The Most Important 'M' People Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gabriel

Mohammed was born in 570 A.D. and lived until 632 A.D. During that time, he founded what has become one of the world's major religions, Islam. Mohammed was born in Mecca, the holy city of Islam, and made a famous flight to the city of Medina in 622 A.D., the year zero on Muslim calendars.

Answer: Mahavira

Vardhamana, now referred to as Mahavira, was born around 599 B.C., about the same time that Buddha was born. Like Buddha, Vardhamana created an offshoot religion from Hinduism. The Jains, now a relatively small sect whose worshipers primarily dwell in India, believe above all in the doctrine of nonviolence (ahimsa). Even killing an insect is off limits to a devout Jain!

Answer: 13th century

Moses' dates are uncertain, but it is believed that he lived during the time of Ramses II, one of the most powerful Egyptian pharaohs. Ramses died in 1237 B.C., hence it is likely that Moses lived around this time. Moses is the key figure in the Old Testament book Exodus, and is suggested to be the author of the first five books of the Bible.

Answer: Menes

Menes rose to power in the small town of Thinis in 'upper Egypt' (the south) before establishing his capital at Memphis, which occurred after his uniting of the ancient land. He is credited with being the first pharaoh to unite upper and lower Egypt as one kingdom, and therefore his place as one of the key figures of history is secure.

Answer: London

Marx is, along with Friedrich Engels, the founder of Marxism and the philosophy behind Communism. His important works include: 'The Communist Manifesto' (co-written by Engels), 'The Poverty of Philosophy' and 'Das Kapital'. Marx died before his ideas were truly applied to government in the 20th century. His final resting place is Highgate Cemetery, in London.

Answer: Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion occurred in the year 1900, when Mao was but a child. He rose to power in the Chinese Communist Party in the late 1920s, and became Chairman of the People's Republic in 1949. The Hundred Flowers Movement was an abortive attempt to allow freedom of speech in the late 1950s, while the Great Leap Forward was an ill-fated plan to advance China's economy. The Cultural Revolution was simply a decade of pure chaos meant to keep Mao in power. More details of his life can be found in this quiz, created by yours truly: http://www.funtrivia.com/quizdetails.cfm?id=16309

Answer: James Clerk Maxwell

Maxwell's equations provided a basis for a unified theory of electromagnetism, a field that was being developed by such greats as Thomson and Faraday. From his work, inspiration came to such magnificent 20th century scientists as Marconi and Einstein. His equations can be found at the following website: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/maxeq.html

Answer: Radio

Marconi was born in 1874 in Italy. By the age of 20, he was already developing the first wireless technology, working off of the experimental ideas of German physicist Heinrich Hertz. By 1901, he sent the first wireless message across the Atlantic, from England to Newfoundland, Canada.

In 1909, Marconi won a Nobel Prize for his work, which eventually included the development of commercially viable radios. Some controversy arises when one considers the work of several other men, most importantly Nikola Tesla, who possibly developed the ideas behind wireless technology prior to Marconi.

However, none can question Marconi's importance in the field.

Answer: William Morton

William Morton was a 19th century dentist who specialized in yanking teeth (ouch!). During the 1840s, Morton was desperate to find relief for the pain of his patients. Working off of a suggestion from Dr. Charles T. Jackson, Morton began experimenting with ether, and by 1846 had successfully used the sweet-smelling substance to conduct a pain-free operation on a patient.

The science of anesthetics was born. Sadly, as a result of legal fights, Morton never saw the fruits of his careful experiments...he died impoverished. Yet, his legacy lives on under the guise of more powerful anesthetics. Today, people enjoy pain-free surgery thanks to Morton's work!

Answer: Friar

Gregor Mendel was born in 1822 in Heinzendorf, Czechoslovakia (then part of Austria). He became a friar in 1843 at a monastery in Brunn (now Brno, Czechoslovakia), but established himself as an amateur adept in science. His experiments on plant genetics paved the way for the future of the science of genetics, though during his lifetime he was an obscure figure, unrecognized by the scientific community.

He died in 1884, and his research was finally discovered and exposed to the world 16 years later by three scientists, all working independently.

His name will never be forgotten. My apologies to fans of Machiavelli, Magellan, Malthus, Mani, Michelangelo, Morse and Mencius...there was simply no room in this quiz to include these eminent figures! Thank you for playing, I invite you to try the other quizzes in this series if you enjoyed this one.