Famous Escapes
Instructions: Daring prison breaks and escapes in history
- 1.
In 1962, Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers attempted a famous escape from which prison?
ALeavenworthBAlcatrazCSan QuentinDSing Sing - 2.
Which famous World War II escape involved Allied prisoners tunneling out of a German POW camp?
AThe Tunnel of FreedomBThe Colditz EscapeCThe Wooden HorseDThe Great Escape - 3.
Giacomo Casanova is famous for escaping from which prison in 1756?
AChâteau d'IfBThe Tower of LondonCThe BastilleDThe Leads (Piombi) in Venice - 4.
Which fictional character is famous for escaping from the Château d'If?
AJean ValjeanBThe Scarlet PimpernelCRobin HoodDEdmond Dantès - 5.
Harry Houdini was famous for escaping from what?
AHandcuffs, straitjackets, and underwater containersBBurning buildingsCPrisons onlyDMoving trains - 6.
In 1986, which country did an East German family famously escape to by flying over the Berlin Wall in a homemade hot air balloon?
AAustriaBWest GermanyCFranceDSwitzerland - 7.
Which notorious French prison was stormed by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789?
AMont-Saint-MichelBDevil's IslandCThe BastilleDConciergerie - 8.
Which prisoner famously escaped from Devil's Island, the French penal colony in South America?
AAlfred DreyfusBHenri Charrière (Papillon)CNapoleon BonaparteDLouis Riel - 9.
During the American Civil War, which Confederate prison was the site of the largest successful Union escape?
ALibby PrisonBBelle IsleCCastle ThunderDAndersonville - 10.
Which British castle was used as a high-security POW camp in World War II, famous for its many escape attempts?
AEdinburgh CastleBWindsor CastleCTower of LondonDColditz Castle - 11.
What method did 'El Chapo' Guzmán use to escape from Mexico's Altiplano prison in 2015?
AA mile-long tunnel from his cellBDisguised as a guardCA helicopter from the yardDHidden in a laundry cart - 12.
In 1943, which Danish operation rescued nearly the entire Jewish population of Denmark by ferrying them to neutral Sweden?
AOperation Market GardenBThe Danish RescueCThe White BusesDOperation Dynamo - 13.
Which ancient Greek story tells of a father and son who escaped imprisonment by flying with wings made of feathers and wax?
ATheseus and the MinotaurBOdysseus and TelemachusCDaedalus and IcarusDPerseus and Andromeda - 14.
What was the code name for the 1979 CIA operation to rescue six American diplomats from Tehran, Iran?
AOperation CycloneBOperation Desert OneCThe Canadian Caper (Argo)DOperation Eagle Claw - 15.
The 'Wooden Horse' escape during World War II involved prisoners vaulting over a wooden horse to disguise what activity?
APassing secret messagesBCutting through wire fencesCDigging a tunnelDClimbing the wall
Answer Key
In June 1962, Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin escaped from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary using a raft made from raincoats. Their fate remains unknown to this day.
The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III in March 1944 saw 76 Allied airmen escape through tunnels nicknamed Tom, Dick, and Harry. Sadly, 73 were recaptured and 50 were executed by the Gestapo.
Casanova escaped from the Leads (I Piombi), the notorious lead-roofed prison in the Doge's Palace in Venice, in 1756. He broke through the ceiling and crossed the palace roof to freedom.
Edmond Dantès, the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas' 'The Count of Monte Cristo' (1844), escapes from the island prison of Château d'If after 14 years of imprisonment.
Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was legendary for escaping from handcuffs, straitjackets, locked containers, and even being submerged underwater in sealed boxes. He became the world's most famous escape artist.
In 1979, the Strelzyk and Wetzel families famously escaped East Germany to West Germany in a homemade hot air balloon, flying at altitudes up to 8,000 feet across the border.
The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, was a pivotal event of the French Revolution. The fortress-prison symbolized royal tyranny, and its fall became France's national day.
Henri Charrière, nicknamed Papillon (Butterfly), claimed to have escaped from Devil's Island in French Guiana. His 1969 autobiography 'Papillon' became a bestseller and was adapted into a famous film.
In February 1864, 109 Union officers tunneled out of Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, in the largest successful prison escape of the Civil War. Fifty-nine reached Union lines safely.
Colditz Castle (Oflag IV-C) in Germany held Allied officers considered escape risks. Despite its reputation as escape-proof, over 30 prisoners successfully escaped, making it one of WWII's most famous POW camps.
Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán escaped through a mile-long tunnel that opened right under the shower area of his cell. The tunnel was equipped with a motorcycle on rails, ventilation, and lighting.
The Danish Rescue of October 1943 was a remarkable operation in which Danish citizens ferried approximately 7,200 of Denmark's 7,800 Jews to safety in neutral Sweden, saving them from Nazi deportation.
In Greek mythology, the master craftsman Daedalus built wings of feathers and wax for himself and his son Icarus to escape King Minos' labyrinth in Crete. Icarus flew too close to the sun, melting his wings.
The Canadian Caper, dramatized in the 2012 film 'Argo,' was the joint CIA-Canadian operation that rescued six U.S. diplomats from Iran during the hostage crisis by disguising them as a Canadian film crew.
In the Wooden Horse escape from Stalag Luft III in 1943, prisoners used a vaulting horse placed near the camp's perimeter fence. While prisoners exercised over it, others hidden inside dug a tunnel underneath.