20th Century Figures

Question 0

This 64th Secretary of State was the highest ranking woman in the Clinton Administration, as well as the first female to hold that office. She held her position from January, 1997 until January of 2001. She is known for her role in the war against ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

Answer 0

Madeleine Albright

Question 1

Her autobiographical work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, created an international sensation when it was first published in 1970. President Clinton requested that she compose a poem for his first inaugural in 1993; she read that poem, “On the Pulse of the Morning,” to an audience of millions on live television.

Answer 1

Maya Angelou

Question 2

As the chairman of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization), he called for a Palestinian state to be established on the West Bank. Arafat died on November 11, 2004.

Answer 2

Yasir Arafat

Question 3

This astronaut commanded the Apollo 11 excursion and became the first person to walk on the moon, with Buzz Aldrin following right behind him. He is noted for saying, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Answer 3

Neil Armstrong

Question 4

The 41st U.S. President, enlisted in the Naval Reserve and flew combat missions in World War II while still a teenager. After enjoying success in business and raising his family, he entered political life, serving as congressman, vice president and finally president. His administration saw the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, renewal of the Voting Rights Act, and successful American military actions in Kuwait and Panama.

Answer 4

George H. W Bush

Question 5

Served as President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. This most dramatic achievement of his presidency, he personally mediated a peace settlement between Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, ending a 31-year state of war between the Jewish state and its largest Arab neighbor and laying the groundwork for subsequent Middle East peace negotiations. In 2002, his commitment to nonviolent conflict resolution around the world was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize.

Answer 5

Jimmy Carter

Question 6

This Cuban leader used guerilla warfare to overthrow the previous dictator, Fulgencio Batista, in the 1959 Revolution. This Communist dictator ruled Cuba until 2008, when he stepped down due to ailing health and handed over leadership to his brother Raúl.

Answer 6

Fidel Castro

Question 7

This comic genius starred in many Hollywood silent films and created his most famous vaudeville-style character, “The Tramp.” With Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith, he co-founded the American film studio United Artists in 1919.

Answer 7

Charlie Chaplin

Question 8

This president of the National Farm Workers Association fought to improve conditions for agricultural workers, especially Mexican Americans. He fasted for 36 days to draw attention to the link between pesticides in grapes and cancer in children of farm workers.

Answer 8

César Chávez

Question 9

This statesman became Prime Minister of Britain during Hitler’s rise to power and served through the end of the war. He was determined to fight the Nazi takeover and lead his people and the world in a rally against Nazi tyranny. He coined the phrase “The Iron Curtain.” He was also an author and is best remembered for his two books, A History of the English-Speaking People and The Second World War.

Answer 9

Winston Churchill

Question 10

After graduating from Wellesley College and Yale Law School, she married Bill Clinton in 1975 and had one daughter, Chelsea, in 1980. During her husband’s presidency, she headed a Task Force on National Health Care Reform. IN 2000, she was elected to the U.S. Senate representing New York. After losing to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential primaries, she was named U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama administration.

Answer 10

Hilary Clinton

Question 11

This famous French diver helped to develop the Aqua-lung, an underwater breathing apparatus. He made a documentary entitled The Silent World, which won an Academy Award for the best documentary. He also founded the Cousteau Society, an agency to protect sea life.

Answer 11

Jacques Cousteau

Question 12

This groundbreaking female scientist won the Nobel Prize in both physics and chemistry and discovered both radium and plutonium with the help of her husband, Pierre.

Answer 12

Marie Curie

Question 13

This legendary artist was first known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, an animated cartoon character who paved the way for animation as a full-scale category of entertainment. He opened his cartoon studio in Hollywood in 1923 and the Disneyland Theme Park in 1955. His first full-length animated film was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He also designed Disney World in Florida and the Epcot Center, which was completed just two years before his death in 1966.

Answer 13

Walt Disney

Question 14

Known as the “Wizard of Menlo Park,” this American inventor is best known for such inventions as the long-lasting practical light bulb, the phonograph, motion pictures, and the stock ticker. However, he patented more than a thousand devices throughout his lifetime. He is known for the quote, “Genius is about 2% inspiration and 98% perspiration.” Edison founded the company that merged to become General Electric.

Answer 14

Thomas Edison

Question 15

This scientist developed the Theory of Relativity as well as premises which led to the development of the atomic bomb. Then he educated the public on the bomb’s destructive potential. He was selected as Time magazine’s Man of the Century.

Answer 15

Albert Einstein

Question 16

He founded a Motor Company around the turn of the 20th century. He invented the Model T car in 1908 and established the first assembly line at his Detroit plant. He died in 1947, leaving a fortune that was valued at more than $500 million.

Answer 16

Henry Ford

Question 17

This prominent psychologist was the founding father of psychoanalysis. He developed theories of the unconscious mind, introducing the notions of the id, ego, and super-ego. He introduced the mechanism of repression, the therapeutic technique of free association, and the theory of the Oedipus Complex. His theories served as the foundation for modern psychiatry.

Answer 17

Sigmund Freud

Question 18

This 1975 Harvard drop-out co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen. He licensed MS-DOS to IBM for its first personal computer in 1980 and released the popular Windows 3.0 in 1995. He served as the chairman and chief software architect for Microsoft. From 1995-2009 Forbes magazine listed him as the richest person in the world.

Answer 18

Bill Gates

Question 19

This Indian activist protested English dominion over India through the means of nonviolent civil disobedience. Martin Luther King, Jr. studied his theories in college and later implemented them in his battle for civil rights within the U.S.

Answer 19

Mohandas Ghandi

Question 20

She was the first African-American to win championships at the French Open, the United States Open, the Australian Doubles, and Wimbledon in the 1950s. In all she won five majors tennis championships.

Answer 20

Althea Gibson

Question 21

This American physicist designed and launched the first liquid fuel rocket in 1926. Because the American space program was based upon his work, Goddard has been nicknamed “The Father of Modern Rocketry.”

Answer 21

Robert H. Goddard

Question 22

This Russian leader modernized the U.S.S.R. when he became head of the Communist party in 1985. He instituted his concepts of glasnost and perestroika. In 1990, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. He resigned in 1991 when the U.S.S.R. was dismantled.

Answer 22

Mikhail Gorbachev

Question 23

This man rose to power as a Nazi dictator of Germany in 1933. This skilled orator used propaganda and force to spread Anti-Semitism, and ordered the widespread persecution of the Jews in concentration camps.

Answer 23

Adolf Hitler

Question 24

He was the ruthless dictator of Iraq from 1979 until 2003. From 1980 to 1988, he led Iraq in a war against Iran which ended in a stalemate.

Answer 24

Saddam Hussein (صدام حسين)

Question 25

This African-American clergyman and civil rights leader ran for the U.S. Presidency in both the 1984 and 1988 primaries. He is the founder and President of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Inc.

Answer 25

Jesse Jackson

Question 26

He was the head of the Muslim League in India, and worked to found Pakistan. He then became the first-governor-general of Pakistan.

Answer 26

Mohammad Ali Jinnah

Question 27

This Swiss psychologist is most noted for his Theory of the Collective Unconscious, as well as the presence of recurring archetypes in personality. He was the first psychologist to classify humans as introverts or extroverts.

Answer 27

Carl Jung

Question 28

He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which advocated nonviolent ways to deal with racism. In 1963, he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C. One year later, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his attempts to end racism in America. He was assassinated in 1968.

Answer 28

Martin Luther King Jr.

Question 29

He completed the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927 in his monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis. The flight from Long Island to Paris took 33 hours, 29 minutes. Tragedy struck his family in 1932 when his son, Charles, was kidnapped and found dead.

Answer 29

Charles Lindbergh

Question 30

He served as head of the African National Congress, which fought against the government to end apartheid. As a result of his involvement, he served a 28- year prison sentence, and ultimately became President of South Africa in 1994.

Answer 30

Nelson Mandela

Question 31

Before he was appointed to the Supreme Court, this NAACP lawyer won a landmark ruling against segregation in schools in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, which determined that “separate but equal” schooling was a violation of the Constitutional rights of African Americans.

Answer 31

Marshall Thurgood

Question 32

This man founded the theory of Marxism, closely associated with communism. He authored many treaties warning of the class struggle and exploitation.

Answer 32

Karl Marx

Question 33

This leader of the Communist party in Vietnam organized the movement for Vietnamese Independence, the Viet Minh. He declared Vietnam a republic, and he became its president.

Answer 33

Ho Chi Minh

Question 34

This writer was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Her books The Bluest Eye and Beloved are internationally known for the poignant portrayal of the painful legacy of prejudice.

Answer 34

Toni Morrison

Question 35

This Catholic nun is famous for her humanitarian efforts among the poor of Calcutta. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. In 1985, she established the first hospice for AIDS victims in New York. She was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award.

Answer 35

Mother Teresa

Question 36

This American was the first female to be appointed as a Supreme Court Justice in 1981. On July 1, 2005, this Associate Justice announced her retirement from the Supreme Court after 24 years of service.

Answer 36

Sandra Day O’Connor

Question 37

This scientist’s research led to the development of the atomic bomb. He was accused of communist involvement, thought, and was no longer allowed to do his scientific research for the government.

Answer 37

Robert J. Oppenheimer

Question 38

On December 1, 1955, a bus driver told this woman to give up her seat for a white man, which she refused to do. After her stand against bus segregation in Montgomery in 1955, she lost her seamstress job.

Answer 38

Rosa Parks

Question 39

This woman served as the first female Cabinet member, under Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, where she served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945.

Answer 39

Frances Perkins

Question 40

This distinguished artist is notorious for breaking the confines of traditional art. He is best known for his concepts of abstraction and distortion, and is considered one of the founders of Cubism.

Answer 40

Pablo Picasso

Question 41

This princess was known for her compassion and her grace, and was continually in the public eye. She married Charles, the future king of England in 1981, and bore him two sons, William and Harry. She became known as “The People’s Princess,” and her death in a 1997 car crash is still regarded as a worldwide tragedy.

Answer 41

Princess Diana of Wales

Question 42

This monarch was appointed queen of England in 1952 and still reigns.

Answer 42

Queen Elizabeth II

Question 43

This former Hollywood actor became the oldest president elected when he took office as the 40th president of the United States. He served two terms as president, from 1981 to 1989. He spent his years as president attempting to cut taxes, lessen people’s reliance on government, and increase national defense.

Answer 43

Ronald Reagan

Question 44

Was the 66th and current (as of 2006) United States Secretary of State and the second in the administration of President George W. Bush. She replaced Colin Powell on January 26, 2005, after his resignation. She is the first African- American woman, second African-American (after Powell), and second woman (after Madeleine Albright) to serve as Secretary of State.

Answer 44

Condoleezza Rice

Question 45

This talented athlete became the first African-American to play on a major league baseball team. He signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers’ farm team in Montreal in 1945 and played his first professional game for the Dodgers in 1947. Two years later, he won the National League’s Most Valuable Player award.

Answer 45

Jackie Robinson

Question 46

This Egyptian President attended the Camp David Peace Accords in 1978, where President Carter negotiated for peace in the Middle East. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to create peace between Egypt and Israel. He was assassinated in 1981.

Answer 46

Anwar Sadat (أنور السادات)

Question 47

This scientist invented a vaccine for polio.

Answer 47

Jonas Salk

Question 48

He helped to convert communism in the U.S.S.R. from an egalitarian, revolutionary movement into an authoritarian, bureaucratic governmental system. This Soviet dictator prevented Hitler from conquering Russia during World War II.

Answer 48

Joseph Stalin

Question 49

This American scientist helped create nuclear weapons for defense purposes. He was nicknamed “The Father of the H-Bomb.”

Answer 49

Edward Teller

Question 50

She became Prime Minister of England in 1979, and was not only the first woman to head the British government, but also the first female leader of a major western country.

Answer 50

Margaret Thatcher

Question 51

This man and his brother, Wilbur, made the first successful human flight in the primitive handmade airplane. They performed their first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903.

Answer 51

Orville Wright

Question 52

He was the chairman of the Communist Party of China from 1943 and the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1945 until his death in 1976. He has been credited for converting the country to full-scale Communism.

Answer 52

Mao Zedong