Question 1

True or false: William Colgate founded the Colgate toothpaste company in 1806.

Accepted Answer

True. He started a starch, soap, and candle business in New York in 1806, which later evolved into the Colgate-Palmolive company.

Question 2

True or false: William Colgate was a devout atheist who opposed religious charities.

Accepted Answer

False. He was a devout Baptist and philanthropist who helped found Colgate University, originally a Baptist seminary.

Question 3

True or false: William Colgate personally invented the first toothpaste in a collapsible tube.

Accepted Answer

False. The collapsible toothpaste tube was introduced by his company in 1896, decades after Colgate’s death in 1857.

Question 4

True or false: Colgate University is named after William Colgate, who donated land and money for its founding.

Accepted Answer

True. He donated land and $50,000 to establish the institution in 1819, originally called the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution.

Question 5

True or false: William Colgate mandated that his company donate 10% of profits to charity, a early example of tithing in business.

Accepted Answer

True. He was a devoted Christian and insisted on tithing a tenth of his company’s profits to religious and educational causes.

Question 6

True or false: William Colgate’s first business was a soap factory in New York City.

Accepted Answer

False. He started as an apprentice in a soap and candle shop, but his first own business was a starch manufacturing company in New York.

Question 7

True or false: William Colgate was a co-founder of the New York Stock Exchange.

Accepted Answer

False. He was not involved in founding the NYSE; he focused on manufacturing and philanthropy, with no known ties to finance.

Question 8

True or false: William Colgate was born in England and emigrated to the United States as a child.

Accepted Answer

True. He was born in 1783 in Hollingbourne, Kent, England, and moved with his family to Maryland when he was a teenager.

William Colgate Trivia Questions