170+ Best History Trivia Questions & Answers

Question: NASA launched the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph in 2013 to study what?

Answer: Sun

Question: Ranier III came to the throne of which small state in 1949?

Answer: Monaco

Question: What would you do with a corset?

Answer: Wear it

Question: What was the language of the Moors, who lived in Spain until 1492?

Answer: Arabic

Question: What was a harpsichord?

Answer: Musical Instrument

Question: What was invented by Louis Braille?

Answer: Writing System

Question: What was the surname of Thomas, inventor of the electric light bulb?

Answer: Edison

Question: Explorer Vasco da Gama came from which country?

Answer: Portugal

Question: The Roman military defensive move of 'testudo' takes its name from which animal?

Answer: Tortoise

Question: What word means events told in date order?

Answer: Chronological

Question: Which US city was called Yerba Buena until 1847?

Answer: San Francisco

Question: Rosa Parks made her bus protest in which US state?

Answer: Alabama

Question: In which US city did Washington make the first State of the Union address?

Answer: New York

Question: Which US state was originally called New Netherlands?

Answer: New Jersey

Question: King Tut is the nickname of a ruler from which country?

Answer: Egypt

Question: Who founded the National Woman Suffrage Association with Susan B Anthony?

Answer: Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Question: Which Civil Rights leader made the famous 'I have a dream' speech?

Answer: Martin Luther King

Question: Louis Pasteur developed a way of making which liquid safe to drink?

Answer: Milk

Question: Marshal Tito was a post-WW2 leader of which European country?

Answer: Yugoslavia

Question: Which General led the Confederate forces in the US Civil War?

Answer: Lee

Question: Which famous English Queen died in 1603?

Answer: Elizabeth I

Question: Which 11th-century Scottish king is the subject of a Shakespeare play?

Answer: Macbeth

Question: Principia Mathematica was a 1687 work by which world-famous thinker?

Answer: Newton

Question: The Finnish Civil War in 1918 was a battle for independence from which country?

Answer: Russia

Question: Countries around which body of water were hit by a tsunami in December 2004?

Answer: Indian Ocean

Question: The use of which technology was restricted to the US military until 2000?

Answer: GPS

Question: What was the name of the anti-government protests which shook the Arab world in 2010?

Answer: Arab Spring

Question: In which country were the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989?

Answer: China

Question: The Watergate scandal involved an office building in which US city?

Answer: Washington DC

Question: Which country sent ships in an Armada to invade England in 1588?

Answer: Spain

Question: The Santa Fe trail led from Missouri to which state?

Answer: New Mexico

Question: Fidel Castro is a former President and Prime Minister of which country?

Answer: Cuba

Question: Hugo Chavez was elected President of which country in 1998?

Answer: Venezuela

Question: Which US President announced sanctions against the USSR when it invaded Afghanistan?

Answer: Carter

Question: Emperor Theodosius II was in charge of which empire?

Answer: Byzantine

Question: What was Aristotle's job in Ancient Greece?

Answer: Philosopher

Question: The Viet Cong fought in a conflict in which country?

Answer: Vietnam

Question: Which of the Nobel prizes did Nelson Mandela win?

Answer: Peace

Question: Princess Victoria, heir to the throne of which country got married in 2010?

Answer: Sweden

Question: Which hurricane devastated New Orleans in 2005?

Answer: Katrina

Question: Anne of Denmark was crowned Queen of which other country in 1590?

Answer: Scotland

Question: The British surrendered to Washington at Yorktown in which state?

Answer: Virginia

Question: Which ancient city was famous for its Hanging Gardens?

Answer: Babylon

Question: The Ionian islands became part of which country in 1864?

Answer: Greece

Question: People in which part of the world built traditional shelters called tepees?

Answer: North America

Question: The Jacobins were the driving force behind which country's revolution?

Answer: France

Question: What was the surname of Janet, the first female US Attorney General?

Answer: Reno

Question: Lederhosen are traditional German shorts made from which material?

Answer: Leather

Question: Which was the first country to put a man into space?

Answer: Soviet Union

Question: Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba were accused of which crime in Salem in 1692?

Answer: Witchcraft

Question: The Sino-Japanese war was fought between Japan and which country?

Answer: China

Question: Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder of a ruling dynasty in which country?

Answer: Japan

Question: Tenochtitlan was the capital of which Empire?

Answer: Aztec

Question: What did Charles Blondin cross on a tightrope in 1859?

Answer: Niagara Falls

Question: What is a nickname for William Shakespeare?

Answer: Bard

Question: Which country hosted the first Eurovision song contest?

Answer: Switzerland

Question: The Battle of Hamburger Hill was a feature of which conflict?

Answer: Vietnam War

Question: What was the first name of US President Coolidge?

Answer: Calvin

Question: In 1840, a French colony became established in Akaroa in which country?

Answer: New Zealand

Question: What was the generic term for North America after it was first discovered?

Answer: New World

Question: What was the term for people who rushed to California to look for gold?

Answer: Prospectors

Question: President James Monroe was from which US state?

Answer: Virginia

Question: Hessians were soldiers from which country who came to fight in America?

Answer: Germany

Question: Leonid Brezhnev was a 20th century leader of which country?

Answer: Soviet Union

Question: Which term refers to the USSR and Americans stockpiling nuclear weapons?

Answer: Arms Race

Question: The Molotov Cocktail is named after a foreign minister from which country?

Answer: Soviet Union

Question: Which European is credited with discovering America?

Answer: Columbus

Question: Edo is the former name of which world capital?

Answer: Tokyo

Question: The first African football World Cup was held in 2010 in which country?

Answer: South Africa

Question: The 'Livre Tournois' was the currency in which country before an 18th century revolution?

Answer: France

Question: Empress Wu was the only female leader of which country?

Answer: China

Question: Boers came into conflict with Xhosa people in which country?

Answer: South Africa

Question: What is the name of the Space Shuttle which broke up on launch in 1986?

Answer: Challenger

Question: Which Civil Rights leader was the face of the Nation of Islam?

Answer: Malcolm X

Question: In World War 2, what was a Spitfire?

Answer: Fighter Plane

Question: In which UK city was Queen Elizabeth I crowned in 1559?

Answer: London

Question: Scientist Galileo Galilei is one of the most famous people from which country?

Answer: Italy

Question: Kennedy was elected to the US parliament in 1946 to represent which state?

Answer: Massachusetts

Question: Britain transported convicts to which country, starting in 1840?

Answer: Australia

Question: What was the term for the UK's adoption of a new currency in 1970?

Answer: Decimalization

Question: What was the name of Hitler and Mussolini's political ideology?

Answer: Fascism

Question: Botany Bay was an early British colony in which country?

Answer: Australia

Question: Kurdistan was a troubled region in Turkey and which other country?

Answer: Iraq

Question: What was the first name of Elizabethan explorer Raleigh?

Answer: Walter

Question: What is the name of Bill Clinton's only daughter?

Answer: Chelsea

Question: In which mountain range was the Incan Empire based?

Answer: Andes

Question: The 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke was in which US state?

Answer: Virginia

Question: Which country's economy went through a restructuring called perestroika in the 1980s?

Answer: Soviet Union

Question: The Royal Family of which country financed Christopher Columbus's expeditions?

Answer: Spain

Question: The Wright brothers, the first people to make a powered flight, were which nationality?

Answer: American

Question: What was the first name of former US diplomat Mr Kissinger?

Answer: Henry

Question: During World War 2, Charles de Gaulle led the French resistance from which country?

Answer: United Kingdom

Question: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was opened in 1940 in which state?

Answer: Tennessee

Question: Which country issued the world's first paper money in around 1024?

Answer: China

Question: Which country introduced the ruble as the world's first decimal currency in 1704?

Answer: Russia

Question: Egypt became part of which Empire after the death of Cleopatra?

Answer: Roman

Question: In which country did the Romans build Hadrian's Wall?

Answer: England

Question: Tartan is a traditional fabric associated with which country?

Answer: Scotland

Question: Apartheid was a government policy in which 20th-century country?

Answer: South Africa

Question: Which ancient civilization worshipped Gods called Thor and Loki?

Answer: Vikings

Question: Minamoto Yoritomo took the throne of which country in 1192?

Answer: Japan

Question: The Russian Royal Family lived in which city before the Revolution?

Answer: St Petersburg

Question: The city of Babylon stood on the banks of which river?

Answer: Euphrates

Question: Assyrian people came from which part of the world?

Answer: Middle East

Question: The Duchy of Burgundy eventually became part of which larger country?

Answer: France

Question: The Ionian islands became part of which country in 1864?

Answer: Greece

Question: People in which part of the world built traditional shelters called tepees?

Answer: North America

Question: What was the generic term for North America after it was first discovered?

Answer: New World

Question: Empress Wu was the only female leader of which country?

Answer: China

Question: In which mountain range was the Incan Empire based?

Answer: Andes

Question: Kurdistan was a troubled region in Turkey and which other country?

Answer: Iraq

Question: The Royal Family of which country financed Christopher Columbus's expeditions?

Answer: Spain

Question: During the 1950s, the US carried out nuclear testing in which state?

Answer: Nevada

Question: Which of the Nobel prizes did Nelson Mandela win?

Answer: Peace

Question: The Molotov Cocktail is named after a foreign minister from which country?

Answer: Soviet Union

Question: Which term refers to the USSR and Americans stockpiling nuclear weapons?

Answer: Arms Race

Question: The 'Livre Tournois' was the currency in which country before an 18th-century revolution?

Answer: France

Question: Which country hosted the first Eurovision song contest?

Answer: Switzerland

Question: What was the name of a wheeled vehicle pulled by horses in ancient Rome?

Answer: Chariot

Question: The elevated rail system called the L started running in which US city in 1892?

Answer: Chicago

Question: Goa was a colony of which European nation in India?

Answer: Portugal

Question: Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, was from which country?

Answer: Spain

Question: Which civilization used hieroglyphics to communicate in writing?

Answer: Egyptian

Question: Romulus Augustulus was the last emperor of which Empire?

Answer: Roman

Question: What crime was Joan of Arc accused of?

Answer: Witchcraft

Question: Maori is the name given to the native people of which country?

Answer: New Zealand

Question: What did the Cree trade with Europeans in Canada in the 17th century?

Answer: Furs

Question: Cree Native Americans lived in which modern-day country?

Answer: Canada

Question: The Hittites were an ancient civilization that flourished in which region?

Answer: Anatolia (modern-day Turkey)

Question: The Mayan civilization was known for its advanced system of writing using hieroglyphics in which region?

Answer: Mesoamerica (Central America)

Question: The Phoenicians were known for their seafaring and trading empire in which part of the world?

Answer: Mediterranean region

Question: The Gupta Empire was a golden age of art, science, and mathematics in which ancient civilization?

Answer: India

Question: The ancient city of Carthage was a powerful trading empire located in which modern-day country?

Answer: Tunisia

Question: The Shang Dynasty was an early Chinese civilization known for its development of a system of writing using which characters?

Answer: Oracle bones

Question: The Indus Valley Civilization was an ancient civilization that thrived in which region of the Indian subcontinent?

Answer: Pakistan and northwest India

Question: The Minoans were an ancient civilization that flourished on which island in the Mediterranean Sea?

Answer: Crete

Question: The ancient city of Pompeii was preserved and buried by the eruption of which volcano in 79 AD?

Answer: Mount Vesuvius

Question: The Olmec civilization is considered the oldest major civilization in which region of the Americas?

Answer: Mesoamerica (Mexico)

Question: The ancient city of Petra, famous for its rock-cut architecture, is located in which modern-day country?

Answer: Jordan

Question: The Celts were an ancient people who inhabited which regions of Europe?

Answer: Mainly Western and Central Europe

Question: The Maurya Empire was an ancient Indian empire founded by which emperor?

Answer: Chandragupta Maurya

Question: The ancient city of Teotihuacan, known for its impressive pyramids, is located in which modern-day country?

Answer: Mexico

Question: The Etruscans were an ancient civilization that thrived in which region of Italy?

Answer: Central Italy

Question: Which title did Kate Middleton take when she got married?

Answer: Duchess of Cambridge

Question: Faisal replaced Saud on the throne of which Middle Eastern country in 1964?

Answer: Saudi Arabia

Question: The government of which country imposed the Stamp Act on American colonists in 1765?

Answer: United Kingdom

Question: Who led protestors on a march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965?

Answer: Martin Luther King

Question: Which US President approved the dropping of the Atomic bomb on Japan?

Answer: Truman

Question: Queen Victoria's husband came from which European country?

Answer: Germany

Question: Which actress married baseball legend Joe DiMaggio?

Answer: Marilyn Monroe

Question: Politician Yitzhak Rabin became leader of which country in 1992?

Answer: Israel

Question: Who was British Prime Minister through the 1980s?

Answer: ThatcherPrincess Victoria, heir to the throne of which country got married in 2010?

Question: What was the name of Bill Clinton's only daughter?

Answer: Chelsea

Question: The British surrendered to Washington at Yorktown in which state?

Answer: Virginia

Question: Which hurricane devastated New Orleans in 2005?

Answer: Katrina

Question: Kennedy was elected to the US parliament in 1946 to represent which state?

Answer: Massachusetts