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People in History A-Z #1

Can you name these important historical figures whose names start with each letter of the alphabet?
Quiz by
Geoguy
Featured Quiz
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Last updated: September 3, 2020
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First submittedFebruary 27, 2015
Times taken98,536
Average score69.2%
Rating4.63
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Letter
Hint
Answer
A
Greek inventor who cried "Eureka!"
Archimedes
B
A country in South America is named for this revolutionary
Simón Bolívar
C
Roman dictator who was stabbed on the Ides of March
Julius Caesar
D
Author of "Oliver Twist" and "A Tale of Two Cities"
Charles Dickens
E
German scientist famous for the theory E=mc²
Albert Einstein
F
American founding father depicted on the $100 bill
Benjamin Franklin
G
Indian pacifist who led India to independence
Mohandas Gandhi
H
He successfully predicted that a comet would return in 1758
(sadly, he did not live to see it)
Edmund Halley
I
Spanish Queen of Castille who married the King of Aragon
Isabella I of Castille
J
Founder of Christianity, crucified by the Romans
Jesus Christ
K
American President assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald
John F. Kennedy
L
Protestant reformer who nailed 95 theses on a church door
Martin Luther
M
Italian artist who painted the Sistine Chapel and sculpted David
Michelangelo
N
British admiral who won the Battle of Trafalgar
Horatio Nelson
O
Roman poet who wrote "Metamorphoses"
Ovid
P
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Incan Empire
Francisco Pizarro
Q
Norwegian WWII leader who collaborated with the Nazis
Vidkun Quisling
R
Dutch Golden Age painter of "The Night Watch"
Rembrandt van Rijn
S
British playwright who wrote "Hamlet" and "Macbeth"
William Shakespeare
T
Egyptian pharaoh whose tomb was discovered by Howard Carter
Tutankhamun
U
Pope who called for and launched the First Crusade
Urban II
V
Italian explorer and cartographer, namesake of two continents
Amerigo Vespucci
W
Brothers who invented the airplane
The Wright Brothers
X
Persian emperor who failed to conquer Greece
Xerxes
Y
First democratically-elected President of Russia
Boris Yeltsin
Z
Iranian prophet who founded a religion named after him
Zoroaster
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100 Recent Comments
kalbahamut
+17
Level 79
Jun 14, 2015
I would have gone with Qin Shi Huang.
ADeljaj
+7
Level 67
Jun 15, 2015
I have heard of quisling as he is the other famous traitor other than Benedict Arnold. I have never, on the other hand, heard of Qin What Who?
camus
+14
Level 80
Sep 3, 2020
I have heard many times of Qin (who is merely one of the most important people in Chinese and world history) but didn't get Quisling.
ChrisInAfrica
+1
Level 24
Jun 16, 2015
Yes! Quin Shi Huang!
Liopleurodon
+10
Level 66
Jun 27, 2015
How does anyone not know about Qin Shi Huang? It makes me sad that people know so little about Chinese history.

*Sigh*

kalbahamut
+2
Level 79
Jul 15, 2016
this^. Read a book, people.
TheCrusher
+17
Level 70
Mar 27, 2018
Which book? There are several...
kalbahamut
+2
Level 79
Jun 17, 2018
Any good book about ancient Chinese, Asian, or world history should mention him.
joeythelemur
+2
Level 80
Sep 8, 2020
Plenty of people know about Chinese history, but apparently not the right people.
mikeb
+2
Level 65
Jun 14, 2015
Woulda got 100% but couldn't place the second "X" in Xexses!
mikeb
+6
Level 65
Jun 14, 2015
Note that I still got it wrong!
GhostRider
+1
Level 35
Dec 6, 2015
Noted. ;)
SirPhilippines
+1
Level 73
Jun 3, 2021
I won because recently we talked about Greece in social studies.
YantheMan
+1
Level 66
Jun 14, 2015
Ameriggo Vespucci has nothing named after him. That would be like naming Bolivia Simonia instead of Bolivia. Nothing is ever named after a guy's first name.
YamatoFans
+36
Level 73
Jun 14, 2015
I really wish this message board had a thumbs down for my reply to your note. Maybe Google Amerigo Vespucci and learn a couple things.
IvanTheNorse
+5
Level 55
Jun 20, 2015
This is a somewhat ironic statement, since anyone who had done research on the naming of the Americas would know that there is a bit of controversy and uncertainty as to who or what they are named for. There is an argument in favor of it coming from the Scandinavian phrase 'Amt Eric', which means 'the district of Eric' or 'the domain of Eric'. Or it could be from the Old Norse word 'ommerike' meaning 'farthest outland'.

One of the more promising theories is actually that it was named after Richard Ameryk, who owned the ship that John Cabot used in his exploratory voyages to the coasts of North America in 1497.

There is also the small issue that naming conventions of the time essentially dictated that lands should only be named after the given name in honor of royalty. Hence Virginia, Maryland, Jamestown, Georgia, and so forth.

Not to mention that Amerigo Vespucci's given name was actually Alberigo, and there is no record of him going by Amerigo until after the continents were named.

Arp2600
+33
Level 89
Jun 17, 2018
Americas have been named that way for the first time on the Waldseemüller map in 1507. The author of the map explicitely explained in his notes that it was in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. There is NO controversy about the naming of the continent, not among serious historians I mean.
EcceHomo
+7
Level 85
Oct 26, 2020
Utter nonsense. There are many places named for people's first names: Georgia after King George II, St Lucia named for St Lucy of Syracuse, Mauritius for Prince Maurice of Nassau, Florida named for Florence Griffith Joyner, it's a seemingly endless list...
NEGeo
+1
Level 65
Oct 26, 2023
one of these things is not like the other
SirPhilippines
+2
Level 73
Jun 3, 2021
Here. Watch Map Men.
amm14
+4
Level 67
Jun 15, 2015
You're right, it's just a huge coincidence.
ADeljaj
+2
Level 67
Jun 15, 2015
Youre so right. There sooooo many people named Amerigo and America in the 15th century.
ankra
+1
Level 63
Jun 17, 2015
Mennonites are named after Menno Simons. They're not Simonites. Granted they're a people group, not a country.
blinky
+2
Level 57
Jan 1, 2017
Well, once they are simonized...
Baltimorean
+1
Level 66
Jun 17, 2018
Or, God help us, Simoniacs, who sell the church's property for private gain. Dante reserved a separate place in the eighth circle of hell for them.
divantilya
+4
Level 36
Mar 9, 2020
How about Louisiana, (King Louis of France) Solomon Islands, (Biblical King Solomon) Philippines, (King Philip of Spain) ...
iuvas
+1
Level 99
Sep 4, 2020
and North and South Carolinas too are named from king Charles I of England (ok it was his son who named them so, but anyway...)
tshalla
+1
Level 78
Sep 5, 2020
Mennonites. Named after Menno Simons.
Elan
+1
Level 66
Jun 16, 2015
I already made two quizzes like this with a third one on its way and I thought it was my idea. Very few answers are the same on mine, so I would love it if you checked them out. Also, Nazis doesn't have and apostrophe.
Elan
+1
Level 66
Jun 16, 2015
an*
Geoguy
+4
Level 71
Jun 28, 2015
Sorry about that. If I would've known that this quiz had already been made by you, I wouldn't have made it.
GhostRider
+4
Level 35
Dec 6, 2015
Dude, it's fine. Do you have ANY idea how many quizzes have been repeated or even duplicated on this site?
arewethereyet421
+1
Level 14
Jun 16, 2015
18/26 ( 69% ) I'm 12.
KoljiVriVoda
+1
Level 81
Aug 11, 2015
100% :)
Djilas
+1
Level 86
Apr 10, 2017
Quite easy.
Arp2600
+3
Level 89
Oct 11, 2015
Could you please correct the Einstein question by saying "equation E=MC²" (with an exponent ², not a 2) or "theories of relativity"?
MilanIsNotTheBaws
+2
Level 60
Nov 17, 2015
I don't think it a mistake so much as not knowing how to create ²

For the original quiz maker - Holding down "Alt" and pressing 253 on the number pad will give you the correct ²

Arp2600
+2
Level 89
Jun 17, 2018
It is an exponent now, but the question is still incorrect. E=MC² is an equation, maybe a principle (of mass-energy equivalence), but not a "theory". By the way, it really annoys me that Einstein's work is always reduced to that petty equation in the media. I mean, it was an important fact to realize that mass is a form of energy, but the theories of relativity are huge conceptual leaps in the understanding of the universe.
sergeantmalice
+2
Level 56
Jun 20, 2022
sorry we're not masters of science your lordship
MBAMatt
+2
Level 82
Oct 29, 2015
Isabelle?
catie09
+4
Level 87
Dec 3, 2015
Geoguy, I will bake you chocolate chip cookies if you take the apostrophe out of plural "Nazi's." Pleeeeease?
YantheMan
+3
Level 66
Feb 20, 2016
Nothing is named after Amerigo Vespucci. Look it up.
Djilas
+11
Level 86
Sep 3, 2020
See above comments
Elan
+2
Level 66
Mar 15, 2016
Check out my Scientists in History A-Z quiz: http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/125460/scientists-a-z
pitzikat
+1
Level 75
May 2, 2016
How annoying . . . I knew it was Pizarro, but kept trying to spell it with an S, as in the painter.
blinky
+9
Level 57
Jan 1, 2017
Pablo Pissaro?
Arp2600
+3
Level 89
Jun 17, 2018
I hope you were joking. Camille Pissarro has made some of the prettiest impressionist paintings. On the other hand, I think I hate Picasso's work a little more every day :p.
WashingMachine
+1
Level 67
Mar 4, 2021
No, Camille Pissarro was a French impressionist painter.
chondrichthyess
+1
Level 60
Mar 24, 2017
Some of these people are remembered for liberating countries and freeing millions of people, discovering new uncharted continents or revolutionizing entire fields of science. Others wrote some random book or painted a picture....
Arp2600
+10
Level 89
Jun 17, 2018
If that is you opinion about art, then you must be a dull person...
camus
+3
Level 80
Sep 3, 2020
Einstein would definitely agree that art is valuable.
TravelingMama
+7
Level 72
Sep 3, 2020
The only authors mentioned, Dickens, Shakespeare, and Ovid, didn't exactly write "random books."
InterAlia
+2
Level 83
Mar 16, 2023
Some of these people are remembered for creating incredible works of meaningful art and literature, opening whole new worlds to the human imagination. Others made it their life's work to subjugate, conquer and kill their fellow humans.
Jarl5
+1
Level 69
Apr 25, 2017
Missed Ovid and Zoroaster. I would have gone with Zulu for the Z question.
DapperAlpaca
+6
Level 42
Jun 17, 2018
Zulu isn't a person though.
NCsupercade
+1
Level 54
Jun 17, 2018
Right. Zulu refers to a tribe. Chaka was the name of their leader and Chaka Zulu was the name of the miniseries.
BlackLab
+2
Level 66
Jun 18, 2019
Shaka
Panifex
+1
Level 27
Jun 17, 2018
I would have done Zeno, although Zoroaster is fine.
NCsupercade
+1
Level 54
Jun 17, 2018
Good quiz!
jabegy
+1
Level 27
Jun 17, 2018
I got Quisling, but missed Franklin and Pizzaro, and couldn't spell Zoroaster right.
blackpanther
+1
Level 26
Jun 22, 2018
can you accept Izabella?
EytanMelech
+1
Level 66
Mar 19, 2021
no
danvan
+1
Level 43
Jun 25, 2018
Agreed, the question should be "German scientist famous for the theory of relativity" - or even better, general and special relativity
divantilya
+4
Level 36
Oct 30, 2018
Such disagreement over the naming of the Americas after Amerigo Vespucci, yet every October 12th, the USA celebrates its non-discovery by a murdering, marauding, disease carrying mongrel without the slightest hesitation.
jmellor13
+4
Level 68
Sep 7, 2020
There has been plenty of "hesitation" about this from an increasingly large segment of the population in the US. Maybe look up "Indigenous People's Day," which, as it happens, is on the same day as Columbus Day. Moreover, hardly anyone "celebrates" Columbus Day. Nobody has Columbus Day dinner with their family or anything. At most, it's a day off. The only people still defending it are those that have a reflexive opposition to anything "PC," no matter how foolish it makes them look. Speaking of which, for someone who is constantly needling the ignorance of Americans, your comments are Americans are very often...well, ignorant.
rmaraujo20
+3
Level 23
Jan 18, 2019
The Wright brothers did not invent the airplane, it was a brazilian, Santos Dumont, who did it before them
Malbaby
+3
Level 70
Mar 26, 2019
Nobody as such 'Invented' the aeroplane, it was an accumulation of facts, trials, theories and failed attempts by people from all over the world. Gliders had been flown carrying people and engines had been attached to gliders etc. but rhe power of the engines compared to their weight had let them down. The Wright brothers succeeded in flying a powered aircraft first and that is their fame.
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Sep 3, 2020
Almost no one ever invented anything. But the Wright Brothers really did invent the airplane.

The first flight at Kitty Hawk was not really that big of a deal. Had it stopped there. But it didn't. The Wright Brothers made huge improvements over the next few years and by 1906 were building planes capable of freely maneuvering and flying for over a hundred miles.

Meanwhile, in Europe, people had seen various gliders and other airplane-like things. They were very skeptical of the Wright Brothers. That skepticism was utterly shattered in 1908 when the Wright Brothers came to Paris and demonstrated their Model A plane. French aviator Léon Delagrange saw their remarkable achievements and said "we are beaten".

Claims about Santos Dumont or other aviation pioneers being first are just silly.

kalbahamut
+1
Level 79
Mar 26, 2019
I never heard this particular incorrect claim of who invented the airplane before. I've heard several other equally incorrect claims, though.
Bringitonlarsons
+1
Level 94
Sep 7, 2020
Fale mano!
RachelB2022
+1
Level 66
Oct 12, 2019
Could you accept Isabel for Isabella, as that is a very Americanized translation
TurkeyCookTime
+1
Level 85
Nov 17, 2019
Why are some of the letters for last names (E = Albert Einstein) but some are for first names (J = Jesus Christ)? Be consistent
Quagga50
+10
Level 81
Mar 9, 2020
Christ is a title, not a last name. Jesus isn't really a first name in this context; it's the only name, just like a handful of other answers in this quiz. So, the quiz is fine.
mattBk
+1
Level 74
Sep 6, 2020
Jesus or Jesus of Nazareth would be more neutral.

There is no consensus that he was Christ, i.e. the messiah.

Lilylee
+3
Level 79
Jun 13, 2020
At least there's one woman mentioned in this quiz, good job!
keto989
+1
Level 55
Nov 11, 2021
that has nothing to do with anything
InterAlia
+1
Level 83
Mar 16, 2023
Well, it isn't exactly random chance. It has something to do with something. Apparently it's a subject well above you though, so I'll save my energy.
MayaB
+3
Level 73
Sep 3, 2020
I only missed Q. I googled him and now I know one more interesting thing. That's why I like Jetpunk quizzes, you can always learn something. :)
HectorVortac
+1
Level 47
Sep 5, 2020
I didn't find an American until the letter F, was getting insecure.

(yes, I know Einstein could count, too)

zakatan
+2
Level 65
Sep 5, 2020
Just wanted to note that there's a single woman in the list, and her notable action is getting married, although she was the one that funded Columbus' expeditions among other things.
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
Sep 6, 2020
That's history for ya.
EmeraldOracle
+1
Level 72
Feb 3, 2021
Yes, it is sad that only one of 26 is a woman.
burtviile
+2
Level 94
Sep 7, 2020
Missed Q, while I was thinking of Norm and Letterman the whole time! Now I know where that word comes from.
BobSaget
+2
Level 76
Sep 8, 2020
Don't you mean the only democratically elected president of Russia?
Lilylee
+3
Level 79
Oct 7, 2020
Back in October 2020!

Why don't you just remove Isabel and replace her with Isaac from the Bible and make this "Men in History?

E22G
+1
Level 67
Dec 2, 2020
Ahh yes! Ben Franklin the first and greatest president of the United States! What a man, he created electricity and freedom
InterAlia
+2
Level 83
Mar 16, 2023
What?
HeyItsMeJJ
+1
Level 65
Apr 3, 2021
Bit of a technicality but there are actually two South American countries named after Bolivar. The full name of Venezuela is the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Plus of course Bolivia. Just a nitpick.
comradecora
+2
Level 69
May 5, 2021
yeltsin was not democratically elected, they admitted to rigging it so the communist party wouldn't win
ItzIngenious
+1
Level 66
Aug 13, 2021
Th Wrights did not invent the airplane. Look it up.
InterAlia
+2
Level 83
Mar 16, 2023
See older comments above.
icomerford
+1
Level 33
May 6, 2022
Cannot forget Quisling! Was charged unlike Phillipe Petain, shows some bias to wards the french I feel. There was a very good talk at the Oxford Union about the life of Petain and while he may have had mental issues I would overall still feel that Petain deserved the punishment of Quisling.
DukeOfLorraine
+1
Level 67
Mar 4, 2023
Pétain was condemned after the war and stripped of all his military grades, though out of respect for the commander he had been (he was decisive at Verdun) and due to his age, De Gaulle made sure the sentence wasn't too harsh
BigDixShrek
+2
Level 58
Dec 2, 2022
quisling norwegian traitor scum
JFM01
+2
Level 56
Mar 12, 2023
Only got Quisling because Nigel Farage once called Ed Miliband a Quisling in the EP.
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 79
May 7, 2023
24, missed Ovid and Quisling
Giran
+1
Level 57
Aug 29, 2023
It was Santos Dumont who invented the airplane. ;-)
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Aug 29, 2023
So cute.
XeryusTC
+1
Level 66
Jul 4, 2024
Please add "Jezus" as an alternative spelling, that is how it is spelled it some parts of the world.
Atelius
+1
Level 65
Feb 4, 2026
In reality, Yeltsin was not democratically elected
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