Kids Who Made History Trivia Quiz

Answer: deaf and blind

Helen Keller was struck with an illness at the age of 19 months that left her deaf and blind. With the assistance of her teacher Anne Sullivan, Keller was able to learn to communicate through sign language. She later went on to graduate from Radcliffe College.

In her later life, Keller was a noted political activist. After meeting with workers who lost their sight in industrial accidents, she became convinced of the unfairness of capitalism and was a voice for socialism. She was also an early supporter of the NAACP, one of the first political organizations for African Americans, which was unusual for a white southerner. She helped found the American Civil Liberties Union as well, which protects people's rights under the Constitution.

Answer: Pakistan

Malala Yousfzai is an advocate for the education of women, a cause she adopted at the age of 9. In October 2012, Malala was shot by a Taliban activist in an assassination attempt. She survived and in 2014 was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Her family left Pakistan for England to ensure Malala's safety. She graduated from high school in Birmingham and attended Oxford University. She was awarded the BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 2020 from Lady Margaret Hall University. A brilliant young woman, she graduated with honors from both high school and college.

Malala's father is a poet and educational activist himself. He inspired his daughter to be a voice for her generation and gender.

Answer: global warming

Born in January 2003, Greta Thunberg began her activism at age of 15 by protesting in front of the Swedish Parliament to bring attention to the issue of climate change. Her movement rapidly grew, with millions of students in Europe and the United States holding school strikes for climate change.

Thunberg has spoken before the United Nations on the issue of climate change several times, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times.

Thunberg was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. She calls it her "superpower" as it makes her fearless in challenging authority.

Answer: Amsterdam

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, but her family moved to the Netherlands shortly after Hitler took power in 1933. In the summer of 1942, they were forced into hiding when the Nazis began rounding up Dutch Jews. Anne began her famous diary about a month before they went into hiding.

The Franks spent two years in hiding until they were arrested on August 4, 1944. Anne was at Auschwitz death camp in September and October 1944, and transported to Bergen Belsen in southern Germany at the end of October. She most likely died of typhus during an epidemic at Bergen-Belsen in the winter of 1945.

Otto Frank, Anne's father, survived the war and had her diary published. It was first published in Dutch in 1947 and in the United States in 1952. Since her death, Anne Frank has been a symbol of hope for people fighting oppression and evil around the world.

Answer: France

Joan of Arc is France's great heroine. She was burned at the stake for heresy in 1431. Her redemption was a long time in coming. She did not become a national hero of France until the French Revolution, roughly 350 years later.

While Joan's conviction was overturned in 1456, she was not made a saint until 1922. When it comes to holding a grudge, there are few people as good as the Vatican.

Joan's trial was entirely political, as most of her accusers were pro-English. While her claims of visions were somewhat fantastic, there was no real evidence of heresy. Joan was set up by the court and executed on May 30, 1431.

Joan of Arc was only 17 when she led a relief army to the city of Orleans in 1429. Joan was also key in the Battle of Palay, which set stage for the capture of Reims and the coronation of Charles VII as King. Charles VII was one of the more influential kings in French history, as he effectively kicked the English out of France by the end of his reign. Joan's victories helped create a national identity for France and led to its rise as a major European power.

Answer: Music

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time. Mozart learned to play the clavier (an early type of piano) at age 3 and was composing music by age 5. Mozart spent much of his youth touring around Europe and performing concerts.

Mozart spent much of his adult life seeking work as a composer. He wrote over 800 works during his short life time - he died at age 35. He remains one of the most popular composers of the classical era, and his work is still performed regularly both by symphonies and in popular culture such as films and television.

Answer: 1930s

Between 1931 and 1938 Shirley Temple appeared in 29 films. She was the biggest box office star between 1935 and 1938. Many of Temple's characters had a redeeming nature, and her films were almost always "feel good" pictures - something that people in the middle of the Great Depression needed.

Temple's films included "The Little Colonel" (1935), "Heidi" (1937) and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1938). Many of her films were musicals, and she was often paired up with dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

In her later life, Shirley Temple became an ambassador to the United Nations for President Nixon and to the African nation of Ghana for President Ford. She also served as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992, when the Communist government fell and the country had their first democratic elections since 1948.

Answer: New Orleans

Ruby Bridges was only six years old when she became a national symbol for freedom and justice, for trying to go an all-white school in New Orleans. She first went to William Franz elementary school on November 14, 1960.Ruby had to be escorted by federal marshals to protect her from danger. White parents took their children out of school, and for her first year, Ruby Bridges was the only student in her class.

The famous artist Norman Rockwell painted Bridges going to school in "The Problem We All Live With" (1964). Rockwell's painting was displayed by President Obama at the White House during the summer and fall of 2011, and Obama invited Bridges to the White House to see the painting.

Ruby Bridges stayed in her hometown of New Orleans and was a travel agent for 15 years. Since 1999, she has run a foundation promoting tolerance and respect. Like many residents of New Orleans, she lost her home during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Answer: Yuri Andropov

Samantha Smith wrote to Yuri Andropov shortly after he took power in November 1982. She asked the Soviet leader to do everything he could to prevent a nuclear war. In April 1983, Andropov sent a positive, if slightly condescending, reply to Smith, ensuring her that Russia was interested in peace. (Which, despite Russian aggression in some parts of the world, was probably more or less true. The USSR would have suffered massive losses in a nuclear war).

Andropov invited Smith to visit The Soviet Union, and she came to Moscow in July 1983. She visited Leningrad as well, where she and her parents were very popular. Smith got a huge amount of publicity during and after her Russia visit, and even used it to get a role on the TV show "Lime Street". (1985).

Smith died tragically in a plane crash near her hometown in Maine in August 1985; she was only 13 years old. Her legacy includes a foundation that encourages student exchanges between the US and Russia, and inspiring the plot for the 1987 film "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (well, their hearts were in the right place).

Answer: Egypt

Tutankhamen was the Pharaoh of Egypt from 1332 to 1323 BC, around 3300 years ago. His father was the Pharaoh Akhnaten. Tut reversed many of the changes made by his father, including returning the capital of Egypt to Thebes.

King Tut was not a healthy young man. His mummy reveals a deformed left foot, scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and malaria. He was only 18 or 19 when he died, and there is no specific answer as to why he died. Some theories say it was his multiple illnesses, while others suggest he might have been murdered.

King Tut's tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. It was notable for how complete it was. Many of the artifacts of King Tut were taken on tour in 1965 and a world tour from 1972 to 1979. It inspired a parody song by Steve Martin.