Famous Poles in the World's History Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This Pole was Pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church and is considered by many the greatest Pole of the 20th century. What was his real last name?

Answer: Wojtyla

The real name of the now-deceased Pope John Paul II is Karol Wojtyla. The first non-Italian pope since 1522, he made numerous foreign trips during his papacy, contributed to the fall of the communism in Poland and the end of the Cold War.

2. A famous Polish film director, born in Paris, lived for many years in the United States. He won many prestigious film awards, among them an Academy Award and a "Palm d'Or". What is his last name?

Answer: Polanski

Roman Polanski won the Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival to begin with. His "Knife in the Water" was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film. He made his English-language debut with "Repulsion" (1964), starring Catherine Deneuve, and then made "Cul-de-Sac" (1965), which won the Best Picture prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

His "Chinatown" won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for eleven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. His latest film, "Pianist", won "Palme d�Or" at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2002.

3. Polish-born Professor of American Foreign Policy, former President Carter's national security adviser. Do you know his last name?

Answer: Brzezinski

Zbigniew Brzezinski was a national security adviser to President Carter and member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. In 1981 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

4. A Polish-born French chemist, who discovered radium and polonium, for which she won the Nobel Prize. Who was she?

Answer: Maria Sklodowska-Curie

Maria Sklodowska-Curie went to Paris in 1891. She discovered radium and polonium, won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1903 (shared with Henri Becquerel and her husband, Pierre Curie) and for chemistry in 1911. Her daughters were Eve Curie, a writer and Irene Joliot-Curie, a renowned scientist.

5. A Polish general, who took part in the American War of Independence, amd is considered a U.S. national hero. What was his last name?

Answer: Pulaski

Kazimierz (Casimir) Pulaski sustained a mortal wound while fighting for American independence at the battle of Savannah in 1779. He is a symbol of the ideal of valiant resistance to oppression everywhere in the world.

6. A famous Polish-born British novelist, author of, among others, the novel "Lord Jim". What was his real last name?

Answer: Korzeniowski

The real name of Joseph Conrad, a famous British writer of Polish origin, was Teodor Josef Konrad Korzeniowski. His 20 years at sea provided the background for most of his novels and stories, notably "The Nigger of the Narcissus" (1897) and "Lord Jim" (1900).

7. A Polish born explorer, who named the highest mountain in Australia after a Polish national hero. Do you know the last name of this explorer?

Answer: Strzelecki

Polish-born explorer sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki, who lived in the 19th century, measured the height of the highest mountain in Australia and named it after a Polish national hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko. He also discovered a region in Australia named Gippsland, drew up a geological map of the New South Wales and Tasmania. A mountain range, two peaks, a river and a lake in Australia are named after him.

8. A world-famous Polish tenor, as well as a popular actor. His wife was a famous Hungarian soprano Marta Eggerth. What was his last name?

Answer: Kiepura

Jan Kiepura sang leading operatic roles in, inter alia, Vienna, Berlin, Milan, Budapest, Buenos Aires and Chicago (American debut in 1931). From 1938-42, Kiepura sang at the Metropolitan Opera House, where he made his debut as Rodolfo in 1938. At the MET, Kiepura sang also in "Carmen," "Manon," "Tosca" and "Rigoletto." In the 1930s, Kiepura turned more and more to movies, which made him very popular. Kiepura appeared in a total of 19 movies, often with his wife Marta Eggerth.

9. A great Polish actress, the first star of the Continental cinema to be invited to Hollywood in 1922, also renowned for her relationship with a movie star Rudolph Valentino. What was her name?

Answer: Pola Negri

The Polish-born actress Pola Negri achieved her first great success in Germany. In 1922 she was the first star of the Continental cinema to be invited to Hollywood where her roles in the silent films - such as "The Charmer" (1925) and "Loves of an Actress" (1928) - drew almost as much public attention as her affair with Rudolph Valentino.

She made a successful transition to sound films and remained immensely popular. Her real name was Apolonia Chalupiec.

10. This Polish hero was a member of the Polish Resistance in World War II. He reported in person to President Franklin Roosevelt on two occasions about the Holocaust and pleaded, without success, for Allied intervention to try to halt it. Who was he?

Answer: Jan Karski

Jan Karski was his 'nom de guerre'. His real name was Jan Kozielewski (1914-1900). He visited the Warsaw Ghetto and Izbica transit camp (which he may have mistaken for Belzec) specifically in order to gain information on the Holocaust.

The other people listed were also all members of the Polish resistance.

Source: Author Beatka

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

There were many renowned Poles who had lived abroad and had a great impact on the history of their adopted countries, as well as that of the entire world. Do you know their names?

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