Q 01/05

Memphis sits on the banks of which great waterway?

A) Ohio River

B) Tennessee River

C) Cumberland River

D) Mississippi River

Answer · why

D) Mississippi River

It is the largest city proper anywhere on the river, perched on the Chickasaw Bluffs above the floodplain.

Q 02/05

Memphis was named after an ancient capital of which country?

A) Persia

B) Greece

C) Egypt

D) Turkey

Answer · why

C) Egypt

The founders chose the name in 1819 for another great city on a great river, the Nile.

Q 03/05

Which future US president was one of the three founders of Memphis in 1819?

A) Andrew Jackson

B) James K. Polk

C) William Henry Harrison

D) Zachary Taylor

Answer · why

A) Andrew Jackson

John Overton and James Winchester were his partners; the city was founded less than five months after the Chickasaw ceded the land.

Q 04/05

Which Spanish conquistador is credited with the first European exploration of the Memphis area in 1541?

A) Francisco Coronado

B) Cabeza de Vaca

C) Ponce de León

D) Hernando de Soto

Answer · why

D) Hernando de Soto

The I-40 bridge over the Mississippi carries his name today; locals call it the 'M Bridge'.

Q 05/05

Memphis is the seat of which Tennessee county?

A) Davidson

B) Shelby

C) Knox

D) Hamilton

Answer · why

B) Shelby

It is the second-most populous city in Tennessee after Nashville.