Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

False. William Colgate started a starch, soap, and candle business in 1806, not a toothpaste company. The company began selling toothpaste in 1873.

Question 2

True or false: William Colgate, a soap manufacturer, made a substantial donation to the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution, which was later renamed Colgate University in his honor.

Accepted Answer

True. William Colgate donated $50,000 in the 1850s, and in 1890 the school was renamed Colgate University in recognition of his family's generosity.

Question 3

True or false: William Colgate mandated that his company donate 10% of profits to charity, an 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 4

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 5

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 6

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 7

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

Accepted Answer

True. William Colgate was born in 1783 in Hollingbourne, Kent, England. He emigrated with his family to the United States in 1795 at age 12, settling in Maryland.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

False. William Colgate's first own business in New York (1806) was a starch, soap, and candle factory, not a soap factory exclusively.

William Colgate Trivia Questions