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National Founders

These people are sometimes considered to be the "founder" of a country. For each person, name the country they helped establish.
Answer must correspond to highlighted box.
This quiz does NOT suggest that they are the only national founder or that this is an any way official. Don't be obtuse.
Quiz by stormcrow
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Last updated: December 5, 2019
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First submittedNovember 28, 2012
Times taken73,997
Average score68.2%
Rating4.36
5:00
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Leader
Country
George Washington
United States
Mao Zedong
China
Ho Chi Minh
Vietnam
Genghis Khan
Mongolia
Otto von Bismarck
Germany
Ivan the Terrible
Russia
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
Mexico
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Turkey
Toussaint Louverture
Haiti
Cyrus the Great
Iran
Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Pakistan
Leader
Country
Ferdinand and Isabella
Spain
Mahatma Gandhi
India
David Ben-Gurion
Israel
Clovis
France
Prince William of Orange
Netherlands
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Italy
Stephen I
Hungary
Pedro I
Brazil
Sukarno
Indonesia
Harald Fairhair
Norway
Lee Kuan Yew
Singapore
+41
Level 43
Jul 9, 2014
Suuuuuure, Mao Zedong "founded" China, if by "founded" you mean "kicked out the existing government and replaced it with death and famine". He founded the People's Republic of China (a government) (but was not a founding member of its ruling party!), but China existed for a long time before Mao started massacring for pleasure, and I'm certain it will continue to exist even after the totalitarian government finally collapses.
+12
Level 55
Mar 15, 2015
To make sure I was answering the question correctly, I typed "PRC" in answer to Mao Zedong, and it was accepted!
+42
Level 82
Mar 16, 2019
The modern-day nation-state of The People's Republic of China (aka China) was founded by Mao, but there have been many other different states that existed in the same geographical area. Some of them have been called China by English-speakers, or some variation of that. That doesn't make them all the same thing. This is part of the nationalist fallacy.
+14
Level 56
Mar 3, 2020
Well a lot of them are quite disputable. If China was founded by Mao, you might as well say Germany was founded by Helmuth Kohl or France by Charles De Gaulle.
+11
Level 82
May 26, 2020
^ that would make pretty good sense, though it would also make sense to date the modern German state back to 1949. Those peddling nationalist fiction would have you believe that the French Republic is somehow that same thing as the Kingdom of Francia, Gallia, or the Frankish Empire, and that the FRG is one and the same with Prussia or the Holy Roman Empire. That's silly. Reality does not conform to humanity's desire to see narratives with neat divisions, simplistic categories, and unbroken continuity.
+22
Level 53
Jun 3, 2019
The government Mao replaced wasn't exactly a great place to be under, either.
+4
Level 32
Mar 3, 2020
two wrongs
+6
Level 82
Dec 6, 2020
Two Wongs don't make a White.
+4
Level 75
Nov 11, 2023
kalbutternut: 3 years on, do you still find that comment hilarious, or do you maybe regret it?
+5
Level 61
Jan 22, 2024
still funny.
+11
Level 69
May 2, 2021
First of all, from what I can gather, Mao was indeed one of the founding members of the CCP.

Second, it's a pretty funny reasoning to say Mao replaced the preceding governments with famines. What do you think the country had before Mao ? To quote Wikipedia : "Between 108 BC and 1911 AD, there were no fewer than 1,828 recorded famines in China, or once nearly every year in one province or another". 1911-1949 was all of the same. Mao's precisely the guy under whose leadership China got rid of famines ! The Great Leap Forward famine was the last one for a reason (in part, ironically, because of GLF policies, namely the colossal work that was put into reparing and extending the irrigation system and terracing the land for future mechanization)

We may also mention that life expectancy casually rose from 35 to 65 years, and that by the end of the Cultural Revolution even Chinese peasants had access to basic free healthcare. Not someone I would spontaneously associate with death.

+5
Level 82
Aug 7, 2022
His famine may not have been the first but it was certainly the best.
+2
Level 41
Aug 7, 2022
another CCP bot...
+11
Level 70
Aug 7, 2022
This needs to be viewed in the global context. Agricultural productivity had dramatically increased around the world. New technologies were available which ended natural famine almost everywhere. His famine is notorious because it was not natural, but needless and caused by political mismanagement.
+1
Level 60
Jan 22, 2024
A curious thing happens when you apply this same logic to the Holodomor famine in 1930s USSR. Using global context of the 1930s... including the worldwide Great Depression and the long history of famines under tsarist Russia...
+2
Level 80
Jan 22, 2024
The idea that causing a famine is a good way to end famines is ridiculous. I guess if your intention is to kill a lot of people so there’s more food to go around, but I think that is generally frowned upon.
+5
Level 32
Sep 2, 2014
I really enjoyed that quiz but I only got 14/20
+15
Level 57
Jan 30, 2015
Persia really should be accept for Cyrus the Great

Especially because it wasn't commonly called Iran until midway thru the 20th century

+2
Level ∞
Jun 24, 2015
Okay
+3
Level 56
Aug 24, 2015
Chlodovech (known in English as Clovis) didn't found France, he founded Frankia/Francia/Frankish (Empire) or whatever you call it. I tried all of those, none were accepted.
+18
Level 66
Feb 15, 2019
Clovis united the Frankish kingdoms, becoming what is now France
+15
Level 67
Aug 24, 2015
Guy who founded Iran must have came in like a wrecking ball.....
+15
Level 74
Mar 17, 2019
Not sure what you mean. Cyrus administered a huge empire in a pretty enlightened way (e.g. respecting the local religions/customs of those he ruled). He codified protections for diversity into his statecraft -- not common 2500 years ago. His legacy impacted Athenian conceptions of human rights, among others. History does not record if he could twerk, if that's what you're getting at...
+12
Level 69
Mar 27, 2019
r/whoosh
+22
Level 82
Jun 1, 2019
I wouldn't hold it against splat that when he reads Cyrus the first thing he thinks of is Persian history and not Miley.
+10
Level 75
Jun 1, 2019
I didn't get the reference, either, since I don't listen to Miley Cyrus. (Thank you, Kal.) Funny one, Quizwhizz.
+1
Level 89
Aug 7, 2022
But the real question is, did someone hurt his achy breaky heart?
+11
Level 66
Jun 1, 2019
@samianco...read his entire comment ...
+3
Level 53
Aug 25, 2015
No Aeneas for Italy? haha :P
+4
Level 40
Apr 22, 2016
Surely Alfred the Great can't be left out? The man who created England.
+3
Level 82
Mar 16, 2019
I thought he created MAD Magazine.
+1
Level 74
Oct 4, 2016
It would make more sense to refer to Ivan IV as the founder than Peter.
+1
Level ∞
Mar 16, 2019
Agreed. Changed it to that.
+1
Level 73
Nov 5, 2016
Almost didn't guess Pedro I for Brazil because I always saw him as Pedro IV in Portugal
+3
Level 83
Jan 26, 2018
Why do I always forget who Ataturk is despite the stonking great clue in his name? *facepalm*
+1
Level 85
Mar 16, 2019
It means "Father of Turks" in Turkish. Maybe this would help for the next time:)
+5
Level 69
Mar 27, 2019
I think probably if we miss the TURK in AtaTURK, the translation isn't going to help much. (brandybuck96 ~ I do it too!)
+2
Level 54
May 17, 2018
Nice quiz. But surprised to know that only 31% people know Jinnah as the founder of Pakistan
+17
Level ∞
Mar 16, 2019
I would be surprised if even 3% of people in the western world are familiar with Jinnah. JetPunk users are much more knowledge than average.
+3
Level 74
Mar 16, 2019
true that
+7
Level 75
Jun 1, 2019
I'd never heard of him, but I started typing Muslim countries and eventually got there.
+2
Level 51
Jun 24, 2020
I know A LOT about Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
+2
Level 57
Mar 17, 2019
The name sounded familiar but I guessed Ethiopia and Somalia before moving onto the next.
+1
Level 82
Mar 17, 2019
I've heard of him before but this time I just guessed some Muslim countries that would be important enough, skipping those whose founders I knew.
+1
Level 64
Jun 23, 2020
I tried every country in the Middle East and several in Africa but I neglected South Asia.
+5
Level 74
Mar 16, 2019
I don't think Ghandi would like to be known as founder of India, for he wanted Pakistan and India to be united.
+3
Level 79
Jun 1, 2019
Gandhi* :)
+3
Level 62
Sep 5, 2019
This quiz is flawed. I think with founder the quizmaster wanted to ask about the person who has been instrumental on founding/forming the modern meaning of their respective nations. Jinnah-Pakistan is no doubt applicable in this sense but the idea of India was established through the Islamic and British rule and influence of 1000 years while the concept of the nation has been here for millennia. Gandhi is just a small piece of the civilization. Again it's all my view. Peace. :)
+1
Level 56
Jun 24, 2020
@SIMULATION That's what happens when you expose yourself too much to the right wing extremism. Mahatma Gandhi was one of the greatest personalities to take birth in the Subcontinent.
+1
Level 54
Jan 28, 2024
Same happens with Israel too. I don't think Ben Gurion deserve the title as the movement started much before
+12
Level 64
Jun 1, 2019
"Don't be obtuse" should be a standard direction for pretty much everything. I love it!
+8
Level 62
Jan 1, 2020
Yeah! You shouldn’t be a quadrilateral parallelogram either
+6
Level 64
Jun 23, 2020
Please simmer down and keep your comments under 90 degrees. Thank you.
+3
Level 77
Jan 22, 2024
I added “don’t be obtuse” to my wedding vows.
+1
Level 53
Jun 1, 2019
Did anyone else guess for most of them and get 100%
+1
Level 57
Jun 1, 2019
Great Quiz! Used google only for Persia, Hungary.
+1
Level 57
Jun 1, 2019
- and Brazil:))
+3
Level 75
Jun 1, 2019
Definitely needs the disclaimer
+1
Level 66
Jun 2, 2019
First tried "Portugal" for Pedro I, then went through all of South and Central America but skipping Brazil somehow! Should have stuck with the Portuguese.
+2
Level 77
Dec 18, 2019
It was the first emperor thousands of years ago who founded China, not Mao.
+1
Level 66
Mar 3, 2020
Perhaps another idea for a quiz? First known ruler(s) of the regions of present day countries? I am sure the comment section would explode haha. (Besides the fact that it is a massive job)
+1
Level 82
Mar 3, 2020
As stated above, not all kingdoms/states/nations that exist in roughly the same geographic area are the same thing. Qin Shi Huang could be considered a founder of China. So could Mao TseTung.
+1
Level 79
Apr 20, 2020
Its kind of alluded to in the description that these are simply figures that at least some people consider as the founders of each country, even if they may not been.
+1
Level 67
Mar 3, 2020
sad I didn't even get Pakistan and I'm Pakistani I really need to brush up on my history
+1
Level 28
Mar 20, 2020
Don't worry
+2
Level 59
Oct 27, 2020
Good quiz. How about another version with some of the founders of African nations?
+1
Level 78
Nov 18, 2020
Everyone has read the rubric, and most, I would guess, understand the nature of the quiz. I despair at some folk.
+3
Level 47
Feb 26, 2021
There seems to be a lot of inconsistencies. You say Mao founded China, while he only founded the modern-day People's Republic. Meanwhile, Cyrus the Great supposedly founded Iran, but if we were going with the modern-day country like you did with China, then it would probably be Ruhollah Khomeini.
+1
Level ∞
Jun 16, 2022
You must not have read the caveats.
+1
Level 65
May 26, 2021
I was expecting Afonso Henriques to be included. Well, maybe on the next. :)
+1
Level 43
Aug 5, 2021
What about Sir John A MacDonald
+1
Level 85
Aug 12, 2021
North Vietnam should be accepted for Vietnam since Ho-Chi-Minh was dead by unification.
+1
Level 82
Aug 7, 2022
by the same logic used on the site that Germany is the same state as West Germany, Vietnam is the same state as North Vietnam.
+3
Level 90
Nov 1, 2021
I like this quiz on who founded countries.

I would like to see a quiz on who losted them.

+1
Level 82
Aug 7, 2022
Soviet Union: Gorbachev

Russian Empire: Nikolai II

Confederate States of America: Davis (or maybe credit for that should go to Lincoln)

Aztec Empire: Moctezuma

Yugoslavia: Tito

Incan Empire: Atahuallpa

Ptolemaic Egypt: Cleopatra

United States of America: Trump

+2
Level 68
Jan 22, 2024
Stfu
+1
Level 67
Aug 9, 2022
Where is Kim il Song?!?!
+2
Level 82
Aug 11, 2022
Probably at the noraebang.
+2
Level ∞
Nov 4, 2023
Probably hanging out with Kim Jong-fun.
+1
Level 65
Jan 22, 2024
Since when Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV) is the founder of Russia? He was the first tsar, but the founder of Russia as an independent state is Ivan the Great (Ivan III)
+1
Level 65
Jan 24, 2024
Could add Simon Bolivar for a part 2 quiz!
+1
Level 54
Jan 28, 2024
Can u accept Mongol Empire for Chengiz Khan