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History by Letter - D

Can you name these historical people, places, and things beginning with the letter D?
Quiz by Geoguy
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Last updated: June 19, 2019
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First submittedMay 20, 2014
Times taken120,079
Average score59.1%
Rating4.28
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Hint
Answer
Painter of the Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci
Author of "On the Origin of Species"
Charles Darwin
Surrealist artist who painted melting clocks
Salvador Dali
Explorer who sailed from Portugal to India
Vasco da Gama
Reincarnated leader who fled Tibet
Dalai Lama
"Great" Persian king mentioned in 5 books of the Bible
Darius
Conservative British Prime Minister who was born Jewish
Benjamin Disraeli
European era which followed the fall of Rome
The Dark Ages
Middle Eastern capital which is one of the world's oldest cities
Damascus
Legendary founder and first queen of Carthage
Dido
He thought, therefore he was
Rene Descartes
President of France from 1959–1969
Charles de Gaulle
Term for a Celtic priest
Druid
Region of western Sudan which became infamous for genocide in the early 21st century
Darfur
June 6, 1944 in Normandy
D-Day
First Englishman to circumnavigate the globe
Francis Drake
First U.S. state to ratify the Constitution
Delaware
Colony that became Indonesia
Dutch East Indies
Muslim shrine on Jerusalem's Temple Mount
Dome of the Rock
Title of the leader of Venice
Doge
Alfred Nobel's invention
Dynamite
Author who wrote "Oliver Twist"
Charles Dickens
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58 Comments
sarahbee266
+2
Level 52
May 24, 2014
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe his name is Vasco DE Gama, not Da Gama.
Danno
+1
Level 68
May 24, 2014
Thats what I kept typing too.
kitshef
+21
Level 85
May 28, 2014
It is indeed da Gama
Quizmaster
+19
Level ∞
Apr 26, 2016
You are wrong. :) But Vasco de Gama would have worked.
EcceHomo
+11
Level 82
Jul 31, 2020
maybe have a "de, da, du, des, di' names quiz? Just a suggestion...
GlassMonkeyCode
+1
Level 68
Apr 22, 2024
That reminds me of a Police song.
sillie
+46
Level 76
Jun 29, 2014
Vasco da Gama and Charles de Gaulle seem wrong in this quiz. The "van/von/de/da" etc preceding the surname is not used as a basis of alphabetisation. Think "Catherine of Aragorn". Would you put that in a quiz with answers starting with "O" ?
ander217
+26
Level 74
Jun 29, 2014
Did you mean Catherine of Aragon, or did I miss one of Strider's friends in LOTR?
sillie
+3
Level 76
Sep 30, 2015
I keep confusing Aragon and Aragorn dammit!
Tinu
+5
Level 42
Aug 27, 2014
Seconded!
Freestatebear
+10
Level 86
Aug 28, 2015
Agree - de, d', van, von, of and so on aren't usually considered part of the surname or place of origin.
samiamco
+5
Level 68
Mar 10, 2016
Yes. This is a problem.
Zefyrinus
+4
Level 72
Oct 23, 2016
I was also thinking this. :/
kalbahamut
+3
Level 81
Jun 4, 2019
It's an important part of the surname, though. His ancestors were not Gama. They were from Gama. Similarly, you would not file Osama bin Laden under "b". His surname is not Laden. ibn in Arabic means "son of," similar to "Mc/Mic/Mac" in some languages. You wouldn't file Norm MacDonald under "D." His name is not Donald. Or what about the surname Deville.. derived from the French "de Val" or "of the valley." But that doesn't change the fact that the surname is Deville. Not Ville.
Quizmaster
+10
Level ∞
Jun 19, 2019
Thanks. It's one of those things that either way I do it people will complain. The only way to make everyone happy would be to leave those people off the list entirely. And that would make me sad...
bEver
+2
Level 37
Apr 26, 2024
the only way to make people happy is to change it. The way you did it is cringe and anyone who disagrees with me is also cringe
PeregrineFalcon
+5
Level 77
Oct 24, 2019
The only relevant fact is that da Gama and de Gaulle are always listed under G. I doubt people would have complained if these appeared in a 'G'-quiz.

I think Leonardo da Vinci belongs in an 'L'-quiz, as he is usually referred to as 'Leonardo'.

kalbahamut
+2
Level 81
Nov 17, 2019
^yeah, except that, they're not. You just made an "always" statement, but the existence of this quiz proves that statement wrong.
tzhg
+2
Level 59
Oct 27, 2020
Well, PeregrineFalcon probably meant "always apart from this quiz". But that would probably still not be correct anyway.
CapitalAce
+5
Level 57
Dec 6, 2019
Same with 'da Vinci' - he is Leonardo, and 'da Vinci' is not his surname.
quizfalcon4002
+3
Level 56
Dec 7, 2019
Right, because he was Leonardo FROM Vinci.
leonora
+1
Level 43
Apr 12, 2024
True. I've been to Vinci!
ddddan
+1
Level 80
Dec 8, 2019
By this logic would you also eliminate Descartes, Dumas and Debussy?
leonora
+2
Level 43
Apr 12, 2024
No, of couse not, since these are SURNAMES, not PLACE NAMES.
DelaBriQue
+3
Level 64
Oct 20, 2021
Well, Catherine of Aragon comes from Aragon. Charles de Gaulle definitely doesn't come from Gaulle (as Gaulle doesn't even exist). In fact, "de Gaulle" comes from dutch and means "the wall".

Here in France, we always refer to him as "de Gaulle" (and not only "Gaulle", that would be grammatically incorrect) and I'm pretty sure he appears in the "D" pages of our dictionaries.

PS : He comes from Gaule though ;)

PPS: I like to answer to comments that are 7 years old haha

tonelico
+2
Level 53
Nov 25, 2023
Agreed a decade later. Those belong in G, not D.
birdorrogers
+1
Level 43
Apr 22, 2024
agreed!!
Somequiztaker
+3
Level 79
Jun 30, 2014
Who else spelled it Dyn-O-Mite because they get their spelling from What's Happening?
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 90
Mar 31, 2019
Good times taking this quiz.
Qikiq
+1
Level 87
Oct 20, 2021
Me! Damn you JJ! But it was actually "Good Times", not "What's Happening".
SeeKar
+5
Level 68
Oct 23, 2016
heh... Doge... Much Wow!
PoetsCorner
+21
Level 87
Feb 17, 2017
"I am, therefore I think."

That's Descartes before de horse.

kenpo17
+5
Level 66
Oct 24, 2018
This comment is underappreciated.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 81
Mar 22, 2018
Thank you for accepting "DYN-O-MITE!"
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 90
Mar 31, 2019
No one indignantly protesting how calling it the Dark Ages is new age discrimination?

Apparently Stone Age is verboten now too. The Flintstones, Rubbles and Slates filed a class action suit.

martay
+4
Level 70
Jun 4, 2019
"Dark Ages" is a pretty clumsy description of that time but it's also so widely used that's hard to argue against its inclusion.
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
Jun 19, 2019
A lot of people say the Dark Ages weren't actually dark. But in my opinion they are very wrong. (Warning, long read). Western civilization had a major collapse after the fall of the Roman Empire.
IsleAuHaulte
+4
Level 90
Jun 26, 2019
Europe was a clumsy mess for 5 centuries with far, far less recorded history, near no advancements and enormous societal regression. Pretty dark times.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Nov 17, 2023
Yeah, it's bizarre that people want to litigate this. Western Europe declined spectacularly for several hundred years. Really, read the article I linked in the comment above.
Arp2600
+2
Level 87
Dec 6, 2019
It's very complicated and I do think that there was NOT a true "fall" of the Roman Empire. But yes, there was a drop in civilization at that time, especially in England. By the way, the idea of "Dark Ages" is very British. We don't even say that in French.
MayaB
+1
Level 73
Dec 6, 2019
Many thanks to the Quizmaster for posting the link. I already saw it the last time I took the quiz and I found it very interesting. I definitely learned a lot from it and it's always a pleasure to stumble upon so much knowledge almost unexpectadly.
Dewot423
+4
Level 63
Oct 20, 2021
"Western European Dark Ages" is a decent descriptor from like 400-800 solely for everything West of Italy and Germany. But even in Greece, literally definitionally the cradle of the West, tons of records and literature and progress occured because the Eastern Roman Empire was chugging right along.

Of course this is also ignoring that Western Europe is less than ten percent of the world. China actually did have a bad period in the 300s to 400s but rebounded quicker than Western Europe and the Tang Dynasty right after that is considered a cultural high point. India had tons of development, and both regions were far richer and more left more records of this period. Also the mid dark ages were the Golden Age of the Mayans.

Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Nov 17, 2023
While its true that the Eastern Roman Empire continued chugging, it had its own collapse following the volcanic winter of 536, the Plague of Justinian, the loss of Egypt to the Persians, and finally the loss of almost everything else to the Arabs.

By the early 700s AD, the Byzantine Empire controlled little beyond Constantinople itself – whose population had shrunk by perhaps 90% since the days of Justinian.

That the Byzantine Empire survived at all, and even staged a modest comeback, is truly remarkable. But it was a far cry from the glories of classical antiquity.

Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Nov 17, 2023
As to India, China, the Arab World, or the Mayans, that's completely irrelevant.

The Dark Ages are defined as a European Dark Ages. The clue clearly states this and no where does it imply that other parts of the world were affected.

Really, people need to Read This. It's so good. Here's an excerpt:

I wonder if these people interrupt anyone who talks about the Warring States period with “actually, there were only warring states in China. Many other areas during this period had no warring states at all! Guess you fell victim to the Myth Of The Warring States Period.”

What about the Bronze Age? There wasn’t any bronze in Australia. The Hellenistic period? Huge swathes of the Earth’s land area remained un-Hellenized. The Time of Troubles? Actually, outside of Russia there were no more troubles than usual. The Era of Good Feelings? Maybe there were a bunch of bad feelings not in the US.

BlackLab
+7
Level 66
Jun 4, 2019
No comment
Nestormakhno
+2
Level 73
Dec 6, 2019
No comment on no comment
DonTheLamplighter
+3
Level 85
Dec 6, 2019
I really have nothing to add to this.
JALENRAMSEY05
+3
Level 24
Dec 6, 2021
No comment on no comment on no comment
Timothee
+3
Level 14
Dec 6, 2019
‘Da Vinci’ is no surname—it simply refers to Leonardo’s birthplace (Vinci) in Tuscany. Leonardo had no surname, and no-one in his time would ever have referred to him by ‘da Vinci’. (This distinguished him from e.g. Michelangelo, who did have a surname, i.e. Buonarroti.) Calling Leonardo ‘da Vinci’ simply shows the ignorance of people like Dan Brown. He can only be an answer under the letter L, if a quiz strives for accuracy.
rocamorar
+1
Level 78
Dec 6, 2019
I agree. The only proper place to place Leonardo would be under letter "L". Da Vinci it's not a surname.
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 71
Jan 30, 2020
Got Dome of the Rock
AlexThirkell
+6
Level 75
Oct 27, 2020
1/22 ain't bad
SpartanLlama
+2
Level 71
Aug 5, 2021
I know right
jennraven
+2
Level 67
Oct 23, 2021
I kept putting Dome of the Mount. I've even been there 🤦‍♀️
hei1234
+2
Level 49
Jun 5, 2020
Maybe accept Dareios for Darius?
Moos1005
+4
Level 85
Sep 27, 2020
This is a niche comment that probably nobody will understand, but after spending some time on a certain video platform hated by a world leader the first question made me laugh so hard I lost a good minute on the clock.

I also think it should be spelled Da Vinky

rosysaccount
+1
Level 77
Apr 14, 2021
Great quiz guys!
leonora
+1
Level 43
Apr 12, 2024
The name of the painter of the Mona Lisa is LEONARDO, not 'Da Vinci'. That isn't his NAME, it's his birthplace. (trust me on this, I've been there),
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