History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 16th November 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | By what name is the 18th century Scottish outlaw Robert MacGregor better known? |
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Rob Roy / Red MacGregor (Gaelic: Raibeart Ruadh "Robert the Red-Haired") | |
| 2. | Which of the three Apollo 11 astronauts did not set foot on the moon? |
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Michael Collins | |
| 3. | Who was leader of the Soviet Union between 13th February 1984 and his death on 10th March 1985? |
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Konstantin Chernenko | |
| 4. | The German plan to invade Britain in 1940 was codenamed Operation what? |
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Sea Lion (Unternehmen Seelöwe) | |
| 5. | The English Civil Wars took place in what century? |
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17th (1642-1651) | |
| 6. | Who was the second man in outer space? |
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Alan Shepard (5th May 1961) | |
| 7. | Prior to David Cameron in 2010, who was the last leader of the Conservative Party to win a UK General Election? |
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John Major (9th April 1992) | |
| 8. | Who was appointed 1st Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland on 16th December 1653? |
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Oliver Cromwell | |
| 9. | What is the name of the street in which the Great Fire of London began at Thomas Farriner's bakery in September 1666? |
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Pudding Lane | |
| 10. | Who was Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe throughout the Second World War? |
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Hermann Göring | |
| 11. | Which British king died on 6th February 1952? |
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George VI | |
| 12. | What English King ascended the throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688? |
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William III (William of Orange) | |
| 13. | Who succeeded Javier Pérez de Cuéllar as Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1992 and succeeded by Kofi Annan in 1997? |
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Boutros Boutros-Ghali | |
| 14. | Who was excommunicated by The Pope at the Diet of Worms in 1521? |
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Martin Luther | |
| 15. | What did British engineer R. J. Mitchell first reveal on 5th March 1936? |
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Supermarine Spitfire | |
| 16. | In what Eastern Bloc country did Russian troops crush an anti-Soviet uprising in 1956? |
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Hungary | |
| 17. | What famous protest took place in England in October 1936? |
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Jarrow March/Crusade | |
| 18. | The 1939 signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact is often cited as humanity's darkest hour. What two nations signed it? |
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Germany and the Soviet Union (Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) | |
| 19. | What three countries signed the Tripartite Pact on 27th September 1940? |
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Germany, Italy, and Japan | |
| 20. | Transported to Britain in the early 19th century, from what country do the Elgin Marbles originate? |
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Greece (Parthenon, Athens) | |
| 21. | In the White House, who came after Elizabeth and before Nancy? |
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(Eleanor) Rosalynn (Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan) | |
| 22. | Who was British Prime Minister on V-J Day? |
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Clement Attlee (27th July 1945 - 26th October 1951) | |
| 23. | Executed in Paris in 1917, dancer Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was better known by what stage name? |
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Mata Hari | |
| 24. | Joe Biden is only the second ever Catholic U.S. president. Who was the first? |
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John F. Kennedy | |
| 25. | What is the name of the war that included the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876? |
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Great Sioux War / Black Hills War | |
| 26. | In what modern-day country was Karl Marx born in 1818? |
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Germany (Trier) | |
| 27. | What was the profession of Wyatt Earp's sidekick Doc Holiday? |
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Dentist | |
| 28. | Whose dictatorship ruled Spain between 1936 and his death in 1975? |
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Francisco Franco | |
| 29. | In what battle was Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson fatally wounded? |
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Battle of Trafalgar (1805) | |
| 30. | List the following three wars in order starting with the earliest: American War of Independence, Boer War, Crimean War |
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American War of Independence, Crimean War, Boer War (1775-1783, 1853-1856, 1899-1902) | |
| 31. | Who was Governor of California from 1967 to 1975? |
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Ronald Reagan | |
| 32. | What future president, after representing Pepsi-Cola at an American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages convention, left Dallas just a few hours before John F. Kennedy was shot? |
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Richard Nixon | |
| 33. | A major English victory in the Hundred Years' War, what famous battle took place 40km south of Calais on 25th October 1415? |
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Battle of Agincourt | |
| 34. | How many full years did Nelson Mandela spend in prison? |
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27 (5th August 1962 - 11th February 1990) | |
| 35. | From what city did American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 take off from on 11th September 2001? |
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Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) | |
| 36. | Which French general was head of state of the wartime Vichy government? |
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Marshal Philippe Pétain | |
| 37. | Of the 56 delegates who signed the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, how many went on to become President of the United States? |
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2 (Thomas Jefferson and John Adams) | |
| 38. | How many children did Queen Victoria have? |
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9 | |
| 39. | In what country did the Boxer Rebellion (or Boxer Uprising) take place between 1899 and 1901? |
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China | |
| 40. | What was the surname of the General whose death in November 1975 saw the return of the monarchy in Spain? |
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Franco (Francisco Franco) | |
| 41. | In what century was the last execution in the Tower of London? |
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20th (Josef Jakobs, German spy, shot by a military firing squad, 15th August 1941) | |
| 42. | In what century were the first permanent British settlements on American soil founded? |
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17th (Jamestown, Virginia, 14th May 1607) | |
| 43. | What 19th century American family produced both typewriters and firearms? |
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Remington (E. Remington and Sons) | |
| 44. | Hubert Humphrey served as the 38th Vice President of the United States under what President? |
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Lyndon B. Johnson (1965-1969) | |
| 45. | Who was Emperor of Japan during World War II? |
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Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa) | |
| 46. | Named after the region over which it exploded, what is the name of the meteor that entered Earth's atmosphere over the southern Ural region in Russia on 15th February 2013? |
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Chelyabinsk meteor | |
| 47. | Which US General escaped to Australia from the Philippines in March 1942, vowing "I shall return"? |
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Douglas MacArthur | |
| 48. | What took place on 28th March 1979 in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, making news headlines worldwide? |
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Three Mile Island Accident (Core meltdown) | |
| 49. | The Tet Offensive took place during which war? |
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Vietnam War (1968) | |
| 50. | What Canadian city was fought for in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in September 1759? |
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Quebec (Great Britain beat France and occupied Quebec) | |
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