What Do You Know About These Famous Explorers?

Last updated · 6 min play time

Do you know Jacques Cousteau from Jacques Cartier? What about who ventured to the North and South Poles? Find out all this and more with this quiz.


Kiera is a life-long trivia nut who is obsessed with pop culture, useless knowledge, and minutiae. People, history, and pop culture fascinate her. She is also a writer with a flair for humor and is lucky enough to be able to make a living from it.

Famous Explorers Quiz Questions

20 Questions · 13K Plays · No comments

Question 1

Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World in 1492 was an accident. Which country was he intending to sail to?

  • A
    Singapore
  • B
    Thailand
  • C
    Japan
  • D
    China

Question 2

Marco Polo traveled with his family from Europe to Asia via the Middle East. During his travels, he spent 17 years in which Asian country?

  • A
    Malaysia
  • B
    Japan
  • C
    Singapore
  • D
    China

Question 3

In 1770, Captain James Cook and his shipmates became the first recorded Europeans to arrive on the eastern coast of Australia. What was the name of the ship in which they sailed?

  • A
    Minnow
  • B
    Mayflower
  • C
    Endeavour
  • D
    Merry Widow

Question 4

Jacques Cousteau was in the French navy before becoming a pioneering underwater explorer and researcher. In which decade of the 20th century did he co-invent the Aqua-Lung?

  • A
    1930's
  • B
    1950's
  • C
    1940's
  • D
    1920's

Question 5

Neil Armstrong gained fame as the first person to walk on the moon. Prior to becoming an astronaut, in which branch of the U.S. military did he serve?

  • A
    Air Force
  • B
    Marines
  • C
    Navy
  • D
    Army

Question 6

As well as being a teacher and author, Ann Bancroft is an adventurer. In 1986, she became the first woman to reach which location?

  • A
    K2
  • B
    Mt Everest
  • C
    North Pole
  • D
    South Pole

Question 7

Daniel Boone is a pioneer and frontiersman famous for settling which American state?

  • A
    Kentucky
  • B
    Virginia
  • C
    Massachusetts
  • D
    Vermont

Question 8

Henry Hudson was an English explorer, but is well known for his exploration of which country?

  • A
    Canada
  • B
    Scotland
  • C
    Wales
  • D
    Spain

Question 9

Tenzing Norgay was an Indian sherpa and mountaineer. In which year of the 1950's did he and Edmund Hilary reach the summit of Mt Everest?

  • A
    1951
  • B
    1953
  • C
    1955
  • D
    1958

Question 10

David Livingstone was a Scottish missionary. He is best known, however, for his exploration of which continent?

  • A
    Asia
  • B
    Africa
  • C
    Europe
  • D
    Australia

Question 11

Sir Ernest Shackleton was an explorer who lived at the turn of the 20th century. How many British expeditions to the Antarctic did he lead?

  • A
    Three
  • B
    Two
  • C
    One
  • D
    Five

Question 12

William Dampier may have been born in England, but he is recognized as an early explorer of which country?

  • A
    New Zealand
  • B
    Australia
  • C
    Scotland
  • D
    Canada

Question 13

Ferdinand Magellan's expeditions led to the first circumnavigation of the Earth. What nationality was he?

  • A
    Argentinian
  • B
    Bolivian
  • C
    Spanish
  • D
    Portugese

Question 14

Roald Amundsen was an explorer of Norwegian descent. In 1911, he led the first expedition to reach which location?

  • A
    Mt Everest
  • B
    North Pole
  • C
    Greenland
  • D
    South Pole

Question 15

Jacques Cartier is noted for his exploration of inland America, and for giving Canada its name. What nationality was he?

  • A
    Swedish
  • B
    Dutch
  • C
    Swiss
  • D
    French

Question 16

Edmund Hillary was an explorer and mountaineer of New Zealander origin. Which mountain did he famously climb with Tenzing Norgay in the 1950's?

  • A
    Table Mountain
  • B
    Mt Everest
  • C
    Mt Fuji
  • D
    Mt Kilimanjaro

Question 17

In what year of the 1960's did Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin become the first human to enter outer space?

  • A
    1963
  • B
    1965
  • C
    1968
  • D
    1961

Question 18

Sir Walter Raleigh was, among other things, a poet, soldier, and explorer. He famously led two expeditions in search of which precious substance?

  • A
    Gold
  • B
    Diamonds
  • C
    Silver
  • D
    Bronze

Question 19

Frontiersman Kit Carson is known for several expeditions exploring which American state?

  • A
    Virginia
  • B
    Maine
  • C
    Wisconsin
  • D
    Oregon

Question 20

In which century did Sir Francis Drake carry out the second circumnavigation of the world?

  • A
    14th
  • B
    13th
  • C
    17th
  • D
    16th

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