The Americans Trivia Quiz

Portrayed by Scott Bakula, Jonathan Archer was chosen (in the future) to command the first starship Enterprise, designated 'NX-01,' as seen in "Star Trek: Enterprise," which aired from 2001 to 2005.

Before that, however, he was born (in the "Star Trek" future) in Upstate New York on August 4, 2112 to parents Sally and Henry Archer. In addition to serving with distinction as the Captain of the Enterprise from 2151-61, Archer was later elected President of the United Federation of Planets, serving for eight years (2184-92).

Charles Tucker III, who went by "Trip" (a reference to the 'III'), was the chief engineer of the Enterprise NX-01. He was aptly portrayed by Connor Trinneer.

As detailed in "Star Trek: Enterprise" (2001-05), Trip Tucker was born on March 19th, 2121 in Panama City, Florida (per the "Star Trek" timeline) to parents Elaine and Charles (Tucker II). As it happens, March 19th is also the birthdate of Connor Trinneer, albeit a few years earlier (1969). Trip joined Starfleet in 2139 and met Jonathan Archer in 2143, about ten years before they would serve together aboard the Enterprise

Christopher Pike was the first (televised) captain of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter in the FIRST pilot episode "The Cage," which was initially rejected. A second pilot was filmed with Captain Kirk at the helm, which was what was first aired, although Captain Pike's episode was reworked in flashbacks with "The Menagerie, Parts I and II" (episodes 11 and 12 of Season 1), along with an elderly, infirmed version of the man, played by Sean Kenney.

("Star Trek" purists will also know that Pike was preceded by Robert April as the captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701.)

Captain Pike made another appearance in the Kelvin Universe reboot movies "Star Trek" (2009) and "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013), portrayed by Bruce Greenwood.

It wasn't until Anson Mount helmed the Enterprise as Christopher Pike in the prequel series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" that the details of his origins were solidified in "Star Trek" canon. While it was already known that Pike hailed from Mojave, California (revealed in "The Cage"), there were conflicting accounts of his date of birth. With the new series, however, Pike's date of birth was narrowed down to the year 2205, born to parents Willa and Charles. He took over command of the Enterprise in 2250 from Captain April, and handed it over to Captain Kirk in 2265.

Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy was originally portrayed by DeForest Kelley in "Star Trek: The Original Series" (1966-69) and the subsequent "Star Trek" films I through VI (1979-91). He also appeared in the premiere episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in 1987. Later, the role was taken on by Karl Urban in the Kelvin timeline movies (2009, 2013, and 2016). As established in the original series and films, McCoy was born in Atlanta, Georgia to parents Eleanora and David on January 20th, 2227.

Dr. McCoy served on the Enterprise NCC-1701 from 2266 until its destruction in 2285, after which he retired. However, that was not the end, as he was convinced to return to service aboard the Enterprise NCC-1701-A ("Star Trek III: The Search for Spock"), staying until that ship was decommissioned in 2293. In his next on-screen appearance on "Star Trek: TNG," Dr. McCoy was a retired admiral and 137 years old (the year 2364).

Captain James Tiberius Kirk's origins have long been part of "Star Trek" canon, but at first it was only designated as being the state of Iowa. Armed with only this knowledge, a superfan (and council member) in Riverside, IA convinced the council (in 1985) to declare their town the official future birthplace of Captain Kirk. Creator Gene Roddenberry eventually acknowledged this, but it was not mentioned onscreen until the 2009 reboot "Star Trek" movie that Riverside was Kirk's hometown... only in that Kelvin timeline, Kirk was actually born on a shuttle in space. It wasn't until James Kirk appeared in Season 2 of "Star Trek: Brave New Worlds" (in 2023) and mentioned that he was born in Riverside that it officially became canon.

Official canon has Kirk's birthdate as March 22, 2233, even though the plaque in Riverside has the year as 2228. His parents were (will be?) Winona and George.

Kirk was originally portrayed by William Shatner, in "The Original Series" and the first six films with the original cast, as well as the transition film "Star Trek: Generations" (1994) which was the first film for the cast of "The Next Generation." Chris Pine took over the mantle for the Kelvin timeline reboot films (with a brief portrayal of Kirk as a youth by Jimmy Bennett), and Paul Wesley reprised the role in "Strange New Worlds."

"Star Trek" canon has Kirk serving as captain of the Enterprise NCC-1701 from 2265 until it was destroyed in 2285, followed by the NCC-1701-A until it was decommissioned in 2293. That same year, the Enterprise-B was launched, and Kirk was believed to have been killed when the ship was struck by a mysterious energy ribbon. Instead, he was pulled into the Nexus. When Captain Picard of the Enterprise-D finds Kirk in the Nexus and convinces him to leave, the onscreen death of Kirk is seen, taking place in the year 2371 (138 years after his birth).

Hikaru Sulu's character developed over time. Originally, he was meant to represent all Asian nationalities, and was only ever referenced as 'Sulu' during "The Original Series" and most of the original cast's movies. The name Hikaru was not bestowed upon Sulu until a 1981 "Star Trek" novel titled "The Entropy Effect." It wasn't until the name was mentioned in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" in 1991 that the name became official canon.

With that name came a narrowed heritage, and Sulu became officially of Japanese heritage, albeit American-born. While no specific date has been given, Sulu was born in San Francisco, California in the year 2237 to parents Yoshiko and Hosato. In his career, Sulu served aboard the Enterprise NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A until given command of the USS Excelsior in 2289. In that role, he renders assistance to Kirk during the events of "Star Trek VI."

Hikaru Sulu was originally portrayed by George Takei in "The Original Series" and first six movies (along with an appearance in "Voyager"), while John Cho took up the mantle for the Kelvin timeline reboot films.

Portrayed by Avery Brooks, Benjamin Lafayette Sisko was the commander of the space station Deep Space 9 during the seven-year run of the series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-99). As revealed during the series, Sisko was born in the year 2332 in New Orleans, Louisiana to parents Sarah and Joseph.

In his career, Sisko started out by joining Starfleet Academy in 2350, during which he met his wife, Jennifer. Before being assigned to DS9, Sisko was serving as first officer on the USS Saratoga when the Borg attacked at Wolf 359 (led by Captain Picard, assimilated as 'Locutus of Borg') in 2367. Two years later, Sisko (and his son Jake) was assigned to DS9.

Jonathan Frakes plays William Thomas "Will" Riker, the loyal first officer of Captain Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-94). Following the series, Riker also appeared in four "TNG" movies, and made further guest appearances in "Voyager," "Enterpise," "Picard," and voiced in the animated "Lower Decks."

Will Riker was born in Valdez, Alaska on August 19, 2335 to parents Betty and Kyle. He entered Starfleet Academy in 2353 and after graduating was posted to the USS Pegasus as the conn officer. Assignments on Betazed and on the USS Potemkin and USS Hood eventually led to the offer of command of the USS Drake in 2364, but Riker chose instead to serve as first officer aboard the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D. His tenure would last until 2379 and the events of "Star Trek: Nemesis" when he was promoted to captain and took command of the USS Titan. Some of his exploits during his time as Captain of the Titan were shown in "Lower Decks."

In "Star Trek: Picard," Riker's former captain finds him (in the year 2399) semi-retired from Starfleet (still on reserve), and he ends up returning to temporary active duty as captain of the USS Zhang He, followed by a full return to Starfleet in 2401.

Kathryn Janeway, portrayed by Kate Mulgrew, was born in Bloomington, Indiana on May 20th, 2336. There is some ambiguity as to the birth year, with different estimates and indications ranging from 2328 to 2344, but more recent indices have settled on 2336, including the non-canon book, "The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway."

Janeway began her Starfleet career in 2353 - in the same class as Will Riker - and graduated in 2357 as an ensign. Her first post was as a science officer aboard the USS Al-Batani, followed by taking on the role of first officer on the USS Billings and commanding officer of the USS Bonestall before accepting the captaincy of the USS Voyager in 2371. After the ship's inadvertent trip to the Delta Quadrant and their successful return, Janeway was promoted to vice admiral and given a posting to Starfleet Command.

Portrayed by Garrett Wang, Harry Kim was born on an unspecified date in the year 2349 in the town of Monterey, South Carolina to parents Mary and John. He joined Starfleet in 2366 and graduated in 2370 as valedictorian of his class. Unfortunately, his first posting ended up being on the ill-fated USS Voyager in 2371. And, despite his excellent performance as operations officer during that voyage, he remained an ensign the whole time.

According to the animated series, "Star Trek: Prodigy" (2021-23), Kim had finally achieved a higher rank (Lieutenant) and was serving aboard the USS Dauntless as its tactical officer in the year 2384.