppe Zangara, attempted to murder Roosevelt with a handgun on February 15, 1933. Five people near him were wounded. One man who was wounded was the Chicago Mayor at the time, Anton Cermak. Cermak was the only person killed and may have been the intended target. Zangara was sentenced to 80 years in the prison at Raiford, but was convicted of murder when Cermak died - and he was executed by the electric chair.

Answer: Palm Beach

Palm Beach County has a population of 1,287,000. It had to conduct a recount during 2000 presidential election. Boca Raton, in the same county, was the first town to receive the 2001 anthrax attacks.

Answer: WTVJ-TV

WTVJ-TV went on air sometime in 1949 making it Florida's first TV station. WDAE was Florida's first radio broadcasting station. The other two stations are more recent Florida television stations.

Answer: Cape Kennedy

Cape Canaveral's name was changed to Cape Kennedy in honor of John F. Kennedy in 1963 then renamed Cape Canaveral in the mid-1970's. Cape Canaveral has been the site of all space shuttle launches since America started sending astronauts into space.

Answer: Delta Burke

All of these actresses were born in Florida except Sharon Stone, who was born in Pennsylvania.

Answer: True

Florida has two rivers named Withlacoochee. One is in north central Florida and the other is in central Florida. The only thing they have in common is their name.

Answer: True

Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida and named after their team. Gatorade was the first sports energy drink ever made.

Answer: Steve Gaines

Steve Gaines was born in Miami, Oklahoma, which earned him the nickname Okie. He was a guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd until 1977. Jim Morrison, the singer for the Doors, was born in Melbourne FL. Ray Lewis is a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens and was born in Bartow FL. Tom Petty is also a musician and was born in Gainesville FL.

Answer: Miami

Janet Reno was Bill Clinton's Attorney General from 1993 to 2001. She was born on July 21, 1938 and attended Cornell University. She also got a Bachelor of Laws degree from Harvard Law School.

Answer: Panther

Panthers east of the Mississippi River can only be found in Florida and are mainly nocturnal. Panthers at their greatest population could be found almost anywhere in the South Eastern United States, but the Florida Panther has become an endangered species and can only be found at the very tip of the Florida Peninsula.

Answer: "In God We Trust"

"In God We Trust" is also the U.S. national motto. All the other sayings are mottos of different states.

Answer: True

This is true because only one of the Great Lakes is entirely in the USA. Lake Michigan is the only U.S. lake larger than Lake Okeechobee.

Answer: Britton Hill

Britton Hill is 345 feet above sea level and located near a town called Lakewood in Walton County. The average elevation in Florida is only 98 feet above sea level. Its lowest elevation is at 0 feet at the Atlantic Ocean.

Answer: False

Hawaii is actually further south than Florida.

Answer: Alligator

The State Reptile is the American Alligator. There are only two kinds of alligators, the American and Chinese. They are also primarily nocturnal.