The Most Important 'K' People

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Living during the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. and born Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa, this shadowy figure of Arab history is known, along with Diophantus, as the 'father of algebra'. What was his nickname? al-Khwarizmi al-Khayyami al-Khalili al-Khaldun

2. Grandson to Genghis Kahn, Kublai Khan became master of his grandfather's empire in 1259 A.D. Twenty years later, he completed the destruction of the Sung dynasty in China and became emperor of the middle kingdom. What was the title of Kublai's dynasty in China? Yuan Sui Ming Tang

3. What are the first and middle names of early 20th century British economist Keynes, upon whose theories many a modern government now operates its fiscal and tax policies? Michael David Frank Knightley John Maynard Smith Weldon

4. Johannes Kepler is certainly one of the top five most important astronomers in human history. The set of three laws that bear his name are mostly concerned with which of these topics? Optics Planetary orbits Composition of interstellar matter Behavior of light

5. Working out of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), this genius was important both in the realms of philosophy and of science. Who was this German idea-man whose first great work, 'Critique of Pure Reason', wasn't issued until his mid-50s? Ludwig Köchel Robert Koch Immanuel Kant Thomas Kuhn

6. Scottish physicist Lord Kelvin was a key contributor in several fields of physics, including thermodynamics and electromagnetism. Kelvin, however was not his surname, but rather his aristocratic title. What was his given name? Thomas Campbell Rupert Stewart Robert McMillan William Thomson

7. Which scientist first identified the ring-like structure of the basic organic compound known as 'benzene' in 1865, and hence is sometimes referred to as the 'father of organic chemistry'? August Kekulé Eugene Kelly Wilhelm Keitel Edward Kendall

8. Lots of Germans on this list! Gustav Robert Kirchhoff was a 19th century physicist best known for his work in which field? Doctrine of energy Electrical conduction Atomic theory Undulatory theory

9. He was the second emperor of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty, and longest reigning in Chinese history. Born Xuan-Ye, by what reign title did he rule China from 1661-1722? Koxinga Kunming Kangxi Kaozi

10. Last but certainly not least, Martin Luther King, Jr. was, without a doubt, one of the great leaders of American history. Through his peaceful resistance to embedded racism in the United States, he helped achieve advances for African Americans. In which U.S. city was MLK, Jr. born? Dallas Montgomery Atlanta New Orleans