20th-Century People Who Promoted World Peace Quiz

Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhael Gorbachev (born 1931) was the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party from 1985 to 1991. He withdrew Russian troops from Afghanistan and had summits with President Reagan to limit nuclear arms. His policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restricting) led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 ending the Cold War.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

Answer: Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was truly a great man who did not harbor any hatred against his former enemies. After his release from prison in 1990, he led the ANC party to victory and became the first black President of South Africa from 1991 to 1997. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 jointly with F.W. de Klerk, who ordered his release from prison.

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi, birth name Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) studied law in London. In 1893, he went to South Africa, where he spent 20 years opposing discriminatory legislation against Indians. After returning to India in 1914, he supported Home Rule and became the leader of Indian National Congress (INC). He started the non-violence movement, creating non-cooperation protests against the British government. His movement gained the support of the nation and eventually the British relented and granted Indian independence in August 1947.

On January 1948, he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic, Nathuram Godse. Although he was nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize, he was never given the award. Out of respect for him, no Nobel Peace award was made in 1948.

Answer: Martin Luther King, Jr

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) was an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent methods, which he used to achieve civil-rights reform. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy from Boston University in 1955. Famed for his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 in Washington, D.C., his life was cut short when he was assassinated in Memphis in 1968 by James Earl Ray.

Answer: Lech Walesa

Lech Walesa was a shipyard electrician working at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk when he became a leader of Solidarity. He led a successful pro-democratic movement which ended Communist rule in Poland, which played an important role in ending the Cold War. He became the first democratic elected President of Poland from 1990 to 1995. In 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Answer: U Thant

U Thant (1909-1974) was the third UN General Secretary from 1961 to 1971. A devout Buddhist, he showed a lot of calmness in diffusing the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, helping to avert a global war. In the same year, he ordered Operation Grandslam which ended a secessionist insurgency in Congo. He was critical of the American participation in the Vietnam War. In the 1960s, he oversaw the entry of several newly independent African and Asian states into the UN.

Answer: Tenzin Gyatso

Tenzin Gyatso has been the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet since 22 February 1940. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibet, who sought to protect the interests of the Tibetans. At the same time, he promoted a non-violent approach toward the Chinese. His teachings expounded the importance of compassion for promoting happiness and inner peace.

He stated in October 2020, that he did not support an independent Tibet state anymore. His hope is to visit China as a Nobel Prize winner to promote the ethnic minorities (Tibetans, Mongols, Manchus and Uyghurs) to live peacefully and in harmony.

Answer: Henry Dunant

Henry Dunant (1828-1910) was a Swiss humanitarian, businessman, and social activist. In 1863, he founded the Red Cross with Louis Appia, Guillaume-Henri Dufour, Théodore Maunoir and Gustave Moynier. He was also the founder of the Swiss branch of YMCA. The Red Cross was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917, 1944, and 1963.

Answer: Mother Teresa

Mother Mary Theresa Bojaxhiu (1910-1997), more commonly known as Mother Teresa, was canonized on 4 September 2016 on the anniversary of her death. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charities, a Roman Catholic organization with more than 4500 nuns that was active in over 130 countries in 2012.

They provided homes for people who are suffering from HIV/AIDs, leprosy, and tuberculosis. They also provided food, orphanages and school.

Answer: Dag Hammarskjold

Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961) was killed in a plane crash near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, on his way to negotiate a cease fire during the Congo Crisis. He served as the UN Secretary General from 1953 to 1961. He played an active role in his effort to bring peace in the Middle East.

In 1956, he and Canadian statesman Lester Pearson participated in resolving the Suez Canal Crisis. In 1958, he also active in the crisis in Lebanon and Jordan. In 1960, he send a UN peacekeeping force in newly independent DPR Congo to prevent a civil strife.