Historical figures with secret families
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Historical Figures with Secret Families — Daily trivia Thursday, March 5, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Which US president is widely accepted to have fathered six children with the enslaved Sally Hemings?
- AGeorge Washington
- BAndrew Jackson
- CJames Madison
- DThomas Jefferson
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Thomas Jefferson
A 1998 DNA study matched Thomas Jefferson's male line to a descendant of Hemings's son Eston, and historians now widely accept that Jefferson fathered all six of her children.
Q 02What did opponents chant about Grover Cleveland's secretly fathered child during his presidential campaign?
- AMa, Ma, where is my Pa?
- BOscar wants his daddy!
- CRum, Romanism and Rebellion!
- DCleveland the Cheater!
Show answer
Ma, Ma, where is my Pa?
Blaine's supporters chanted "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?" over Grover Cleveland's son with Maria Halpin; after he won, his supporters answered "Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha!"
Q 03Which famous aviator secretly fathered seven children with three European women, revealed after his death?
- AChuck Yeager
- BAntoine de Saint-Exupery
- CCharles Lindbergh
- DHoward Hughes
Show answer
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh had six children with his wife, Anne, and seven more with three women in Germany, a double life revealed in 2003, decades after he died.
Q 04Benjamin Franklin's illegitimate son William served as royal governor of which colony?
- APennsylvania
- BNew Jersey
- CVirginia
- DMassachusetts
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New Jersey
William Franklin was Benjamin Franklin's acknowledged extra-marital son and served as New Jersey's last royal governor from 1763 to 1776. He stayed loyal to the Crown, which permanently split him from his father.
Q 05Strom Thurmond's secret daughter went public months after he died at 100; which state had he served as senator?
- AGeorgia
- BOhio
- CSouth Carolina
- DOregon
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South Carolina
South Carolina: Thurmond represented it in the Senate for nearly half a century, and his daughter Essie Mae Washington-Williams, born to a teenage family maid, went public at 78.
Q 06Lucien Bonaparte broke with which emperor, his brother, over his marriage to Alexandrine de Bleschamp?
- ANapoleon I
- BNapoleon III
- CLouis XVIII
- DCharles X
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Napoleon I
Napoleon I wanted his brother to marry a Spanish Bourbon princess instead; Lucien refused, spurned all imperial honours and went into self-imposed exile in Rome.
Q 07Which of Charles II's illegitimate sons led a failed rebellion against the new king and was beheaded?
- AHenry FitzRoy, Duke of Grafton
- BCharles Beauclerk, Duke of St Albans
- CCharles Lennox, Duke of Richmond
- DJames Scott, Duke of Monmouth
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James Scott, Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's eldest son by Lucy Walter, rose against his uncle James II and was beheaded nine days after his defeat at Sedgemoor.
Q 08Which philosopher placed all five of his children with Therese Levasseur in a foundling hospital?
- AVoltaire
- BJean-Jacques Rousseau
- CDenis Diderot
- DMontesquieu
Show answer
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau left five children at a foundling hospital, then became famous for Emile, a treatise on raising children, and critics like Voltaire threw that back at him.
Q 09DNA vindicated Nan Britton, whose scorned book said Warren G. Harding fathered her daughter; in which Ohio city had both lived?
- AAkron
- BDayton
- CMarion
- DToledo
Show answer
Marion
Marion: Britton grew up there and Harding ran its newspaper, and in 2015 Ancestry.com DNA tests matched her grandson with descendants of Harding's brother.
Q 10Which English king's secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville upended his advisor's French marriage plans?
- AHenry VI
- BEdward IV
- CRichard III
- DHenry V
Show answer
Edward IV
Edward IV wed Elizabeth Woodville in secret around 1 May 1464, with only her mother and two ladies present, while Warwick was arranging a French match; the snub ruined their alliance.
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