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40 Historical People that Everyone Should Know

Were you paying attention in history class? Name these famous historical figures!
Too easy? Try 30 Historical People You Probably Don't Know
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 9, 2019
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First submittedJune 21, 2012
Times taken951,091
Average score60.0%
Rating4.14
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Clue
Person
Wrote "Hamlet"
William Shakespeare
Killed on the Ides of March
Julius Caesar
Christian Messiah
Jesus
"Moonlight Sonata" composer
Ludwig van Beethoven
Invented the mechanical
printing press
Johannes Gutenberg
Started the Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther
First female Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom
Margaret Thatcher
Wrote "On the Origin of Species"
Charles Darwin
His "Great Leap Forward"
killed over 30 million
Mao Zedong
"Discovered" the New World
Christopher Columbus
Virgin Queen of England
Queen Elizabeth I
"Mona Lisa" painter
Leonardo da Vinci
Gave the "I Have a Dream" speech
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Discovered" the east coast
of Australia
James Cook
Lord Protector of England,
1653-1658
Oliver Cromwell
Greek who conquered Persia
Alexander the Great
Led his elephants across the Alps
Hannibal
"New Deal" President of the U.S.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Called the "Liberator" of
Latin America
Simón Bolívar
French woman who led troops
in the Hundred Years War
Joan of Arc
Clue
Person
First U.S. President
George Washington
First man on the moon
Neil Armstrong
Wrote "Great Expectations"
Charles Dickens
"Tao te Ching" author
Laozi
His laws of motion explain how
the planets move
Isaac Newton
U.K. Prime Minister during WWII
Winston Churchill
Wrote "Pride and Prejudice"
Jane Austen
She was the first deaf and blind
college graduate
Helen Keller
Creator of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain
First Soviet leader
Vladimir Lenin
Founder of Islam
Muhammad
Supposedly wrote "The Iliad"
Homer
Aviatrix who disappeared
over the Pacific
Amelia Earhart
French Emperor, 1804-1815
Napoleon
Father of the nation of India
Mohandas Gandhi
German WWII leader
Adolf Hitler
Battle of Trafalgar admiral
Horatio Nelson
U.S. Civil War President
Abraham Lincoln
Led the effort to create the first
practical light bulb
Thomas Edison
Refused to give up her bus seat,
in Montgomery, Alabama
Rosa Parks
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100 Recent Comments
PenguinTorpedo
+13
Level 49
Dec 30, 2020
The most blatant omission from this list is Genghis Khan in my opinion. Second place is Siddharta Gautama
ArisOBafiaris
+8
Level 44
Apr 23, 2022
There are countless other people he could have included you can’t really compare the importance of every historical figure. However I do agree that you can attribute to them a certain level of significance and that although the people within the same level are probably interchangeable, people of the highest level should be preferred for a quiz like this instead of far less significant figures like Helen Keller, Margaret Thatcher, Abraham Lincoln etc
CoopaWithAC
+3
Level 23
Apr 18, 2025
I would have liked to see Sun Tzu, Euclid, Yuri Gagarin, Mansa Musa, and Cleopatra on here
Widgaa
+13
Level 48
Feb 2, 2021
Surprised Einstein wasn't here.
Atzuul
+2
Level 43
Aug 9, 2022
Atleast newton was here
HendogJP
+4
Level 59
Feb 17, 2021
I always seem to mix up Lao-tzu (Laozi) with Sun Tzu, who wrote The Art of War, but not his time, I'm pleasantly surprised with how well I did. 38/40.
ZooTuber3000
+2
Level 52
Feb 19, 2021
I'd like to point out that there are a bunch of Napoleons. Only one is the one you're talking about-- Napoleon Bonaparte. Consider changing it (but accept "Napoleon).
embryo
+11
Level 31
Mar 10, 2021
"27 somewhat important white dudes and 13 others mostly whatever ppl that everyone should know"

How the heck Thatcher, Earhart and FDR made the list when there was no room for Genghis Khan and Einstein?

But at least Alexander Fleming isn't there because who needs penicillin when you can just listen to Für Elise.

Ferbin
+2
Level 78
Jan 28, 2025
Comparing Fleming to Beethoven is ridiculous, and denying the latter's importance is absurd.
vivadiablo
+6
Level 66
Mar 16, 2021
F Thatcher, burn any mention of her throughout history.
Usukhuu
+6
Level 36
Apr 19, 2021
Sorry but it feels like western propaganda like not including first man in moon (Yuri Gagarin), one of greatest leader (Chingis Khan), who made ex soviet countries democracy (Mikhail Gorbachew) and many more...
AlekHek
+14
Level 47
May 9, 2021
Gagarin was the first man in orbit/space, but Armstrong was the first man to land on the moon...
richiesyxx
+2
Level 73
Apr 22, 2024
Sorry, but it feels like Russian propaganda if you’re saying that Gagarin was the first man on the moon (or indeed if you think that any Russian or Soviet cosmonauts either orbited or landed on the moon - but to be clear, they haven’t).

I’d fully support the inclusion though, of one particular person born in the Soviet Union: Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Xtrordinary
+3
Level 72
Nov 16, 2024
Are they realy historical if they are still alive and doing things?
ornei
+4
Level 65
Jul 2, 2021
Could you take "Barca" for Hannibal?
LuigiDood227
+2
Level 70
Oct 27, 2021
Why won't you accept Simon Boliviar for Simón Bolívar?????
Lilylee
+7
Level 76
Oct 28, 2021
It's not his name?
Atzuul
+3
Level 43
Aug 9, 2022
Boliviar is not it’s name
Malbaby
+6
Level 70
Dec 1, 2021
I'm working on a similar quiz to stop the whinging "42,627 Historical People that everyone should know" should be ready in about 3 years.
stevediverse
+8
Level 88
Dec 26, 2021
I though there were 42,628. Who are you leaving out?
orange3472
+2
Level 70
Apr 16, 2024
Almost 2.5 years later, you should have at least 32,627 people finished...can't wait for the quiz!
AndrewD69
+4
Level 36
Dec 23, 2021
Alexander the Great was Macedonian, not Greek.
stevediverse
+7
Level 88
Dec 26, 2021
This has already been addressed in previous comments, but in the time of Alexander, Macedonians were Greeks. That's part of the stink that caused the modern day country to change its name to North Macedonia.
Batttt
+1
Level 28
Jan 24, 2024
Not true, Macedonians were never greeks. Alexander the Great and his father Phillip were fighting against the Hellens, and his empire was called Macedonian Empire. He was speaking ancient macedonian language. He was Macedonian and never greek. Even the greeks called the macedonians barbarians which was a term for people not belonging to one of the next civilizations: Greek, Roman, Christian.

Learn history before talking.

Amin1992
+1
Level 36
May 18, 2024
'Learn history before talking' says the person who doesn't know history.
DwigtSchrute
+3
Level 53
Jun 28, 2023
Macedonia is a prefecture of Greece. People from Northern Macedonia maybe now called "Macedonians" but birthplace of Alexander is in Greece, they praised Greek gods, they spoke Greek, they participated in Olympics. The Slavs that inhabit the country of North Macedonia are totally unrelated to them.
VeryCoolPerson
+3
Level 48
Feb 10, 2022
You know you famous if you on this quiz.
BlueMeanEyes
+6
Level 53
Mar 30, 2022
21/40 of these people are from either the US or the UK. How self-centered can one be ?
squidpsyco
+2
Level 60
Apr 9, 2022
It's because the US and UK are easily the most relevant countries in modern history, where most of these people lived.
ArisOBafiaris
+11
Level 44
Apr 23, 2022
Not even close to accurate. And even if it is do you think it’s proportionate to include more people from the last 200 years of our existence than the rest of written history? I can name at least 200 Greek and Roman writers, philosophers, mathematicians, politicians and military leaders who were way more significant in our evolution than half of the fore mentioned people. Take Lincoln for example; his only significance is to the US since the civil war only affected them and the results of the war weren’t particularly helpful in the progress of the human race as slavery had pretty much already been abolished in Europe (in theory at least).
Juicyjoseph
+3
Level 44
Jan 23, 2025
1. We're speaking English, and the quiz is in English. Of course this quiz is going to be most relevant to the major English-speaking nations.

2. Lincoln was perhaps the greatest president the US ever had, and the US is the most powerful country to have ever existed thus far. His influence on that nation alone earns him a mention, much like how many Greek writers were only locally-known at the time, yet had a broader impact due to the fame their nations brought.

flycc
+2
Level 84
Apr 10, 2022
Twain? Really? Is he one of more relevant authors ever?
kalbahamut
+4
Level 81
Jun 17, 2022
He is.
guiismiti
+3
Level 22
Apr 14, 2022
Einstein?
nerdalert
+2
Level 87
May 11, 2022
Helen Keller and Mark Twain?
swedishbob
+1
Level 46
May 13, 2022
why did only a few people get amelia airhart
Jeg333
+1
Level 43
Jun 9, 2025
Spelt it wrong, Erhardt, Erhart, Ehrhardt, Ehrhart.🤷🏻
yadoya
+4
Level 32
Jun 4, 2022
Alexander the Great was not Greek. He was Macedonian.
Inferno46
+3
Level 54
Jul 10, 2022
Which was a Greek kingdom at the time.
Batttt
+2
Level 28
Jan 24, 2024
No, it was literally Macedonian Empire.
Amdibajram56
+1
Level 28
Jan 14, 2025
but he loved both countries
bentshaggyoil
+1
Level 62
Nov 11, 2022
I got 35/40. Surprised not many people got Bolivar.

Other people I think should be here: Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, Suleiman the Magnificent

lamentowiec
+4
Level 54
Dec 17, 2022
who the heck is horatio nelson

very englishcentric quiz

Juicyjoseph
+1
Level 44
Jan 23, 2025
The quiz is in English, so...
worldtraveler
+2
Level 56
Feb 28, 2023
Let me see if I have this right 3.7% of the quiz takers got 100% of the people they SHOULD Know, however 6.7% know all 118 elements of periodic table.
cays
+1
Level 16
Mar 12, 2023
calling jesus christian messiah and mohammad "founder" of islam is weird but ok
XenoPlex9550
+1
Level 28
Mar 15, 2023
I don't think it's wrong for someone from the US to include mostly American figures in this quiz (even though like half of them are European).
cmr0
+5
Level 73
Apr 26, 2023
One of the most debatable quiz on Jetpunk. So many wrong people here and so many people that are missed. Especially Rosa Parks, who the f is she?
cmr0
+8
Level 73
Apr 26, 2023
I think, there are much more people that deserved to be among the 40 people rather than Rosa Parks, Horatio Nelson or Amelia Earrhart. They are so insignificant compared to major world leaders or philosophers. Maybe you just need to make the quiz bigger, but firstly, you need to remove insignificant figures
Laosmouse
+3
Level 44
May 15, 2023
I look at this as "who impacted society the most" and in ways others might not have done.

Black America has a whole host of "was the first to..." figures. In terms of their actual accomplishments, very few of them were significant (sitting on a bus). Rosa Parks beating out Einstein on this list is just remarkable.

dabonyourhaters
+2
Level 33
May 16, 2023
Newton question is slightly misleading as Johannes Kepler is the namesake for the specific laws of planetary motion.
PugnaciousT
+1
Level 62
Oct 4, 2023
Agreed. I put Kepler first before falling back on Newton.
AustinDAGeek
+1
Level 14
Jul 3, 2023
Im So Clueless i Got 71% Help Me
WilfriedKanon
+2
Level 24
Jul 27, 2023
bit anglocentric.
pctjunkie
+2
Level 91
Oct 6, 2023
Then make a quiz that isn't.
fvuckfendy
+1
Level 42
Aug 12, 2023
shakespeare more known than washington, da vinci, columbus, churchill, gandhi, newton, muhammad, napoleon, edison, lenin, beethoven, homer, alexander the great, caesar, mao zedong, hannibal, cook
mmontygerin
+2
Level 26
Aug 28, 2023
Jean d'Arc should be accepted for Joan of Arc as it's what we call her in France and it's her actual name.
Polarfox
+2
Level 22
Jan 19, 2024
Also how can someone put Edison but not Tesla? Just my thought
Batttt
+1
Level 28
Jan 24, 2024
Alexander the Great was Macedonian, not greek... Learn history before making a history quiz.
Cacku
+1
Level 36
Aug 1, 2024
The kingdom he ruled was Macedonia, but ethnically the Macedonian royal family was debatably Greek and Macedonian both. Alexander had both Macedonian blood from his father and Greek blood from his mother, so the answer isn't exactly that straight forward. The correct term here, I suppose, would be Hellenic.
jvon365
+4
Level 35
Feb 18, 2024
Here’s an idea. Instead of whining like a bunch of children, don’t do the quiz if you don’t like the content of it.
TrippySaturn
+1
Level 28
Feb 29, 2024
Hitler was from Austria, but you might mean that he was the leader of Germany.

And I typed 'jean darc', which I think should be accepted, as her name is Jeanne D'arc in French. I based my answer off the French name.

toolers
+1
Level 60
Apr 9, 2025
Hitler denounced his Austrian citizenship in 1925 and became a German citizen in 1932,so whilst he was born in Austria- he was in fact German throughout the war.
AndrewC
+2
Level 54
Apr 2, 2024
Stalin? Khan? Curie? Einstein? etc
ShievaAndGolly
+1
Level 58
Apr 26, 2024
Please give us more time!
carrasco10
+1
Level 32
May 8, 2024
Mao Zedong is undoubtly a great man. Stop insulting him. In an Atheism country, most of people regarded as the Sun. I adviced that you change this item.
JerryTham
+1
Level 28
Oct 11, 2024
Exactly. Despite the mistakes he made, His achievements are much bigger and more.
Juicyjoseph
+3
Level 44
Jan 23, 2025
Mao is responsible for the deaths of tens of millions, and for establishing one of the worst, most authoritarian governments in history. He deserves nothing but revulsion.
Yoshieisawsim
+2
Level 33
Mar 2, 2025
Ok but for comparison the Hitler description just says WW2 German leader, nothing about killing millions of people which he was even more responsible for (and famous for) than Mao. So there's clearly a bias here
Hollygomerryround
+2
Level 56
Jul 9, 2024
Wasn't Chamberlain also prime Minister during WW2?
Cacku
+1
Level 36
Aug 1, 2024
He was, until May 1940. The question should be rephrased to "most of WWII" or accept Chamberlain too. UK declared war on the Germans under Chamberlain's administration.
sjj93gg
+4
Level 55
Aug 31, 2024
The comments on this particular quiz are particularly entertaining: so much petty whining, taking the title of the quiz just a little too seriously... It's a light-hearted quiz on a fun website, not some definitive list that everyone really should know!
MalyJacus
+1
Level 59
Sep 25, 2024
Very western-centric. I would rename the quiz "Everyone in the USA should know"
JerryTham
+1
Level 28
Oct 11, 2024
Exactly.
JerryTham
+1
Level 28
Oct 11, 2024
I would say that you’re talented in geography, but not wise enough in history. You should not just think of Great Leap Forward when mentioned Mao Zedong while you highly praising Mrs. Thatcher, Winston Churchill and so on, but also recalled the achievements which is much more than the mistakes he made, including Maoism, being one of the founders of P.R.C, and a great leader of Chinese people and C.P.C. That method of commenting historical figures is Dialectical Materialism.
Juicyjoseph
+2
Level 44
Jan 23, 2025
He's responsible for the deaths of tens of millions. His "achievements" are already incredibly shallow, and when put up against the destruction he wrought, he deserves nothing but revulsion. Comparing him to Thatcher or Churchill is foolish, any mistakes they made pale in comparison to what Mao did.
Yoshieisawsim
+2
Level 33
Mar 2, 2025
True but if you're focusing on the deed they're most famous for rather than achievements, why is Hitler not "the holocaust" or something like that
Jeg333
+1
Level 43
Jun 9, 2025
The quiz isn't highly praising Thatcher or Churchill as far as I can tell, but I agree the description given for Mao Zedong is negative.
theZ
+1
Level 32
Dec 1, 2024
Can you add "Shakesphear" as a type-in for Shakespeare?
KaMa3
+1
Level 30
Dec 2, 2024
Edison stole Tesla's place in this quiz
dlf1203
+1
Level 60
Dec 24, 2024
Buddha?
Youngsterliam
+1
Level 52
Jan 7, 2025
Bungo Stray Dogs single handedly saved my knowledge on literature.
DavidSrbFr
+1
Level 48
Jan 7, 2025
Nikola Tesla, Mihajlo Pupin??? Bunch of people doubt Armstrong landed on the Moon, but the guy who discovered electricity is not here?
IvoRobotnik
+3
Level 50
Jan 11, 2025
Today on "People on the internet have too much time on their hands and not enough sense": People who don't understand that a list of 40 people can't have several thousand people on it and can't comprehend that the level of a person's historical importance is largely relative and subjective. (also a lot of people who greatly overestimate their own knowledge of Edison and Tesla!)

scroll the comments if you want a good laugh.

Karrotism
+1
Level 61
Feb 6, 2025
those sharing the weird reasons they remember specific guys are breaths of fresh air in this terrible complainer's column
Karrotism
+1
Level 61
Feb 6, 2025
the fact that i remember some of these guys because of epic rap battles of history...
slide12
+1
Level 48
Feb 16, 2025
Rosa Parks is on here and Einstein isn't? Confucius? Galileo? Abraham?
1233user
+2
Level 52
Mar 1, 2025
feels very western-centric...
Yoshieisawsim
+5
Level 33
Mar 2, 2025
Kind of ridiculous that Mao is mentioned for the millions he killed but no mention of Hitler killing people which he is arguably more famous for. Or even just "leader of the Nazi party". Calling him "Famous German WW2 leader" is washing his history a lot
zupermaus
+1
Level 40
Mar 9, 2025
The mechanical printing press was not invented by Gutenberg, but by Bi Sheng in China in the 10th century. The first metal mechanical printing press (the Chinese used porcelain) was later developed in Korea, 78 years before Gutenberg -the world's oldest book the Jikji, dates from 1377.
komorebi6371
+1
Level 33
Mar 29, 2025
The part about Mao Zedong is obviously vilifying. Why don't you choose a more representative event like the founding of PRC? You are even willing to write the clue of Hitler as German leader in World War II but not the Killer of 300,000 Jews even don't mention Nazi Germany
9876542
+1
Level 33
Apr 1, 2025
I misspelled Julius Caesar five separate times before the timer ran out :(
DerJosh13
+1
Level 38
Apr 9, 2025
the US bias is real; there´s no way more people know Rosa Parks than Hannibal, Alexander the Great or Lenin

And sorry, graduating college despite being deaf and blind is great and deserves respect, but there´s like 1000 people that have influenced the course of history WAY more

Evenultrapawn
+1
Level 57
Apr 25, 2025
Took 3 minutes, 100% - only 3.8% of takers get 40/40, I think that this is the hardest quiz on which I have got 100%!
Dewot4544
+1
Level 45
May 1, 2025
Earhart, the writers that aren't Shakespeare or Homer, Thatcher, and as much as I hate to play the guy down, Lincoln do not belong on this list when people like Qin Shi Huang, Buddha, Charlemagne and maybe the single most important figure in world history Genghis Khan are not on here.
Eduuuu13
+1
Level 43
Jun 2, 2025
I agree with you but i dont know about qin but if hannibal is here he could
Eduuuu13
+1
Level 43
Jun 2, 2025
Putting lincoln here isnt right for me, I mean he was just influential in the Us and it would be like putting just a civil war leader, if that is the thing they could even include benito juarez, or figueres ferrer
Eduuuu13
+1
Level 43
Jun 2, 2025
Could we include Einstein here I mean he made the theory of relativity newton is here and he isnt, and who is oliver cromwell?
Jeg333
+1
Level 43
Jun 9, 2025
The namesake of my house at school, haha.

He was the head of state for the short period of time when UK was a republic (between kings Charles I and II). But I agree, I wouldn't necessarily have expected him to be included in this list.

Eduuuu13
+1
Level 43
Jun 2, 2025
And instead of laozi i consider confucius is more influential
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