QUIZ: Can You Name These Iconic Figures From History?
Some people, throughout time, have, for better or worse, changed history. While many people will recognize the faces of historical figures, remembering their names might be a bit more challenging.
Do you know the most famous authors, presidents, political figures, and inventors? Test your knowledge and name each person in this quiz to see how well you know history’s most famous and infamous figures!
Can you name this civil rights leader?
A. W.E.B. Du Bois
B. Malcolm X
C. Martin Luther King Jr.
D. Harvey Milk
Answer: Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. worked as a spokesman for the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. His views were inspired by his Christian faith and the activism of Mahatma Gandhi.
Can you name this man who campaigned for India’s independence?
A. Mahatma Gandhi
B. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
C. Narendra Modi
D. Lakshmi Bai
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian lawyer who later opposed British rule through nonviolence. He also fought against poverty and supported women’s rights, making him an inspiration for civil rights movements throughout the world.
This ancient Greek king is famous for overtaking the Persian Empire.
A. Constantine I
B. Solon
C. Demosthenes
D. Alexander the Great
Answer: Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, created one of history’s largest empires by the age of 30. He was taught by Aristotle and ascended to the throne at 20 years old.
This man served as the United States’s 35th President until his third year in office.
A. Dwight D. Eisenhower
B. John F. Kennedy
C. Lyndon B. Johnson
D. Herbert Hoover
Answer: John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy, known as JFK, was the 35th U.S. President who served in the early 1960s. Close to the end of his third year in office, JFK was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Who is this influential horror writer?
A. H.P. Lovecraft
B. Neil Gaimon
C. Stephen King
D. Edgar Allen Poe
Answer: Edgar Allen Poe
Edgar Allen Poe is most famous for his macabre poetry and short stories. Although is writing barely made him any money, he continued to write until his death in 1849 at the age of 40.
Which artist represented her native country through her creative self portraits?
A. Berthe Morisot
B. Artemisia Gentileschi
C. Joan Mitchell
D. Frida Kahlo
Answer: Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo painted autobiographical art pieces that mixed reality with fantasy. Her murals and self-portraits were inspired by the nature and events of her home country, Mexico. Although she had been painting since the 1930s, she did not rise to popularity until the ’70s.
Can you name this widely-quoted playwright?
A. Neil Simon
B. Mark Twain
C. William Shakespeare
D. Oscar Wilde
Answer: William Shakespeare
Many consider William Shakespeare to be one of the best writers in the English language. Along with his poems, Shakespeare’s most famous works include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth.
Who is this female politician?
A. Hillary Clinton
B. Sarah Palin
C. Lisa Murkowski
D. Hattie Caraway
Answer: Hillary Clinton
This is a photograph of a young Hillary Clinton, before she found herself in the White House alongside her husband, Bill Clinton. In 2016, she ran for President of the United States.
Can you name the “the first lady of civil rights”?
A. Diane Nash
B. Leah Chase
C. Judy Richardson
D. Rosa Parks
Answer: Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who is most famous for rejecting James F. Blake’s demand to leave a bus seat “colored” section to favor a white passenger. She wasn’t the first person to resist, but her case prompted the Supreme Court case Browder v. Gayle.
This is one of Rome’s most famous generals and rulers, whom many people mistake as an emperor.
A. Constantine the Great
B. Julius Caesar
C. Augustus
D. Nero
Answer: Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was a dictator who ruled Rome for five years before his assassination. Although many believe he was an emperor, he was actually a dictator perpetuo, which means “dictator in perpetuity.”
Which German composer continued to create music even after he was going deaf?
A. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
B. Johann Sebastian Bach
C. Ludwig van Beethoven
D. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven
German composer Ludwig van Beethoven began going deaf at the age of 28. By age 40, he lost his hearing entirely, but he did not stop creating music. Some of his most famous songs include “Für Elise,” “Moonlight Sonata,” and “Symphony No. 9.”
Which Tudor queen reigned for 45 years.
A. Elizabeth I
B. Anne Boleyn
C. Mary I
D. Victoria
Answer: Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. As a sole ruler, she established the English Protestant church and laid the foundation for the Kingdom of Britain (including Scotland, Wales, and Ireland).
Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?
A. Ada E. Yonath
B. Marie Curie
C. Toni Morrison
D. Malala Yousafzai
Answer: Marie Curie
Polish scientist Marie Curie won a Nobel Prize for pioneering research on radioactivity. She actually won two Nobel Prizes–one in physics and one in chemistry. During World War I, Curie provided X-ray services to field hospitals.
Who was the last queen of France?
A. Marie Antoinette
B. Anne of Brittany
C. Catherine de Medici
D. Mary Queen of Scots
Answer: Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette was the archduchess of Austria and became the queen of France when she married Louis-Auguste (later Louis XVI). At the end of the Revolution, she died by the guillotine during the the Revolutionary Tribunal.
Which English physicist ended up being knighted?
A. Ada Lovelace
B. Charles Darwin
C. Isaac Newton
D. Richard Dawkins
Answer: Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton was the physicist and mathematician who invented calculus, the laws of motion, and the law of universal gravitation. Oddly, Queen Anne knighted him for his political work, not his mathematic achievements.
