Black History Quiz

Catching the Cultural Express
A journey through African-American culture and history
BLACK HISTORY MONTH QUIZ

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1. Who invented the automatic traffic signal and the gas mask?
2. Who invented the first wooden clock and wrote the first American Almanac?
3. A tisket, a tasket, who lost her yellow basket?.
4. Who wrote the Black National Anthem?
5. Who performed the first successful open heart surgery?
6. Who popularized Bebop?
7. Who is famous for developing over 300 uses for the peanut?
8. Name the first Black female Astronaut.
9. Who coined the phrase "I have a dream?"
10. Who was considered the first Black settler in Chicago?
11. Who was the second Black man to play Baseball in the major Leagues?
12. What famous woman was known as "Queen of Gospel?"
13. Who is the successful publisher of Ebony and Jet Magazines?
14. Who wrote "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
15. Name the singer who sings "Happy Birthday" to Dr. King.
16. What song is know as the "Black National Anthem?"
17. Who succeeded in shattering Babe Ruth's home run record?
18. Who was the first black heavyweight champion?
19. Who wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin?"
20. Who was a famous conductor for the Underground Railroad?
21. Who was the first black woman to sing with the Metropolitan Opera Company?
22. Who was the first president to name a black person to the President's Cabinet?
23. Name the founder of The Dance Theater of Harlem?
24. Name the first black mayor of Chicago.
25. Name the first black to attain the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army.
26. Name the first black person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
27. Who started the first blood bank?
28. What do the letters N.A.A.C.P. stand for?
29. Name the person known as the of King Calypso.
30. Who was the first black American to win a Rhodes Scholarship?
31. Who was Bojangles?
32. In what city was the N.A.A.C.P. founded?
33. Who wrote the song "St. Louis Blues" and is known as "Father of the Blues?"
34. What Shakespearean play has a black man as its main character?
35. Name the first black U. S. Supreme Court Judge.
36. Who wrote the book "Roots" that was made into a T.V. series?
37. Who was the first black Congresswoman from New York?
38. Who was the first black man to star in a weekly dramatic series?
39. Who was the first black candidate for the Democratic nomination for the President of the United States?
40. Who was the pop superstar who won 8 Grammy Awards in January of 1984?
41. Who was the first black Miss America?
42. Who was the first black mayor of Atlanta, Georgia?
43. Who was the black man who went to Syria to help free Lt. Goodman?
44. Who were the people involved in the first interracial kiss on T.V.?
45. What was the first Black Sorority?
46. Name the weekly Black series that began broadcasting live in 1992.
47. What do the letters P.U.S.H. stand for?
48. Who invented Black History Week and is known as the Father of Black History?
49. What black woman had a book of poetry published in 1773?
50. Who was the first black person elected mayor of a major U.S. city?
51. Who was the black nationalist who became a martyr hero of "Black Power" after his assassination in 1965?
52. Name the first black person who stared in his own T.V. show.
53. Who is the author of "A Raisin in the Sun?"
54. What famous rock star is known for the movie "Purple Rain?"
55. Who was the first black man to reach the North Pole?
56. Name the first black man to win the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament.
57. Name the first black woman to win the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament.
58. Who is the first black man elected Governor of the state of Virginia?
59. Who is the first black man elected mayor of New York City?
60. What Columbia Law School graduate appeared in the Broadway musical, "Showboat" as Joe?
61. Who is the first black man with a successful late night T.V. show?
62. Who invented the straightening comb?
63. Who is the black woman who refused to move to the back of the bus?
64. What black athlete played two professional sports and what were they?
65. Who invented the Cotton Gin?
66. Who is the black film maker that wrote "Do the Right Thing?"
67. Name the freedom fighter that was jailed for speaking out against apartheid.
68. Who was the first black man to serve in the House of Representatives?
69. Who was the first black performer to demand a no-discrimination clause in her contract?
70. Name the black comedian was known for his blue act and cranky T.V. personality.
71. Name five historically black colleges or universities.
72. Which amendment made it illegal to deny anyone the right to vote based on color, race, ethnic background, or religious beliefs?
73. What do the letters S.C.L.C. stand for?
74. Who is the "Queen of Soul Music?"
75. Who is the "Godfather of Soul Music?"
76. In what city was the first black-owned television station started?
77. What are the initials of the first black-owned radio station?
78. Who wrote about the exploits of Porthos, Aramis, and Athos?
79. Who was the first black person to receive an Academy Award?
80. Who was the first black musical director of an orchestra?
81. Who was the "Black Prophet" and was hung Nov. 11, 1831?
82. What is the largest black university in the U.S?
83. What style of music was sung by black during slavery?
84. In what year did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lead the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama?
85. What professional basketball player goes by the nickname of "Air?"
86. What black man is a former ambassador of the United States and mayor of Atlanta, Georgia?
87. Name the first black woman with a successful talk show.
88. In what city was Dr. Martin Luther King assassinated?
89. Who was the first American black man to win an Olympic Gold Medal?
90. On what day and year was Dr. Martin Luther King assassinated?
91. Who is the fastest woman in the world?
92. Who was the first black ambassador?
93. What black man retired as the soccer champion of the world?
94. What is the name of the organization that brings discrimination cases before the Supreme Court?
95. What were the laws called that regulated a slave's life?
96. Who was the first black female to serve in a President's Cabinet?
97. Who was the founder of Bethune-Cookman College?
98. Who was the founder of the first major black nationalist movement?
99. Who is the world's most powerful soldier? In what branch of the armed services does the most powerful soldier serve?
100. Name the first black person to receive a U. S. patent.
101. Name the black person who, in 1528, was one of the first people to explore the land which later became known as Texas.
102. Name the black person who has the distinction of being one of the first whose blood was shed in the war for Texas independence.
103. Name the first black person from Texas to win the Medal of Honor.
104. Name the frontier master potter who, with his brother James, established a stoneware pottery near Seguin and who later became a respected Baptist minister.
105. Name the black person who risk his life to secure the freedom of two white families and his own wife and children after they had been captured by Kiowa Indians in Texas.
106. Name the first black person to graduate from West Point. This person later distinguished himself as a civil and mining engineer and through civil service in Washington D.C.
107. Name the famous black pianist-composer who wrote Maple Leaf Rag and whose music was utilized tin Roy Hill's movie, "The Sting".

Contributed by FSU University College and Educational Talent Search.