Just the Vax — Historical/Famous Figures and Vaccine-preventable Diseases

1. John Roebling, the chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge, died from what vaccine-preventable disease?

1. Tetanus
2. Hepatitis A
3. Polio
4. Influenza

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. John Roebling was a German-born American civil engineer who was known for designing wire rope suspension bridges and the Brooklyn Bridge in particular. While surveying the progress of the bridge, Roebling’s foot was crushed by a docking boat. He was diagnosed with tetanus soon after, often experiencing severe seizures and lapsing into comas. John Roebling died on July 22, 1869 from tetanus.

2. What three presidents had children who died from diphtheria?

1. Clinton, Bush and Roosevelt
2. Reagan, Kennedy and Obama
3. Lincoln, Garfield and Cleveland
4. Truman, Hoover and Carter

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. Abraham Lincoln, Grover Cleveland and James Garfield all had children who became sick with diphtheria and died from the disease before there was a vaccine.

3. Which U.S. president is known for having had polio?

1. James Madison
2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
3. Abraham Lincoln
4. Theodore Roosevelt

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio at age 39, 12 years before becoming President of the United States. As President, Roosevelt accomplished many things during his term, including spearheading a campaign to raise money to make a polio vaccine and creating a program known as the New Deal.

4. Which president contracted smallpox a short time before delivering a famous speech?

1. George Washington
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. Grover Cleveland
4. Thomas Jefferson

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Abraham Lincoln became ill with smallpox a few days before delivering the Gettysburg Address. Current research suggests that the severity of Lincoln’s illness was downplayed by his doctor to prevent the public from worrying that their president was dying.

5. Which famous inventor wished he supported smallpox variolation after his son later died of the disease?

1. Thomas Jefferson
2. Benjamin Franklin
3. Roger Bacon
4. Michael Faraday

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. In 1721, Benjamin Franklin and his brothers were critical of variolation, a technique used to inoculate a person against smallpox. Variolation differs from vaccination because during variolation, material was taken directly from an ill person’s smallpox pustule and inoculated into a small cut in a susceptible person.

When smallpox came to Philadelphia in 1736, infecting and eventually killing his son, Ben Franklin appeared to have a change of heart about smallpox inoculation when he wrote in his autobiography,

“In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the smallpox taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of the parents who omit that operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child died under it; my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the safer should be chosen.”

6. Which U.S. president contracted smallpox, and also had a brother who died from the same disease?

1. 1. Andrew Jackson
   2. Abraham Lincoln
   3. James Garfield
   4. Martin Van Buren

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. Andrew Jackson and his brother, William, fought in the Battle of Hanging Rock during the Revolutionary War. Both were captured by British soldiers and fell ill with smallpox. However, unlike his brother, Andrew Jackson did not die from the illness.

7. In the 1700s, the mayor of what major U.S. city died from yellow fever?

1. Chicago
2. Austin
3. Philadelphia
4. San Diego

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. In 1793, a yellow fever epidemic hit Philadelphia and sickened many people, including the mayor of Philadelphia, Matthew Clarkson, and many members of his committee. In fact, the book, “Fever 1793,” by Laurie Halse Anderson, describes the yellow fever outbreak that occurred during this time.

8. What U.S. president underwent smallpox variolation so he could conduct business in Boston without fearing the disease?

1. John Adams
2. Benjamin Franklin
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. Theodore Roosevelt

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. Prior to becoming president, John Adams conducted a lot of business in Boston, Massachusetts. During the 1760s, a smallpox epidemic broke out in Boston. Adams didn’t want to risk infection or delay his work, so he was intentionally inoculated with smallpox, which was a common practice during that time. Known as variolation, the virus was taken from a pustule of one person and inoculated into another.

9. What U.S. president survived infections with smallpox, diphtheria and malaria?

1. Andrew  Jackson
2. George Washington
3. Ulysses S. Grant
4. John Adams

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Washington witnessed many epidemics, including the yellow fever epidemic in 1793. In his teenage years, Washington was often sick and fell ill with diphtheria, malaria and smallpox at ages 15, 17 and 19, respectively.

10. President James Garfield experienced the loss of two of his children from vaccine-preventable diseases. What diseases were they?

1. Diphtheria and pertussis
2. Measles and rubella
3. Smallpox and pneumococcus
4. Polio and influenza

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. President Garfield’s daughter, Eliza, died from diphtheria in 1863. Thirteen years later, Garfield’s son, Edward, died from pertussis.

11. What U.S. president met with vaccine maker Maurice Hilleman to discuss a vaccine for swine influenza?

1. Gerald R. Ford
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Richard M. Nixon
4. James “Jimmy” Carter

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. During his presidency, Gerald Ford met with Maurice Hilleman and other vaccine makers to discuss a vaccine for swine influenza. This meeting was held because a swine influenza outbreak was occurring at Fort Dix, a military base in New Jersey.

12. During which U.S. president’s term was the first childhood vaccination program launched?

1. Harry S. Truman
2. James “Jimmy” Carter
3. Lyndon B. Johnson
4. George H. W. Bush

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. During his presidency, Jimmy Carter established a national energy policy, expanded the national park system, fought inflation, and many other things. At the urging of Betty Bumpers and his wife, Rosalyn, the first childhood vaccination program was also started during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. 

13. Eleanor Roosevelt died of complications from what vaccine-preventable disease that she had as a child?

1. Tuberculosis
2. Cholera
3. Measles
4. Rubella

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. As a child, Eleanor Roosevelt fell ill with tuberculosis but later recovered. In 1905, Eleanor married Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who would soon become the 32nd president of the United States. As First Lady, Eleanor fought for civil rights. In 1962, she died from complications caused by the tuberculosis that she had as a child. The BCG vaccine, which protects against tuberculosis, is not a vaccine that was ever routinely recommended in the U.S.

14. What U.S. president said going through the process of inoculation was “preferable to living in fear of the disease?”

1. Thomas Jefferson
2. Ulysses S. Grant
3. Andrew Jackson
4. John Adams

Supplementary information: The correct answer is D. Before becoming president, James Adams was variolated (a technique used to inoculate a person against smallpox) for smallpox so that he could conduct business in Boston, Massachusetts without fearing the disease.

15. What famous author nearly died after intentionally exposing himself to a friend who had measles?

1. Mark Twain
2. Ralph Waldo Emerson
3. Walt Whitman
4. Margaret Fuller

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. When Mark Twain was 12 years old, a measles epidemic swept through his town. Feeling like a prisoner in his own house, he decided to visit his friend who was sick with measles. Mark Twain wrote about this experience in “The Turning-Point of My Life.”

16. The threat of smallpox in what major U.S. city kept Abigail Adams from going to inspect her house for damages after the British troops left in 1775?

1. Philadelphia
2. Boston
3. Washington, DC
4. New York City

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Abigail and James Adams had a house in Boston, Massachusetts. Smallpox was a great threat in Boston and Abigail had yet to be inoculated for the disease, so after the British troops ransacked Boston during an invasion of the city, she did not return to Boston to check the state of her home.

17. What famous actress became a global advocate for the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign?

1. Jennifer Garner
2. Amanda Peet
3. Angelina Jolie
4. Sarah Jessica Parker

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Amanda Peet became an advocate for Shot@Life after her daughter became sick with whooping cough (pertussis).

18. Selma Hayek became the spokesperson for One Pack = One Vaccine, a Unicef-Pampers sponsored program. What vaccine does this program provide?

1. Diphtheria vaccine
2. Polio vaccine
3. Tetanus vaccine
4. Smallpox vaccine

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. One Pack = One Vaccine provided tetanus vaccine to mothers and babies in Asia and Africa.

19. Who has been a spokesperson for the American Lung Association’s “Faces of Influenza®” campaign?

1. Jennifer Garner
2. Bruce Willis
3. Reese Witherspoon
4. Whoopie Goldberg

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. Jennifer Garner was a spokesperson for “Faces of Influenza®,” a campaign provided by the American Lung Association to “put a face on influenza” by providing pictures of people whose lives were affected by influenza. Kristi Yamaguichi has also been a spokeswoman for this campaign.

20. What famous singer and actress was the spokesperson for “Sounds of Pertussis”?

1. Rihanna
2. Jennifer Lopez
3. Jennifer Hudson
4. Madonna

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Jennifer Lopez was a spokesperson for “Sounds of Pertussis,” a campaign designed to raise awareness about pertussis (whooping cough). 

21. What famous race car driver works with “Sounds of Pertussis” to spread the word about pertussis (whooping cough)?

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Casey Mears

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. Jeff Gordon works with “Sounds of Pertussis” on their “Take Pertussis Out of the Picture” campaign to help raise awareness about this disease.

22. What famous Latin singer has filmed public safety announcements (PSAs) for flu.gov to promote flu vaccines?

1. Marc Anthony
2. Gloria Estefan
3. Shakira
4. Enrique Iglesias

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. During influenza season, the CDC provides PSAs to help promote vaccination against influenza. The PSAs can be viewed on www.flu.gov.

23. Kerri Russell, the star of the hit TV show Felicity, signed on with PKIDs to do public safety announcements promoting adult vaccination against what vaccine-preventable disease?

1. Shingles
2. Pertussis (Whooping cough)
3. Influenza
4. Varicella (Chickenpox)

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. After having her son and learning that pertussis rates were on the rise despite vaccinations, Kerri Russell signed on with PKIDs to raise awareness about pertussis booster shots for new and expectant parents in order to protect babies from the disease.

24. What famous philanthropist said vaccines are "a miracle," and that "with just a few doses, they can prevent deadly diseases for a lifetime?"

1. Oprah
2. Bill Gates
3. Warren Buffett
4. George Clooney

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, is a known vaccine advocate and founder of End Polio Now, an initiative working towards global polio eradication.

25. What famous 1970s/1980s singer caught polio during the 1951 pandemic?

1. Freddie Mercury
2. Jon Bon Jovi
3. Neil Young
4. John Lennon

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. In 1951, the last major polio outbreak occurred in Ontario, Canada. Neil Young, who was only a child at the time, became sick with the disease. After surviving the illness, Neil Young grew up to become a successful musician and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.

26. Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice, died from what vaccine-preventable disease?

1. Smallpox
2. Rubella
3. Tuberculosis
4. Diphtheria

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. Besides Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen wrote many great literary works including Northanger Abbey, Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility. During her lifetime, Jane’s work did not offer much in the way of fame. However, upon the publication of her nephew’s book, “A Memoir of Jane Austen,” Jane Austen’s work became much more well-known and she was recognized as a great English writer.

27. Mary Mallon was a carrier of the bacterium Salmonella typhi and unknowingly made people sick. What was Mary’s nickname when her carrier status was discovered?

1. Pertussis Mary
2. Mighty Mary the Cook
3. Typhoid Mary
4. Sick Mary

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. Nicknamed “Typhoid Mary,” Mary Mallon was the first carrier of Salmonella typhi in the United States who showed no symptoms of the illness. As a cook, Mary infected 51 people, three of whom died. She was put in isolation twice to prevent her from further spreading the disease.

28. Every Child by Two was co-founded by a U.S. president’s wife and a senator’s wife. Who were they?

1. Rosalyn Carter and Betty Bumpers
2. Barbara Bush and  Margaret Chase Smith
3. Hilary Clinton and Hattie Caraway
4. Jackie Onassis and Paula Hawkins

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. Rosalyn Carter and Betty Bumpers co-founded Every Child By Two, an organization dedicated to raising parents’ awareness about the importance of getting their infants vaccinated in a timely manner.

29. Sacajawea is said to have died from what vaccine-preventable disease?

1. Rubella
2. Chickenpox
3. Shingles
4. Diphtheria

Supplementary information: The correct answer is D. Sacajawea was the Native American Indian interpreter and guide for the Lewis and Clark expeditions. She is said to have died from diphtheria.

30. What famous American industrialist died from diphtheria?

1. Eli Whitney
2. Elisha Graves Otis
3. Andrew Carnegie
4. Henry Ford

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Elisha Graves Otis was an American industrialist who founded the Otis Elevator Company and invented a safety device that kept elevators from falling. He died from diphtheria in 1861.

31. What famous kid’s game was invented by Eleanor Abbott while she recovered from polio in a hospital ward?

1. Chutes and Ladders
2. Jacks
3. Candy Land
4. Trouble

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. Eleanor Abbott designed Candy Land in 1945 while she recovered from polio in a San Diego hospital ward. Candy Land was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2005.

32. Although he died well before the vaccine was invented, Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, died from what vaccine-preventable disease?

1. Smallpox
2. Shingles
3. Polio
4. Influenza

Supplementary information: The correct answer is D. Lewis Carroll wrote many stories but is probably most famous for writing Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Lewis Carroll died from influenza in 1898.

33. The husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie, contracted what vaccine-preventable disease?

1. Polio
2. Measles
3. Influenza
4. Diphtheria

Supplementary information: The correct answer is D. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s husband, Almanzo, became ill with diphtheria in the spring of 1888. At the same time, Laura also became sick with the disease. Although both survived, Almanzo became sick with the disease again, which caused a stroke that left him with permanently paralyzed feet.

34. Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, lost his daughter to what vaccine-preventable disease?

1. Diphtheria
2. Measles
3. Chickenpox
4. Pneumococcal disease

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Roald Dahl’s daughter, Olivia, died at age 7 from encephalitis caused by measles. After Olivia’s death, Roald became a vaccine advocate.

35. What Academy Award nominated actress gave birth to a daughter with birth defects caused by congenital rubella syndrome (CRS)?

1. Meryl Streep
2. Gene Tierney
3. Susan Sarandon
4. Gwyneth Paltrow

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. While pregnant, Gene Tierney was infected with rubella after an infected fan hugged her. Gene’s infection passed to the baby, causing Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) as a result. The baby was born prematurely with cataracts, mental retardation and deafness.

36. Two NCAA basketball teams during the 1988-89 season played multiple games without any spectators due to an outbreak of what vaccine-preventable disease?

1. Influenza
2. Haemophilus influenzae type b
3. Measles
4. Pertussis

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. A measles outbreak during the 1988-89 basketball season caused Siena College (New York) and the University of Hartford (Connecticut) basketball teams to play five games each without spectators. Interestingly, both teams played better in the absence of fans, scoring more points and attaining higher free-throw percentages.

37. George Washington experienced all of the following. Which has been stated as the one that killed him?

1. Epiglottitis
2. Smallpox
3. Bloodletting
4. A bullet wound

Supplementary Information: The correct answer is C. On December 14, 1799, George Washington died from bloodletting, a medical therapy in which doctors removed blood from a sick patient in an attempt to heal them.

38. Ironically, what American died 10 years to the day before the first polio vaccine was licensed in the U.S.?

1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
2. James (Jimmy) Carter
3. John F. Kennedy
4. Abraham Lincoln

Supplementary Information: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio at age 39, 12 years before becoming President of the United States. He died 10 years to the day before the first polio vaccine was licensed in the U.S. The irony was that Roosevelt was a tireless advocate of the polio vaccine program, starting a program known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which later became the March of Dimes.

39. What vaccine-preventable disease did Anne Frank suggest her dad was ill with while the family was hiding?

1. Diphtheria
2. Measles
3. Rubella
4. Tetanus

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. During World War II while Jewish families were in hiding from the Germans, they could not get medical care, so it is not confirmed that Otto Frank had measles. However, Anne described her dad as being ill with a high fever and rash illness.

40. During Anne Frank’s family hiding, one of their confidants, Elli, could not visit or bring supplies for 6 weeks due to what vaccine-preventable disease in her home?

1. Polio
2. Smallpox
3. Diphtheria
4. Measles

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. Elli, one of the people who hid the Frank family and brought them supplies could not come to the hideout during the 1943 holidays due to diphtheria in her home.

41. The son of which U.S. president died in infancy due to influenza?

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
3. George W. Bush
4. Bill Clinton

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and his wife Eleanor had their first child in 1906. Over the next 10 years, the Roosevelts had five more children, all of whom were boys. Unfortunately, one child became sick with influenza as an infant, and died as a result.

42. Public funerals for victims of this vaccine-preventable disease were banned?

1. Smallpox
2. Diphtheria
3. Cholera
4. Polio

Supplementary information: The correct answer is D. Because the cause and contagiousness of polio was unknown and the panic was fierce, things like public funerals for victims were banned. In addition, swimming pools, churches and cinemas were closed during the summer months – or “polio season.”

43. Which vaccine-preventable disease did Hollywood stars Mia Farrow, Francis Ford Coppola and Alan Alda all contract?

1. Measles
2. Mumps
3. Polio
4. Diphtheria

Supplementary information: The correct answer is C. Farrow and Coppola both were 9 years old when had polio, while Alda was 7 years old.

44. The iron lung design used in America was nicknamed after which animal?

1. Hippopotamus
2. Alligator
3. Crocodile
4. Tiger

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. The iron lung got this nickname because of its hinged top half, which could be lifted up to engulf the patient. It was an improvement on the original design since it was lighter, cheaper and made nurses’ tasks with patients much easier.

45. Which disease prompted the call for a collection of dimes from those in the United States?

1. Polio
2. Measles
3. Rubella
4. Hepatitis

Supplementary information: The correct answer is A. The organization began as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and used the March of Dimes as a fundraising campaign, which asked each child in America to donate a dime. The organization officially changed its name in 1976.

46. The International Jamboree of Boys Scouts was cancelled in the summer of 1935 because of an epidemic of which vaccine-preventable disease?

1. Measles
2. Polio
3. Yellow Fever
4. Smallpox

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced that the jamboree, scheduled to be held in Virginia, was cancelled because of an East Coast polio epidemic.

47. What disease was the focus of research during WWII because of the number of soldiers it killed during WWI?

1. Polio
2. Influenza
3. Measles
4. Chickenpox

Supplementary information: The correct answer is B. During WWI, the U.S. Military lost more soldiers to Spanish Influenza than those killed by the enemy. Therefore, research into influenza vaccines and treatment was a major military focus between the end of WWI and WWII.

48. Americans donated enough dimes toward polio research during the March of Dimes campaign to stretch from where to where?

1. New York to Moscow
2. Los Angeles to New York
3. New York to Chicago
4. Boston to Florida

Supplementary information: By 1952, Americans had answered the call of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP, later known as the March of Dimes), and donated enough dimes to stretch New York to Moscow. The donations were used to establish rehabilitation centers, support families, transport iron lungs into areas of outbreak, and to fund vaccine research.

49. Which vaccinologist is buried in Arlington National Cemetery?

1. Jonas Salk
2. Basil O’Connor
3. Simon Flexner
4. Albert Sabin

Supplementary information: Sabin had retained the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. His tombstone carried the inscription: “SABIN. Developer of the vaccine that made possible the global eradication of poliomyelitis.”