History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 4th May 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | How was the Volstead Act of 1919 better known in the United States? |
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Prohibition | |
| 2. | What did journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward reveal to the world in 1972? |
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Watergate Scandal | |
| 3. | When Lady Nancy Astor said to him "If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea," what British politician responded, "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it!"? |
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Winston Churchill | |
| 4. | "Little soldier's boot" is a translation of what Roman Emperor's name? |
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Caligula | |
| 5. | In which decade did Colonel Harland Sanders begin selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky? |
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The 1930s (1930. The first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in Utah in 1952.) | |
| 6. | 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 | |
| 7. | What nationality was exotic dancer and convicted World War I spy Mata Hari? |
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Dutch ( Margaretha Geertruida Zelle) | |
| 8. | Nearly 9 months pregnant, Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the Charles Manson family in August 1969. Who was she married to at the time? |
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Roman Polanski | |
| 9. | Who was Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, and President of France from 1995 to 2007? |
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Jacques Chirac | |
| 10. | In December 1970, a Soviet spacecraft became the first to soft land on another planet and transmit data back to Earth. What major planet did it land on? |
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Venus (Venera 7) | |
| 11. | What mode of transport was invented by Baron Karl von Drais in Germany in 1817? |
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Bicycle (Drais' own terminology was "Laufmaschine", German for "running machine". Also called the Dandy horse.) | |
| 12. | Former Israeli Prime Ministers Rabin and Shamir shared what first name? |
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Yitzhak | |
| 13. | What 1862 U.S. Civil War battle was the bloodiest single day of fighting in American history? |
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Antietam / Sharpsburg (22,717 dead, wounded, or missing) | |
| 14. | In the harbour of what city was the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior sunk by French foreign intelligence services on 10th July 1985? |
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Auckland (New Zealand) | |
| 15. | In a Civil War from 1975 to 1990, what Middle Eastern city became divided by the "Green Line"? |
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Beirut | |
| 16. | In what city was the TASS news agency founded in 1925? |
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Moscow (Russian: Телеграфное агентство Советского Союза, Tyelyegrafnoye agyentstvo Sovyetskogo Soyuza; acronym TASS) | |
| 17. | In what year did Sony introduce the Betamovie BMC-100P, the world's first consumer camcorder? |
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1983 | |
| 18. | In what decade did brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald open their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California? |
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The 1940s (15th May 1940) | |
| 19. | Who was Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe throughout the Second World War? |
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Hermann Göring | |
| 20. | What ancient city was home to the Hanging Gardens? |
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Babylon | |
| 21. | What Empire was defeated by the Greeks in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC? |
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Persian Empire | |
| 22. | What was the nationality of the first non-Italian Pope since 1523? |
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Polish (Karol Józef Wojtyła, Pope John Paul II 1978-2005) | |
| 23. | Who was U.S. President when Hawaii became the 50th state? |
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Dwight D. Eisenhower (21st August 1959) | |
| 24. | Between 51 BC and 30 BC, who was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt? |
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Cleopatra (Cleopatra VII Philopator) | |
| 25. | Who did Flora MacDonald help escape to the Isle of Skye in 1746 by taking him in a small boat disguised as her Irish maid, "Betty Burke"? |
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Bonnie Prince Charlie / Charles Edward Stuart / Charles III | |
| 26. | In November 2017, Twitter officially doubled its character limit for tweets to how many characters? |
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280 | |
| 27. | What battle took place between 1st July and 18th November 1916, during which more than 1,000,000 men were wounded or killed? |
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Battle of the Somme | |
| 28. | What Soviet Premier sent one of space dog Strelka's puppies, Pushinka, to first daughter Caroline Kennedy in 1961 as a present? |
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Nikita Khrushchev | |
| 29. | In which year did the student massacre take place at Bangkok's Thammasat University? |
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1976 | |
| 30. | Who made history 4 miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on 17th December 1903? |
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Wright Brothers (The first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft) | |
| 31. | Who killed the outlaw Jesse James? |
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Robert Ford | |
| 32. | A change to the Act of Succession in 1980 means Princess Victoria is now next in line to the throne, ahead of her younger brother, in what European country? |
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Sweden | |
| 33. | In which year did the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre take place in Chicago? |
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1929 | |
| 34. | Who was Sandra Rivett's well-known employer at the time of her murder in Belgravia, London in November 1974? |
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Lord Lucan (Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan) | |
| 35. | The Bloody Sunday massacre in St Petersburg, Russia occurred in 1905 when unarmed demonstrators were fired upon by soldiers as they approached what palace? |
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Winter Palace | |
| 36. | During the 19th century War of the Pacific, what country gained vast coastal regions to its north, making Bolivia a landlocked country ever since? |
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Chile | |
| 37. | The desk used by the US President in the Oval office was gifted by Queen Victoria, built from the oak timbers of what decommissioned ship, from which the desk gets its name? |
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HMS Resolute (Resolute Desk) | |
| 38. | The worst natural disaster of the 20th century, in what country did floods claim the lives of as many as 4 million people in 1931? |
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China | |
| 39. | Named after a Norwegian war-time leader and World War II Nazi collaborator, what word has since become synonymous with any person who collaborates with an enemy occupying force? |
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Quisling (after Vidkun Quisling) | |
| 40. | Former Beatle John Lennon was shot and killed on 8th December 1980 by who? |
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Mark David Chapman | |
| 41. | Complete this list of the five beach codenames used by Allied forces on D-Day: Gold, Juno, ____, ____, ____? |
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Omaha, Sword, Utah | |
| 42. | According to legend, the Greek carpenter Epeios built what famous object? |
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Trojan Horse | |
| 43. | What festive item is British baker and confectioner Tom Smith credited with inventing in 1847? |
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Christmas cracker | |
| 44. | Who was the Republican candidate narrowly defeated by John F. Kennedy in the 1960 Presidential election? |
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Richard Nixon | |
| 45. | Who was born Lev Davidovich Bronstein in modern-day Ukraine on 7th November 1879? |
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Leon Trotsky | |
| 46. | Nicknamed Dr. Death, what was the name of the American pathologist, best known for claiming to have assisted the suicide of at least 130 patients? |
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Jack Kevorkian | |
| 47. | Who was hit by Jeremy Clarkson at the British Press Awards in March 2004 and fired as editor of the Daily Mirror in May 2004? |
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Piers Morgan | |
| 48. | What was the surname of the Archduke assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914, a precursor to World War I? |
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Ferdinand (Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria) | |
| 49. | Who became the first pilot to officially travel faster than sound, in October 1947? |
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Chuck Yeager | |
| 50. | In which decade of the 20th century did the Spanish Civil War take place? |
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The 1930s (1936-1939) | |
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