Historical Figures Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bolivar

Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) led the fight for independence in Venezuela, Columbia and Peru. Benigno Aquino (1932-1983) was a popular Philippines leader who fought the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship. Fidel Castro was a Cuban dictator. Hernando Cortes (1485-1547), a Spanish explorer, conquered the Aztecs in 1521.

Answer: Golda Meir

Golda Meir was the first female Prime Minister of Israel (1969-1974). In 1948 she signed the vital proclamation establishing the state of Israel. Moses, a former Egyptian prince, became a Hebrew prophet and leader. Yitzhak Rabin was the 5th Prime Minister of Israel from 1974 to 1977. Anwar Sadat was President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981.

Answer: Lech Walesa

Lech Walesa, a Polish labor leader, helped bring down the Communist government in Poland. David Livingstone was a British explorer. Karl Marx was a German philosopher. Gorbachev was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 till its collapse in 1991.

Answer: Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1452-1519) created the Mona Lisa, a portrait of a young woman whose real identity is obscure. Michelangelo (c. 1475-1564) and Donatello (c. 1386-1466), were similar artists originating from Italy. Herodotus was a Greek historian, sometimes described as "The Father of History".

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

Franklin Roosevelt served as U.S. president from 1933 to 1945, which included most of WWII. Eisenhower, Nixon and Kennedy became U.S. presidents later.

Answer: Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) was the famous Communist leader who founded the Vietcong (originally the Viet Minh) and fought, in turn, against the Japanese, the French and later against South Vietnam and the USA. Mao Zedong (1893-1976) led the Chinese Communists from the 1930s till his death and founded the People's Republic of China in 1949. Chiang Kai Shek (1886-1975) led the fight against the Communists from 1927 onwards, though he briefly formed an alliace with them to fight the Japanese. Sun Yat Sen (1866-1925) was the first leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party and is credited with the Chinese Revolution of 1911, which led to the overthrow of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912.

Answer: James Watt

James Watt's key accomplishment was the improvement (not the invention) of the steam engine. Earlier steam engines were cumbersome and inefficient and used only for pumping water from mines. Watt's improved steam engine played an important role in advancing the Industrial Revolution. Johannes Gutenberg, originally a goldsmith, invented the printing press. (Though there were forerunners in Korea there is no evidence that these were known in Europe). Orville Wright helped invent the airplane. Thomas Edison is regarded as the inventor of the modern light bulb.

Answer: Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan set out his goal to sail around the world. Although he himself was killed in the Philippines the expedition team continued; and completed the first voyage round the world. Dom Vasco de Gama was the first European to reach India by ship, forming the basis for a Portuguese colonial empire in Asia. Francisco Pizarro was the first Spanish conquistador to settle the Incan empire. Vasco Nunez de Balboa accompanied Pizarro around 1500 and founded a settlement island known as Hispaniola.

Answer: Marx

Karl Marx was the writer who inspired Communism. Stalin and Lenin were Soviet Union leaders who claimed to follow his principles in a modified form ("Marxism-Leninsim"). Soon after Crown Prince Rudolf's suicide at Mayerling in 1889 Franz Ferdinand became the heir to the Habsburg throne. His assassination in 1914 triggered a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I.

Answer: Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin, an Israeli Prime Minister was assassinated November 4, 1995. Yasir Arafat and Anwar Sadat were not Israeli. Golda Meir was a former Israeli Prime Minister who retired.