Famous Finns Quiz | People by Country

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. On which team did Saku Koivu play before joining the Montreal Canadiens?

Answer: TPS, Finland

Saku Koivu led TPS to the Finnish Championship in 1995 with Jere Lehtinen (Dallas Stars). In the same year Finland won its first ice hockey World Championship. The leading line of Team Finland was Saku, Jere and Ville Peltonen (former Nashville Predators).

2. Which President of Finland has ruled for the longest period of time?

Answer: Urho Kekkonen

Urho Kekkonen was President of Finland for 26 years from 1956 - 1982. He was elected five times in succession, however Presidents can now only rule for two periods (12 years).

3. How many times did Mika Hakkinen win the Formula 1 driving championship during his career which ended in 2001?

Answer: 2

Mika Hakkinen won two championships in a row (1998 and 1999) with McLaren-Mercedes. Hakkinen finished his career after the 2001 season to concentrate on family life with his wife, Erja, and son, Hugo.

4. Jean Sibelius was a national composer of Finland. Which one of the following compositions was written by him?

Answer: Finlandia

Finlandia is the informal national song of Finland. It is also probably the best known composition of Sibelius.

5. Paavo Nurmi (1897-1973) was probably the best long-distance runner in 1920's, at least in Finland. How many world records did he hold?

Answer: 25

He set 25 world records at distances from 1,500 metres to 20,000 metres in a career that lasted at the highest level of athletics for some twelve years.

6. Jari Litmanen was the first Finnish soccer player who reached the top level in Europe. How many goals did he score in the Champions' League in the 1995-1996 season?

Answer: 9

Litmanen was the top scorer in Champions' League in the 1995-1996 season. He scored 9 goals against Ajax Amsterdam, his record, at least to year 2002.

7. Renny Harlin directed the movie 'Driven'. What was the year?

Answer: 2001

'Driven' had its premiere in 2001, starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds and Estella Warren.

8. What well-respected award did Karita Mattila win in 1998?

Answer: Grammy

She won the best operatic recording Grammy. She sang on Wagners 'Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg'. Conductor on recording was Sir Georg Solti (died on 1997). Other leading parts were sung by Ben Heppner and Herbert Lippert.

9. Has Esa-Pekka Salonen, the band-leader of the LA Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted an Oscar-winning score?

Answer: Yes

Salonen conducted composer John Corigliano's Oscar-winning score for Sony Classical's best-selling soundtrack of the film 'The Red Violin'.

10. Jari Kurri is one of the most respected hockey-players ever in the NHL. With Wayne Gretzky they were the most effective pair in the League in the 1980's. Who did he play for during the season 1990-1991?

Answer: Milano, Italy

He played one season in Milan, Italy collecting 27 goals, 48 assists and 6 penalty minutes in 30 games. At the end of the 1990-1991 season he returned to the NHL, making a total of 601 goals and 797 assists in 1251 games during his career.

11. One of the following Finnish Presidents was an officer in the Russian army. Which one?

Answer: C.G.E. Mannerheim

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, a former Marshal and President, started his career in the Russian army 1887 as a Cornet and advanced to the rank of Lieutenant General. After Finland gained its independence in 1917 P.E. Svinhufvud, the speaker of the Independence Senate, appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Finnish Republic.

The soldiers of the War of Independence had earlier given him an unofficial marshal's baton, and he received the official baton in 1933. He was appointed as a Marshal of Finland 1940.

He died in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1951.

12. Frans Emil Sillanp�� was the first Finnish Nobel Prize Winner in 1939. Another was A.I.Virtanen, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1945. What was Sillanp��'s winning category?

Answer: Literature

Sillanp�� was awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize in Literature. It was his 8th nomination since 1930.

13. Jarno Saarinen, "The Flying Finn", won a motorcycle championship in 1972. He died in an accident in 1973. What was the legendary track where it happened?

Answer: Monza

He died in Monza 20th May 1973 under slightly unclear weather conditions.

14. Tommi M�kinen is the only World Rally Championship driver who has won the championship title four times in succession before the 2003 season. What were those years?

Answer: 1996-1999

Tommi won his championships in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 with Mitsubishi. Juha Kankkunen also won four championships, but those weren't in a row.

15. Aki Kaurism�ki was awarded the Grand Prix of the 2002 Cannes Film Festival in May 2002 for 'Man Without Past (Mies vailla menneisyytt�)'. The film also gained another award in Cannes. It was:

Answer: the Film Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

'Man Without Past (Mies vailla menneisyytt�)' was also awarded the Film Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Le Jury Oecum�nique). Kati Outinen received the award for the best performance by an actress for her leading role in the film.

16. Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) was a famous painter who painted a series of pictures about a Finnish national epic. What is the name of this book?

Answer: Kalevala

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865 - 1931) is well known for his illustrations of the 'Kalevala', the Finnish national epic. The first edition of the 'Kalevala' appeared in 1835, compiled and edited by Elias L�nnrot (1802-1884) on the basis of the epic folk poems he had collected in Finland and Karelia.

The meter Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used in Hiawatha was based on a 'Kalevala'. Also J.R.R.Tolkien did his study among 'Kalevala' when he created the lyrical tongue of Middle-earth's elves.

17. Pertti Karppinen won three Olympic gold medals in rowing from 1976-1984. What kind of business did he start after his sporting career?

Answer: Sports masseur

Pertti has a business, which offers massage treatment, in the business district of his hometown, Raisio.

18. AE Nordenski�ld (1832-1901), a famous explorer, was born in Finland. Which passage was found by him?

Answer: North-east passage

Nordenski�ld made his most famous expedition in 1878-1880. He navigated the 'North-east passage' on the 'Vega' from northern Norway to the Bering Strait. In the 1860s Nordenski�ld also made further expeditions - in 1861, 1864 and 1868, during which time he became convinced that it was not possible to reach the North Pole by ship.

19. Harri Holkeri, known for his efforts to achieve peace in Northern Ireland, also held another well-respected post in U.N. during the years 2000-2001. Which one was that?

Answer: General Assembly President

He was named President of the 55th General Assembly of the United Nations, the first Finn to preside over the body.

20. Linus Torvalds is one of the main creators of free software called Linux. What is his middle name?

Answer: Benedict

A few people claim it ought to be Eric. But in fact his middle name is `Benedict'. He doesn't use it much. Linus thinks making Linux freely available is the single best decision he has ever made. Linus Torvalds was born Dec 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland.

In 1997 Linus moved from Finland to California to startup 'Transmeta' in order to experience the "extreme other side" of computer programming. Linus is married and has two daughters.

Source: Author bigbro

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Exit10 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Famous Finns Trivia Quiz

Some Finns have reached fame, even globally. In this quiz you will go through some of them.

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