The Most Important 'Q' People Quiz | Mixed People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. One of the most important philosophers of the 20th century was undoubtedly a certain Professor Quine of Harvard University. What are the first initials of Professor Quine, who started teaching at Harvard in 1936?

Answer: WVO

Willard Van Orman Quine was probably the most important American philosopher of the 20th century, though some might bestow that honor upon John Dewey. Quine worked on establishing the foundations of mathematical logic, and is usually called a pragmatist and/or a logical positivist.

His most important books include: 'Two Dogmas of Empiricism' (1951), 'Word and Object' (1960), and 'Philosophy of Logic' (1970).

2. The second longest reigning emperor in Chinese history was Qianlong, a sovereign of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. During which of the following 60-year periods did Qianlong reign supreme over China?

Answer: 1735-1795

Qianlong was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty and grandson of the longest reigning Chinese Emperor Kangxi. It was during Qianlong's reign that the Qing Dynasty reached the pinnacle of its power, and during his latter years, he saw the beginning of its decline. Under Qianlong's watch, China was quite stable and in fact had an expansionist policy. Arts and literature were emphasized under his enlightened rule, but China's infrastructure was allowed to decay. Under his successors, China would lose some of its sovereignty to the European powers (primarily England), and a little over a century after his death the imperial period of Chinese history ended.

3. In the 16th century, a Sephardic Jewish mystic and philosopher created a code of Jewish law that was prevalent amongst the community for several centuries. What was the surname of this great intellect?

Answer: Qaro

Joseph Ben Ephraim Qaro (or Caro) was born in Spain in 1488, but was forced out of his birth country at a very young age in 1492. He settled in Palestine, where he went about codifying Jewish law in his 'Shulhan Arukh' (The Set Table). He based his work on the prior works of Rabbi Isaac Alfasi, Maimonides and Rabbi Asher ben Jehiel.

4. The Belgian intellect Adolphe Quetelet, who lived from 1796 to 1874, is often considered to be the father of which of these disciplines?

Answer: Statistics

Quetelet became an astronomer in 1819 after having earned his doctorate at Ghent. Influenced by the theory of probability that he studied from Joseph Fourier and Pierre Laplace, Quetelet soon became curious about the possible connection between the fields of sociology and probability. In his 1835 book 'A Treatise on Man, and the Development of His Faculties', he founded his new statistics (which he called 'social mechanics') as a way of establishing data for research in social science.

5. Quintilian was a Roman intellect of some stature during the 1st century A.D. His main contribution to humanity was in the form of a 12-volume compendium on the topic of rhetoric. What is this, his only surviving work, called?

Answer: Institutio Oratoria

Quintilian was born in Spain in 35 A.D., but was educated in Rome. Later, he would teach such greats as Pliny the Younger and Tacitus in the Eternal City. Quintilian's 'Institutio oratoria' is one of the classic works in the science of rhetoric, following in the tradition of Isocrates and Cicero.

6. One of the great emperors in Chinese history, Qin Shi Huang Di is largely given credit as the first emperor of a united China. Before taking the reign title 'Qin Shi Huang Di', what was the name of this giant of Chinese history?

Answer: Ying Zheng

Ying Zheng was the ruler of one of China's 'warring states', the state of Qin. Born in 259 B.C., by 221 B.C. he was able to conquer his neighboring states and establish himself as the universal ruler of China. He took on the reign name Qin Shi Huang Di, which means 'First Emperor of Qin', and ruled until his death in 210 B.C. During his reign, the Great Wall of China was built and the collected works of most Chinese philosophers (including Confucius) were burned.

7. An economist of the 18th century and founding father of the French school of physiocrats, he greatly influenced the works of Adam Smith with his ideas on free trade and natural law of economy. What was the name of this influential Frenchman?

Answer: Quesnay

Fran�ois Quesnay was born in 1694 and died in 1774, two years before Adam Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations' was published. Quesnay spent most of his life as a physician, for which he was trained. It was not until he was in his 60s that he began writing on economics for the Encyclop�die. He founded the French physiocratic school, which, like Adam Smith, advocated free trade, and insisted that the basis of wealth was in agriculture.

8. Perhaps the work most influential in making the English speaking public aware of the concept of drug addiction was one by English essayist Thomas de Quincey, called 'Confessions of an English __________'. (Finish the title by choosing the word that fits the blank.)

Answer: Opium-Eater

Born in 1785, Thomas de Quincey gained literary fame for his greatest work 'Confessions of an English Opium-Eater', published in 1822. His revealing writing allowed the largely unaware public into the bizarre world of a drug addict in a very intimate sense. Sadly, his work did not prevent the English government from carrying out the Opium Wars against China.

9. One of the greatest and most influential poets of Chinese history was Qu Yuan, who lived from 339 to 278 B.C. What was Qu Yuan's greatest work of poetry called?

Answer: Lisao

Qu Yuan's 'Lisao' is one of the founding works of Chinese literature. Poetry, in the Chinese tradition, is considered to be the greatest artform, and the primary mode of self-expression and protest for intellects. Qu Yuan's is the oldest extant poetry known to contain such characteristics that is attributable to its author. Qu Yuan describes in his work his sorrow over disagreements with the ruler of his country, which led to his banishment. Qu Yuan's death, of suicide by drowning, is commemorated during the mid-summer Duan Wu festival. Each year, people drop rice dumplings in nearby bodies of water in hopes of feeding Qu Yuan, who was fabled to have turned into a fish.

10. Manuel Quezon was a law student and revolutionary, who later became the first president of his newly formed country. Of which country was he elected president in 1935?

Answer: The Philippines

Manuel Quezon was born in 1878, and at the age of 20 he joined in the insurrection against the newly established U.S. rule in the Philippines. He was imprisoned for his activities, but later released, after which he agreed to become a part of the provisional government set up by the occupying United States. Quezon worked throughout his career for Philippine independence, finally becoming president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935.

The Philippines did not become de jure independent until two years after his death (in 1944), so he was unable to see his final dream accomplished. Thank you for having tried this quiz, I hope that you enjoyed it. If you liked this one, I invite you to try the others in this series!

Source: Author thejazzkickazz

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The Most Important 'Q' People Trivia Quiz

It's hard to imagine that such a quiz could be assembled, but indeed there are important people in history whose names begin with the letter 'Q'. Here is my selection of the ten most important...see if you agree.

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