Man of Steel Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joseph Stalin

Born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili, Joseph Stalin led the USSR through World War II. He adopted the name 'Stalin' where 'stal' is derived from the Russian word for steel. Assuming leadership after Lenin's death, Stalin eventually ruled the Soviet Union as a de facto dictator.

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States of America. His attempts to end slavery resulted in some southern states seceding from the Union leading to the American Civil War. Lincoln went on to issue the Emancipation Proclamation which effectively ended slavery in the USA.

This earned him the sobriquet of the "Great Emancipator". Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865.

Answer: Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher became the leader of the Conservative Party in the UK in 1975 and when the Tories won the general election in 1979, she created history by becoming the country's first female Prime Minister. She held this position until 1990 overseeing various tumultuous events like the miner's strike, the Falklands War with Argentina, a recession, and even survived an assassination attempt by the Irish Republican Army.

She was nicknamed the "Iron Lady" for her strong will and uncompromising stance on key issues.

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader who rose to lead the country after the abolishing of the monarchy following the French Revolution. In 1804, he crowned himself the Emperor of France. He led many successful military campaigns in Europe until his defeat at Waterloo at the hands of the Allies led by England. His short stature led to him being nicknamed the "Little Corporal".

Answer: Simon Bolivar

Simon Bolivar was born Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte-Andrade y Blanco - quite a mouthful! Venezuelan by birth, he commanded the struggle for independence for many of the South American countries and helped to defeat the Spanish Empire.

This included the now independent countries of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama. He is looked upon as a hero by large parts of the South American continent and is known affectionately as "El Libertador" or "The Liberator".

Answer: Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini was the Prime Minister of Italy throughout the second World War. Ruling as a dictator, he adopted an authoritarian form of rule now termed as fascism. Like Hitler, he too wanted to expand Italian rule and continued colonization of countries in Africa. Under his leadership, Italy joined with Germany and Japan to form the Axis Powers.

His nickname, "Il Duce", translates to "The Leader" and was used to indicate his totalitarian rule over the country.

Answer: Mustafa Kemal

Born as Ali Rıza oğlu Mustafa, Mustafa Kemal was a field marshal in the Turkish Army. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Kemal established the Republic of Turkey as a secular, independent country. He served as the first President of the country and continued in this position until his death in 1938. Kemal undertook various reforms during his years in power including extending civil rights for women and adopting the Latin alphabet for the Turkish language.

In 1934, the Turkish Parliament bestowed on him the title of Ataturk which means "Father of the Turks".

Answer: Mohandas K. Gandhi

Trained as a lawyer during the British Raj in India, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi first travelled to England to practice. From there he went to South Africa, where he witnessed first hand the discrimination against people of colour. On his return to India, he joined the Indian struggle for independence, eventually leading the movement. Gandhi's firm adherence to stick to non-violent methods of securing freedom earned him widespread admiration.

He is known as the 'Father of the Indian Nation' and affectionately called Bapu which means father.

He was also bestowed with the title of Mahatma which means 'great soul'.

Answer: Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a lawyer who initially joined the Indian National Congress to fight for India's independence from British rule. In later years, he adopted the view that there should be two separate independent countries carved out of the subcontinent - one for Muslims and one for Hindus.

The All-India Muslim League, led by Jinnah, passed this as a resolution in 1940. After the partition of India, Jinnah became the first Governor-General of newly created Pakistan. In Pakistan he is known as Quaid-e-Azam which means 'Great Leader'.

Answer: Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was a South African political leader who worked to abolish the inhuman practice of apartheid prevalent in the country. His works, like that of many other black leaders of the time, were viewed as anti-national and he was imprisoned for 27 years.

While in prison he was assigned the number 46664, which later on came to be associated with him. In 1990, he was released and went on to serve as President of South Africa. He is also known as Madiba, which is the name of the Xhosa clan he belonged to.