Mysterious People Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rasputin

Grigori Yefimovich Novykh was born to a peasant family in Siberia. He later became known as "Rasputin." Among historians, there is some controversy over the correct meaning of "Rasputin." Some believe it meant "licentious," while others now believe it meant "a confluence of two rivers," which would have described the area where he was born. At age 18, he found his way to a monastery, where he claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary. He was also associated with beliefs that closeness to God could be achieved through sin and repentance.

He traveled to Greece, where he claimed to be a "holy wanderer" with the power to heal the sick. Upon returning to Russia, he gained quite a following and met the tsar.

He gained the trust of Tsar Nicholas II by helping to treat his son's hemophilia. Thereafter, he became an influential member of the imperial court in spite of his peasant upbringing. His lack of inhibitions at court led other members of the court to scheme against him. During World War I, while the Tsar was at the front, he left the country in the hands of his wife and Rasputin. Rasputin survived several assassination attempts and finally, in 1916, was shot to death, and his body was dumped in a river.

After his death, his reputation for mystical powers grew. He is still seen as both an evil manipulator in league with the devil and as a man with mystical and magical powers.

Answer: bitcoin

An entity using the name Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a white paper and launched a bitcoin website in 2008, then after 2011 the entity was never heard from again. The entity's holdings of bitcoins, estimated to be over $130 billion, have not been touched since 2011.

The entity's anonymity, according to those in the cryptocurrency field, was intentional. The decision to remain anonymous is part of the trustless nature of bitcoin. Users do not need to trust any single person or entity. Anonymity removes the need for users to trust a known figure. Consequently, many in the industry believe the entity's anonymity will continue.

Answer: Count of St. Germain

"The International Mystery Man" was a term often used to describe the Count of St. Germain. He is believed to have been born in the late 1600s, although some have claimed he lived during the time of Christ and as late as the 1970s, appearing on each occasion to be around 45 years old.

The count was said to be an accomplished alchemist and, as such, to have discovered the secret to immortality. He was reputed to have vast knowledge of the arts, music, science, language, and history. He traveled through Europe and was said not to age. He seemed to possess great wealth, but no source was ever found. When not dining with friends, he allegedly subsisted on a diet of oatmeal.

Sightings of St. Germain have been reported throughout the 1890s and 1900s.

The latest was in 1972 in Paris, when a man claimed he was the Count. To prove it, he said he turned lead into gold on French TV. The man committed suicide several years later.

St. Germain died in 1784. His identity was mysterious, but his existence was not.

Answer: Boudicca

When Boudicca's husband, who had been king of the Iceni tribe, died, he left his kingdom to be jointly shared by the Roman emperor and his own daughters. The Romans ignored his wishes, took over the kingdom, and assaulted his daughters. Boudicca led the Iceni tribe and another tribe to revolt against Roman rule.

They destroyed and looted several towns, including present-day London. But despite having superior numbers, they lacked the tactics of the Roman legions and were eventually defeated.

Answer: The Tank Man

In the early summer of 1989, the world was mesmerized by images of a man standing in front of a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The Chinese government had ordered its military to suppress the pro-democracy demonstrations being held in Tiananmen Square.

The result was an unknown number of deaths and injuries. The Tank Man, as he became known, has never been identified or even acknowledged by the government in China. His act of defiance and bravery became an inspiration to the world.

His fate remains unknown.

Answer: Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley was known in Britain as "the most wicked man in the world." Crowley lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a prolific writer who led an enigmatic life devoted to the mystical and magical. He was the ultimate nonconformist. At an early age, he defied his Christian upbringing by smoking and engaging in indiscriminate sex. After studying at Cambridge, he became interested in the paranormal and the occult.

The term occult is often associated with evil or witchcraft. Occult is really a broad term that encompasses a number of esoteric beliefs which offer an alternative to traditional religion. Some of those beliefs involve devil worship.

Crowley founded a religious philosophy called "Thelema" and wrote a book of laws which continue to affect occultism. Thelema's philosophy was "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." The first four words of that dictum and Crowley's image can be found on the Beatles' album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

Answer: Lyudmila Pavlichenko

Lyudmila Pavlichenko was a Soviet sniper during WWII. She had over 300 confirmed kills, more than any other Allied sniper, male or female. She was wounded in 1942 and was sent on a tour of the U.S. and Canada to promote a second front in Europe. While in the U.S., she met and befriended Eleanor Roosevelt. She was made a Hero of the Soviet Union in 1943. She was nicknamed "Lady Death."

Answer: Hatshepsut

In the 15th century BCE, Hatshepsut was stepmother to Thutmose III, a 2-year-old pharaoh in waiting. Hatshepsut was to act as queen regent. As queen regent, she was empowered to make decisions for the young pharaoh but remain in the background while doing so. Hatshepsut felt she would be a better ruler, so in the seventh year of Thutmose III's reign she named herself pharaoh. In doing so, she departed from traditional interpretations of Ma'at, a concept that held the universe together. This was seen by some as upsetting the natural order and led to her being viewed by some as a usurper. But she claimed that she was not only pharaoh but also the daughter of Amun, king of the gods. She reigned for 22 years.

Images depicting Hatshepsut as queen regent were typically left alone, including those that portrayed Hatshepsut alongside Thutmose III as a child. Representations depicting her as king were broken, scratched out, and, in the case of an obelisk she erected at the temple of Karnak, walled up. In this sense, being a queen regent was acceptable, but being pharaoh was not.

Answer: Alessandro di Cagliostro

My birth name was Giuseppe Balsamo, but I traveled Europe known as Count Alessandro di Cagliostro. I was sent to a monastery as a youth but was expelled for selling the monastery's medicines. I had to flee from my native Sicily to avoid arrest. In Italy, I changed my name and became immersed in the occult and alchemy. Cagliostro claimed to have been initiated into the rites of Egyptian Freemasonry by none other than the Count of St. Germain. He conned the wealthy into building Egyptian Rite Freemason lodges in Holland, Germany and Russia. In Paris, he opened lodges and held séances.

He became a favorite of Marie Antoinette by holding magic suppers and communing with the dead. In 1785, he and another con artist convinced a cardinal to buy an expensive diamond for Marie Antoinette. The diamond was sold, and the other con artist absconded with the money. Cagliostro was arrested and spent 9 months in the Bastille, after which he was banned from France. Having been banned or wanted in virtually every country in Europe, he returned to Italy, where he scammed his way into a sentence of life imprisonment.

Answer: Louis le Prince

Louis le Prince was educated in chemistry and painting in Paris. He moved to England, where he met his wife, also a talented artist. Together they opened an art school. In 1881, he and his family moved to the U.S., where le Prince became interested in motion pictures. In 1886, he invented a camera that could take 16 pictures a second. It was patented in 1888. He then invented a single-lens camera and had it patented a full 10 months before Edison's.

In 1890, le Prince returned to England, leaving his family in the U.S. Before returning to America, he decided to visit his family in France. He was last seen by his brother boarding a train bound for Paris. He never reached Paris, nor did his luggage. He has never been seen or heard from since.