Time Magazine Person of the Year 1938-1952 Trivia Game | World

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 1938: If 'evil' exists, this man was the twentieth century symbol of it. He sparked World War Two and although he never personally killed anyone but himself, he was responsible of the genocide of millions of people. Who was this Austrian who rose to power?

Answer: Adolf Hitler

A dynamic orator and leader, Hitler led Germany into World War Two. He capitalized on the anti-semitism of Europe by the carrying out the Holocaust which resulted in the murder of millions of Jews.

Stalin and Pol Pot fell into similar grooves. Mussolini's dictatorship was not nearly as bloody but it was a police state. He credited with making the trains run on time.

2. 1939 and 1942: This "Time" selection had little tolerance for political dissension. He met this with 'purges' of political enemies, exile to Siberia, or imprisonment in Gulags (prisons). Who was this Georgian who rose to political power?

Answer: Joseph Stalin

Although his tactics in his control of Russia are not admirable, during World War Two he was the key to the eastern front diverting Axis forces to the Eastern front. The 'big three' were Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, a stout alliance that determined the course of the war and the concessions made that the world dealt with for decades.

3. 1940 and 1949: A true wartime leader, this man with his inspiring rhetoric led the United Kingdom through the darkest days of World War Two. He was also a skilled historian, orator, military officer, and a artist. Who was this charismatic English leader?

Answer: Winston Churchill

Churchill is the only UK Prime Minister to date who also won a Nobel Prize for Literature. He served as PM 1940-45 and 1951-55. He was one of the 'big three' of World War Two along with Stalin and Roosevelt. "Time" also named Churchill as "Man of the Half-Century".

4. 1943 and 1947: As US Army Chief of Staff during World War Two, he molded an ill prepared nation to fighting readiness. Later, as Secretary of State he formulated a plan to restore worn-torn Europe into productivity. Who was this "Person of the Year"?

Answer: George Marshall

Marshall's achievements honors are unique. First he played a major role in winning one of the bloodiest wars of all history. Secondly, he worked had to restore peace and prosperity to the defeated nations.

5. 1944 and 1959: This general led the Allies in the European Theater of Operations to victory over Germany in World War Two. Returning, became the thirty-fourth President of the United States as well as NATO Chief and President of Columbia University. What was his name?

Answer: Dwight Eisenhower

Returning from World War Two where he engineered the Normandy Invasion and served as Commander of the American Occupied Zone in Germany, he entered the Republican Presidential race as his views ran counter to the isolationist policies of front-rummer Robert Taft. With his slogan "I Like Ike" he swept two elections over democrat Adlai Stevenson.

Although a conservative, he worked to enrich the new deal policies.

6. 1945 and 1948: When Franklin Roosevelt died in April 1945, this Vice-President assumed the office and led the United States through difficult post-war years. Who was this modest but determined president from Missouri?

Answer: Harry S. Truman

One of the great news photos of all time was of a grinning Harry Truman holding up a copy of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman". His famous desk sign was "The Buck Stops Here". Not well known but on the back of the sign where only Truman could see it, it said: "I'm From Missouri".

7. 1946: This recipient of this honor was one of the few men to serve in all three branches of US government, as a Representative and Senator, on the Supreme Court, and as Secretary of State. Along with Harry Truman, he helped to draw a firm line with the post-war expansionist policies of the Soviet Union. Who was this South Carolina political figure?

Answer: James Byrnes

Truman and Byrnes chose to ignore advice from State Department staff and took a strong line against the spread of communism. This sparked what is referred to as the "Cold War' and affected US foreign policy for many decades.

8. 1950: "Time" departed from its traditional format for the first time. It honored not an individual but a group. Which group was it?

Answer: G.I. Joe

The American Fighting Man was honored in 1959 for the heroism displayed in World War Two and the Korean War.

Middle Americans were recognized in 1969; American Women in 1975; and Whistle Blowers in 2002.

9. 1951: Mohammed Mosaddegh was the 'Person of the Year' in 1951. "Time" felt that he as the newly elected Prime Minister of Iran, might play a role in limiting Communist expansion and spread democracy through the Middle East. He lasted two years. What happened?

Answer: Overthrown in a coup d'etat engineered by the US CIA

The US at first supported Mosaddegh. But the British felt he was interfering with their oil interests in Iran. He was moving toward nationalization of oil in Iran. The British convinced the United States that Mosaddegh posed a threat. "Operation Ajax" was initiated under President Eisenhower by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles who delegated leadership to his brother Allen Dulles. Winston Churchill denounced Mosaddgh as a Communist, a firebrand word in the age of the Cold War.

The US launched a propaganda campaign to discredit him.

He was tried and imprisoned for three years. History records that Mosaddegh's flaw was that he was incorruptible.

10. 1952: For the first time "Time" named a Queen as 'person of the year'. What was her name?

Answer: Elizabeth

Here is "Time's" justification for the selection of Elizabeth II was as follows:

"It was no more-and no less-than the significance of a fresh young blossom on roots that had weathered many a season of wintry doubt. The British, as weary and discouraged as the rest of the world in 1952, saw in their new young Queen a reminder of a great past when they had carved out empires under Elizabeth I and Victoria, and dared to hope that she might be an omen of a great future."

Source: Author Rehaberpro

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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Time Magazine Person of the Year 1938-1952 Quiz

This quiz concerns the early selections of "Time Magazine" for person, persons, or things of the year.

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