History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 22nd June 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | 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.) | |
| 2. | In 2008, what two countries fought a war over South Ossetia, a political entity now partly recognised as an independent republic? |
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Russia and Georgia | |
| 3. | Which U.S. President authorised the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945? |
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Harry S. Truman | |
| 4. | Between 1991 and 1992, who was the first, and so far only, female Prime Minister of France? |
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Édith Cresson | |
| 5. | Which Norwegian explorer, banished from Iceland, founded the first settlements on Greenland during the 10th century AD? |
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Erik the Red (Eirik Raude / Eirik Torvaldsson) | |
| 6. | When Marilyn Monroe famously sang Happy Birthday Mr. President, 11 weeks before her death, what upcoming age was JFK celebrating? |
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45 | |
| 7. | How old was Mother Theresa when she died? |
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87 (26th August 1910 - 5th September 1997) | |
| 8. | Biafra was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that existed from 1967 until 1970, having declared independence from what country? |
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Nigeria | |
| 9. | What historical figure had a horse called Bucephalus? |
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Alexander the Great | |
| 10. | What city was destroyed by "Fat Man"? |
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Nagasaki (Nuclear bomb, 9th August 1945) | |
| 11. | One of several indiscretions that were to stall his political career that year, in 1987, Senator Joe Biden plagiarised a speech by what British politician? |
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Neil Kinnock | |
| 12. | What was "Che" Guevara's given first name? |
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Ernesto | |
| 13. | The world's first successful vaccine was introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796. What disease did it guard against? |
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Smallpox | |
| 14. | Who was the leader of Italy at the start of World War II? |
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Benito Mussolini | |
| 15. | What was the name of the ship commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery to Australia and New Zealand between 1769 and 1771? |
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HMS Endeavour | |
| 16. | Which German inventor introduced the printing press to Europe in the 15th century? |
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Johannes Gutenberg | |
| 17. | From what country did Western Samoa gain independence in 1962? |
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New Zealand | |
| 18. | One of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, what name was given to the war in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648? |
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Thirty Years' War | |
| 19. | What three year old girl was gifted a puppy called Pushinka by Nikita Khrushchev in June 1961? |
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Caroline Kennedy (daughter of John F Kennedy - puppy of Soviet space dog Strelka) | |
| 20. | In a competition in October 1829, what beat Cycloped, Novelty, Perseverance and Sans Pareil? |
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Stephenson's Rocket (Rainhill Trials) | |
| 21. | Controversially supported by the U.S. in the 1980s, in what country did right-wing rebel groups known as "Contras" operate? |
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Nicaragua | |
| 22. | At what type of shop did the Great Fire Of London start in 1666? |
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Bakery (Pudding Lane near London Bridge) | |
| 23. | For what territory did the United States pay France fifty million francs ($11,250,000) in 1803? |
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Louisiana (Louisiana Purchase) | |
| 24. | What well known historical figure had a mistress called Emma Hamilton? |
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Horatio Nelson (Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté) | |
| 25. | What future U.S. President married Barbara Pierce on 6th January 1945? |
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George H. W. Bush | |
| 26. | Who was President of the United States during World War I? |
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Woodrow Wilson | |
| 27. | At the turn of the 21st century, what was the tallest skyscraper in the world? |
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Petronas Towers (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 1998-2004 - surpassed by Taipei 101) | |
| 28. | 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) | |
| 29. | What is the name of the territorial police force in the U.K. formed on 1st April 1968 with the amalgamation of Buckinghamshire Constabulary, Oxfordshire Constabulary, Berkshire Constabulary, Reading Borough Police and Oxford City Police? |
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Thames Valley | |
| 30. | Leading up to and during World War II, what name was given to the German defence line opposite France's Maginot Line? |
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Siegfried Line (named Westwall by the Germans) | |
| 31. | Which of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also the oldest, is the only one that still remains relatively intact? |
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Great Pyramid of Giza | |
| 32. | By what name was the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo known between 1971 and 1997? |
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Zaire (previously Belgian Congo and Republic of the Congo) | |
| 33. | On 21st June 1963, by what name did Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini become known? |
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Pope Paul VI | |
| 34. | American aviator Douglas Corrigan set off from New York on a flight planned for Long Beach, California in July 1938. Subsequently nicknamed "Wrong Way Corrigan", in what city did he eventually land? |
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Dublin (Baldonnel Aerodrome, County Dublin) | |
| 35. | Hassan II was the king of what African country from 1929 until his death in 1999? |
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Morocco | |
| 36. | Who became Prime Minister of Cuba in February 1959? |
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Fidel Castro | |
| 37. | What country was invaded by 300,000 Chinese troops in February 1979? |
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Vietnam (Sino-Vietnamese War) | |
| 38. | What car brand is named after the French soldier who founded the city of Detroit, Michigan in 1701? |
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Cadillac (Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac) | |
| 39. | What country established independence from Spain with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba on 24th August 1821? |
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Mexico | |
| 40. | Who was responsible for the Barings Bank collapse in 1995? |
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Nick Leeson | |
| 41. | What was the name of the IBM supercomputer that beat Garry Kasparov in February 1996, the first machine to win a chess game against a reigning world champion? |
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Deep Blue (Kasparov won the match 4–2. An updated version of Deep Blue defeated Kasparov 3½–2½ in 1997) | |
| 42. | In May 1982, Héctor E. Bonzo was the last captain of what ship? |
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General Belgrano | |
| 43. | The site of 23 U.S. nuclear bomb tests between 1954 and 1958, what two words describe this coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon? |
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Bikini Atoll | |
| 44. | What empire was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty from 305 to 30 BC? |
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Egyptian (The last dynasty of ancient Egypt) | |
| 45. | Who succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as Communist Party leader in 1964? |
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Leonid Brežněv | |
| 46. | The first to sign the United States Declaration of Independence, whose name has become synonymous with the word signature? |
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John Hancock | |
| 47. | Who was the first Briton to be awarded Time magazine Man of the Year? |
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Winston Churchill (1940 and 1949) | |
| 48. | What former U.K. Prime Minister died on 8th April 2013? |
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Margaret Thatcher | |
| 49. | The Brooklyn-class light cruiser USS Phoenix famously survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor completely unscathed in 1941. What was it called when it rose to fame once again in 1982? |
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ARA General Belgrano (sunk by a British nuclear-powered submarine off the Falkland Islands) | |
| 50. | Credited with shooting down 1,294 enemy aircraft, what is the name of this British First World War biplane? |
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Sopwith Camel | |
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