History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 9th February 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 Some questions and answers may be outdated.)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 May 1982, Héctor E. Bonzo was the last captain of what ship? |
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General Belgrano | |
| 2. | Who, in 1813, famously described his soldiers as "scum of the earth"? |
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The Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington) | |
| 3. | Who was excommunicated by The Pope at the Diet of Worms in 1521? |
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Martin Luther | |
| 4. | Signed on 28th June 1919, what was the name of the peace treaty that finally ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers after the armistice of World War I? |
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The Treaty of Versailles | |
| 5. | The purge in summer 1934 in which Hitler had members of his own party murdered by the SS was called "The Night of the ..." what? |
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Long Knives (Operation Hummingbird / Nacht der langen Messer) | |
| 6. | The Wall Street Crash of October 29, 1929 is known as Black what? |
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Tuesday | |
| 7. | In what year did the United Kingdom transfer sovereignty of Hong Kong to China? |
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1997 (1st July) | |
| 8. | Dying on 4th April 1841, after just a month in office, who is the shortest-serving president in U.S. history? |
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William Henry Harrison | |
| 9. | From 1901, what was the de facto Capital of Australia and home to its federal parliament until moved to Canberra in 1927? |
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Melbourne | |
| 10. | A favourite of Queen Elizabeth I and credited with popularising tobacco in England, who was executed in London on 29th October 1618? |
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Sir Walter Raleigh | |
| 11. | In the early morning of 22nd August 1961, German nurse Ida Siekmann became the first known person to die doing what? |
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Crossing the Berlin Wall | |
| 12. | The capital of a newly built Spanish colony in Asia, in 1571, what did King Philip II of Spain designate as the "Distinguished and Ever Loyal City"? |
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Manila (The Philippines) | |
| 13. | When American aviator Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel on 16th April 1912, her accomplishment received little media attention because of what major event the day before? |
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Sinking of the RMS Titanic | |
| 14. | Who succeeded Javier Pérez de Cuéllar as Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1992 and succeeded by Kofi Annan in 1997? |
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Boutros Boutros-Ghali | |
| 15. | What was the largest internet company in the world in 2000; turned down an offer to purchase Google in 2002; turned down a $44.6 billion takeover bid from Microsoft in 2007; and was eventually sold to Verizon in 2017 for $4.48 billion? |
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Yahoo! | |
| 16. | Who assassinated Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C. in 1865? |
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John Wilkes Booth | |
| 17. | What was Apollo 11's Lunar Module called? |
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Eagle (LM-5) | |
| 18. | All Boys Should Come Home Please is a mnemonic aimed at helping history students remember what? |
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The wives of Henry VIII (Aragon, Boleyn, Seymour, Cleves, Howard, Parr) | |
| 19. | Legend says it fell from the heavens at the Battle of Valdemar on 15th June 1219; which country has the oldest state flag in the world still in use by an independent nation today? |
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Denmark (Dannebrog) | |
| 20. | Since the Second World War, who is the only U.S. President NOT to be Time magazine's 'Person of the Year'? |
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Gerald Ford | |
| 21. | Which famous World War I battle was named after the peninsular south of Istanbul on which it took place between 25th April 1915 and 9th January 1916? |
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Battle of Gallipoli | |
| 22. | What 'P' is the most common term used to describe the early 20th century 'Noble Experiment' in the United States? |
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Prohibition (1920 to 1933) | |
| 23. | During the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, U.S. General Anthony McAuliffe received a written ultimatum from the opposing German Commander to surrender, or face annihilation. What was his famous one-word reply? |
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NUTS! | |
| 24. | In 2001, Hillary Clinton became the first former First Lady elected to federal office, when she won a senate seat representing what U.S. state? |
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New York | |
| 25. | When it was liberated from the UK in 1957, which country became the first Sub-Saharan nation to gain independence? |
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Ghana | |
| 26. | Last minted in 1856, how many pennies were there in an English groat? |
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4 | |
| 27. | Who took office on 19th December 1783 as the youngest ever British Prime Minister, aged 24 years, 205 days? |
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William Pitt the Younger | |
| 28. | What took place on 28th March 1979 in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, making news headlines worldwide? |
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Three Mile Island Accident (Core meltdown) | |
| 29. | In which century did the Industrial Revolution begin? |
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18th (1750 to 1850) | |
| 30. | On 7th December 1787, what became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, thereby becoming known as The First State? |
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Delaware (thereby becoming known as The First State) | |
| 31. | What month in 1914 saw the outbreak of World War I? |
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July (28th) | |
| 32. | Frequently depicted on ancient Roman coins, documents, monuments, and military standards, what four-letter abbreviation represented a Latin phrase meaning "The Roman Senate and People"? |
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SPQR (Senātus Populusque Rōmānus) | |
| 33. | In Arthurian legend, who was wife of King Arthur? |
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Guinevere | |
| 34. | During World War II, what date was D-Day? |
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6th June 1944 | |
| 35. | The reaction that followed Baptist preacher William Miller's erroneous proclamations that Jesus Christ would return to the Earth by 1844 is known as the Great what? |
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Disappointment | |
| 36. | What beer was promoted around the world in the late 1980s using a fictional dog called Spuds MacKenzie? |
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Bud Light | |
| 37. | What was Winston S. Churchill's middle name? |
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Spencer | |
| 38. | Who did Mikhail Gorbachev succeed as leader of the Soviet Union in 1985? |
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Konstantin Chernenko | |
| 39. | On 24th April 1967, Vladimir Komarov became the first human to do what on a space mission? |
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Die | |
| 40. | What disputed territory declared independence from Serbia in February 2008? |
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Kosovo | |
| 41. | Who did Jimmy Carter succeed as President of the United States? |
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Gerald Ford | |
| 42. | At a press conference in New York City on 2nd April 1973, what couple introduced the conceptual country of Nutopia? |
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John Lennon and Yoko Ono (to address Lennon's then-ongoing immigration problems) | |
| 43. | The RMS Titanic is probably the most famous passenger liner of all time. What does RMS stand for? |
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Royal Mail Ship | |
| 44. | What did British engineer R. J. Mitchell first reveal on 5th March 1936? |
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Supermarine Spitfire | |
| 45. | Which Wild West Sheriff shot Billy the Kid? |
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Pat Garrett | |
| 46. | In what century did the Hundred Years' War between England and France begin? |
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14th (1337 to 1453 - 116 years) | |
| 47. | What country has been ruled by the Grimaldi dynasty for over 700 years? |
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Monaco | |
| 48. | Who, in 1992, became the first woman to be elected as Speaker of the British House of Commons? |
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Betty Boothroyd | |
| 49. | Since 1933, three U.S. Presidents have lost their second-term elections. George H. W. Bush is one. Name the other two. |
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Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter | |
| 50. | Who held a non-binding referendum in November 2012 on whether to become the 51st U.S. state? |
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Puerto Rico | |
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