Ross Perot Quiz | Corporations

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Ross Perot was born in 1930 to Lula May Perot and Gabriel Ross Perot. In what border town with a similarly named twin city across the state border was he born?

Answer: Texarkana, Texas

Henry Ross Perot was born on June 27th, 1930 in Texarkana, Texas where he would live through high school. Perot had an older brother, Gabriel Ross Perot Jr, who died as a toddler and an older sister named Bette. The city of Texarkana, Texas had a population of about 38,000 in 2018 while Texarkana, Arkansas, its twin city across state lines, had a population of about 30,000 in 2018.

2. In 1942 Ross Perot received a great honor, one that would also be received by Gerald Ford and Steven Spielberg. What was this honor that was first awarded in 1911?

Answer: Eagle Scout of the Boy Scouts of America

Ross Perot became an Eagle Scout just 13 months after joining the Boy Scouts. He was further awarded a Distinguished Eagle Scout Award that recognizes individuals that have been Eagle Scouts for at least 25 years and have been leaders in their profession as well as providing back to their community.

A standard Eagle Scout rank is achievable after earning at least 21 merit badges and approximately 4% of Boy Scouts have attained this distinction since 1911.

3. After high school Ross Perot attended a junior college for two years before entering a federal service academy in 1949. What service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland did he graduate from and then serve in for an additional four years?

Answer: Navy

Ross Perot was the 1953 United States Naval Academy class president and while in that role he helped establish the academy's honor system which had not been fully codified until that time. Perot's time serving in the Navy was eventful after a 1955 incident in which he questioned decisions made by leadership and he ultimately requested an early discharge.

4. One year after marrying Margot Birmingham in 1956 Ross Perot began working for an information technology company as a salesman. What was this company for which Ross Perot worked from 1957 to 1962?

Answer: IBM

While Ross Perot worked for IBM from 1957 to 1962 the company developed the FORTRAN programming language as well as electronic hardware and software for businesses. While with IBM Ross Perot was recognized as a top performer and in one year he managed to complete his annual sales quota in just two weeks.

5. Ross Perot gained substantial wealth in the 1960s after the success of his company Electronic Data Systems (EDS). To which other company headquartered in Detroit did Ross Perot sell a controlling interest of EDS in 1984 for $2.4 billion?

Answer: General Motors

Ross Perot founded EDS in 1962 after leaving IBM. He supposedly was refused 77 times before he obtained his first contract and eventually he helped the U.S. government computerize Medicare records. EDS went public in 1968 after which "Fortune" magazine called Perot the "fastest, richest Texan". EDS would be a subsidiary of General Motors from 1984 to 1996 at which time it became independent again and had an annual revenue of $5 billion.

In 2008 Hewlett-Packard acquired EDS and the following year its name was changed to HP Enterprise Services.

6. In 1984 Ross Perot purchased an early copy of a famous historic document from Europe. What was this document that Perot lent to the U.S. National Archives to display alongside the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution for more than 20 years?

Answer: Magna Carta

The Magna Carta was a charter of rights signed in Runnymede, England by King John in 1215. The copy of the Magna Carta purchased by Ross Perot was created in 1297. A similar 1297 copy of the Magna Carta was purchased by the Australian Government in 1952. Perot's Magna Carta copy was eventually sold for $21.3 million in 2007 to David Rubenstein who placed it on a permanent loan to the National Archives.

7. Ross Perot became actively involved in politics in response to the POW/MIA issue after a controversial war. What was this war that ended with an estimated 2,500 Americans as POW/MIA?

Answer: Vietnam War

When the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973 ending the Vietnam War 591 American POWs were returned. However, of the 2,500 POW/MIA only 1,200 had been declared killed in action with no body recovered so hundreds of soldiers were still unaccounted for. Ross Perot and many others believed the government left behind these soldiers and covered up the POW/MIA investigations to not bring light on a drug smuggling operation and a secret war in Laos.

8. President George H. W. Bush and Ross Perot were at odds in the early 1990s after Perot disapproved of the U.S.'s involvement in the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War. Perot would eventually declare himself as a candidate in the 1992 presidential election. How did Perot fare against Bush in this election?

Answer: He received about half the popular vote Bush did and carried 18 fewer states.

The 1992 United States presidential election was won by Democrat Bill Clinton who had 43% of the popular vote while winning 32 states and Washington, D.C for 370 electoral votes. Incumbent Republican George H. W. Bush garnered 37.4% of the popular vote while carrying 18 states for 168 electoral votes. Ross Perot ran on an independent ticket and got 18.9% of the popular vote but did not win any states or electoral votes. Perot's 18.9% of the popular vote was the highest in 80 years for a third-party candidate.

9. After a failed presidential run in 1992 Ross Perot again ran for president in 1996. What political party did he found in 1995 and run as a third candidate for in the 1996 U.S. presidential election?

Answer: Reform Party

Perot tried to position himself as a viable alternative to the Republican or Democratic Party in both 1992 and 1996. In the 1996 election he received just 8.4% of the popular vote while carrying no states or electoral votes. During his presidential campaigns Perot sought to balance the federal budget, reduce the national debt and in the latter election oppose NAFTA.

The 1996 presidential election was won by the incumbent Democrat Bill Clinton who won 21 states and Washington D.C. while obtaining 49.2% of the popular vote and winning 379 electoral votes.

10. After politics Ross Perot mostly retired from public life. In 2006 the Perot Museum of Nature and Science was opened. In what city where Ross Perot owned a house assessed at over $22 million in 2017 is the museum located?

Answer: Dallas, Texas

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is primarily located in the Victory Park area of Dallas, Texas. The museum obtained the Perot name in recognition of a $50 million gift by Ross and Margot's five children. Interestingly, a species of dinosaur in 2011 was named Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum in honor of Ross Perot.

Source: Author Triviaballer

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
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Ross Perot Trivia Quiz

This quiz will test your knowledge of the U.S. businessman Ross Perot, the founder of Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Good luck!

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