What descriptively-named ruler was the first Tsar of Russia?
Ivan the Terrible was made Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533, and reigned over all of Russia until 1584. After the death of his wife, he became paranoid and violent, and went on to kill his own son.
Henry VIII loved court intrigue—after all, he basically used it to have one of his wives executed. He employed a number of assistants to help him in the bathroom, and these men would be trusted with the strictest confidence. What was this position called?
Being one of Henry’s Grooms of the Stool was regarded as a prestigious position. But such intimacy with the king was a double-edged and smelly sword: he executed one groom, Sir Henry Norris, on trumped-up charges of adultery with his second queen, Anne Boleyn.
King Leopold II of Belgium created the Congo Free State in the 19th century and enslaved millions there. Recently, this was used as a plot device in a film based on a character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. What is the character’s name?
In the film The Legend of Tarzan, the titular character is compelled to return to Africa and expose Leopold’s sinister work there. It’s a new take on an old character, who was originally created by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
What popular and delicious beverage did Murad IV ban during his reign?
t’s hard to believe he got away with it, but hey, Murad was a tyrant—so he made drinking coffee a capital offence. Anyone caught drinking it would be killed. He also banned tobacco and alcohol.
Murad IV was a tyrannical ruler who killed his siblings and impaled his enemies. What empire did he reign over?
Murad IV was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640. On top of everything mentioned above, he also had his corrupt advisors strangled to death in his presence, executed a bunch of high ranking military officials, and he had the head of the Islamic Supreme court assassinated.
English kings tend to use the same names, but there was one King whose reign was so disastrous that no monarch has taken his name since. What was his name?
King John was the brother of Richard the Lionheart, who made such a huge mess of things while his brother was away on a crusade that no king since has taken that name.
What was the name of the Cambodian head of state and dictator who led the Khmer Rouge regime?
Under Pol Pot’s rule in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, more than one million people were killed, thanks to exhaustion from overwork, starvation, or execution.
On the night of August 8, 1969, members of the Manson family entered the home of a famous actress on Cielo Drive in Los Angeles killed everyone there. What was the actress’s name?
Sharon Tate and her husband Roman Polanski were renting the home on Cielo Drive, but Polanski was in Europe on the fateful night when his wife, eight months pregnant at the time, was murdered by four members of the Manson Family.
What was the name given to Manson’s followers?
Led by Charles Manson, the group that came to be known as the Manson Family was a desert commune and cult that believed Manson’s proclamation that he was a manifestation of Jesus Christ.
Which notorious cult leader became known for his connection to the murder of a famous actress?
Charles Manson was sentenced to death for his involvement in a series of crimes, but his sentence was later commuted to life in prison when the death penalty was abolished in California.
Which Romanian ruler served as the real-life inspiration for everyone’s favorite fictional vampire, Dracula?
During his reign over Wallachia, a region in Romania, Vlad the Imapler was known for his inhuman cruelty with his victims, and of course his favorite form of execution, impalement.
Which man served as dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 1929 until 1953?
Under Joseph Stalin’s rule of the U.S.S.R., millions of citizens were forced into labor camps and were brutally executed. Stalin’s forced collectivization of farms, led to millions of farmers being shot or exiled, and a widespread famine which led to many deaths.
Adolf Hitler is basically the worst of the worst when it comes to a list of evil people who changed history. How did he die?
Hitler killed himself by gunshot on April 30, 1945 in his bunker in Berlin.
Which actor portrayed Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland?
Forest Whitaker won an Oscar, among other awards, for his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland opposite James McAvoy.
Which former president of Uganda, who came to power after a military coup, was known as “the Butcher”?
As President of Uganda, Idi Amin was responsible for the brutal deaths of 300,000 to 500,000 of his subjects.
History’s most brutal female serial killer was a wealthy Hungarian countess whose terrifying exploits earned her the nickname “the Bloody Countess.” What was her real name?
Countess Elizabeth Báthory of Hungary gained the nickname the Bloody Countess when it was revealed that she’d killed hundreds of servant girls. She got away with it for so long because of her immense wealth—it’s said that even the king owed her money.
Which leader of the People’s Republic of China helmed a failed program called the Great Leap Forward, which he then tried to cover up?
The failure of Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward program led to widespread famine and economic collapse. Over 45 million people died under his leadership.
A Dominican priest known as Tomas De Torquemad, born in Spain in the 15th century, became a figure known for his cruelty. What notorious act of religious persecution did he participate in?
Torquemada served as the Inquisitor General during the Spanish Inquisition, and his leadership became synonymous with barbaric torture and merciless cruelty.
What terrifying figure became known amongst the Romans as the “Scourge of God” for attacking and looting the Empire?
Attila the Hun was such a fearsome leader that there were no survivor’s accounts of his appearance. He was so passionate about invading other countries, that on his way to gather his bride, Honoria, he made a quick stop in Rome to destroy it.
Emperor Hirohito held the throne of which country for 63 years?
Emperor Hirohito was Japan’s longest-reigning monarch, and he is remembered for his troops’ terrible actions during the Sino-Japanese War.
Nero was another fearsome Roman Emperor. During the Great Fire of Rome, he was said to have done what?
Nero was said to have played the fiddle while Rome burned, revealing his lack of concern for his subjects and the city he reigned over.
Caligula was a notorious emperor of which ancient empire?
Caligula was notorious for his brutal leadership of the Roman Empire. He brought Rome the brink of revolution by wastefully spending and killing anyone who stood in his way.
What was the name of the fearsome leader of the Mongols, known for his terrifying military campaigns that effectively wiped out entire populations?
Genghis Khan ruled as the Emperor of the Mongol Empire from 1206 until his death in 1227. Upwards of 40 million people were killed under Khan’s rule.
Of Henry VIII’s six wives, he had two of them executed. Who was the first to be sent to their death?
Henry VIII had Anne Boleyn investigated for high treason in 1536, and she was eventually arrested on charges of adultery, incest, and plotting to kill the king. She was beheaded soon after.
It was speculated that Mary’s fierce Catholicism was the result of resentment towards her father after he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. He was known for his long reign and multiple wives. What was his name?
Henry VIII reigned as King of England for nearly 40 years, and memorably went through six wives in that time.
During the short reign of Mary Tudor as Queen of England, she had many Protestants burned as heretics, earning her what nickname?
Before it was a children’s game or a cocktail, Bloody Mary was the nickname for Mary Tudor during her five-year tenure as Queen.
Maximilien Robespierre was a leader in the French Revolution during a time known as the Reign of Terror. He sentenced many of his political rivals to death by a method that’s become emblematic of the French Revolution itself. What method did he prefer?
The guillotine saw a lot of action during the French Revolution, and was the weapon of choice for Robespierre’s executions of those he accused of treason.
Madame Delphine LaLaurie was an influential French-Creole woman in 19th century New Orleans who killed many of the slaves she kept and tortured others. Recently, she was portrayed in the horror TV show American Horror Story: Coven. Which Oscar-winning actress played her on the show?
Kathy Bates won an Emmy for her portrayal of Madame LaLaurie in American Horror Story: Coven.
What was the name of the terrifying doctor who operated out of the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust?
Josef Mengele was the physician most notoriously known for performing horrible experiments on prisoners with no regard for health, safety, or the suffering of the patients.
At the same time that Elizabeth Bathory was arrested for her crimes, some of her servants and closest friends were arrested as accomplices and executed. Bathory herself couldn’t be executed—what was the reason?
The Bathory family’s social standing prevented Elizabeth’s execution—instead, she was locked in a windowless room inside a castle. She lasted four years before dying.
Your Results
Playing Nice
Nice! They say ignorance is bliss, and when it comes to knowing about the misdeed of the most evil people in history, they are 100% correct. We’re actually hopeful that you didn’t absorb too much over the course of this quiz, and you can continue to live unaware of just how awful humanity can be.
Mildly Malicious
Great! You’re aware that it’s not always sunshine and rainbows, and that evil lurks everywhere. History’s got a real dark side, and you’re no stranger to it—otherwise you wouldn’t have done so well on this quiz.
Evil Genius
Amazing! Or should we say…diabolical? There’s no way anyone should know this much about the most evil people in history, which makes us both very impressed and a little scared of you. Either way, congrats—your historical trivia knowledge is seriously on point.
Happy With Your Test Score? This video can help you do better on any quiz... even if you know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the topic.
Quiz
If there’s one thing we can learn from the history books, it’s that humankind can sadly be capable of terrible, evil acts. Between the bloodthirsty kings, perverted doctors, power-hungry warlords, and cruel dictators, the world has seen it’s fair share of pure evil. So how much do you really know about the darker side of history? Test your knowledge with this quiz about the most evil people in history.
