History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 26th January 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | Discovered by the French in 1799, what is the name of the stone slab that became the key for deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics? |
| 2. | The youngest and oldest men to be elected President of the United States took office on the same day twenty years apart. Who were they? |
| 3. | Born in 1852, by what name was Martha Jane Canary better known? |
| 4. | For what did Chesley B. Sullenberger make headline news on 15th January 2009? |
| 5. | In what city was Anne Frank when she wrote her famous wartime diary? |
| 6. | From 1975 to 1977 under Gerald Ford, who is the youngest person to have served as U.S. Secretary of Defense? |
| 7. | What was the name of the line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany? |
| 8. | Who was the first U.S. president to have taken part in televised debates during his election campaign? |
| 9. | What 'P' described the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s? |
| 10. | In what year did the first Ford Model T roll off the production line? |
| 11. | Amongst the world's worst man-made disasters, in 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground off the coast of what U.S. state? |
| 12. | What did journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward reveal to the world in 1972? |
| 13. | To whom did Sitting Bull give the nickname "Watanya Cicilla", or "Little Sure Shot"? |
| 14. | What 'S' was the common name given to East Germany's secret police, the Ministry for State Security, during the cold war? |
| 15. | In what city was the RMS Titanic built? |
| 16. | Who assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr. on 4th April 1968? |
| 17. | In the UK, before ceasing to be legal tender in 1960, how many farthings made up one pound? |
| 18. | What future president became U.S. vice president when Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973? |
| 19. | In what country were 29 miners killed after two methane explosions at the Pike River Mine in November 2010, making it the most deadly mining disaster there in 96 years? |
| 20. | One of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history, what volcano in South East Asia erupted in August 1883? |
| 21. | Who was the first British monarch to give birth to a future king? |
| 22. | Where in North Africa did a War of Independence against France take place between 1954 and 1962? |
| 23. | Who was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26th June 1830 until his death in 1837? |
| 24. | What name is given to the 19th century "torture device" consisting of a human-sized metal cabinet with a hinged front and spike-covered interior? |
| 25. | To what was the Canadian city of York renamed on 6th March 1834? |
| 26. | What empire fell at the hands of Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1521? |
| 27. | Fill in the blank: The _______ Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on 6th May 1882. |
| 28. | The first major defeat of Nazi forces during World War II concluded on 2nd February 1943 with the end of the Battle of .. what? |
| 29. | On what holiday was Abraham Lincoln assassinated? |
| 30. | In many Commonwealth pre-decimal currencies, what name was given to a coin with a value of 2 shillings? |
| 31. | Which of Henry VIII's wives gave birth to Elizabeth I? |
| 32. | What was the name of the leading ship in Captain Arthur Phillip's First Fleet that arrived at Botany Bay to colonise Australia on 18th January 1788? |
| 33. | Who was U.S. President when John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth? |
| 34. | What did Marshal Ferdinand Foch, a French commander during the First World War, describe as "interesting toys, but of no military value"? |
| 35. | What was the surname of French brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne, whose hot-air balloon made the first ever manned flight in 1783? |
| 36. | How old was Anne Frank when she died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945? |
| 37. | Which American president rode a horse called Nelson? |
| 38. | Before Constantinople was founded in AD 330, by what name was the city known? |
| 39. | Who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom throughout the Gulf War? |
| 40. | Since being retired from active service in 2008, in which city has the QE2 ocean liner been docked amid a cloud of uncertainty about its future? |
| 41. | Raised by a wolf, what were the names of the mythical twin founders of Rome? |
| 42. | Walter Mondale was Vice President of the United States under which President? |
| 43. | Who became King of England on 25th December 1066? |
| 44. | When Ronald Reagan won the U.S. presidential election in 1980, who came second? |
| 45. | When Henry VI became King of England in 1422, was he: (A) 9 months old (B) 9 years old (C) 19 years old |
| 46. | How many British monarchs reigned during the 20th century? |
| 47. | In 1975, Papua New Guinea achieved full independence from what country? |
| 48. | In what century was the Battle of the Boyne fought near the town of Drogheda on the eastern coast of Ireland? |
| 49. | Which American actress and comedian was the 2012 presidential nominee for the California-based Peace and Freedom Party? |
| 50. | Until relocated in 1851, what London landmark served as the state entrance to the courtyard of Buckingham Palace? |
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