History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 13th July 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 Some questions and answers may be outdated.)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 6th June 1944 often called? |
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D-Day (beginning of the Normandy landings) | |
| 2. | What is the name of the city in India where thousands died after a gas leak at the Union Carbide plant in December 1984? |
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Bhopal (भोपाल) | |
| 3. | Prior to the onset of the Second World War, what 'G' was commonly used to describe the First World War? |
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Great War (also referred to as the 'World War') | |
| 4. | 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? |
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Dubai (Port Rashid) | |
| 5. | Until his death in 323 BC, who was King of Macedonia, Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Persia, and Lord of Asia? |
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Alexander the Great | |
| 6. | For his toughness as a General in the War of 1812, what future U.S. president was nicknamed "Old Hickory"? |
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Andrew Jackson | |
| 7. | Whose unsupervised speculative trading caused the collapse of Barings Bank in the UK in February 1995? |
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Nick Leeson | |
| 8. | In a Civil War from 1975 to 1990, what Middle Eastern city became divided by the "Green Line"? |
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Beirut | |
| 9. | Later honoured in 8BC by giving his name to a summer month, what name was bestowed upon Roman Emperor Gaius Octavius in 27BC? |
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Augustus | |
| 10. | The site of the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American War of Independence is located in what modern day U.S. city? |
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Boston (Siege of Boston - Charlestown, Massachusetts) | |
| 11. | Who was New Zealand Prime Minister from December 1975 to July 1984? |
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Robert Muldoon | |
| 12. | What ancient city was home to the Hanging Gardens? |
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Babylon | |
| 13. | What leader of the Scottish resistance was brutally executed in London on 23rd August 1305? |
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Sir William Wallace | |
| 14. | In what country was Che Guevara executed in October 1967? |
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Bolivia (La Higuera) | |
| 15. | The invasion of the Goths in the 5th century led to the end of what empire? |
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Roman Empire | |
| 16. | Who, briefly, became President of Germany upon the death of Adolf Hitler on 30th April 1945? |
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Admiral Dönitz (Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz) | |
| 17. | What was the largest naval battle of the First World War? |
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Battle of Jutland (31st May to 1st June 1916) | |
| 18. | In 1900, Theodore Roosevelt famously wrote "Speak softly and carry a big..." what? |
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Stick | |
| 19. | Ceding Florida to the U.S. in 1819, the Adams-Onis Treaty was an agreement made between the United States and what country? |
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Spain (also defining the boundary between the U.S. and New Spain) | |
| 20. | Archaeologists confirmed in 2013 that a skeleton found under a Leicester car park was that of what King of England? |
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Richard III | |
| 21. | Which German inventor introduced the printing press to Europe in the 15th century? |
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Johannes Gutenberg | |
| 22. | Who was the first post-war Chancellor of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963? |
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Konrad Adenauer | |
| 23. | Witnessed by Jimmy Carter, what was the name of the agreement signed by Anwar El Sadat and Menachem Begin on 17th September 1978? |
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Camp David Accords | |
| 24. | What 20th century Pope was in office for just 34 days before his death? |
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John Paul I (26 August 1978 - 28 September 1978) | |
| 25. | In 1966, what American psychologist popularised the catchphrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out"? |
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Timothy Leary | |
| 26. | Complete the name of this Wonder of the Ancient World: The Temple of ______ at Ephesus. |
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Artemis | |
| 27. | Born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov in April 1870, by what name is this famous historical figure more commonly known? |
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Lenin | |
| 28. | By what name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle better known during World War I? |
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Mata Hari | |
| 29. | How old was Anne Frank when she died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945? |
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15 | |
| 30. | What Roman Goddess shares her name with a Normandy Landing beach? |
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Juno (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword) | |
| 31. | Between 1915 and 1916, in what modern-day country did the Battle of Gallipoli take place? |
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Turkey | |
| 32. | In what decade was Tibet incorporated into the People's Republic of China? |
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The 1950s (October 1951) | |
| 33. | Who was most famously accused and convicted in the Rivonia Trial of 1963-64? |
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Nelson Mandela | |
| 34. | What two countries fought the "Pastry War" between 1838 and 1839? |
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France & Mexico | |
| 35. | How was the Volstead Act of 1919 better known in the United States? |
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Prohibition | |
| 36. | Responsible for a series of murders in Los Angeles during the late spring and early summer of 1980, by what name were Carol Bundy and Doug Clark collectively known? |
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Sunset Strip Killers | |
| 37. | Known as the Angel of Death, what was the name of the infamous German SS officer and physician based at the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz? |
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Josef Mengele | |
| 38. | Historically in the UK and much of the British Commonwealth, what everyday terms were derived from the Roman words libra, solidus and denarius? |
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The currency abbreviations £, s & d (pounds, shillings and pence) | |
| 39. | Who became King of England on 25th December 1066? |
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William I / William the Conqueror / William the Bastard | |
| 40. | What military leader led a failed attempt to invade Russia in 1812? |
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Napoléon Bonaparte (The French invasion of Russia) | |
| 41. | Who was U.S. President throughout the War of 1812? |
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James Madison (Andrew Jackson played a major role and later became president in 1829) | |
| 42. | Which British Royal married for the second time on 12th December 1992? |
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Anne, Princess Royal (Timothy Laurence) | |
| 43. | The English Civil Wars took place in what century? |
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17th (1642-1651) | |
| 44. | Born in England on 25th July 1978, what is the name of the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF, commonly known as the first "test tube baby"? |
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Louise Brown | |
| 45. | Between 1800 and 1815, Marengo was a war horse belonging to who? |
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Napoleon Bonaparte | |
| 46. | What city was destroyed by "Fat Man"? |
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Nagasaki (Nuclear bomb, 9th August 1945) | |
| 47. | In which year was the Great Fire of London? |
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1666 | |
| 48. | Who did Vladimir Putin replace as President of Russia in 1999? |
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Boris Yeltsin | |
| 49. | Between 1807 and 1821, what South American city functioned as the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal? |
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Rio de Janeiro | |
| 50. | Generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful aeroplane, what were the first names of the Wright brothers? |
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Orville & Wilbur | |
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