Which Historical Figure Said the Controversial Quote?

By: Past Chronicles Staff | Published: Mar 26, 2024

Throughout history, public figures have left behind noteworthy and inspiring quotes attributed to them. However, some of our most historical figures have also left behind rather controversial quotes.

These controversial quotes aren’t as well known as their more inspiring ones. In fact, most people likely won’t realize who, exactly, made some of these comments.

"Direct thought is not an attribute of femininity. In this, woman is now centuries behind man."

A) Nikola Tesla

B) Henry Ford

C) Thomas Edison

D) Albert Einstein

An old painting of a woman standing in the grass around green shrubbery.

Source: Birmingham Museums Trust/Unsplash

Answer:

Thomas Edison

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

"Hitler turned me on in the highest."

A) Salvador Dali

B) Franklin D. Roosevelt

C) Pablo Picasso

D) Neville Chamberlain

A black and white photo of Adolf Hitler by other men.

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Answer:

Salvador Dali

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

"Never trust a Jew!"

A) Adolf Hitler

B) Neville Chamberlain

C) Nikola Tesla

D) Henry Ford

A black and white photo of Adolf Hitler.

Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S33882 / CC BY-SA 3.0 DE/Wikimedia Commons

Answer:

Nikola Tesla

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

"The female is a female by virtue of a certain lack of qualities; we should regard the female nature as afflicted with a natural defectiveness."

A) Aristotle

B) Plato

C) John Locke

D) Friedrich Nietzsche

An 1860s painting by Augustus Leopold Egg of two females on a train.

Source: Birmingham Museums Trust/Unsplash

Answer:

Aristotle

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

"I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion."

A) Franklin D. Roosevelt

B) John F. Kennedy

C) Winston Churchill

D) Albert Einstein

Source: Nik Shuliahin 💛💙/Unsplash

Answer:

Winston Churchill

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

"I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people."

A) Pope Francis

B) Mother Teresa

C) Martin Luther

D) John Locke

A wall painting of Jesus and other religious figures.

Source: engin akyurt/Unsplash

Answer:

Mother Teresa

Source: John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com/Wikimedia Commons

"I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes."

A) Winston Churchill

B) Adolf Hitler

C) Franklin D. Roosevelt

D) Joseph Stalin

A black and white photo of poisoned gas cans in Auschwitz.

Source: Karsten Winegeart/Unsplash

Answer:

Winston Churchill

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

“There is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.”

A) Martin Luther King Jr.

B) John F. Kennedy

C) Malcolm X

D) Abraham Lincoln

A colorized photo of people protesting during the Civil Rights Movement.

Source: Unseen Histories/Unsplash

Answer:

Abraham Lincoln

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

On Domestic Abuse: "I would suggest that you analyze the whole situation and see if there is anything within your personality that arouses this tyrannical response from your husband."

A) Abraham Lincoln

B) Malcolm X

C) Martin Luther King Jr.

D) Andrew Jackson

A 1700s painting of a man and wife with their children.

Source: Birmingham Museums Trust/Unsplash

Answer:

Martin Luther King Jr.

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

"The natives [of Australia] were so few in number and of such a low type, that they practically offered no resistance at all, being but little more hindrance than an equal number of ferocious beasts."

A) Winston Churchill

B) Franklin D. Roosevelt

C) Teddy Roosevelt

D) Woodrow Wilson

An 1800s painting by Alexander Schramm of people in South Australia.

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Answer:

Teddy Roosevelt

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

On His Wife: "I simply cannot bear to look at Ba's face. The expression is often like that on the face of a meek cow and gives one the feeling as a cow occasionally does, that in her own dumb manner she is saying something."

A) Martin Luther King Jr.

B) Mahatma Gandhi

C) Nelson Mandela

D) Albert Einstein

An 1800s painting by Sir Charles Lock Eastlake of a woman and a knight by others.

Source: Birmingham Museums Trust/Unsplash

Answer:

Mahatma Gandhi

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

"The Aryan stock is bound to triumph."

A) Winston Churchill

B) Adolf Hitler

C) Benito Mussolini

D) Heinrich Himmler

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Answer:

Winston Churchill

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

"I used to be cruel to my woman, and physically - any woman. I was a hitter."

A) Paul McCartney

B) Eric Clapton

C) Ringo Starr

D) John Lennon

An 1800s painting by Frederick Sandys of a woman.

Source: Birmingham Museums Trust/Unsplash

Answer:

John Lennon

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

“If it be the design of Providence to extirpate these Savages in order to make room for cultivators of the Earth, it seems not improbable that rum may be the appointed means.”

A) George Washington

B) Benjamin Franklin

C) Alexander Hamilton

D) Thomas Jefferson

A 1908 painting by Roman Fekonja of a Native American treaty.

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Answer:

Benjamin Franklin

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

"'Keep England White' is a good slogan.”

A) Neville Chamberlain

B) Margaret Thatcher

C) Queen Elizabeth

D) Winston Churchill

An old painting by George Warren Blackham of people on an English street by buildings.

Source: Birmingham Museums Trust/Unsplash

Answer:

Winston Churchill

Source: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons