History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 20th May 2024 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | What religion was founded by Prince Siddhārtha Gautama in the 6th century BC? |
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Buddhism | |
| 2. | The English Civil Wars between Royalists and Parliamentarians took place in what century? |
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17th (August 1642 - September 1651) | |
| 3. | Which Central European country fell to a Communist coup in February 1948, marking the onset of four decades of communist rule? |
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Czechoslovakia | |
| 4. | Which of Henry VIII's wives was Queen Elizabeth I's mother? |
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Anne Boleyn | |
| 5. | In what decade was Tibet incorporated into the People's Republic of China? |
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The 1950s (October 1951) | |
| 6. | What name is given to the group of 750,000 year old human fossils first discovered during excavations at Zhoukoudian near Beijing in 1923? |
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Peking Man (Homo erectus pekinensis) | |
| 7. | To whom did Sitting Bull give the nickname "Watanya Cicilla", or "Little Sure Shot"? |
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Annie Oakley | |
| 8. | Which US General escaped to Australia from the Philippines in March 1942, vowing "I shall return"? |
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Douglas MacArthur | |
| 9. | The year 1816 is known as the Year Without a Summer, predominantly caused by the massive April 1815 eruption of what volcano in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia)? |
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Mount Tambora | |
| 10. | What was the capital city of Egypt from 331 BC to AD 641? |
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Alexandria | |
| 11. | The words Tsar and Kaiser are both derived from the surname of what famous person in history? |
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Julius Caesar | |
| 12. | Who was President of France at the outbreak of World War II? |
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Albert Lebrun (Albert François Lebrun) | |
| 13. | Which African-American human rights activist was assassinated in February 1965? |
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Malcolm X | |
| 14. | What did British engineer R. J. Mitchell first reveal on 5th March 1936? |
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Supermarine Spitfire | |
| 15. | The Gunpowder Plot was a failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in what century? |
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17th (1605) | |
| 16. | What country attacked the Russian Far East Fleet at Port Arthur, Manchuria on 8th February 1904, beginning a war that would last until 5th September 1905? |
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Japan (Russo-Japanese War) | |
| 17. | Who was U.S. President when Hawaii became the 50th state? |
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Dwight D. Eisenhower (21st August 1959) | |
| 18. | Who married Margaret Hilda Roberts on 13th December 1951? |
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Denis Thatcher | |
| 19. | What was Admiral Nelson's first name? |
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Horatio | |
| 20. | Launched in 1958, what automotive failure was named after Henry Ford's only child? |
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Edsel (Edsel B. Ford) | |
| 21. | What happened to Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 13th March 2013? |
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He became Pope Francis | |
| 22. | Who was Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe throughout the Second World War? |
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Hermann Göring | |
| 23. | Australian Mary Donaldson married the Crown Prince of what country in 2004? |
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Denmark | |
| 24. | Who was President of Egypt during the Suez Crisis in 1956? |
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Nasser (Gamal Abdel Nasser) | |
| 25. | The War of the Three Henrys was the last in a series of civil wars during the 16th century in which country? |
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France | |
| 26. | What was the name of the South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant in December 1967? |
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Christiaan Barnard (Cape Town, South Africa) | |
| 27. | On the day they each took office as US president, was Bill Clinton younger or older than Barack Obama? |
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Younger (46y 158d v. 47y 169d) | |
| 28. | Between 51 BC and 30 BC, who was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt? |
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Cleopatra (Cleopatra VII Philopator) | |
| 29. | A series of civil wars for control of the throne of England, in what century did the Wars of the Roses take place? |
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15th (1455-1487) | |
| 30. | In what Welsh village did a colliery spoil tip collapse in October 1966, killing 28 adults and 116 children? |
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Aberfan | |
| 31. | What Roman Emperor decriminalised Christianity in the proclamation of the Edict of Milan in 313? |
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Constantine | |
| 32. | Which U.S. president was in office during the Wall Street Crash of 1929? |
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Herbert Hoover | |
| 33. | What nickname was given to British armed robber Donald Neilson after committing three murders during post office robberies between 1971 and 1974, and murdering heiress Lesley Whittle in 1975? |
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Black Panther | |
| 34. | What English inventor created the first practical steam engine in 1712, using a piston to pump water from a mine? |
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Thomas Newcomen (Newcomen atmospheric engine) | |
| 35. | The World War II Battles of El Alamein took place in what country? |
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Egypt | |
| 36. | Prince Henry the Navigator played a prominent role in the 15th-century development of what country's empire? |
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Portugal | |
| 37. | Who is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated? |
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Spencer Perceval (1812) | |
| 38. | What 1862 U.S. Civil War battle was the bloodiest single day of fighting in American history? |
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Antietam / Sharpsburg (22,717 dead, wounded, or missing) | |
| 39. | What battle in July 1863 involved the largest number of casualties of the entire American Civil War? |
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Battle of Gettysburg | |
| 40. | The Mannerheim Line was a defensive structure built after World War I to defend what country? |
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Finland (from the Soviet Union) | |
| 41. | Who is credited as the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence? |
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Thomas Jefferson | |
| 42. | What was the name of the Royal Navy ship on which Charles Darwin travelled during his famous expedition between 1831 and 1836? |
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HMS Beagle | |
| 43. | Who married who at Westminster Abbey, London on 29th April 2011? |
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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton | |
| 44. | For what territory did the United States pay France fifty million francs ($11,250,000) in 1803? |
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Louisiana (Louisiana Purchase) | |
| 45. | Which Wonder of the Ancient World was built at Halicarnassus? |
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Mausoleum / Tomb of Mausolus | |
| 46. | Retired American Navy officer Robert Ballard was head of an expedition that discovered what in September 1985? |
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The wreck of RMS Titanic | |
| 47. | What Mexican Revolutionary General was shot dead in July 1923? |
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Francisco Villa / Pancho Villa (José Doroteo Arango Arámbula) | |
| 48. | The book and film Black Hawk Down chronicle a 1993 battle between U.S. forces and militia in what African city? |
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Mogadishu | |
| 49. | An 1818 invention known as the "Dandy Horse" was the forerunner to what mode of transport? |
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Bicycle | |
| 50. | By what nickname was George VI known by family and close friends? |
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Bertie (born Albert Frederick Arthur George) | |
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