History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 12th 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 Some questions and answers may be outdated.)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. | Prior to David Cameron in 2010, who was the last leader of the Conservative Party to win a UK General Election? |
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John Major (9th April 1992) | |
| 2. | Walter Mondale was Vice President of the United States under which President? |
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Jimmy Carter (1977 - 1981) | |
| 3. | What retired U.S. president survived an assassination attempt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1912? |
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Theodore Roosevelt | |
| 4. | According to legend, what was the name of King Arthur's sword? |
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Excalibur | |
| 5. | What international contest was first held on 29th July 1951 in London? |
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Miss World | |
| 6. | What canal took 10 years to build and opened in November 1869? |
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The Suez Canal | |
| 7. | Who took office on 14th September 1901 as the youngest ever U.S. President, aged 42 years, 322 days? |
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Theodore Roosevelt | |
| 8. | For what territory did the United States pay France fifty million francs ($11,250,000) in 1803? |
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Louisiana (Louisiana Purchase) | |
| 9. | After which late 15th and early 16th century Italian explorer did America get its name? |
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Amerigo Vespucci (Americus Vespucius is the Latin version of his name, and America is the feminine form of Americus) | |
| 10. | Probably the strangest monarch of the 20th century, what Southeast European country was ruled by Zog I from 1922 to 1939, firstly as Prime Minister, then President, and finally King? |
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Albania | |
| 11. | In Greek mythology, what is the name of the giant huntsman placed among the stars by Zeus as a constellation? |
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Orion | |
| 12. | 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! | |
| 13. | On what holiday was Abraham Lincoln assassinated? |
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Good Friday (14th April 1865) | |
| 14. | What was written below the word "TITANIC" on the stern of RMS Titanic? |
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LIVERPOOL | |
| 15. | Until his conviction in April 1992, who was nicknamed "The Teflon Don"? |
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John Gotti | |
| 16. | 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) | |
| 17. | During which battle, on the 25th October 1854, did the Charge of the Light Brigade take place? |
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Battle of Balaclava (Crimean War) | |
| 18. | What city was destroyed by "Fat Man"? |
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Nagasaki (Nuclear bomb, 9th August 1945) | |
| 19. | Who invented the world's first practical, publicly demonstrated television system? |
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John Logie Baird | |
| 20. | Transported to Britain in the early 19th century, from what country do the Elgin Marbles originate? |
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Greece (Parthenon, Athens) | |
| 21. | In what year did the Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft make the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon? |
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1966 | |
| 22. | In which month in 1963 was John F. Kennedy assassinated? |
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November (22nd) | |
| 23. | In what Eastern Bloc country did Russian troops crush an anti-Soviet uprising in 1956? |
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Hungary | |
| 24. | 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) | |
| 25. | Who discovered the moons of Jupiter in 1610 after constructing the first astronomical telescope? |
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Galileo Galilei | |
| 26. | By what name is 6th June 1944 often called? |
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D-Day (beginning of the Normandy landings) | |
| 27. | The most requested photograph from the U.S. National Archives is a black and white image of Richard Nixon at the White House on this day, 21st December 1970, shaking hands with who? |
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Elvis Presley | |
| 28. | On what Greek island was the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, born on 10th June 1921? |
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Corfu (Κέρκυρα) | |
| 29. | In 1975, Papua New Guinea achieved full independence from what country? |
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Australia | |
| 30. | List the following three wars in order starting with the earliest: American War of Independence, Boer War, Crimean War |
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American War of Independence, Crimean War, Boer War (1775-1783, 1853-1856, 1899-1902) | |
| 31. | What famous protest took place in England in October 1936? |
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Jarrow March/Crusade | |
| 32. | What British monarch died in 1603 aged 69? |
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Elizabeth I | |
| 33. | Ernest Shackleton's ship was crushed by pack ice and sank off Antarctica in 1915. What was its name? |
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Endurance | |
| 34. | Who was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961? |
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Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
| 35. | In Great Britain in 1714, George I became the first monarch of what royal house? |
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House of Hanover | |
| 36. | In Greek legend, what King turned everything he touched into gold? |
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King Midas | |
| 37. | 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 | |
| 38. | What U.S. president enacted the "New Deal" programs in the 1930s? |
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Franklin D. Roosevelt | |
| 39. | Alcock and Brown flew the first ever non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919, between what two countries? |
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Canada (Newfoundland) and Ireland | |
| 40. | In November 2017, Twitter officially doubled its character limit for tweets to how many characters? |
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280 | |
| 41. | 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) | |
| 42. | In 1785, Blanchard and Jeffries became the first to cross the English channel in what type of craft? |
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Balloon | |
| 43. | What medieval queen was married to both Louis VII of France and Henry II of England? |
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Eleanor of Aquitaine | |
| 44. | Who was elected U.S. President in the same year John Lennon was killed in New York? |
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Ronald Reagan (1980) | |
| 45. | What scientist was charged with heresy in 1633 by the Roman Catholic Church for his view that the earth orbits the sun? |
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Galileo Galilei | |
| 46. | The Battle of Moscow was fought during the coldest European winter of the 20th Century, having begun in October of what year? |
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1941 | |
| 47. | Since 1818, the House of Bernadotte has served as the royal family of what country? |
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Sweden (also Norway prior to its independence in 1905) | |
| 48. | Which German inventor introduced the printing press to Europe in the 15th century? |
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Johannes Gutenberg | |
| 49. | During World War II, what was the name of Japan's equivalent to Germany's Lord Haw-Haw? |
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Tokyo Rose | |
| 50. | 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) | |
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