History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 2nd June 2025 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | Who held a non-binding referendum in November 2012 on whether to become the 51st U.S. state? |
| 2. | The 1960 poster with the slogan, "Would YOU buy a used car from this man?" opposed what US politician? |
| 3. | There were two major battles at El Alamein during World War II. In what country is it? |
| 4. | Who was U.S. president on VE day? |
| 5. | Who is reputed to have coined the phrase, "An army marches on its stomach"? |
| 6. | From the 13th century until the 16th-century Spanish conquest, what city was the capital of the Inca Empire? |
| 7. | Who took office on 14th September 1901 as the youngest ever U.S. President, aged 42 years, 322 days? |
| 8. | In what decade did a military Air Force surveillance balloon crash at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico, prompting claims that it was an extraterrestrial spaceship? |
| 9. | In which European city did 19th century serial killers Burke and Hare operate? |
| 10. | During the 1980s, the Contras were U.S.-backed rebels in what Central American state? |
| 11. | On 12th June 1979, what did the Gossamer Albatross successfully cross to win a Kremer prize for human-powered flight? |
| 12. | In March 1942, General Douglas MacArthur pledged "I will return", to what country? |
| 13. | By what name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle better known during World War I? |
| 14. | From what city did American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 take off from on 11th September 2001? |
| 15. | Never caught, nor identified, and claiming to have killed 37, what nickname was given to the serial killer who operated in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s? |
| 16. | What American human rights activist was assassinated on 21st February 1965? |
| 17. | Name the person speaking and the year of the speech.
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| 18. | Who was British monarch at the outbreak of World War I? |
| 19. | What name is given to the war that took place in North America between 2nd October 1835 and 21st April 1836? |
| 20. | John F. Kennedy was assassinated on 22nd November 1963. On what date was Lee Harvey Oswald murdered by Jack Ruby? |
| 21. | Complete the name of this Ancient Wonder of the World: The Mausoleum at ____________. |
| 22. | How did the dog Laika become famous in 1957? |
| 23. | Opened in 1948, to what was Idlewild Airport renamed in December 1963? |
| 24. | How many funnels did the Titanic have? |
| 25. | Serial killer Richard Ramirez terrorised Los Angeles between 1984 and 1985, killing 14 people. By what nickname was he known? |
| 26. | Sealed under oath by King John, in what year was the Magna Carta published? |
| 27. | What former U.S. President died on 22th April 1994? |
| 28. | In which year was the United States Constitution written? |
| 29. | What country has been ruled by the Chakri dynasty since 1782? |
| 30. | In May 2004, as he spoke in the House of Commons, Tony Blair was hit with what purple-dyed foodstuff? |
| 31. | Ferdinand Magellan's nautical expedition was the first documented circumnavigation of the world. In what century did it take place? |
| 32. | What continent was explored by the Burke and Wills expedition in 1860–61? |
| 33. | How was the Volstead Act of 1919 better known in the United States? |
| 34. | What was the name of the research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons? |
| 35. | What leader of the Russian revolution was appointed first People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in 1917, expelled from the Communist Party in 1927, and assassinated in Mexico in 1940? |
| 36. | What was the name of the ship commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery to Australia and New Zealand between 1769 and 1771? |
| 37. | In Greek legend, what King turned everything he touched into gold? |
| 38. | Who shot President Ronald Reagan on 30th March 1981? |
| 39. | The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are most commonly believed to have been irrigated by pumps from which river? |
| 40. | What political term was popularised by Winston Churchill's "Sinews of Peace" address in 1946 when he said "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an ___ ___ has descended across the Continent"? |
| 41. | Dying on 4th April 1841 after just 32 days in office, who was the United States' shortest-serving president? |
| 42. | The Tonton Macoutes were a dreaded paramilitary police, most active during the 1960s and 1970s, in what country? |
| 43. | What did British engineer R. J. Mitchell first reveal on 5th March 1936? |
| 44. | In March 1912, whose last words were, "I am just going outside and may be some time"? |
| 45. | General Jaruzelski declared martial law in which country in 1981? |
| 46. | Which was the only Scandinavian country to remain neutral throughout World War II? |
| 47. | What name is given to the Boeing B-29 heavy bomber used during World War II and the Korean War? |
| 48. | During which war did the Battle of Hamburger Hill take place? |
| 49. | In English folklore, who rode a horse called Black Bess? |
| 50. | What US President died 11 weeks after being shot on 2nd July 1881 by Charles J. Guiteau? |
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