History Buff Quiz

Question: Which book was written by Niccolò Machiavelli?

Answer: In The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli studied the world of politics by using reason and scientific methods. He did not judge people’s actions as good or bad; instead, he simply observed them.

Question: When was the first Nobel Prize in economics awarded?

Answer: The Nobel Prize in economics was established in 1969. It was first awarded to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen, who specialized in macroeconomics.

Question: Which of these battles did not involve Roman soldiers?

Answer: The battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BCE between the invading Persians and an alliance of Greek city-states.

Question: Where were the Aegean Bronze Age civilizations located?

Answer: The Bronze Age Aegean civilizations, including the Minoans of Crete and the Myceneans of the mainland, were located in what is now Greece.

Question: Who was Karl Marx’s associate and fellow political theoretician?

Answer: In 1844, Karl Marx met a young socialist named Friedrich Engels, with whom he developed many of his ideas.

Question: Of what country was Simón Bolívar president?

Answer: Simón Bolívar, besides being president of Gran Colombia (1821–30), was also the president of Peru (1823–29).

Question: Which Indian president was involved in the struggle for Irish independence?

Answer: V.V. Giri, India’s president from 1969 to 1974, studied in Dublin, Ireland, where he became involved in the movement to free Ireland from British rule.

Question: How many republics made up the former Soviet Union?

Answer: The Soviet Union, at its end, was made up of 15 republics. The largest and most powerful was the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, now Russia.