100 Best 1940s Trivia Questions & Answers

Question: What event triggered the U.S. entry into World War II?

Answer: Pearl Harbor

Question: What was the Holocaust?

Answer: Genocide

Question: Which countries made up the Axis Powers during World War II?

Answer: Germany, Italy, Japan

Question: What was the purpose of the Manhattan Project?

Answer: Nuclear weapon

Question: What were the two cities targeted by atomic bombs in Japan?

Answer: Hiroshima, Nagasaki

Question: What major World War II battle took place in Stalingrad?

Answer: Battle of Stalingrad

Question: Who was the British Prime Minister for most of World War II?

Answer: Winston Churchill

Question: What was the date of D-Day?

Answer: June 6, 1944

Question: What major conference shaped post-World War II Europe?

Answer: Yalta Conference

Question: Who succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt as U.S. President?

Answer: Harry S. Truman

Question: Who won the Best Actor Oscar in 1940?

Answer: James Stewart

Question: What was the highest-grossing film of the 1940s?

Answer: Bambi

Question: Who directed "Citizen Kane"?

Answer: Orson Welles

Question: Which actress starred in "Gone with the Wind"?

Answer: Vivien Leigh

Question: What is the name of the Disney film released in 1940 featuring a wooden puppet?

Answer: Pinocchio

Question: Who played Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon"?

Answer: Humphrey Bogart

Question: Which actor starred in "It's a Wonderful Life"?

Answer: James Stewart

Question: What was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon?

Answer: "A Wild Hare"

Question: Who directed "The Great Dictator"?

Answer: Charlie Chaplin

Question: Which Alfred Hitchcock film was released in 1940?

Answer: Rebecca

Question: What nuclear technology was developed in the 1940s?

Answer: Atomic bomb

Question: Which vehicle manufacturer produced the "Jeep" in the 1940s?

Answer: Willys-Overland

Question: What medical device was invented by Canadian scientists in 1941?

Answer: G-suit

Question: What was the ENIAC?

Answer: Computer

Question: What device did Percy Spencer invent in 1945?

Answer: Microwave oven

Question: What communication device was first designed in 1947?

Answer: Mobile phone

Question: What was introduced at the 1939 World's Fair and then made commercially available in the 1940s?

Answer: Television

Question: Who invented the first commercial photocopier?

Answer: Chester Carlson

Question: What type of data storage was invented in 1947?

Answer: Magnetic tape

Question: Who invented the transistor in 1947?

Answer: Bardeen, Brattain, Shockley

Question: What were the women's fashion trends in the 1940s?

Answer: Pencil skirts, blouses

Question: What men's fashion item became popular due to rationing?

Answer: Zoot suits

Question: What fabric was rationed during World War II?

Answer: Silk

Question: What fashion accessory was popular among women in the 1940s?

Answer: Headscarves

Question: What type of hat was popular among men in the 1940s?

Answer: Fedora

Question: What women's clothing item was first introduced during the 1940s?

Answer: Bikini

Question: What women's fashion piece was associated with Christian Dior in the 1940s?

Answer: New Look

Question: What type of dress, characterized by its length, was popular in the 1940s?

Answer: Tea dress

Question: What type of shoes were popular among women in the 1940s?

Answer: Platform shoes

Question: What fashion trend was launched by Edward Molyneux in 1942?

Answer: Utility clothing

Question: What major sporting event was cancelled in 1940 and 1944 due to World War II?

Answer: Olympics

Question: Who won the World Series in 1940?

Answer: Cincinnati Reds

Question: Who was the heavyweight boxing champion at the beginning of the 1940s?

Answer: Joe Louis

Question: Who won the FIFA World Cup in 1950, the first one after the 1940s?

Answer: Uruguay

Question: What horse won the Triple Crown in 1943?

Answer: Count Fleet

Question: Who won the men's singles at Wimbledon in 1940?

Answer: No event

Question: Who won the first NBA championship (1947)?

Answer: Philadelphia Warriors

Question: Who won the NFL Championship in 1940?

Answer: Chicago Bears

Question: Which golfer won the U.S. Open in 1940?

Answer: Lawson Little

Question: Who was named Baseball's Most Valuable Player in 1940?

Answer: Hank Greenberg