Famous People - First half

Question 1

Who is France’s most famous ecologist?

Answer 1

Jaques-Yves Cousteau

Question 2

Why were the first hot-air balloons known as montgolfieres?

Answer 2

after the inventors, the Montgolfier brothers

Question 3

Who was one of the first women to fight for women’s rights in the 19th century?

Answer 3

Hubertine Auclert

Question 4

When was the first female prime minister, Edith Cresson appointed?

Answer 4

1991

Question 5

Whose work on radioactivity was the first step toward radiation treatment for cancer?

Answer 5

Marie Curie’s work

Question 6

What structure was built in Paris in 1889 by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel?

Answer 6

the Eiffel Tower

Question 7

What did Gustave Eiffel build before he built the Eiffel Tower?

Answer 7

bridges, specifically the Bordeaux Bridge

Question 8

What great American landmark did Gustave Eiffel help design and build?

Answer 8

Statue of Liberty

Question 9

Who was the first French explorer of North America?

Answer 9

Jacques Cartier

Question 10

On which French city did the world focus when Diana, Princess of Wales died in August 1997?

Answer 10

Paris

Question 11

Which French President was responsible for the construction of the Louvre Pyramid, the Great arch at La Defense, and the Bastille Opera?

Answer 11

Francois Mitterrand

Question 12

Who launched the first hot-air balloon in 1783?

Answer 12

the brothers Jacques-Etienne and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier

Question 13

How long did it take Baron Georges Haussmann to transform the city of Paris?

Answer 13

20 years

Question 14

What did the brothers Louis and Auguste Lumiere invent?

Answer 14

the movie camera and projector

Question 15

Who was the first great writer in France?

Answer 15

Francois Rabelais

Question 16

Which French writer wrote The Three Musketers?

Answer 16

Alexandre Dumas (pere)

Question 17

Who is responsible for the invention of the cinema in the late 19th century?

Answer 17

the Lumiere Brothers - Louis and Auguste

Question 18

Who is the founder of the Ballet of the 20th century?

Answer 18

Maurice Bejart

Question 19

Which three French clothing designers first influenced the fashion trends?

Answer 19

Coco Chanel, Yves Saint-Laurent, and Christian Dior

Question 20

Who were the two most prominent scientists in early 20th century France?

Answer 20

Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur

Question 21

Who was the first woman to be appointed professor at eh Sorbonne?

Answer 21

Marie Curie

Question 22

What was Louis Pasteur’s most important vaccine?

Answer 22

the rabies vaccine

Question 23

What did Andre-Jacques Garnerin create 200 years ago?

Answer 23

the parachute

Question 24

What did Rene Laennec create in 1816?

Answer 24

the stethoscope

Question 25

What did Louis Braille create in 1824?

Answer 25

Braille script to help the blind read

Question 26

How old was Louis Braille when he came up with the Braille system?

Answer 26

15

Question 27

How long ago did the two Frenchmen Joseph-Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre invent photography?

Answer 27

150 years ago

Question 28

In 1942, what type of equipment did Emile Gagnon and Jaques Cousteau invent?

Answer 28

scuba gear

Question 29

Who composed the national anthem of France?

Answer 29

Claude-Joseph and Rouget de Lisle

Question 30

Who stayed at the Palace of Fontainebleau?

Answer 30

Napoleon

Question 31

Which American was known as the music-hall queen of Paris in the 1920s?

Answer 31

Josephine Baker

Question 32

What is the name of the dog in the comic strip Asterix?

Answer 32

Idefix

Question 33

Who invented the process of pasteurization?

Answer 33

Louis Pastuer

Question 34

During what century was Le Corbusier a famous architect?

Answer 34

the 20th century

Question 35

Who was Louis Renault?

Answer 35

the founder of Renault automobiles

Question 36

What was the profession of Coco Chanel?

Answer 36

Fashion designer

Question 37

What kind of animal is Babar?

Answer 37

elephant

Question 38

Who is Asterix?

Answer 38

a cartoon character

Question 39

Who was Jacques Cartier?

Answer 39

a French explorer

Question 40

Where was Picasso born?

Answer 40

Spain

Question 41

How did Saint-Exupery die?

Answer 41

he disappeared on a mission during WWII

Question 42

Where was Georges Simenon born?

Answer 42

Belgium

Question 43

What did Robert de Sorbon found?

Answer 43

La Sorbonne

Question 44

What was the religion of Capitaine Dreyfus, accused of treason?

Answer 44

Jewish

Question 45

Why is Jean-Paul Belmondo famous?

Answer 45

he is a film star

Question 46

What was the nationality of the painter of the Mona Lisa?

Answer 46

Italian

Question 47

Who painted Guernica?

Answer 47

Pablo Picasso

Question 48

"The Man in the Iron Mask" was the supposed twin brother of which French king?

Answer 48

Louis XIV

Question 49

Who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1903?

Answer 49

Marie et Pierre Curie

Question 50

What body of water did Louis Bleriot fly over in 1909?

Answer 50

the English Channel