History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 27th July 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 Some questions and answers may be outdated.)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 was the surname of the Cuban dictator overthrown by Fidel Castro in 1959? |
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Batista (Fulgencio Batista) | |
| 2. | Between 1808 and 1867, what Alaskan city served as the capital of Russian America? |
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Sitka | |
| 3. | In what year did King John of England sign the Magna Carta? |
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1215 | |
| 4. | His assassination in Sarajevo triggered the outbreak of World War I; what nationality was Archduke Franz Ferdinand? |
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Austrian (born in Graz, Austrian Empire) | |
| 5. | According to legend, what was the name of King Arthur's sword? |
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Excalibur | |
| 6. | First shown in French theatres, what film company invented the newsreel in 1908? |
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Pathé | |
| 7. | Who fell from the Lady Ghislaine in November 1991? |
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Robert Maxwell | |
| 8. | Which two countries have been in dispute since the end of World War II over sovereignty of the South Kuril Islands? |
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Japan and Russia | |
| 9. | The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought during which war? |
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American War Of Independence / American Revolutionary War (1775) | |
| 10. | The political slogan "I like Ike" was mainly used in what decade? |
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The 1950s (Dwight D. Eisenhower, US President from 1953-1961) | |
| 11. | The Ostmark was the currency of what former country? |
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East Germany (German Democratic Republic) | |
| 12. | What Venetian navigator and explorer made a British claim to land in Canada, mistaking it for Asia, during his 1497 voyage on the ship Matthew? |
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John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) | |
| 13. | What religion is represented by this symbol, the Taijitu, depicting the concept of Yin and Yang? |
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Taoism / Daoism | |
| 14. | What denomination of pre-decimal coin are these? |
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3d ("thruppence" / threepenny bit) | |
| 15. | From what country did Algeria gain independence in 1962? |
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France | |
| 16. | The 1964 film Zulu is a depiction of what 1879 battle during the Anglo-Zulu war? |
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Battle of Rorke's Drift | |
| 17. | In August 1926, American Olympic champion Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to do what? |
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Swim the English Channel | |
| 18. | With West Germany and Belgium also involved, between what two countries were the "Cod Wars" primarily fought in the 1950s and 1970s? |
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United Kingdom and Iceland | |
| 19. | One of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history, what volcano in South East Asia erupted in August 1883? |
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Krakatoa | |
| 20. | Which two countries fought the Hundred Years' War between 1337 and 1453? |
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England and France | |
| 21. | Name the German inventor and mechanical engineer who obtained patents for his compression ignition engine in 1895 and 1898. |
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Rudolf Diesel | |
| 22. | In what year was Twitter founded? |
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2006 (21st March) | |
| 23. | What U.S. president was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? |
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Theodore Roosevelt (1906 - for his work in helping broker the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905) | |
| 24. | Which World War II battle between December 1944 and January 1945 was a German offensive on the Western Front in Belgium, France and Luxembourg? |
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Battle of the Bulge (German: Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein "Operation Watch on the Rhine") | |
| 25. | What political movement was founded in the late 19th century by Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl? |
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Zionism | |
| 26. | Who was the first serving U.S. president to appear on black & white television? |
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Franklin D. Roosevelt (30th April 1939 at the opening ceremony for the World's Fair in New York City) | |
| 27. | What Greek philosopher was the pupil of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle? |
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Plato | |
| 28. | In what decade did the Korean War take place? |
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The 1950s (25th June 1950 – 27th July 1953) | |
| 29. | In what country did the Rum Rebellion take place in 1808? |
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Australia (New South Wales) | |
| 30. | Which of the three Apollo 11 astronauts did not set foot on the moon? |
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Michael Collins | |
| 31. | Into how many independent states was the USSR divided in 1991? |
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15 (Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Estonia Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Moldova Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan) | |
| 32. | Born in 1847, what American inventor started going deaf at the age of 12? |
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Thomas Edison | |
| 33. | Name both the captain and the ship that ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef on 11th June 1770? |
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Captain James Cook - HMS Endeavour | |
| 34. | One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek sun-god. What is his name? |
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Helios | |
| 35. | What was the surname of French brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne, whose hot-air balloon made the first ever manned flight in 1783? |
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Montgolfier | |
| 36. | Who was the last U.S. President to be in office during the 20th century? |
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Bill Clinton (January 1993 - January 2001) | |
| 37. | What was the name of the leading ship in Captain Arthur Phillip's First Fleet that arrived at Botany Bay to colonise Australia on 18th January 1788? |
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HMS Supply | |
| 38. | In 1094, which Spanish leader defeated the Moors at Valencia? |
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El Cid / El Campeador (Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar) | |
| 39. | What royal palace in the U.K. was severely damaged by fire in March 1986? |
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Hampton Court Palace | |
| 40. | What is the name of the street in which the Great Fire of London began at Thomas Farriner's bakery in September 1666? |
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Pudding Lane | |
| 41. | What war interrupted construction of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.? |
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American Civil War (officially dedicated in 1885 and opened to the public in 1888) | |
| 42. | Who was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998? |
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Helmut Kohl | |
| 43. | Which Russian ballet dancer defected in June 1974 while on tour in Canada? |
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Mikhail Baryshnikov | |
| 44. | What was the surname of the Archduke assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914, a precursor to World War I? |
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Ferdinand (Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria) | |
| 45. | Who, in the 15th century, is widely thought to have been the first man to print books in the English language? |
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William Caxton | |
| 46. | In what city was Anne Frank when she wrote her famous wartime diary? |
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Amsterdam (Netherlands) | |
| 47. | Which town gave its name to the Nazi collaborationist movement in France during World War II? |
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Vichy | |
| 48. | _______ destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. |
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Manifest | |
| 49. | What Italian explorer set sail from Bristol, England in 1497 on a voyage to the coast of North America? |
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John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto / Zuan Caboto) | |
| 50. | Who did George W. Bush defeat in the December 2000 presidential election? |
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Al Gore | |
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