Can You Pick These Awesome Historical Figures Out Of A Lineup?

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Historical Figures Quiz Questions

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Question 1

“Four score and seven years ago...” this president ended slavery in the South. Name that Great Emancipator.

  • A
    Harriet Tubman
  • B
    Abraham Lincoln
  • C
    Ulysses Grant
  • D
    Andrew Johnson

Question 2

Which perpetually sullen poet was the author of "The Raven"?

  • A
    E.M. Forster
  • B
    Edgar Allan Poe
  • C
    Cormac McCarthy
  • D
    John Irving

Question 3

This bard knew how to write, penning some of the greatest poems and plays in the books. Name that Brit.

  • A
    Christopher Marlowe
  • B
    William Shakespeare
  • C
    Anton Chekhov
  • D
    Lord Byron

Question 4

Hello, Hollywood. What "Great Communicator" has an economic theory named after him?

  • A
    Tina Fey
  • B
    George H. W. Bush
  • C
    Benjamin Harrison
  • D
    Ronald Reagan

Question 5

Who is this American Founding Father and all-around Renaissance Man?

  • A
    Benjamin Franklin
  • B
    Alexander Graham Bell
  • C
    George Washington
  • D
    Samuel Adams

Question 6

This president led the Union to victory over the Confederate states during the Civil War. Name that general.

  • A
    Warren Harding
  • B
    John Adams
  • C
    Ulysses S. Grant
  • D
    Hamlet

Question 7

Although Henry Ford didn't invent the assembly line, he pioneered its use in the production of which form of transport?

  • A
    Bikes
  • B
    Boats
  • C
    Trains
  • D
    Cars

Question 8

Known as "the father of American literature," what author's real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens?

  • A
    John Steinbeck
  • B
    Jack London
  • C
    Charles Dickens
  • D
    Mark Twain

Question 9

The CIA tried to kill him an estimated 638 times. Who is this invincible Cuban revolutionary?

  • A
    Raul Castro
  • B
    Che Guevara
  • C
    Fidel Castro
  • D
    Fulgencio Batista

Question 10

What man brought us the theories of gravity and the basic laws of motion?

  • A
    Stephen Hawking
  • B
    Charles Darwin
  • C
    William Harvey
  • D
    Isaac Newton

Question 11

Known for his "fireside chats," this president brought us through the Great Depression and WWII. Who was this steadfast leader, the only one elected four times?

  • A
    Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • B
    Herbert Hoover
  • C
    Ben Franklin
  • D
    Harry Truman

Question 12

The Wright brothers pioneered aviation and changed the world. What were their first names?

  • A
    Samuel and Hubert
  • B
    James and Herbert
  • C
    Orville and Wilbur
  • D
    George and Clancy

Question 13

Seems there were plenty of fathers birthing the Renaissance. Who is this "father of science," the first to use a telescope in sky observation?

  • A
    Galileo Galilei
  • B
    Johannes Kepler
  • C
    Albert Einstein
  • D
    Paracelsus

Question 14

As well as serving 9 years as the 34th U.S. President, Dwight D. Eisenhower had a decorated military career. What rank did he reach in the United States Army?

  • A
    Colonel
  • B
    Captain
  • C
    Major
  • D
    Five-star General

Question 15

Known for his sparse prose and sense of adventure, what author wrote The Old Man and the Sea?

  • A
    John Steinbeck
  • B
    Arthur Conan Doyle
  • C
    Ernest Hemingway
  • D
    Mark Twain

Question 16

Who is this England-born philosopher of “Common Sense," which advocated for American independence?

  • A
    Edward Gibbon
  • B
    Thomas Paine
  • C
    Winston Churchill
  • D
    Gaetano Filangieri

Question 17

Famous for more than getting stuck in the White House bathtub, this president is the only one to have served on the Supreme Court after his presidential term. Name that heavyweight.

  • A
    Michael Jordan
  • B
    Millard Fillmore
  • C
    Zachary Taylor
  • D
    William Taft

Question 18

Another Founding Father, what president primarily wrote the Declaration of Independence?

  • A
    James Madison
  • B
    James Monroe
  • C
    Thomas Jefferson
  • D
    Mark Twain

Question 19

This king wed many wives in search of a male heir, even creating a new church to divorce his first. Name that terrible husband.

  • A
    King Henry VIII
  • B
    King Johnny Walker
  • C
    King Richard III
  • D
    King Henry IV

Question 20

After Roosevelt passed, this president made the heavy decision to drop the A-bomb.

  • A
    Kim Jong-Il
  • B
    Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • C
    Dwight Eisenhower
  • D
    Harry Truman

Question 21

Cartoons featuring Road Runner and Wyle E. Coyote just wouldn't be the same without this mind-blowing Alfred Nobel invention. What was it?

  • A
    Fireworks
  • B
    Dynamite
  • C
    Gun powder
  • D
    Hand grenades

Question 22

Rudolf Diesel lent his name to the mechanical device that became his most famous invention. What type of device was it?

  • A
    Electric battery
  • B
    Engine
  • C
    Spark plug
  • D
    Printing press

Question 23

Known for being a military mastermind, which Macedonian king kicked off the Hellenistic Period?

  • A
    Ptolemy
  • B
    Socrates
  • C
    Phillip II
  • D
    Alexander the Great

Question 24

This escaped slave is credited with leading many more to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Name that abolitionist.

  • A
    Sojourner Truth
  • B
    Viola Davis
  • C
    Harriet Tubman
  • D
    Rosa Parks

Question 25

This Argentine allied himself with Fidel Castro during the Cuban revolution. Name that Marxist revolutionary.

  • A
    Raul Castro
  • B
    Che Guevara
  • C
    Vladimir Lenin
  • D
    Joseph Stalin

Question 26

Which impressive Pole finally put the Sun at the center of the galaxy?

  • A
    Nicolaus Copernicus
  • B
    Conrad Gessner
  • C
    Leon Battista Alberti
  • D
    John Milton

Question 27

The roots of the Enlightenment are traced to a few Renaissance Men, including this scientist with incredible hair. Name that "principled" physicist.

  • A
    Nikola Tesla
  • B
    Elon Musk
  • C
    Isaac Newton
  • D
    Albert Einstein

Question 28

Alexander Fleming was a biologist and pharmacologist by trade, but his most famous discovery was accidental and changed medicine forever. Which substance did he identify and isolate?

  • A
    Penicillin
  • B
    Aspirin
  • C
    Valium
  • D
    Paracetamol

Question 29

The author of "Common Sense" was instrumental in America's Revolutionary War. Name that political writer.

  • A
    John Hancock
  • B
    Thomas Paine
  • C
    Thomas Jefferson
  • D
    George Washington

Question 30

What Russian ruler tried to instill enlightened government reforms using liberal humanitarian political theories?

  • A
    Ivan the Terrible
  • B
    Catherine the Great
  • C
    Nicholas I of Russia
  • D
    Joseph Stalin

Question 31

This leader said, "You will kill ten of us, we will kill one of you, but in the end, you will tire of it first," and he was right. Name that Vietnamese revolutionary.

  • A
    Mao Zedong
  • B
    Ho Chi Minh
  • C
    Ton Duc Thang
  • D
    Fidel Castro

Question 32

Said to have fiddled while Rome burned, what Roman emperor blamed it on the Christians?

  • A
    Joaquin Phoenix
  • B
    Caligula
  • C
    Nero
  • D
    Augustus

Question 33

He had a dream and we're still working toward it. Who is this inspiring Civil Rights leader?

  • A
    Martin Luther
  • B
    Malcolm X
  • C
    Barack Obama
  • D
    Martin Luther King, Jr.

Question 34

What fearless leader was once called "the most dangerous woman in America"?

  • A
    Beyoncé
  • B
    'Mother' Jones
  • C
    Hillary Clinton
  • D
    Leola King

Question 35

Not only was he a poet, this Lord died in the war for Greek independence. Name that "gloomy egoist".

  • A
    Lord Bryan
  • B
    Lord Byron
  • C
    Lord Bach
  • D
    Lord Bates

Question 36

Which Renaissance Man does NOT have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle named after him?

  • A
    Caravaggio
  • B
    Raphael
  • C
    Leonardo
  • D
    Michelangelo

Question 37

This man has a Tony-award winning musical named after him. Who is this author of the Federalist Papers?

  • A
    John Madison
  • B
    John Adams
  • C
    Mama Mia
  • D
    Alexander Hamilton

Question 38

Perhaps the prototypical "Renaissance Man", this artist was also an inventor. Name that Mona Lisa master painter.

  • A
    Michelangelo
  • B
    Raphael
  • C
    Leonardo da Vinci
  • D
    Thomas Edison

Question 39

Thomas Jefferson served as the third President of the United States. He was also the principal author of which historic document?

  • A
    Declaration of Independence
  • B
    Louisiana Purchase Treaty
  • C
    Constitution of the United States
  • D
    Bill of Rights

Question 40

Commonly regarded as the greatest epic poem in English, "Paradise Lost" was authored by whom?

  • A
    John Cusack
  • B
    John Napier
  • C
    John Milton
  • D
    John Donne

Question 41

This royal lived up to his name, modernizing Russia and making it a country to contend with. Name that Russian tsar.

  • A
    Tsar Peter the Great
  • B
    Tsar Ivan the Terrible
  • C
    Tsar Teddy Roosevelt
  • D
    Tsar Alexander II

Question 42

"Call me Ishmael..." Which author brought us Ahab and the great white whale?

  • A
    Herman Melville
  • B
    Rudyard Kipling
  • C
    Flannery O'Connor
  • D
    James Fenimore Cooper

Question 43

This exiled Italian statesman has a prototypical literary character named after him. Name that author of 'The Prince'.

  • A
    Sigmund Freud
  • B
    Niccolo Machiavelli
  • C
    Silvio Berlusconi
  • D
    Napoleon Bonaparte

Question 44

This revolutionary's words to live by are oft-quoted: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Who was this changer?

  • A
    Indira Gandhi
  • B
    Vallabhbhai Patel
  • C
    Salman Rushdie
  • D
    Mahatma Gandhi

Question 45

Known for his 'Divine Comedy', who wrote this vision of eternity?

  • A
    Dante Alighieri
  • B
    J.K. Rowling
  • C
    Virgil
  • D
    Sandro Botticelli

Question 46

Brilliant botanist and inventor George Washington Carver is well known for discovering many unconventional uses for which humble crop?

  • A
    Barley
  • B
    Peanuts
  • C
    Cotton
  • D
    Wheat

Question 47

Holding office for only a month, which U.S. president served the shortest term in office?

  • A
    Lil Kim
  • B
    Richard Nixon
  • C
    Warren Harding
  • D
    William Henry Harrison

Question 48

Who is this 20th century poet who ushered in the Modernist movement with his work, The Waste Land?

  • A
    L. Frank Baum
  • B
    E.E. Cummings
  • C
    Salman Rushdie
  • D
    T.S. Eliot

Question 49

Who is this "philosopher-king" who ruled Prussia during the 18th century?

  • A
    Frederick the Great
  • B
    Ruđer Josip Bošković
  • C
    Alexander the Great
  • D
    Vladimir Putin

Question 50

Who is the acclaimed author of the English works, 'The Canterbury Tales'?

  • A
    Geoffrey Chaucer
  • B
    Miguel de Cervantes
  • C
    Charles Dickens
  • D
    John Donne

Question 51

This defining figure in Ethiopian history was also seen as the returned messiah by the Rastafari movement. Name that emperor.

  • A
    Haile Selassie I
  • B
    Tewodros II
  • C
    Menelik II
  • D
    Musa I

Question 52

Said to have inspired Dracula, who is this Prince of Wallachia?

  • A
    Hagar the Horrible
  • B
    William the Bad
  • C
    Vlad the Impaler
  • D
    Ivan the Terrible

Question 53

Who is this author who wrote the instant American classic To Kill a Mockingbird, which has been taught in high school English ever since?

  • A
    Harper Lee
  • B
    Agatha Christie
  • C
    Eugene O'Neill
  • D
    Carson McCullers

Question 54

Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the American presidency after John F. Kennedy's assassination. What was his job prior to being elected to the House of Representatives?

  • A
    Accountant
  • B
    High School Teacher
  • C
    Doctor
  • D
    Dentist

Question 55

Who is this reclusive poet, praised posthumously for her body of work?

  • A
    Sylvia Plath
  • B
    Emily Dickinson
  • C
    Edith Wharton
  • D
    Jane Austen

Question 56

Theodore Roosevelt served as Vice-President of the U.S. for 6 months prior to his Presidency. What was the name of his assassinated predecessor?

  • A
    Benjamin Harrison
  • B
    Grover Cleveland
  • C
    Chester A. Arthur
  • D
    William McKinley

Question 57

What famous Florence family is known for patronizing many Renaissance artists?

  • A
    The Sopranos
  • B
    The Guggenheim family
  • C
    The Medici family
  • D
    The Vespucci family

Question 58

This royal of Bavaria may have been insane, but he did build the Disney princess castle. Name that Mad King.

  • A
    King Maximilian
  • B
    King Ludwig II
  • C
    King Otto
  • D
    King Harry

Question 59

The 'Virgin Queen' was the daughter of Henry VIII by Anne Boleyn. Name that powerful Queen of England.

  • A
    Queen Elizabeth I
  • B
    Queen Victoria
  • C
    Queen Mildred
  • D
    Queen Elizabeth II

Question 60

What famous philosopher wrote the words: "I think; therefore, I am"?

  • A
    Francis Bacon
  • B
    René Descartes
  • C
    Franz Kafka
  • D
    Antonio Serra

Question 61

This philosopher's “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” is one of the founding pieces of Enlightenment.

  • A
    Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • B
    John Locke
  • C
    James Beattie
  • D
    Thomas Abbt

Question 62

The noblemen ran her out of the country, where she was later beheaded. Name that ostracized queen.

  • A
    Marsha, Queen of Narnia
  • B
    Elizabeth I
  • C
    Mary Antoinette
  • D
    Mary, Queen of Scots

Question 63

Although Leonardo Da Vinci was well-known as a painter, sketches he made in the 15th century were a precursor to the invention of which aircraft?

  • A
    Aeroplane
  • B
    Hang-glider
  • C
    Bi-plane
  • D
    Helicopter

Question 64

This Italian friar and influential thinker was a revolutionary theologian. Who is this saint?

  • A
    Saint Thomas Aquinas
  • B
    Saint Augustine
  • C
    Saint Nicholas
  • D
    Saint Paul

Question 65

Laszlo Biro was a Hungarian-Argentinian inventor. He is credited with the creation of which common stationery item?

  • A
    Ballpoint Pen
  • B
    Paper Clip
  • C
    Post-it note
  • D
    Stapler

Question 66

You might meet this beatnik writer "on the road". Name that pioneer of the Beat Generation.

  • A
    Walt Whitman
  • B
    Allen Ginsberg
  • C
    William Shakespeare
  • D
    Jack Kerouac

Question 67

Shaping the humanist movement in Northern Europe, this great thinker translated the New Testament to Greek.

  • A
    Desiderius Erasmus
  • B
    Sigmund Freud
  • C
    Robert Boyle
  • D
    Thomas More

Question 68

This poet, journalist, and essayist is known as the "father of free verse." Name that humanist.

  • A
    Henry David Thoreau
  • B
    William Wordsworth
  • C
    Walt Whitman
  • D
    Robert Frost

Question 69

Establishing the principle of intuitionism, this philosopher was also a mathematician with a law named after him.

  • A
    Blaise Pascal
  • B
    Johannes Kepler
  • C
    Socrates
  • D
    Robert Recorde

Question 70

Who is this British chemist and physicist who first identified carbon dioxide?

  • A
    Friedrich Schiller
  • B
    Joseph Black
  • C
    David Beckham
  • D
    Alexander Sumarokov

Question 71

“Reason is...the slave of the passions," wrote this Scottish philosopher.

  • A
    Mel Gibson
  • B
    James Boswell
  • C
    David Hume
  • D
    Anders Chydenius

Question 72

Another "founding father," this leader led the American Revolution to victory. Name that military leader.

  • A
    George Carver
  • B
    George Washington
  • C
    George Clooney
  • D
    King George VI

Comments (18)

We want to hear your feedback! Share your scores and discuss the quiz, but keep it civil.

Was a challenge at times

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97%... 70 out of 72

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As a foreigner I‘m glad to pass this test with 74%, because a lot of it is American history.

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83% AIN'T BAD I THINK.

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I thought this was a IQ test? I dont think they give "A's" in them.

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Rather enjoyable passing time and learning a little history.

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Sad you are not giving me my result

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I did give my evaluation

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@pvascell what is my result?

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very hard and interesting and I enjoyed the challenge

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very hard and interesting

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Its a good exercise for the brain makes you think and then second guess yourself. Need to read some more.

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Wore* me down…..

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It was so long it war me down and I stopped caring if i was right, just wanted it to end, got sloppy,

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I got an A but I can't seem to share it.

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Im dummer than i thought!

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I got an 88 and I am legit bothered I didn't get an A+. Some things never change.

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very educational and informative

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