Historical People Mix Trivia

1. Who is credited with the phrase "A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic"?

From Quiz Despot Calling the Kettle...

Answer: Josef Stalin

Josef Stalin (1878-1953) was the leader and dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from the late 1920s until his death. He took part in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and later rose to become General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1922. Under his leadership, the Soviet Union went from an agrarian society into an industrial and military superpower. However, he ruled by terror and, between 1934 and 1939, orchestrated "The Great Purge" where his enemies were imprisoned, exiled or executed. He is said to be responsible for the deaths of about 20 million people - that is some statistic!

From Quiz Then I Saw Her Mace

Answer: Anne Bonny

Anne Cormac's father was a failed lawyer, and then a successful merchant in South Carolina. In her early teens she married the pirate James Bonny. That part of her life did not go well either and she ended up in the Bahamas where she married "Calico Jack" Rackham, a successful pirate. Finally captured, Rackham and most of his crew were hanged. Bonny was spared death only because she was pregnant at the time.

From Quiz My Beloved Traitor...

Answer: James I

Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators were ardent Catholics and opposed King James' policies that favored the Protestants. They planned to put Princess Elizabeth, a Catholic, to the throne. Their conspiracy was revealed when an anonymous letter reached William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle warning him to stay away from the Parliament. Monteagle gave the letter to King James, who ordered an investigation.

From Quiz Hitler and Stalin and Mao, Oh My!

Answer: Adolf Hitler

Stalin, Mao and Lenin could have said that, too. But Hitler did, and that sheds quite a light on who he really was, doesn't it?

From Quiz Lies, Lies, and More Lies

Answer: Charles Ponzi

Arriving in America in 1903 from Italy, Carlo (Charles) Ponzi lived in the U.S. and Canada using a scheme that promised large returns on investments but which used the money of later investors to pay back the original ones. The "Ponzi Scheme" worked for over a year in the early 1920s before it collapsed. He had cheated people out of an estimated $20 million.

From Quiz Smart People Doing Dumb Things

Answer: Pepsi

Caleb Brabham established the company in 1902 and patented his recipe a year later. The company filed for bankruptcy on December 8, 1931, the first of a few opportunities for Coca-Cola to buy up their rival. Instead, Charles Gulth bought the brand, and used the candy company he owned to rebuild the taste of Pepsi.

From Quiz If Historical Figures Had Twitter 3

Answer: Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968) was the first human to travel to outer space and return safely to Earth after completing an orbit. He never went into space again and died with Vladimir Seryogin while on a jet training flight.

From Quiz If Historical Figures Had Twitter 2

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

April 14th, 1865 is an infamous date in history. Lincoln's bodyguard left the theatre during the intermission to have a drink in the bar next door. Had he not done so, who knows how history could have changed?

From Quiz Assorted Failures and Wrong-Doings

Answer: Ashoka

Ashoka (304-232 BCE) ruled nearly all of the Indian sub-continent at the height of his power, having subdued much of it in brutal wars. After the appalling bloodshed involved in conquering Kalinga he converted to Buddhism, believing that non-violence was the answer instead of war.

From Quiz Once They Were Famous

Answer: Liverpool

Fame or infamy? Slavery in its various forms has been part of mankind for millennia. During the 18th century Liverpool and Bristol set up the 'triangular trade' where ships left the Britain for Africa with goods which were exchanged for slaves. The slaves were taken to the Caribbean and sugar and rum brought back on the return leg. Towards the end of the 18th century, 80% of the country's and 40% of the world's slave trading ships passed through Liverpool. Slavery was outlawed throughout most of the British Empire by the UK Parliament in 1833.

From Quiz Famous #1s and Lesser Known Facts

Answer: Tenzing Norgay

Tenzing Norgay was born about May 1914 and died May 9, 1986. His actual birth name was Namgyal Wangdi, but he was commonly referred to as Sherpa Tenzing. He was a Nepalese Indian Sherpa mountaineer and was born in Khumbu, Nepal. He was one of many porters and local support crew for the 1953 expedition led by Brigadier Henry Cecil John Hunt (Baron Hunt), a British army officer. Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (July 20, 1919-11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, adventurer, explorer and philanthropist. Both Hillary and Hunt were knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on June 6, 1953, in recognition of their famous ascent.

From Quiz Usurpers Unite

Answer: Ur

Ur is found within the country of modern-day Iraq. It was once a city that sat at the mouth of the Euphrates river on the edge of the Persian Gulf. It is located 16km from Nasiriyah and is now inland south of the Euphrates. It is thought to have been founded around 3800BC and abandoned around 500BC. It was one of the most important cities of its time.

From Quiz What's In Davy Jones Locker?

Answer: Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi's political career began with an unofficial position - as an assistant to her father, Jawaharlal Nehru (the first Prime Minister of India). In addition to her role as Prime Minister, she held several other posts beginning with her appointment as Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 1964. There followed other offices, including her election in 1966 as only the second woman in the world to lead a government. She was assassinated in 1984, by two of her own bodyguards.

From Quiz Name Them

Answer: Mozart

His full baptismal name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. However, he is generally known as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but in his lifetime variants were sometimes used.

From Quiz Historical Children, or Who was that kid?

Answer: George Washington

The story of Washington chopping down the cherry tree is considered to be apocryphal. The story first appeared in Mason Weems' biography, published after Washington's death. However, true or not, it is certainly indicative of the President-to-be's personality. Question by MargW

From Quiz Flashbacks!

Answer: World War I

The trenches of World War I were often muddy and waterlogged, and the soldiers could stand in them for hours. This led to a condition known as "Trench Foot" which was caused by cold, wet, dirty conditions. The skin would gradually numb then turn red or blue, and the condition often led to gangrene and amputation. In the early years of the war it was so bad that it was estimated around 20,000 men were treated for the condition in the winter of 1914/15. By early 1915 soldiers were under orders to have a minimum of three pairs of socks with them in the trenches, and to clean and dry their feet at least twice a day. The army also supplied a grease made from whale oil to coat the feet. It was estimated that a battalion would go through around 10 gallons of this concoction every single day they were in the trenches.

From Quiz Women Through the Ages

Answer: Mary Wortley Montague

Since its introduction, more and more people were inoculated against smallpox. (This differed from Jenner's vaccation which involved the use of cowpox, not smallpox itself). The UN World Health Organization states that smallpox had been eradicated all over the earth. The longer-term result of Mary's introduction of smallpox vaccines is the creation of vaccines for a host of deadly and deforming diseases including mumps, measles, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, and polio. Hundreds of millions of individuals owe their lives or their health to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.

From Quiz Fun History V: Who am I?

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon was exiled twice. First to Elba, quite a nice little place, and then to St Helena where he died.

From Quiz Who Came Second?

Answer: Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin was the commander of the Lunar Module that made the trip to the moon from the orbiting Command Module (piloted by Collins). He followed Armstrong down the ladder to be a close second.

From Quiz Despot Calling the Kettle...

Answer: Attila the Hun

Attila established the Hunnic Empire and ruled the Huns from 434 AD until his death in March of 453 AD in Hungary. The Roman Empire had already been weakened by the Visigoths, leaving Attila's forces able to decimate Roman cities and towns. He broke treaties, razed towns, killed civilians...and that was just before breakfast! Somehow, between all the fighting and conquering, he managed to meet a young woman named Ildico and, in 453 AD, they were married. Historian Will Durant wrote "He celebrated the wedding with an unusual indulgence in food and drink...he was found dead in bed beside his young wife; he had burst a blood vessel" and the blood choked him to death.

From Quiz Then I Saw Her Mace

Answer: Tru'ng

Tru'ng Trac and Tru'ng Nhi grew up in a military family during the first Chinese domination of Vietnam. When Trac's husband was killed (in 40 A.D.) the sisters raised an army of 80,000, including their mother and 35 other women whom they trained as generals. Vietnamese women had many more liberties at that time than in later years. The army drove the Chinese out, but after three years of fighting against superior numbers and weaponry, the Tru'ngs and their army were finally defeated.

From Quiz Hoons Who

Answer: Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly, son of Irish immigrants who settled in Victoria's high country, liked to portray himself as a victim of police harassment. Possibly because of the Australian tendency to sympathise with the underdog, and partly because of the corruption of some police officers, the legend of Ned Kelly and his gang has developed to the point where some have compared him to Robin Hood. In reality, he was a common thief and murderer. The Kelly Gang consisted of Ned and Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne, and Steve Hart. The four hid out the Wombat Ranges and eluded police from April 1878 until their capture in June 1880. During this time they created for themselves iron suits of armour. They were eventually captured after a siege in Glenrowan, Victoria.

From Quiz Hitler and Stalin and Mao, Oh My!

Answer: 600,000

It was the largest invasion in history. 600,000 is an astonishing number, but that's the number of tanks and vehicles Hitler used to invade the Soviet Union. And that's not all! In addition, for that same operation, the Nazis deployed: 4,3 million troops, 700,000 horses, 4,400 aircraft, 42,600 guns - a total of 183 divisions. Amazing!

From Quiz Lies, Lies, and More Lies

Answer: Piltdown Man

Bone fragments were "found" in a gravel pit in Piltdown, England in 1912. Charles Dawson, a member of the Geological Society of London, said a workman had given them to him a few years earlier. The remains, and others which Dawson subsequently found in the gravel pit, differed from modern humans in size and the jaw bone. There was immediate skepticism but it wasn't until 1953 that it was proven that the skull was constructed with parts of three distinct species: a human, an orangutan and a chimpanzee. Dawson is usually considered the chief forger but others, including Arthur Conan Doyle have been mentioned as having an interest in seeing the hoax continued.

From Quiz The Most Interesting Women in the World

Answer: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Elisabeth Beecher was born on June 14th 1811 in Litchfield, USA. She was introduced in literary circles as a young girl and married Calvin Ellis Stowe in 1836. They both were linked to organisations like Underground Railroad, fighting against slavery. In 1851 she wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin". The story follows the story of the title character, facing much cruelty in his life as a slave, but ultimately forgiving his tormentors. The book soon became a symbol in the fight against slavery.

From Quiz If Historical Figures Had Twitter 3

Answer: Queen Victoria

Victoria, Princess Royal, was born in 1840 and her brother, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, was born the following year. Their youngest sister, Princess Beatrice, was born in 1847. All three other ladies were married to men named Albert.

From Quiz If Historical Figures Had Twitter 2

Answer: Sir Robert Peel

During a long and distinguished political career, Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850) is remembered for the introduction of the Metropolitan Police Force in 1829, when he was Home Secretary.

From Quiz Assorted Failures and Wrong-Doings

Answer: Cuba

The invasion took place in Cuba on April 17th, 1961 and was mostly planned by the C.I.A. Much of the planning took place while Dwight D. Eisenhower was president (1953-1961). He was nervous about Fidel Castro's government and was keen to have Castro overthrown. The Soviet Union intercepted the message and passed it on to Cuba. The U.S. president who gave the actual go-ahead for the invasion was John F. Kennedy, who had succeeded Eisenhower in January 1961; and it was Kennedy who had to accept responsibility for the failed invasion.

From Quiz Once They Were Famous

Answer: Asbestos, Quebec

The word 'asbestos' comes from the ancient Greek for 'unquenchable'. The negative health effects of asbestos had been known for some time. However, with the help of a laboratory compromised by industry funding, the company operating the mine at Asbestos chose to dismiss claims concerning the effects on its workers. It took a visiting South African scientist turned whistle-blower in 1949 to bring the laboratory results out in the open. The mine has since closed. The open-cast mine at Asbestos is about two kilometres wide. Wittenoom was Australia's blue asbestos town and was shut down in 1966 due to health concerns. Radium Hot Springs takes its name after the presence of the radioactive element radium; a half hour dip in the hot springs will apparently do no lasting harm. Although Melphalan is carcinogenic, I have not found a place with that name.

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:51 AM

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