The Most Important 'T' People Quiz / Test | Mixed People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Trajan was one of the greatest of the Roman emperors, and under his reign, the empire reached its greatest extent territorially. He was also the first emperor born in the provinces. In which modern country was he born?

Answer: Spain

Trajan was born Marcus Ulpius Traianus (later adding 'Nerva' to his name, in honor of the man he succeeded) in the province of Baetica (Spain) in 53 A.D. Trajan was a popular emperor among the Roman people, and was also known as a soldier emperor. During his reign Dacia (modern Romania) and much of the Middle East was added as Roman territory.

2. Nikola Tesla was one of the key scientists of the 19th and 20th centuries. For his many contributions to the field of electricity, Tesla was awarded by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures with his own SI unit. The 'tesla' is the SI unit for which of the following?

Answer: Magnetic flux density

Tesla's most well-known contribution to science was his development of the theory of alternating current electricity, the common form of electric current used in most homes today. For more information on his life and times, I highly recommend the following quiz, authored by yours truly: http://www.funtrivia.com/quizdetails.cfm?quiz=23241.

3. This man is sometimes known as the 'Father of History' (though Herodotus gets the nod more often) for his work on chronicling the Peloponnesian War. Which of these ancient fellows am I describing?

Answer: Thucydides

Thucydides' most famous work is known as 'The History of the Peloponnesian War', a careful and objective chronicle of the war between Athens, Sparta and their collective allies. Thucydides emphasized cause and effect relationships in his writing, and is often cited as the originator of 'realist' thinking by political scientists.

4. Edward Teller is often called the 'Father of the Hydrogen Bomb'. Originally from Hungary (born: Teller Ede), he studied for and received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Leipzig under what famed physicist?

Answer: Werner Heisenberg

After studying under Heisenberg at Leipzig, Teller he worked for short spells in England, Germany and Denmark (with Niels Bohr) before finally settling in the United States in 1935. Teller worked on the Manhatten Project during World War II, and promoted the development of the fusion-based bomb that would eventually become the H-bomb. He and Stanislaw Ulam formulated the first prototype of the bomb in 1952.

5. J. J. Thomson was one of the key figures in the development of quantum physics as the discoverer of which of these sub-atomic particles?

Answer: Electron

J. J. Thomson discovered the electron (which he called a 'corpuscle') in 1897, helping to pave the way for scientists like Rutherford who would develop the atomic model. Thomson, a British physicist, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906 for his efforts.

6. One of the greatest conquerors in history was Tamerlane, who claimed direct descent from Genghis Khan. From which city, which he established as his capital, did Tamerlane make his great conquests?

Answer: Samarkand

Samarkand, now a city in modern Uzbekistan, became the capital of Tamerlane's empire by 1370 A.D. Claiming himself to be Genghis Khan's true successor, Tamerlane went forth and conquered Persia, Syria, Ottoman Turkey, and the Caucasus region within 20 years. Tamerlane also invaded India and sacked New Delhi, but then turned his attention towards China rather than consolidating power in south Asia. He died before his plans to conquer China could come to fruition.

7. Born Li Shimin, this man became second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, one of the longest reigning imperial houses in Chinese history. What was his reign name?

Answer: Taizong

Tang Taizong was the co-founder of the Tang Dynasty along with his father Li Yuan (reign name: Gaozu). Though Gaozu became the first emperor of the dynasty, it was under Taizong's reign that the empire was consolidated and extended. Under Taizong, who reigned from 627 to 649 A.D., China extended its territory into East Turkistan and into modern Mongolia. Some of the greatest poets and artists in Chinese history were active under open and tolerant atmosphere of Taizong's reign.

8. William Henry Fox Talbot was an English polymath who dabbled in archaeology, mathematics, linguistics and other fields. He is best known, however, for his major innovations in which of these fields?

Answer: Photography

Talbot, who lived from 1800 to 1877, was best known as the photochemist who first developed negative photography. His negative-positive process of photography took the place of the more unwieldy Daguerreotype, and laid the foundation for the use of photography by the general public. Talbot also published the first illustrated book of photographs, called 'The Pencil of Nature', in 1846.

9. One of the great political philosophers of the modern era was Henry David Thoreau, the famed American author of the 19th century. What was the subtitle of his most famous work, 'Walden', published in 1854?

Answer: Life in the Woods

Walden is undoubtedly Thoreau's best known work of literature, but his most influential is probably the 1849 essay he wrote that was entitled 'Civil Disobedience'. Known as an early environmentalist, an advocate of the evolutionary theory of Darwin, and an excellent author in his own right, Thoreau had his most profound effect on posterity through his ideas of peaceful resistance, which were employed successfully by Gandhi, Mandela and others in the 20th century.

10. The ancient Greek philosopher Thales is sometimes called the 'Father of Western Philosophy'. In which ancient city was this 7th/6th century B.C. philosopher active?

Answer: Miletus

Thales is generally the starting point for most books accounting the chronology of ancient philosophy. He is also considered by many to be the 'Father of Science', particularly for his work in mathematics and astronomy. Thales made the first attempts to explain the nature of things without referencing the world of the supernatural.

My apologies to fans of Theodora, Tolstoy, Torquemada (does he have fans?), Townes (co-inventor of the laser), Truman, Theophrastus, Tacitus, Torricelli, Tyndall, Trostky, and Talleyrand, I simply couldn't find room for them on my list. Perhaps you would argue differently? Thanks for trying my quiz...please feel free to try the others like it in the people category.

Source: Author thejazzkickazz

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The Most Important 'T' People Trivia Quiz

According to my research, the following ten individuals are the most important/influential in human history whose names begin with 'T'. Of course, this is a completely subjective process...see what you think of my selection!

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