Question 1

True or false: Orson Welles’s 'Citizen Kane' was a biopic that Hearst personally approved and helped finance.

Accepted Answer

False. Hearst loathed the film, tried to suppress it, and used his media empire to attack Welles; it was made without his consent.

Question 2

True or false: Hearst’s newspapers helped spark the Spanish-American War with sensationalized stories about the sinking of the USS Maine.

Accepted Answer

True. Hearst’s yellow journalism, including the famous 'You furnish the pictures, I’ll furnish the war' quote, inflamed public opinion for war.

Question 3

True or false: Hearst built a medieval-style castle in Wales, complete with a drawbridge, as a gift for his mistress.

Accepted Answer

True. Hearst purchased and restored St. Donat’s Castle in Wales for his mistress, actress Marion Davies, though she rarely visited.

Question 4

True or false: Hearst owned one of the largest private zoos in the world at his California estate, San Simeon.

Accepted Answer

True. His zoo featured exotic animals like zebras, camels, and kangaroos, some of which still roam the grounds today.

Question 5

True or false: Hearst once ran for President and won the Democratic nomination, but lost the general election.

Accepted Answer

False. Hearst sought the Democratic nomination in 1904 but failed; he never won the presidency or a major party nomination.

Question 6

True or false: Hearst was a staunch isolationist who opposed the United States entering both World Wars.

Accepted Answer

False. Hearst was isolationist before WWI and WWII but later supported U.S. involvement after attacks or threats, though he often pushed non-intervention first.

Question 7

True or false: Hearst invented the modern comic strip by pioneering the use of color Sunday comics in his newspapers.

Accepted Answer

True. Hearst’s New York Journal introduced the first regular color comic supplement in 1896, featuring 'The Yellow Kid' and revolutionizing comics.

Question 8

True or false: Hearst’s mother, Phoebe, was the first woman to serve as a U.S. Senator, appointed to fill a vacancy.

Accepted Answer

False. Phoebe Hearst was a philanthropist and regent of UC Berkeley, but never a U.S. Senator; that myth is false.

William Randolph Hearst Trivia Questions