History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 19th 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 Some questions and answers may be outdated.)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. | In what year did Adolph Hitler become Chancellor of Germany? |
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1933 | |
| 2. | Retired American Navy officer Robert Ballard was head of an expedition that discovered what in September 1985? |
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The wreck of RMS Titanic | |
| 3. | What institution was founded by Swiss businessman Henry Dunant in 1863? |
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Red Cross (International Committee of the Red Cross) | |
| 4. | In which year did Japanese forces simultaneously invade Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies during World War II? |
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1941 (8th December - the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor) | |
| 5. | A bilateral agreement first signed by the USA and the USSR on 31st July 1991 and entered into force on 5th December 1994, what does START stand for? |
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Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty | |
| 6. | During World War II, what was the name of Japan's equivalent to Germany's Lord Haw-Haw? |
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Tokyo Rose | |
| 7. | Who was the Command Module Pilot on the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon? |
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Michael Collins | |
| 8. | What small airport in Newfoundland famously took in 38 wide-body aircraft after US airspace was shut down on 11th September 2001? |
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Gander | |
| 9. | What 'S' was the common name given to East Germany's secret police, the Ministry for State Security, during the cold war? |
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Stasi (Ministerium für Staatssicherheit) | |
| 10. | In what century did Ivan IV the Terrible reign as the first Tsar of Russia? |
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16th (1547-1584) | |
| 11. | Who was British monarch at the outbreak of World War I? |
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George V | |
| 12. | On 12th June 1979, what did the Gossamer Albatross successfully cross to win a Kremer prize for human-powered flight? |
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English Channel | |
| 13. | Described as "Europe's last dictator", Alexander Lukashenko has been President of what country since July 1994? |
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Belarus | |
| 14. | The name of what physicist translates into English as "One Stone"? |
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Einstein | |
| 15. | The English Civil Wars between Royalists and Parliamentarians took place in what century? |
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17th (August 1642 - September 1651) | |
| 16. | Which part of India, a group of islands, were occupied by the Japanese during World War II? |
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Andaman Islands (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) | |
| 17. | The 1960 Valdivia earthquake of Sunday 22nd May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, rating 9.5. On the coast of what country was its epicenter? |
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Chile | |
| 18. | In 1969, what U.S. politician drove his car off a bridge at Chappaquidick, resulting in the death of a young colleague, Mary Jo Kopechne? |
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Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy | |
| 19. | The 1969 Stonewall riots in New York coincided with the funeral of what icon? |
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Judy Garland | |
| 20. | Complete the name of this Wonder of the Ancient World: The Temple of ______ at Ephesus. |
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Artemis | |
| 21. | In 1949, what city became capital of the Federal Republic of Germany? |
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Bonn (West Germany - East Germany was the German Democratic Republic) | |
| 22. | From what country did Western Samoa gain independence in 1962? |
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New Zealand | |
| 23. | Which Mormon leader founded Salt Lake City in 1847? |
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Brigham Young | |
| 24. | The Tonton Macoutes were a dreaded paramilitary police, most active during the 1960s and 1970s, in what country? |
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Haiti | |
| 25. | In which year was the Great Fire of London? |
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1666 | |
| 26. | What English language nursery rhyme became the first audio recorded by Thomas Edison on his newly invented phonograph in 1877? |
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Mary Had a Little Lamb | |
| 27. | Who was Chancellor of Germany at the turn of the 21st century? |
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Gerhard Schröder (1998–2005) | |
| 28. | Following mission commander Neil Armstrong, who was the second man to walk on the moon? |
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Buzz Aldrin (Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr.) | |
| 29. | 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 | |
| 30. | Who was Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from December 1653 to September 1658? |
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Oliver Cromwell | |
| 31. | What was the name of Captain James Cook's ship on which he became the first to cross the Antarctic Circle in 1773? |
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HMS Resolution | |
| 32. | What American first patented the revolver in 1835? |
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Samuel Colt | |
| 33. | First elected as the Labour MP for Peckham in 1982, who is the longest-ever continuously-serving female MP in the House of Commons? |
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Harriet Harman | |
| 34. | In which year did David Cameron become British Prime Minister? |
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2010 (11th May) | |
| 35. | The 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia commanded which famous fleet? |
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Spanish Armada | |
| 36. | The Ostmark was the currency of what former country? |
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East Germany (German Democratic Republic) | |
| 37. | In what make and model car was O.J. Simpson a passenger while being chased by police on 17th June 1994? |
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Ford Bronco (driven by long-time friend Al Cowlings) | |
| 38. | Who sailed around the world in 1967 on a ketch called Gipsy Moth IV? |
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Sir Francis Chichester | |
| 39. | The Siege of Mafeking occurred during which war? |
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Boer War (Second Boer War) | |
| 40. | Marking the first landing of the Anzacs at Gallipoli in 1915, on what date is Anzac Day commemorated in Australia and New Zealand? |
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25th April | |
| 41. | Name the German battleship, sister of the Bismark, sunk in the Bay of Håkøybotn, Norway in November 1944. |
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Tirpitz | |
| 42. | Who was the Spanish head of state until his death in 1975? |
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General Franco (Generalísimo Francisco Franco) | |
| 43. | Born in 1847, what American inventor started going deaf at the age of 12? |
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Thomas Edison | |
| 44. | In what Brighton hotel did an IRA bomb explode in October 1984 during a Tory party conference? |
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Grand Brighton Hotel | |
| 45. | At the turn of the 21st century, what was the tallest free-standing man-made structure in the world? |
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CN Tower (Toronto, Canada - 1975-2007 - surpassed by the Burj Khalifa) | |
| 46. | Ending the three-year Irish War of Independence, in what year was the Irish Free State established? |
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1922 | |
| 47. | For what did the United States pay the Russian Empire $7.2million on 30th March 1867? |
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Alaska | |
| 48. | Who stepped down as Queen of the Netherlands in 1980? |
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Juliana | |
| 49. | Who was Reichsführer-SS of Nazi Germany between 1929 and 1945? |
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Heinrich Himmler | |
| 50. | The Tet Offensive took place during which war? |
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Vietnam War (1968) | |
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