History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 19th October 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 Some questions and answers may be outdated.)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 name is given to the line surveyed between 1763 and 1767 in the resolution of a border dispute involving Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware in Colonial America? |
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Mason-Dixon line | |
| 2. | 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 | |
| 3. | What is the name of the Polish electrician who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983? |
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Lech Wałęsa | |
| 4. | The Republic of Biafra was a secessionist state that existed from May 1967 to January 1970 whereupon it capitulated and reintegrated into what country? |
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Nigeria | |
| 5. | From which country did Brunei gain independence on 1st January 1984? |
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United Kingdom | |
| 6. | Who was President of the United States when Barack Obama was born? |
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John F. Kennedy (4th August 1961) | |
| 7. | What U.S. Senator for Wisconsin rose to national prominence in the early 1950s by proclaiming that high places in the U.S. federal government and military were "infested" with communists? |
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Joseph McCarthy | |
| 8. | What war began on 12th April 1861? |
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American Civil War (Battle of Fort Sumter) | |
| 9. | What political term was popularised by Winston Churchill's "Sinews of Peace" address in 1946 when he said "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an ___ ___ has descended across the Continent"? |
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Iron Curtain | |
| 10. | Who was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998? |
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Helmut Kohl | |
| 11. | Who was vice president of the United States under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009? |
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Dick Cheney | |
| 12. | In March 1942, General Douglas MacArthur pledged "I will return", to what country? |
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The Philippines | |
| 13. | 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 | |
| 14. | Last minted in 1856, how many pennies were there in an English groat? |
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4 | |
| 15. | What nickname was given to English serial killer Peter Sutcliffe? |
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Yorkshire Ripper | |
| 16. | In 1733, who made a key contribution to the Industrial Revolution by inventing the flying shuttle? |
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John Kay | |
| 17. | On 15th June 1921, who became the first African-American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license? |
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Bessie Coleman | |
| 18. | What was the name of the U.S. Air Force officer who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight? |
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Chuck Yeager | |
| 19. | Who was President of Argentina during the Falklands War? |
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General Leopoldo Galtieri | |
| 20. | How many funnels did the RMS Titanic have? |
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Four | |
| 21. | Which country was ruled by King Idris I when it gained independence in 1951? |
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Libya | |
| 22. | Joe Biden is only the second ever Catholic U.S. president. Who was the first? |
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John F. Kennedy | |
| 23. | What retired U.S. president survived an assassination attempt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1912? |
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Theodore Roosevelt | |
| 24. | 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 | |
| 25. | In what city was the RMS Titanic built? |
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Belfast (Harland and Wolff) | |
| 26. | What was the number of the last Apollo mission to land on the moon? |
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17 | |
| 27. | What English king was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22nd August 1485? |
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Richard III | |
| 28. | The defeat of the Prussian army in the 1792 Battle of Valmy played a significant role in which well known conflict? |
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French Revolutionary Wars / French Revolution | |
| 29. | Oceanus Hopkins was born in 1620 on which ship? |
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Mayflower | |
| 30. | What European country switched from a monarchy to a republic after a coup d'état on 5th October 1910? |
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Portugal | |
| 31. | For what did Sirhan Bishara Sirhan make world headlines on 5th June 1968? |
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Assassination of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy | |
| 32. | Live on TV on 8th April 1983, who created the illusion that the Statue of Liberty had disappeared? |
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David Copperfield (with Jim Steinmeyer and Don Wayne) | |
| 33. | What is English teacher, inventor and social reformer Sir Rowland Hill credited with inventing in 1837? |
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Adhesive postage stamp (1840 Penny Black pictured) | |
| 34. | Who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the First Gulf War? |
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Colin Powell | |
| 35. | After which war was the League of Nations formed? |
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First World War | |
| 36. | In what century was Antarctica discovered? |
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19th (first confirmed sighting in 1820, first documented landing in 1821) | |
| 37. | In which century was the Taj Mahal built? |
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17th (1632–1653) | |
| 38. | Onto which remote South Atlantic island was Napoleon Bonaparte exiled in 1815, where he'd live until his death in 1821? |
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Saint Helena | |
| 39. | In the 20th century, the Great Depression took place mostly during what decade? |
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1930s (1929-1939) | |
| 40. | What name is given to the Boeing B-29 heavy bomber used during World War II and the Korean War? |
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Superfortress | |
| 41. | News of Farrah Fawcett's death on 25th June 2009 was largely overshadowed by media coverage of the unexpected death on the same day of what other celebrity? |
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Michael Jackson | |
| 42. | Born in 1920, by what name was Karol Józef Wojtyła better known? |
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Pope John Paul II | |
| 43. | Formed in 1933, how was the Geheime Staatspolizei better known? |
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Gestapo | |
| 44. | In what harbour was the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior sank by French foreign intelligence services in 1985? |
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Auckland (New Zealand) | |
| 45. | Now known as the Countess of Wessex, who did Britain's Prince Edward marry in June 1999? |
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Sophie Rhys-Jones | |
| 46. | A predecessor to the CIA, what three-letter abbreviation describes the wartime intelligence agency of the United States during World War II? |
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OSS (Office of Strategic Services) | |
| 47. | The only British prime minister to have been assassinated, who was shot on 11th May 1812? |
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Spencer Percival | |
| 48. | An 1818 invention known as the "Dandy Horse" was the forerunner to what mode of transport? |
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Bicycle | |
| 49. | On what group of islands was Captain James Cook killed in 1779? |
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Hawaii (Sandwich Islands) | |
| 50. | To whom did Sitting Bull give the nickname "Watanya Cicilla", or "Little Sure Shot"? |
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Annie Oakley | |
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