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History by Letter - W

Can you name these historical people, places, and things that begin with the letter W?
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Quizmaster
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Last updated: January 13, 2025
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First submittedJuly 31, 2014
Times taken107,281
Average score70.0%
Rating4.47
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Answer
Once known as "The Great War"
World War I
U.S. President during the above
Woodrow Wilson
German Kaiser during that same war
Wilhelm II
Battle where Napoleon was defeated for good
Waterloo
German who composed "The Ring", a cycle of four operas
Richard Wagner
Norman who conquered England in 1066
William the Conqueror
Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII
Cardinal Wolsey
Place where English monarchs are crowned and buried
Westminster Abbey
Irish writer who was jailed for having gay sex
Oscar Wilde
City burned by British troops in 1814
Washington D.C.
Beverage whose origin can be traced to Georgia c. 6000 BC
Wine
City with the first Covid-19 outbreak
Wuhan
City whose Jewish ghetto was razed in 1943
Warsaw
Inventors of the airplane
Wright Brothers
Name of the British royal family, since 1917
House of Windsor
Country conquered by Edward Longshanks in 1282
Wales
Germany, from 1919–1933
Weimar Republic
Nixon's big political scandal
Watergate
Scottish patriot drawn and quartered in 1305
William Wallace
Former liberal political party of the U.S. and Great Britain
Whig
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42 Comments
Tinu
+5
Level 41
Sep 10, 2014
Isn't it a usual practice to convert names of foreign monarchs to English (e. g. Catherine the Great of Russia or Good King Wenceslas?) Shouldn't you accept William II as a name for the German Emperor, then? Also, only two English monarchs got married in the Westminster Abbey - Henry I in 1100 and Richard II in 1382 (sic Wikipedia), whereas in more recent times, principal members of the Royal family usually wedded in chapels of various royal palaces (for example, Queen Victoria in St George's Chapel in Windsor). It has been only in the 20th century when Westminster Abbey became a popular wedding venue for some (British, not English) Royals - no king or queen, though. Otherwise, a very nice quiz!
kalbahamut
+31
Level 79
Nov 11, 2014
It's not a usual practice it's just an arbitrary quirk of popular custom. Tsars Nikolai, Yketerina, Aleksandr and Piotr are almost always changed to Nicholas, Catherine, Alexander and Peter. Willem of Orange is changed to William. Salah ad-Din is bastardized into "Saladin," etc.

but on the other hand, Charlemagne is never called Charles the Great, Suleiman the Magnificent is not Solomon, Francisco Franco is not called Francis, Louis does not become Lewis, and Kaiser Wilhelm is not Cesar/Emperor William.

There's no rule about this it's just convention.

YantheMan
+3
Level 66
Sep 16, 2016
I think if it's written in a language with English characters, we don't Anglicize it. German and French use the English/Latin alphabet, Russian and Arabic don't. I just figured that out myself.
JBlouw1850
+3
Level 43
Nov 13, 2016
@YantheMan Then how come William of Orange is referred to as such? I believe that was modern-day Netherlands area, which probably used the Latin alphabet, which is what many nations use, especially in Europe and the Americas.
DocEckleburg
+3
Level 67
Jan 13, 2025
Both William of Orange and William the Conqueror became kings of England (William III and William I respectively) so go by the Anglicised versions of their names,
ChipOtley
+3
Level 73
Nov 26, 2017
Also, by the same token, William the Conqueror would be Guillaume
Roger77024
+14
Level 56
Nov 26, 2017
Or as we knew him in school, Billy the Conk.
Freestatebear
+1
Level 88
Aug 16, 2024
A good friend of mine (from Sheffield) always refers to him as Willy Conkers.
Corrode
+7
Level 60
Nov 27, 2017
William the Conqueror and William of Orange are both most famous as kings of England, even if their origins aren't English.
tourwoorden
+1
Level 69
Nov 27, 2017
@Corrode that depends on which William of Orange you mean, as this name doesn't only refer to William III of England, but also to William the Silent. In the Netherlands, 'Willem van Oranje' almost always refers to the latter.
martay
+11
Level 70
May 14, 2018
There are only two things I can't stand in this world: people who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch.
richiesyxx
+1
Level 74
Nov 26, 2022
Are you Austin Powers’ father?
Anzi
+1
Level 68
Jul 1, 2017
Yes, but all of them were crowned there since 1066 except Edwards V and VIII, the two shortest reigning kings, neither of whom lasted a year. Never call a prince Edward
phalocrocorax
+2
Level 84
Aug 16, 2024
Indeed. Another example would be Edward, the Black Prince, who was the heir to the throne but died before he could become king.
jvadomingues
+8
Level 46
Nov 27, 2017
the wright brothers didn't invent the plane
texdave
+13
Level 56
Jul 25, 2018
Possibly not, but theirs were the first heavier-than-air, man-carrying aircraft to take off, do maneuvers and land. Their places in aviation history far surpass those of other early aviation pioneers such as Langley and Santos-Dumont.
Quizmaster
+10
Level ∞
Sep 17, 2019
In the years after the Wright Brothers invented their plane, there were a lot of doubts especially from Europeans. Other inventors such as Santos-Dumont had flown planes that were less than impressive. For example, Santos-Dumont's 1906 flight was the first to be certified by the Aéro-Club de France. It flew for a few seconds at a whopping 5 meters above the ground. Then Orville Wright showed up in 1908 and flew figure eights around the field. Not only did the Wright Brothers invent the first heavier-than-air powered aircraft in 1903, but they made rapid improvements that quickly culminated in planes that were able to climb and bank. As @texdave said, their achievements far surpassed any of their contemporaries.
richiesyxx
+2
Level 74
Nov 26, 2022
If it stays a few metres in the air for a few seconds, I’d say that’s less of a plane, more a car that drove off a cliff.
kenpo17
+7
Level 65
Nov 27, 2017
Got Cardinal Wolsey by accident because I was trying to be a smartass and type Wellington's real name (Wellesley), but I horribly misspelled it as Woolsey.
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 92
Mar 31, 2019
So why do people call him Wellington if that was just some podunk town he had probably never been to? Was he ashamed if his family name?
Teegthebeeg
+4
Level 53
Aug 28, 2020
His family name was Wellesley but his title was the Duke of Wellington
jmellor13
+5
Level 68
Aug 28, 2020
I did the opposite! Was trying to type "Cardinal Wellesly" and I got the Duke of Wellington instead.
howard38
+2
Level 61
Aug 28, 2020
I typed Cornelius mcGillicuddy and got credit for more than half the answers.
Mookie
+5
Level 82
Jun 28, 2019
hardly needed my right hand at all for this quiz. Typed almost all of it with my left
morcaca
+1
Level 59
Aug 22, 2020
If you use mobile, you probably only need one hand. But this quiz still requires one hand even if you’re on a computer.
Jacktheguy
+2
Level 93
Aug 28, 2020
Struggled with Wagner question because I was thinking of the film version of The Ring. Doesn't help that the composer is Hans Zimmer, who is also German.
sckizm
+2
Level 60
Aug 28, 2020
Should accept Walsey
AlexThirkell
+1
Level 74
Aug 28, 2020
I spelled it something ridiculous like 'Woolesley' - accepted :)
HyddenRizz
+1
Level 67
May 2, 2022
I tried Wollesley or Wallesley and didn't get it :(

Wolsey just doesn't look English to me

AmyD85
+7
Level 75
Aug 28, 2020
Note to self: Braveheart doesn't start with W LOL
elcampeador
+1
Level 78
Nov 23, 2022
Can you accept "Wollsey"?
Aoto327
+1
Level 86
Dec 21, 2023
Never heard of the Watergate scandal, probably because I am not from the US or any English-speaking country. I also forgot Windsor…
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 78
Aug 15, 2024
Only missed Wolsey
Alexquiz17
+1
Level 94
Aug 16, 2024
Anyone else see a beverage originating in Georgia and leap to a popular brand of sickly sugar water? And then you see the date…
YantheMan
+1
Level 66
Aug 17, 2024
I typed "water' before I could stop myself. Major face-palm moment there.
dbirdi
+1
Level 69
Sep 29, 2024
Whigs were conservative, not liberal. At least in the US.
Hollygomerryround
+2
Level 59
Dec 4, 2024
I tried water for the beverage question, didn't think of wine!
nsoper
+2
Level 68
Jan 13, 2025
Oscar Wilde wasn't "persecuted for being gay". It was illegal at the time and actually the authorities were very generous in not prosecuting him and Wilde just took the mick. He was essentially grooming and taking advantage of young vulnerable men/boys and that is why he was prosecuted.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Jan 13, 2025
I did some research and changed the clue. The original person he was accused of having sex with was much younger than him, but over the age of consent by today's standards. However, during the trial, many others came forward and its uncertain if they were all over the age of consent (again, by today's standards). It's likely that many weren't.

The laws at the time were unjust to gay people, but Wilde was also acting very poorly. History is complicated.

Bengus
+1
Level 60
Mar 3, 2025
Good quiz!
cosenza
+1
Level 69
Jul 14, 2025
wright brothers made a glider, not an airplane

cheers

MovieQuizGuy
+1
Level 63
Oct 19, 2025
For a Georgian beverage from 6000 BC did anyone else try "water"?
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