The Most Important 'B' People Trivia Quiz

Answer: Buddha

His birth name was Guatama Siddhartha, but he was given the title Lord Buddha (which means 'enlightened one'). After having been shocked by his first experiences with poverty, sickness and death, he decided to leave his wife and child and dedicate his life to a spiritual asceticism.

By the way, contrary to popular belief...the Buddha was never fat...he was a monk after all and had no access to hamburgers. The overweight 'Buddha' that you sometimes see in restaurants is supposed to be Maitreya...the future Boddhisattva.

Answer: Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe, aside from being one of the first modern astronomers, was also a man with a colorful life. Once in a duel, much of his nose was severed, and he was forced to wear a metal replacement...which only enhances his fame amongst students of his life and work. I suppose he could have brought new meaning to the term...digging for gold.

Answer: Borgia

Rodrigo, the father, became Pope Alexander VI through various machinations. The son, Cesare, was known to be ruthless but successful in war; he became the model for Machiavelli's 'The Prince'. The daughter, Lucrezia, was married 3 times during her teens and was said to have committed incest with both her father and brother...what a terrible life! Though the Borgia name draws up mostly negative connotations, they were known as lavish patrons of the arts, with artists such as Titian and Leonardo and writers such as Ariosto gaining prestige under the Borgia reign.

Answer: Bramante

Donato Bramante and the Pope had such lavish plans for the new St. Peter's. In fact, the plan was so costly that the Pope was encouraged to increase the sale of indulgences, eventually leading in part to Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation. All because one architect dreamed big!

Answer: Michelangelo

Michelangelo is widely regarded to be the greatest sculptor of all time, I certainly cannot fault such opinions. In addition to sculptures like 'David' and his 'Pieta', he is also of course known for his painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Perhaps less well known is the fact that Michelangelo was a great architect as well, taking over Bramante's St. Peter's project in 1547.

Answer: Napoleon

Joseph became King of Naples and Spain during Napoleon's reign. Lucien ensured Napoleon's enthronement at the head of the Council of Five Hundred in 1799. Louis was made king of Holland by Napoleon in 1806, but Napoleon eventually removed him from the post, dissatisfied with his work.

He was the father of Napoleon III. Caroline was married to Joachim Murat, who was made King of Naples and eventually attempted to become king of all Italy...he was assassinated. Finally, Jerome became king of Westphalia under Napoleon's reign. Jerome was the last of the siblings to die, doing so in 1860.

Another Bonaparte, Charles, was the founder of the U.S. Secret Service. The Bonaparte family had its origins on the island of Corsica, a French colony at the time.

Answer: Bismarck

He became Prime Minister of his home state of Prussia in 1862 and one by one promoted war against Denmark (1863), Austria (1866) and France (1870). He became chancellor of the German Empire in 1871, and is referred to as the 'iron chancellor'. The origins of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria and Italy) developed during his watch as chancellor.

Answer: Movable type

The 11th century Chinese inventor developed the earliest known system of movable type nearly 400 years before Gutenberg's revolutionary 'discoveries'. It is very likely that the techniques originally developed by Bi were disseminated across the Eurasian continent to Europe, and that these were crucial for Gutenberg's work...hence, we should know Bi's name!

Answer: Francis Bacon

Though Bacon was one of the greatest minds of his, or any, generation, there is probably no validity to the claims that he authored Shakespeare's work. Why are people so desperate to discredit Shakespeare anyhow? Oops...back to Bacon. The year Bacon became Lord Chancellor, 1618, he was found guilty of taking a bribe from the king. His political career was over but he continued to write until his death in 1626.

Answer: Babur

Babur was the founder of the Great Mughal Dynasty which reigned in India from 1526 until 1858 (though the last 100 years or so were nominal rule). Babur claimed ancestry from the line of Tamerlane, hence why he claimed the Mongol (Mughal) title! Please stay tuned...I'll 'C' you around!