The Most Interesting Women in the World Trivia Game | History

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 1981 Sandra Day O'Connor started another job. But not just any job. Which post did this law graduate get appointed to, marking a historic first?

Answer: Justice of the US Supreme Court

Sandra Day O'Connor was born on March 26th 1930 in El Paso, Texas. She has a B.A. in economics and is a Bachelor of Laws. She was the Assistant Attorney General in Arizona and was a member of the Arizona State Senate. In 1981 US President Ronald Reagan nominated her as the replacement for Associate Judge of the Supreme Court Potter Stewart. On September 21st 1981 she was appointed by the Senate, making her the first woman to serve as an Associate Judge on the Supreme Court.

She retired from the court in 2005.

2. In 1851 Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a book. But not just any book. Her book depicting the life of African Americans in slavery, led to many people joining the call to abolish slavery. What is the name of the book?

Answer: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Elisabeth Beecher was born on June 14th 1811 in Litchfield, USA. She was introduced in literary circles as a young girl and married Calvin Ellis Stowe in 1836. They both were linked to organisations like Underground Railroad, fighting against slavery. In 1851 she wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin". The story follows the story of the title character, facing much cruelty in his life as a slave, but ultimately forgiving his tormentors. The book soon became a symbol in the fight against slavery.

3. Florence Nightingale was a nurse. But not just any nurse. She would later be regarded as the founder of modern nursing. In what war did she do her nursing work?

Answer: Crimean War

Florence Nightingale was born on May 12th 1820 in Florence, Italy. Her first name came from the city she was born in. As a young child she developed the desire to help others and became interested in nursing. She became famous for her nursing work in the Crimean War.

She gained her nickname "Lady with the Lamp" in that war. After the war she continued her work in nursing and wrote the book "Notes on Nursing". She died on August 13th 1910. She was also a mathematician of note.

4. In 1969 Golda Meir accepted a new position. But not just any position. She became the first female Prime Minister of her country. In which country did this take place?

Answer: Israel

Golda Meir was born on May 3rd 1898 in Kiev (now in Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire). Her father Moshe tried to find work in the USA and eventually was able to have his family come over. She lived in Milwaukee, where she met her husband Morris Meyerson.

In 1921 they joined a kibbutz in Palestine. She later served in various political offices. After the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, she served as Minister of Labour, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Internal Affairs in various cabinets.

In 1969 she was appointed as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. She left office in 1974 and died on December 8th 1978.

5. In 1932 Amelia Earhart set off on a flight. But not just any flight. She would become the first woman to fly solo over an important body of water. Which body of water is this?

Answer: Atlantic Ocean

Amelia Earhart was born on July 24th 1897 in Atchison, Kansas. She loved to explore from an early age. After visiting an air show, she knew she really wanted to learn how to fly. In 1932 she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean solo, something which had been accomplished by American aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1927.

In 1937 she disappeared during a flight around the globe. It is not clear what happened to her, with many theories being brought forward as to her fate.

6. In 1429 Joan of Arc went into battle. But not just any battle. She was embarking on a venture that would eventually make her a saint. In what war was she executed for heresy at the age of 19?

Answer: Hundred Years' War

Joan of Arc was born on January 6th 1412 in Domremy, France. The exact year of birth is sometimes disputed. At the age of 16 she was introduced at the French court. When she made an accurate military prediction, she made a big impression and later joined the army fighting in the Hundred Years' War, eventually finding her way into war councils.

Her exact influence is often debated. She was captured in 1430 and tried for heresy. She was executed by burning on May 30th 1431.

7. In 1903 Marie Curie won a prize. But not just any prize. She was credited for her work in physics, along with her husband. Later she won the prize again for her work in chemistry. Which award did she win, the first woman to win it?

Answer: Nobel Prize

Marie Sklodowska was born on 7th November 1867 in Warsaw, Poland. She worked as a governess initially, as she was not able to go to university as a woman. She later was able to train in science in Paris. In this city she met her husband, Pierre Curie.

He encouraged her to take up her scientific work. Together they won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, alongside Henri Becquerel. After the death of Pierre in 1906 she continued her career and won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. She died on July 4th 1934.

8. In 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a bus. But not just any bus I would say. What did Rosa Parks protest against by her act of defiance?

Answer: Racial segregation

Rosa Louise McAuley was born on February 4th 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. In her young life she experienced the effects of racial segregation, when the white children were allowed to go to school by bus, while the black students had to walk. She married Raymond Parks in 1932.

He was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She also became active in the civil rights movement. In December 1955 she entered a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The buses had reserved seats for white people, with seats for colored people in the back.

She was asked to give up her seat for a white person (the driver moved the sign for the colored section behind her seat) but she refused to move further back. Her action led to a bus boycott and helped African Americans in their struggle for civil rights.

9. In 1942 Anne Frank started a diary. But not just any diary. It would become an important document about the way a Jewish family lived in hiding in the Second World War in a country under Nazi occupation. In which European city did Anne and her family hide from the Germans in "The Achterhuis"?

Answer: Amsterdam

Annelies Marie Frank was born on 12th June 1929 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. When the Nazi Party gained power in 1933, the family first moved to Aachen and then to Amsterdam. After the German invasion of the Netherlands in the Second World War, they persecuted the Jews there.

In 1942 Anne started writing her diary. In May of that year the family had to go into hiding in a secret annex behind the building where her father, Otto, worked. All that time Anne continued writing in her diary, documenting the hard times endured by the family. On 4th August 1944 the house was raided and the family was arrested. Anne died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945, only a few weeks before the camp was liberated. One of the people who helped her in Amsterdam, Miep Gies, had found her diary, which was later published.

10. During her life, Jane Goodall started studying a certain type of animal. And not just any animal. She eventually became one of the leading experts on this animal. Which animal did Jane study for close to 45 years?

Answer: Chimpanzee

Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall was born on April 3rd 1934 in London, England. She had a chimpanzee toy as a child, developing her love for animals in later life. In 1957 she left for Africa to pursue her dream of working with animals. She worked with archeologist Louis Leakey and started studying primates, especially a chimpanzee colony in Tanzania. Eventually she became a prominent expert on chimpanzees.

She also is known as an activist for Advocates for Animals, an organisation working against the use of animals in circuses and zoos.

Source: Author James25

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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The Most Interesting Women in the World Quiz

Not only men make history, meet some of the women that have made headlines in their days in one way or another.

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