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Short Historical Figures

They stand tall in history (well, some of them do), but in real life they needed lifts! How many of these famous historical figures do you know?
Quiz by CBTemple
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Last updated: January 11, 2013
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First submittedJanuary 11, 2013
Times taken7,074
Average score58.3%
Rating4.08
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Answer
British author of "The Rape of the Lock"
4'6"
Alexander Pope
First prime minister of Israel
5'0"
David Ben-Gurion
Steel magnate and philanthropist
5'0"
Andrew Carnegie
Inventor of the geodesic dome
5'2"
R. Buckminster Fuller
Murderous family cult leader
5'2"
Charles Manson
First man in space
5'2"
Yuri Gagarin
German composer known for nine symphonies
5'3"
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Soviet premier before Brezhnev
5'3"
Nikita Khrushchev
Led India to independence from the UK
5'3"
Mahatma Gandhi
Cruel, licentious French marquis
5'3"
Marquis De Sade
Fourth president of the U.S.
5'4"
James Madison
French sculptor, created "The Thinker"
5'4"
Auguste Rodin
Soviet premier in WWII
5'4"
Joseph Stalin
Author, "In Cold Blood"
5'4"
Truman Capote
Composer, "Rite of Spring"
5'4"
Igor Stravinsky
Spanish painter, founder of cubism
5'4"
Pablo Picasso
Greek tycoon who married JFK's widow
5'5"
Aristotle Onassis
First Soviet premier
5'5"
Vladimir Lenin
Wrote "The Lord of the Rings"
5'5"
J.R.R. Tolkien
French emperor, 1804-1815
5'6"
Napoleon Bonaparte
British PM during WWII
5'6"
Winston Churchill
"I have a dream" speechgiver
5'6"
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Famed British-Arab liaison during WWI
5'6"
T.E. Lawrence
3rd-party candidate in 1992 & 1996
5'7"
H. Ross Perot
+1
Level 26
Jan 11, 2013
Napoleon wasn't actually THAT short...
+1
Level 45
Jan 11, 2013
What about Adolf Hitler? He was 5'8.
+4
Level 82
Mar 17, 2018
Taller than everyone else here.
+1
Level 14
Jan 11, 2013
How is 5'7'' short? I'm a girl and I'm 5'7''. I'm definitely not short!
+11
Level 28
Jan 11, 2013
I think it's different for girls. I'm a 5'8" guy and I would consider myself short.
+5
Level 46
Jan 11, 2013
Physical differences between genders. 5'7 is relatively short for a man, though tall for a girl (especially if you're not finished growing).
+1
Level 33
Jan 12, 2013
5 7' wasn't sure for the time. It was average height for men. Napoleon was taller than Wellington for instance.
+1
Level 71
Mar 17, 2018
Not correct, Wellington was 5'9 ........ Napoleon 5'7....... source: http://qi.com/infocloud/height
+1
Level 88
Aug 1, 2018
Have you lived your whole life in a convent?
+1
Level 43
Oct 21, 2021
for girls 5'4 is average but for guys its 5'9
+2
Level 31
Jan 11, 2013
lots of small Russians!!
+2
Level 27
Jan 11, 2013
It should be known by now that Napoleon was of over average height in his time and that this saying "small emperor" was based on an error in measurements (French and Englisch measures weren't the same) and that it was also partly British propaganda.
+1
Level 78
Dec 28, 2016
Yeah, I don't like Napoleon being included in this test (and having him in the picture) because it perpetuates this baseless factual error.
+2
Level 82
Mar 17, 2018
but it list his actual height.
+1
Level 76
Aug 2, 2021
But that isn't what they're saying, is it? It's a matter of context, not just literal facts.
+1
Level 48
May 6, 2014
Hey! My husband is taller than almost all of these guys! :D
+1
Level 64
Nov 2, 2015
I'm just reminded of the Time Bandits, with Napoleon lamenting the heights of various dictators
+1
Level 84
Feb 25, 2017
Manson. Can't believe that scum-sucking little weasel is still drawing breath.
+5
Level 76
Mar 17, 2018
Not anymore!
+1
Level 82
Mar 17, 2018
Hard to breathe with a mouth full of weasel scum.
+6
Level 59
Mar 17, 2018
Metrics would be nice to include since inches make no sense to most of the world.
+1
Level 37
Apr 13, 2018
Wow!!! - If true, then their inferiority complexes virtually forced many to become overachievers! -
+2
Level 73
Aug 20, 2018
I know we always give credit for the geodesic dome to Fuller, but wasn't it actually invented by a guy named Bauersfeld about 30 years before Fuller patented the design?
+2
Level 84
Nov 13, 2020
I guess Tolkien invented hobbits just to feel a little taller...
+2
Level 77
Dec 5, 2020
What source lists Tolkien as 5'4"? I find him listed at 5'9" online.
+1
Level 71
Sep 5, 2022
He was virtually a hobbit himself
+1
Level 78
Mar 7, 2024
Tolkien: "I am not in fact tall, or strongly built. I now measure 5 ft 8 1/2, and am very slightly built..."
+2
Level 79
Mar 6, 2021
Interesting how all of these are men. But I wouldn't consider 5'7 short, since that's about the average height for an adult male in China (where I live). Also the world average height for a male born in 1996 in 5'7½ (half an inch taller than the tallest in this quiz).
+3
Level 66
Aug 31, 2022
"3rd-party candidate in 1992 & 1996" but of what?
+1
Level 71
Sep 5, 2022
I am amazed that nearly twice as many knew this as knew Stravinsky
+2
Level 46
Jan 24, 2023
For Aristotle Onassis: misspelled "who"?