Historical Figures Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 264
Which future radio host worked initially with E. Howard Hunt on many covert activities during the Nixon era?
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g. gordon liddy
Which actress, whose death Dr. Noguchi autopsied in August 1962, remains a subject of debate?
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marilyn monroe
How many wives did Ivan the Terrible have, which is one more than the number of wives a famous oft-married English king had?
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7
Which military leader did Woodrow Wilson appoint to command U.S. forces in Europe, known by the nickname 'Black Jack'?
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john j. pershing
Which Asian country was General Cornwallis serving as governor-general of when he died in Ghazipur in 1805?
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india
Which presidential son witnessed the surrender at Appomattox?
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robert todd lincoln
Who was the Italian inventor and Nobel laureate, known as the 'Father of Wireless Telegraphy,' who represented Italy at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919?
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guglielmo marconi
Which historical figure personally crowned his son Louis as Holy Roman Emperor in 813?
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charlemagne
Who graduated from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Liberal Arts in 1933 and later became the First Lady of the United States?
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lady bird johnson
Mother Cabrini came to the U.S. to work among immigrants from which country?
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italy
Which U.S. President was nicknamed 'Little Ben'?
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benjamin harrison
Which historian, known as the 'Venerable,' completed a translation of the Gospel of St. John just hours before his death?
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bede
Which Spanish warrior originally served the Moors and later conquered Moorish Valencia in 1089?
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el cid
Which New Jersey-born explorer attempted but failed to climb the Colorado peak that is now named after him?
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zebulon pike
On April 9, 1865, who told his troops, 'I have done my best for you; my heart is too full to say more'?
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robert e. lee
Which Israeli leader said 'I forbid any eulogies or anything named for me' before her death in 1978?
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golda meir
Which English queen did Gen. Nelson Miles represent the U.S. for at the diamond jubilee celebration in 1897?
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queen victoria
Which U.S. President moved to Independence, MO., at age 6 in 1890 and lived there for most of his life?
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harry s. truman
Which Scandinavian inventor was forbidden to rebuild his Sweden factory after it exploded in 1864?
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alfred nobel
Who created the map exhibited at Barcelona's Maritime Museum, for whom America is named?
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amerigo vespucci
Who was the famous historical figure that Victor Hugo's father served as a general under?
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napoleon
What international organization had Eleanor Roosevelt serve as chairman of its human rights commission?
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united nations
Which French ruler is commonly credited with the saying, 'An army marches on its stomach'?
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napoleon
Who, in 1976, was elected as a Travis County commissioner and later became the governor of Texas?
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ann richards
Who was the king that Einhard wrote a 9th century biography about, titled 'Vita Karoli Magni'?
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charlemagne
Which South American country did King Pedro IV of Portugal also rule as Emperor Pedro I?
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brazil
Who was the chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1803 when the landmark case Marbury v. Madison was decided?
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john marshall
Who was the orator appointed marshal for the District of Columbia in 1877?
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frederick douglass
Who famously stated that she never ran a train off the track and never lost a passenger while leading the Underground Railroad?
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harriet tubman
Whose birthday was formally observed for the first time on February 12, 1866, in Washington, D.C.?
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abraham lincoln
Who was the printer against whom Johann Fust won a judgment in 1455, taking the type used to print a famous Bible?
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johannes gutenberg
Which British monarch was referred to as 'The Faery' by Disraeli?
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queen victoria
Who is the author of the diary first published in 1947 under the Dutch title 'Het Achterhuis', 'The House Behind'?
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anne frank
Which 19th-century American photographer compiled an 1850 volume of his photographic portraits titled 'A Gallery of Illustrious Americans'?
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mathew brady
In Ancient Greece, who was Xanthippe's husband known for a method of questioning?
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socrates
Which historical figure did Longfellow describe in a poem, stating 'The fate of a nation was riding that night'?
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paul revere
Who, in a pamphlet, stated, 'The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind'?
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thomas paine
Who is the sister of Lee Radziwill, as described in the biography 'In Her Sister's Shadow'?
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jacqueline kennedy onassis
Which silversmith made a thimble for his daughter Maria that is now replicated and sold by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston?
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paul revere
Who suspended the constitution and began to rule by decree in Peru in 1992?
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alberto fujimori
What position did William Laud hold before he was beheaded on Tower Hill in 1645 for opposing the Puritans?
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canterbury
Which country considers Saint Hyacinth, whose uncle was the bishop of Krakow, as its apostle?
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poland
Which female sharpshooter joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in 1885?
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annie oakley
Who was elected president of the Russian Federation on the third round of balloting on May 29, 1990?
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boris yeltsin
Who is the man credited with much of President Bush's anti-drug program as his drug czar?
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william bennett
Which influential African American leader, originally named Malcolm Little and later known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was assassinated in 1965?
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malcolm x
Brooke Shields may say nothing comes between her and which early Protestant born in Noyon, France in 1509?
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john calvin
Which 'Most serene majesty, crowned by God, emperor great and pacific' died in Aachen on January 28, 814?
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charlemagne
While trying to secure the release of his friend William Beanes, who witnessed the shelling of Fort McHenry?
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francis scott key
Which former first lady announced her candidacy for president of the Philippines in January 1992?
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imelda marcos
Which Michigan industrialist chartered a 'peace ship' in 1915 in an attempt to stop WWI?
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henry ford
What lower military rank is Napoleon referred to as 'The Little'?
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corporal
Whose grandson, Batu Khan, founded the state of the Golden Horde around 1240?
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genghis khan
Which future U.S. president, as head of the Union Army, accepted Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox?
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ulysses s. grant
Messalina, an empress known for her promiscuity, was executed by her husband Claudius in which ancient empire?
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rome
Which American traitor moved to London in 1781 at age 40 but was denied military service?
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benedict arnold
Who was the showman for whom Chief Two Bears, until his death in 1958, served as the last Choctaw Indian scout?
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buffalo bill
Which former first lady was released in 1875 into the custody of her sister in Springfield, Illinois after spending 3 months in a mental institution?
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mary todd lincoln
Which gladiator led a slave revolt that was defeated in 71 B.C. when he was killed in battle against Marcus Licinius Crassus?
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spartacus
Who ruled Egypt after their sister Berenice IV from 58-55 B.C., and was later executed by their father?
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cleopatra