History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 20th April 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | The English Civil Wars between Royalists and Parliamentarians took place in what century? |
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17th (August 1642 - September 1651) | |
| 2. | Who became Chancellor of West Germany in 1969 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971? |
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Willy Brandt | |
| 3. | From 1901 to 1903, who served as the first Prime Minister of Australia? |
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Edmund Barton | |
| 4. | A boxing injury left what 20th century U.S. president blind in one eye? |
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Theodore Roosevelt | |
| 5. | Since 1818, the House of Bernadotte has served as the royal family of what country? |
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Sweden (also Norway prior to its independence in 1905) | |
| 6. | What Italian explorer set sail from Bristol, England in 1497 on a voyage to the coast of North America? |
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John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto / Zuan Caboto) | |
| 7. | What English king was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22nd August 1485? |
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Richard III | |
| 8. | Who sailed around the world in 1967 on a ketch called Gipsy Moth IV? |
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Sir Francis Chichester | |
| 9. | What former U.S. president died on 26th December 2006? |
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Gerald Ford | |
| 10. | In what year did the first Ford Model T roll off the production line? |
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1908 (27th September) | |
| 11. | The transistor radio, integrated circuit, videotape, and correction fluid were all invented in what decade of the 20th century? |
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The 1950s | |
| 12. | News of Mother Teresa's death on 5th September 1997 was overshadowed by continued media coverage of whose unexpected death five days earlier? |
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Lady Diana | |
| 13. | What Norwegian became the first Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1946? |
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Trygve Lie | |
| 14. | Between 1841 and 1853, what country was divided into the provinces of New Ulster and New Munster? |
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New Zealand | |
| 15. | In what country did the Rum Rebellion take place in 1808? |
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Australia (New South Wales) | |
| 16. | What gas was used in the Tokyo subway attacks on 20th March 1995? |
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Sarin | |
| 17. | Complete this famous quote: Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, .....
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"This was their finest hour." (Winston Churchill - 18th June 1940) | |
| 18. | What was the name of the Norse explorer thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental North America, around 500 years before Christopher Columbus? |
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Leif Erikson (Leif the Lucky) | |
| 19. | In what century were the first permanent British settlements on American soil founded? |
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17th (Jamestown, Virginia, 14th May 1607) | |
| 20. | What country became the latest to join the European Union as its 28th member state on 1st July 2013? |
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Croatia | |
| 21. | World War II started and ended in what month? |
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September (Invasion of Poland 1st September 1939 – Surrender of Japan 2nd September 1945) | |
| 22. | What was the name of the U.S. Air Force officer who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight? |
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Chuck Yeager | |
| 23. | One of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars, what 1805 battle against Austria and Russia is widely regarded as the greatest victory achieved by Napoleon? |
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Battle of Austerlitz (aka Battle of the Three Emperors) | |
| 24. | What country established independence from Spain with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba on 24th August 1821? |
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Mexico | |
| 25. | What is the name of the shipbuilding company in Belfast, Northern Ireland that built RMS Titanic, RMS Olympic and RMS Britannic, and the Royal Navy's HMS Belfast? |
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Harland and Wolff | |
| 26. | What battle in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece, lends its name to an athletics event? |
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Battle of Marathon | |
| 27. | Who was named U.S. President after Abraham Lincoln was shot dead by John Wilkes Booth? |
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Andrew Johnson | |
| 28. | Widely regarded as the world's first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building was opened in 1885, in what U.S. city? |
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Chicago (Illinois) | |
| 29. | Sukarno became the first President of what newly-created Republic in 1945? |
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Indonesia | |
| 30. | In what year did the Pilgrims sail from Plymouth to Cape Cod on the Mayflower? |
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1620 (6th September - 11th November) | |
| 31. | Between 1807 and 1821, what South American city functioned as the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal? |
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Rio de Janeiro | |
| 32. | In English history, the Elizabethan era began in what century? |
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16th (1558–1603) | |
| 33. | The only British prime minister to have been assassinated, who was shot on 11th May 1812? |
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Spencer Percival | |
| 34. | Who was Prime Minister of Australia at the turn of the 21st Century? |
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John Howard (11th March 1996 – 3rd December 2007) | |
| 35. | During what war did the Battle of Balaclava take place in 1854? |
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Crimean War (25th October 1854) | |
| 36. | In what city was Anne Frank when she wrote her famous wartime diary? |
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Amsterdam (Netherlands) | |
| 37. | What Icelandic explorer is considered by some to be the first European to land in mainland North America, 500 years before Christopher Columbus? |
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Leif Erikson | |
| 38. | What English king was known as William the Conqueror? |
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William I | |
| 39. | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922, who was nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard"? |
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David Lloyd George | |
| 40. | At the start of World War II in 1939, in what month did Germany invade Poland? |
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September (1st September 1939, 4:45 am) | |
| 41. | Which religious movement was founded by brothers John and Charles Wesley in the 18th century? |
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Methodist | |
| 42. | In November 2017, Twitter officially doubled its character limit for tweets to how many characters? |
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280 | |
| 43. | What department store opened at 400 Oxford Street, London on 15th March 1909? |
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Selfridges | |
| 44. | Who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War? |
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General Robert E. Lee | |
| 45. | What embroidered cloth tells the story of the 1066 Battle of Hastings? |
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Bayeux Tapestry | |
| 46. | What was the name of the Bismarck-class battleship sunk in a Norwegian fjord by RAF "Tallboy" bombs on 12th November 1944? |
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Tirpitz | |
| 47. | Who was Adolf Hitler's deputy until May 1941 when he flew solo to Scotland in a failed attempt to negotiate peace? |
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Rudolf Hess | |
| 48. | A formal break of communion between what are now the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches in 1085 is commonly known as the Great what? |
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Schism | |
| 49. | The world's first successful vaccine was introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796. What disease did it guard against? |
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Smallpox | |
| 50. | An American labor union official and enforcer for Jimmy Hoffa and Russell Bufalino, born in 1920, by what nickname was Frank Sheeran best known? |
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The Irishman | |
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