Famous Personalities Quiz Questions with Answers
1) The most famous European Traveller in the Far East, the Venetian made journeys through China, India and other eastern countries, visited the court of Kubla Khan. Name him.
Answer: Marco Polo.
2) Who was assassinated whilst sailing from the village of the Mullaghmore in Ireland in 1979?
Answer: Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
3) Who was the Moslem warrior who defended the Holy Land against the Christian Knights during the third crusade?
Answer: Saladin.
4) Which leader of the Russian Revolution became first Soviet Commissioner for Foreign affairs but was expelled from the Communist Party in 1927 and was assassinated in Mexico in 1940?
Answer: Leon Trotsky.
5) Chinese General, after Sun-Yat-Sen’s death, as commander of the Kuomintang army, he attempted to unite China; in 1949 retired to Formosa (Taiwan) after the victory of the communists. Who was he?
Answer: Chiang Kai-Shek.
6) Famous Italian navigator who begged the King and Queen of Spain for a ship to sail west to India but he discovered America in 1492. Name him.
Answer: Christopher Columbus.
7) Who was the deaf and blind American author who wrote such works as the ‘The Story of My Life’, ‘Out of the Dark’ and “Let us have Faith’?
Answer: Helen Keller.
8) Lord Howard of Effingham commanded the English fleet which repulsed the Spanish Armada invasion in 1588. Name two of his three seconds-in-command.
Answer: Drake, Hawkins and Frobisher.
9) English navigator, who made many voyages around the world, discovered the sandwich, Name him.
Answer: Captain James Cook.
10) He is the richest private individual for the 4th consecutive years in the world with a $62.25 billion fortune, president and CEO of Microsoft Corporation. Name him.
Answer: Bill Gates.
11) Sappho is the name of a poetess of ancient times. What was her language?
Answer: Greek.
12) Prime Minister of Pakistan who was removed from his post in a military coup (1977) by Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq whose government executed him. Who was he?
Answer: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
13) Sir Edwin Lutyens, Hug Casoon, Basil Spence and Frank Lloyd Wright were all leading exponents in which field of human activity?
Answer: They were all world-famous architects.
14) He was born in 1829 and was founder and first General of Salvation army. Who was he?
Answer: William Booth.
15) He was the last Saxon leader to hold out against the Normans. His base in the Fens was captured in 1071 but he escaped. His exploits were recorded by Kingsley. Who was he?
Answer: Hereward the Wake.
16) Which famous artist was born in the village of East Bergholt in Suffolk in 1776?
Answer: John Constable.
17) Queen of Great Britain and N. Ireland. She ascended the throne in 1952. Name her.
Answer: Elizabeth II
18) English physician, who discovered the mechanics of the circulation of blood in 1616. Name him.
Answer: William Harvey.
19) American clergyman, militant, non-violent civil rights leader and Negro integration leader, won the Nobel Peace prize in 1964. Name him.
Answer: Martin Luther King Jr.
20) London based actor who played the role of Gandhi in Richard Attenborough’s film ‘Gandhi’. Won best actor Oscar Award. Name him:
Answer: Ben Kingsley.
21) American foreign policy expert secretary of State 1973-77 and special advisor on national security affairs to President Nixon shared Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 with Lê Đức Thọ. Name him:
Answer: Henry Kissinger.
22) Name the American who founded Rotary International in 1905:
Answer: Paul P. Harris (1868-1947)
23) Indian founder of Jainism, which teaches the sacredness of all life. Name him:
Answer: Vardhamana Mahavira (6th century BC)
24) Argentinian football star, played for Italian club Napoli (1987-91). Famous for the ‘hand of God’ goal against England in 1986. Banned for 15 months for drug problems. He was a T.V. Commentator in the 1998 world cup. Name him:
Answer: Diego Maradona.
25) Who was the creator of Sculptures ‘The Kiss and The Thinker’?
Answer: Auguste Rodin.
Famous Personalities Quiz Questions Part 2
26) First black President of South Africa. He was imprisoned for about 27 years for fighting apartheid. Under his leadership, African National Congress led the South Africans to a non-racist democracy, won Bharat Ratna in 1990. Name him:
Answer: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
27) U.S. President 1981-88. Former TV & film star. Governor of California 1967-74. Name him:
Answer: Ronald Reagan.
28) Former Tanzanian President and popular African leader. Chairman South Commission. Name him:
Answer: Julius Nyerere.
29) Egyptian Statesman and leader of the Arab World. Deposed General Naguib (1954). Nationalized the Suez Canal (1956). One of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement. Name him:
Answer: Gamal Abdel Nasser.
30) One of the world’s best movie star belongs to Hongkong. Made 40 films since 1976, when he was touted as the new Bruce Lee. Name him:
Answer: Jackie Chan.
31) Who succeeded Litvinov as the Soviet Foreign Minister just before the Second World War?
Answer: Vyacheslav Molotov.
32) Who is mainly responsible for saving the peregrine falcon from extinction?
Answer: Tom Cade.
33) Who was known as the ‘The Wizard of Menlo Park?’
Answer: Thomas Alva Edison.
34) Who was the wife of Priam, king of Troy and mother of Hector?
Answer: Hecuba.
35) She entered into a pact with the Germans and French during World War I, thus acting as a double agent. She was executed when caught- in 1917. The name by which she became popularly known was as “The eye of the morning”. Who was she?
Answer: Mata Hari.
36) Director and title role actor of the 1945 film ‘Henry V’ knighted in 1947 and created a peer in 1970. Who was he?
Answer: Laurence Oliver.
37) Who was the first woman prime minister of a nation in the world?
Answer: Sirimavo Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka)
38) Who is the woman swimmer to have won the largest numbers of Olympic gold medals?
Answer: Kristin Otto.
39) In which field of human activity was Sir Mortimer Wheeler famous?
Answer: Archaeology.
40) Which Canadian newspaper magnate held important government offices in England during World War I and World War II?
Answer: Lord Beaverbrook.
41) Name the only woman who is known all over the world for her detective stories.
Answer: Agatha Christie.
42) Who was the first woman to be elected president of the U.N. Assembly?
Answer: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.
43) The ‘Iron man of India’. He was a leading freedom fighter and prominent Indian who worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi. He played a key role in the integration of India’s princely states with the union. The Deputy Prime Minister in the Nehru Government. Name him:
Answer: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950)
44) South American revolutionist called the Liberator. He founded Grand Colombia. Revered as a Latin American hero. Name him:
Answer: Simon Bolivar (1783-1830)
45) Former President of Bangladesh, founder of Bangladesh Nationalist Party in 1979 rode to power on November 7, 1975, through a coup. Name him:
Answer: Ziaur Rahman (1937-1981)
46) Who was the woman best known for her social work especially with the dying and the destitute?
Answer: Mother Teresa.
47) A former president of Pakistan was executed in 1979. What was his name?
Answer: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
48) The prince of which principality between Switzerland and Austria owns one of the finest private art collections in the world?
Answer: Liechtenstein.
49) He was a well-known jurist, statesman, social reformer and scheduled caste leader. The first Law Minister of free India 1947-1951. Name him.
Answer: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
50) He was the founder of the Boy Scout movement in 1908 and Girl Guides in 1910. Who was he?
Answer: Baden Powell.
Famous Personalities Quiz Questions Part 3
51) Name an Indian astronomer as well as famous mathematician of the 5th century A.D (476-520)
Answer: Aryabhata.
52) An Indian scientist who laid the foundation of nuclear service in India and was chiefly responsible for creating the atomic research establishment which is now named after him. He died in a plane crash of January 24, 1966. Name him.
Answer: Dr. Homi J. Bhabha.
53) She was the Queen of Egypt. Julius Caesar fell in love with her. After Caesar’s murder Mark Antony became her lover. When he was beaten in battle, she committed suicide. Name her.
Answer: Cleopatra.
54) Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the revolutionary hero, took part in guerilla wars in Cuba and was killed fighting Bolivian troops, but what nationality was he?
Answer: Argentinian.
55) The most famous American sailor was born in Scotland and became a Russian Rear-admiral before dying in Paris in 1792. Who was he?
Answer: John Paul Jones.
56) A Norwegian politician became a puppet leader of his country during World War II and his name became a byword for treachery. Who was he?
Answer: Vidkun Quisling.
57) He was a British marine, bridge and a railway engineer responsible for among other things, the Clifton suspension bridge and the ship called Great Western. Who was he?
Answer: Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
58) George Washington was the first American President of the United States of America. Who was the second?
Answer: John Adams.
59) He was a Spanish hero before he was 20, led a Spanish force against the Moors and drove them out of Spain. He is celebrated in poem and romance. Who was he?
Answer: Elcid.
60) Who was the great woman who won the Nobel Prize twice?
Answer: Marie Curie.
61) A woman of world renown gave her name to a system of spontaneous education for children. Name her.
Answer: Maria Montessori.
62) Name the first Asian woman to go to space?
Answer: Kalpana Chawla.
63) Name the first Indian to go to space?
Answer: Rakesh Sharma.
64) Name the great English landscape gardener who designed the grounds of Blenheim Palace and transformed the landscape of extensive areas of the United Kingdom during the 18th century.
Answer: Lancelot Brown.
65) She was an English actress who with her father rescued the crew of the ship Forfarshire which was wrecked on the Farne Islands on the north-east coast of England in 1838. Who was she?
Answer: Grace Darling.
66) He was a famous sailor born in Plymouth who in 1789, was cast adrift from the ship Bounty by his mutinous crew. Who was he?
Answer: Captain William Bligh.
67) A great Indian youth leader and one of the presidents of the Indian National Congress during World War II, he escaped from British detention in India and organized freedom fighters with Japanese help. He gained prominence for organizing I.N.A. Name him.
Answer: Subhash Chandra bose.
68) The founder of modern Communist Russia, responsible for the successful Soviet Revolution of October-November 1917. He was the head of the government from 1917-1924. Name him.
Answer: Lenin.
69) Comedian film star, born in London, he went to the USA in 1916. First international screen star with more than 50 years achievement ‘The Kid’, ‘The Gold Rush’, ‘City Lights’, ‘Limelight’ are some of his hit films. Name him.
Answer: Charlie Chaplin.
70) Name the first English printer and publisher.
Answer: William Caxton (1422-1491)
71) Portuguese navigator and commander of the first expedition (1519) to circum navigate the globe. Name him.
Answer: Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)
72) A great genius, one of the master artists of the high Renaissance, Italian, Man of Science who described himself as painter, architect, philosopher, poet, composer etc. Best known for his ‘Last Supper’ and ‘Mona Lisa’
Name him.
Answer: Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)
73) German religious reformer who began the Protestant Reformation. Name him.
Answer: Martin Luther (1483-1546)
74) King of France, longest reign (61 years) a despotic ruler, builder of Versailles. His exhausting wars weakened France. Who was he?
Answer: Louis XIV (1638-1715)
75) Scottish missionary and explorer in Africa, he discovered the course of the Zambezi, the Victoria Falls and Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi). Who was he?
Answer: David Livingstone (1813-1873)
Famous Personalities Quiz Questions Part 4
76) A Polish Physicist and chemist who is famous for her discovery of “radium’ and was awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. Name her.
Answer: Marie Curie.
77) A French peasant girl who is stated to have a vision for bringing glory to France. She inspired the French to drive the English out of Orleans. She was caught by the British and burnt as a heretic at Rouen. Name her.
Answer: Joan of Arc (1482-1531)
78) He was the king of Macedonia (Greece) conquered South-West Asia and Egypt, penetrated to India died at Babylon. Who was he?
Answer: Alexander the Great.
79) He was the President of Uganda in 1971-1979. He ordered the deportation of 45000 Asian residents in 1972. Notorious as one of modern Africa’s harshest dictators. Name him.
Answer: Idi Amin.
80) Palestinian President Leader of PLO from 1968. Head of al-Fatah, PLO’s largest guerilla group shared Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. Name him.
Answer: Yasser Arafat.
81) Great socialist thinker, he was the German founder of Modern International Communism, His famous work was ‘Das Capital’
Name him.
Answer: Karl Marx (1818-1883)
82) Democratic leader who became 42nd U.S. President (1993) re-elected in November 1996, became controversial in 1998. Name him.
Answer: William Jefferson Clinton.
83) French emperor and general, his brilliant victories over Austrians and Russians made him practically the master of Europe. Name him.
Answer: Napoleon I Bonaparte.
84) Who was the first US president?
Answer: George Washington.
85) The most celebrated German musician and composer, he settled in Vienna, his symphonies 9 in the number rank as the greatest ever written. Who was he?
Answer: Beethoven.
86) A well-known English physical scientist and mathematician who is generally known as the world’s greatest man of science. He became famous for his law of gravitation. Name him.
Answer: Sir Isaacs Newton.
87) Father of communist china, was chairman of the Communist Party of the people of Republic China. He raised China. Name him.
Answer: Mao Tse Tung.
88) President of India since July 1997. Vice-President during 1992-97. Joined the Foreign Service after graduating from London School of Economics. He was an ambassador to China, USA etc. Name him:
Answer: K.R. Narayanan.
89) India’s leading film music director. His album ‘Vande Mataram’ is a best seller. ‘DilSe’, ‘Roja’, ‘Bombay’ are some of his best films. Name him:
Answer: A.R. Rahman.
90) English dramatist and poet who ranks with Shakespeare and Marlowe as one of the three great Elizabethan playwrights. Name him:
Answer: Ben Johnson (1573-1637)
91) Name the first woman novelist who won the Nobel Prize for literature.
Answer: Pearl S. Buck.
92) Mary Ann Evans was a famous English novelist. By what name was she known?
Answer: George Eliot.
93) Who was the first woman to swim across English Channel?
Answer: Arati Saha.
94) Name the first woman who became an IPS officer in India?
Answer: Kiran Bedi.
95) Famous Australia cricket captain who holds the world record of 156 test matches, Captained his country 93 times. Name him?
Answer: Allan Border.
96) Name the woman who founded the Theosophical Society?
Answer: Helena Blavatsky.
97) He won national amateur billiards champion of India twelve times. Winner of three world titles. Name him:
Answer: Wilson Jones.
98) I want to be alone was which famous actress’s cry?
Answer: Greta Garbo.
99) I was the son of an Austrian Customs Officer and used to paint pictures, postcards in a slum in Vienna. I divorced my non-Aryan wife as I believed “God had created Germans to rule the world”. To whom is this attributed?
Answer: Adolf Hitler.
100) Name the woman who organized the modern system of nursing?
Answer: Florence Nightingale.
Famous Personalities Quiz Questions Part 5
101) Who was the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Wes Germany and was known as the architect of his country’s reconstruction after World War II?
Answer: Konrad Adenauer.
102) What is the name that links a national hero to a type of biscuit?
Answer: Garibaldi.
103) A famous actor is best known for the ‘Superman movies’. A horseback riding accident left him paralyzed. Who was he?
Answer: Christopher Reeve.
104) He had been called the father of Soviet literature and the founder of the doctrine of Socialist realism. A story writer, novelist and dramatist. Who was he?
Answer: Maxim Gorky.
105) He was an English engineer who devised new and improved methods of road making and bridge-building. He was blind too. Name him.
Answer: John Metcalf.
106) Who was the prime minister of Great Britain when Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936?
Answer: Stanley Baldwin.
107) Queen Salote reigned from 1918 to 1965 over which island kingdom?
Answer: The Kingdom of Tonga.
108) Gerardus Mercator, in the 16th century was famous for his work in what particular science or skill?
Answer: Mapmaking.
109) In which field of human activity did Jacob Epstein achieve fame?
Answer: Sculpture.
110) What was Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s maiden name?
Answer: Bowes Lyon.
111) Who was the most powerful woman president of Argentina?
Answer: Madame Eva Peron.
112) Who was the Keralite to become the President of the Republic of Singapore?
Answer: Devan Nair.
113) Who immortalized the ballet “The Dying Swan”?
Answer: Anna Pavlova.
114) Amerigo Vespucci visited Central America in AD 1499. Who was the other explorer with him?
Answer: Alonso de Ojeda.
115) What do Sir James Clark Ross, Sir Martin Frobisher, Henry Hudson, and Captain Scott have in common?
Answer: They were all British polar explorers.
116) Which British prime minister worked as a research chemist in industry before becoming a member of parliament in 1959?
Answer: Margaret Thatcher.
117) Who achieved the first solo Trans-Atlantic Flight?
Answer: Charles Lindbergh.
118) He was a German airman who originated the mobile fighter group of circus, he was known by the title the Red Baron.
Answer: Manfred von Richthofen.
119) Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British royal family. However, it was not built by any of the British kings. Who was its builder?
Answer: Duke of Buckingham.
120) Who contributed most to the ‘escape acts’ in Magic?
Answer: Harry Houdini.
121) Who was known as the “man of thousand faces”?
Answer: Lon Chaney.
122) He was 19th-century Member of Parliament who was responsible for introducing the bill in 1876 which made a loading line on ships compulsory. Who was he?
Answer: Samuel Plimsoll.
123) British States Man, He was Prime Minister in 1964-1966, 1966-1970, and 1974-1976. Who was he?
Answer: Sir Harold Wilson.
124) Soviet Statesman who for nearly 30 years was the leader of the Russian people, the outstanding figure after Lenin’s death. Name him.
Answer: Joseph Stalin.
125) English soldier, Statesman and leader of the Puritan revolution, He provoked English aversion to military rule. Name him.
Answer: Oliver Cromwell.
126) American astronaut, the first man to set foot on the moon on 21 July 1969. Name him?
Answer: Neil Armstrong.
127) She was a 19th-century English woman who won fame for introducing penal reform and improving prison conditions. Who was she?
Answer: Elizabeth Fry.
128) She was an Austrian princess and wife of Louis XVI of France. She was executed by French revolutionaries in October 1793. Who was she?
Answer: Marie Antoinette.
129) Who proposed the idea of Debt for Nature Swap, which is now catching up fast all over the world?
Answer: Thomas E. Lovejoy.
130) Film director of Italy, his film ‘Last Emperor’ won 9 Oscar’s in 1987. Name him.
Answer: Bernardo Bertolucci.
131) Chinese revolutionary statesman, administrator and diplomat, organized revolt in Shanghai in 1927, later formed close partnership with Mao-Tse-Tung, took part in the long march 1934-1935, becoming Prime Minister of the new China in 1949. Who was he?
Answer: Chou-En-Lai.
132) She was the wife of Prince Charles of Britain, but divorced later, died in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997. Name this remarkable woman who touched the hearts of people all over the world.
Answer: Princess Diana (1961-1997)
133) German inventor who invented printing with movable types cast in moulds. The earliest book printed by him was the ‘Mazarin Bible’
Name him.
Answer: Johannes Gutenberg.
134) New Zealand explorer who with Tenzing Norgay was the first to climb Mount Everest in 1953. Name him.
Answer: Edmund Hillary.
135) Brazilian soccer player, a world star at 17, he played in all four World Cup Championship Tournaments from 1958 to 1970, the first player ever to play in three World Championship Teams, retired in 1977. He served as a Sports Minister. Name him.
Answer: Pele.
