Boston History Trivia
Question: What year was Boston settled by Puritan settlers?
Answer: 1625
Question: On what peninsula was Boston founded?
Answer: Shawmut Peninsula
Question: When was Boston incorporated as a city?
Answer: March 19, 1822
Question: Boston was named after a town in which English county?
Answer: Lincolnshire
Question: What is Boston’s official Latin motto?
Answer: Sicut patribus sit Deus nobis
Question: Which event in 1773 involved citizens throwing tea into Boston Harbor, sparking the Boston Tea Party?
Answer: Boston Tea Party
Question: What tragic 1770 event in Boston involved British troops firing on a crowd, later called the Boston Massacre?
Answer: Boston Massacre
Question: Which 1775 battle near Boston proved to be a pyrrhic victory for the British?
Answer: Battle of Bunker Hill
Question: What event marked the end of the siege during the American Revolutionary War in Boston?
Answer: Evacuation Day
Question: What is the name of the first public park in the United States, established in Boston Common in 1634?
Answer: Boston Common
Question: What is the name of the first public school in the U.S., founded in Boston Latin School in 1635?
Answer: Boston Latin School
Question: Who led the famous midnight ride during the American Revolution in Boston?
Answer: Paul Revere
Question: What portable fortification built on Dorchester Heights forced the British to evacuate the city?
Answer: The fortifications on Dorchester Heights
Question: Who supervised the construction of the fortifications on Dorchester Heights during the revolutionary war?
Answer: Rufus Putnam
Question: Which British commander oversaw the siege that ended with Boston’s evacuation?
Answer: Sir William Howe
Question: Which 1765 legislative act sparked violent protests that affected Boston's early history?
Answer: Stamp Act
Question: Which act in 1773 prompted the Boston Tea Party in Boston Harbor?
Answer: Tea Act
Question: What colonial document, signed in 1629, paved the way for Boston’s founding by establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
Answer: Cambridge Agreement
Question: How did Boston play a central role during the American revolution in the United States?
Answer: It hosted events like the Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, and key battles.
Question: What was the early name for the area now known as Boston before it was re-named?
Answer: Shawmut
Boston Geography Trivia
Question: What are the coordinates of Boston?
Answer: 42°21′37″N 71°3′28″W
Question: Boston is the capital of which U.S. state?
Answer: Massachusetts
Question: What is the land area of Boston in square miles?
Answer: 48.34 sq mi
Question: Approximately what percentage of Boston's total area is water?
Answer: 46%
Question: What is the elevation of Boston as listed in the Boston area information?
Answer: 46 ft
Question: According to the 2020 census, what was Boston’s population?
Answer: 675,647
Question: What is the demonym for a resident of this great city?
Answer: Bostonian
Question: What is Boston’s population density per square mile in the city?
Answer: 13,976.98/sq mi
Question: In which region of the United States is Boston located?
Answer: New England
Question: Boston is bordered to the north by which two cities?
Answer: Somerville and Cambridge
Question: Which river separates Boston’s Fenway-Kenmore and Back Bay neighborhoods from Cambridge and Watertown?
Answer: Charles River
Question: What is the highest point in Boston?
Answer: Bellevue Hill
Question: Which neighborhood lies directly east of Boston Common?
Answer: South Boston
Question: Boston is part of which metropolitan statistical area in Massachusetts?
Answer: Greater Boston
Question: Approximately what fraction of inner Boston’s modern land area was created by land reclamation?
Answer: More than two-thirds
Question: What is Boston’s national population ranking among U.S. cities?
Answer: 25th
Question: In which county is the city of Boston located?
Answer: Suffolk County
Question: What is the reported urban population of the Boston area?
Answer: 4,382,009
Question: What is the metro population of the Boston area as provided?
Answer: 4,941,632
Question: Which major body of water is adjacent to the city’s historic Boston Harbor?
Answer: Boston Harbor
Boston Culture Trivia
Question: Which Major League Baseball team plays at Fenway Park in Boston?
Answer: Boston Red Sox
Question: What institution, founded in 1852, was the first free public library in the United States and is located in the city?
Answer: Boston Public Library
Question: Name one major university that forms the “Brainpower Triangle” near Boston (others include MIT and Tufts).
Answer: Harvard University
Question: In which field has Boston emerged as a global leader, being the largest biotechnology hub in the United States?
Answer: Biotechnology
Question: What annual event held in Boston, known for its 26.2-mile race, is one of the world’s oldest marathons?
Answer: Boston Marathon
Question: Which nickname has Boston earned because of its rich literary history and cultural heritage?
Answer: Athens of America
Question: What art institution in the Seaport District of Boston was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro?
Answer: Institute of Contemporary Art
Question: Which Boston museum houses an impressive art collection and bears the name of its founder, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum?
Answer: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Question: What building in Boston is famous for its illuminated beacon and is associated with the legacy of Ted Williams?
Answer: Old John Hancock Building
Question: In which venue do the Boston Ballet perform in this vibrant city?
Answer: Boston Opera House
Question: According to recent financial rankings, how competitive is Boston as a financial center in the United States?
Answer: Thirteenth most competitive
Question: Which major multinational company moved its headquarters to Boston’s Seaport District in 2016?
Answer: General Electric
Question: What major construction project in Boston, known as the Big Dig, dramatically changed the city’s downtown?
Answer: Central Artery/Tunnel Project
Question: On which holiday does Boston host a special Pops concert followed by fireworks?
Answer: Fourth of July
Question: What is the name of the oldest public high school in the United States, located in the city?
Answer: Boston Latin School
Question: Which prominent Boston hospital is known for its leadership in medical innovation?
Answer: Massachusetts General Hospital
Question: Which investment company based in Boston helped popularize the mutual fund concept?
Answer: Fidelity Investments
Question: What renowned campus, noted as the nation’s oldest institute of higher education, is closely associated with Boston?
Answer: Harvard University
Question: During a Boston trivia night, what time might a question be asked when the clock strikes 7pm?
Answer: 7pm
Question: Which river in the Boston area flows beside Kenmore Square, a popular spot for happy hour and trivia night?
Answer: Charles River
General Boston Trivia
Question: What type of government does the city of Boston operate under?
Answer: Strong mayor–council system
Question: Who is the current mayor of Boston, as reported in Massachusetts news?
Answer: Michelle Wu
Question: How often are members of the Boston City Council elected in the city?
Answer: Every two years
Question: What is the name of Boston’s primary law enforcement agency serving the United States?
Answer: Boston Police Department
Question: What major infrastructure project, known locally as the Big Dig, transformed Boston’s transit?
Answer: Central Artery/Tunnel Project
Question: Which international airport serves the city of Boston in the United States?
Answer: Logan International Airport
Question: Which U.S. interstate highway terminates in Boston?
Answer: I-90
Question: What does MBTA stand for, the agency running Boston’s public transit system?
Answer: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Question: What is the name of the tallest building in the Boston area?
Answer: John Hancock Tower
Question: Which river separates Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood from Chelsea and Everett?
Answer: Mystic River
Question: What is the name of the oldest subway system in the United States, located in Boston?
Answer: Tremont Street subway
Question: Which ZIP Code is associated with Boston’s Financial District as featured in the Boston Globe?
Answer: 02110
Question: What tool does the city of Boston use to measure the effectiveness of public services?
Answer: CityScore
Question: Which federal courthouse in Boston houses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the United States?
Answer: John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse
Question: Boston is split between which two congressional districts in the United States?
Answer: 7th and 8th
Question: As of October 26, 2024, what percentage of registered voters in the city of Boston are unenrolled?
Answer: 55.18%
Question: In what year was the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) established in the city?
Answer: 1957
Question: Which Boston neighborhood experienced major urban renewal that affected many residents during a trivia night discussion?
Answer: West End
Question: Boston City Hall is an iconic example of which architectural style seen in the city?
Answer: Brutalist
Question: Which lively district in Boston is known for its art galleries and often hosts a weekly trivia game?
Answer: South Boston (and nearby Copley Square)
Miscellaneous Boston Trivia
Question: What major transportation hub in Boston serves as a terminus for Amtrak’s Northeast Regional and Acela Express routes in the United States?
Answer: South Station
Question: Approximately what percentage of Boston households did not own a car as of recent U.S. census data?
Answer: 33.8%
Question: What is the name of Boston’s popular bikeshare program that many riders use during happy hour near the orange line?
Answer: Bluebikes
Question: How are the streets of downtown Boston primarily organized in this historic city?
Answer: They grew organically without a planned grid
Question: Which highway encircling Boston’s suburbs is often referred to as a partial beltway in Massachusetts?
Answer: Massachusetts Route 128
Question: What long-standing tradition does a Boston Red Sox game share with the Boston Marathon day?
Answer: Both are celebrated events in the city
Question: What term is used for the detailed answers provided to each trivia question in this general knowledge trivia challenge?
Answer: Answer
Question: Which iconic event in Boston history involved Paul Revere and is a must-know fact for any trivia night participant?
Answer: Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride
Question: What must you know about the Boston Marathon if you're a trivia fan in Massachusetts?
Answer: Its history and significance as a marathon in the United States
Question: What popular Boston landmark not only serves as an outdoor space but also hosts trivia nights in the Boston area?
Answer: Boston Common
Question: Under the Köppen climate classification, which two climate types describe Boston?
Answer: Humid continental and humid subtropical
Question: What is the average annual snowfall in Boston?
Answer: 49.2 inches
Question: Name a popular outdoor location where many gather during trivia night in Boston Common.
Answer: Boston Common
Question: As of a recent estimate, what was Boston’s population according to Massachusetts data?
Answer: 653,833
Question: Which two area codes serve the city of Boston in the United States?
Answer: 617 and 857
Question: Which event in Boston is credited with igniting revolutionary sentiment in the United States?
Answer: Boston Massacre
Question: After the American Revolution, Boston shifted its economy from a busy port to become a center for which industries?
Answer: Manufacturing and education
Question: What 19th-century disaster led Boston workers to use building rubble as landfill along the waterfront?
Answer: Great Boston Fire of 1872
Question: During colonial days, Boston was a primary stop along which trade route in North America?
Answer: Caribbean trade route
Question: How did Boston significantly expand its land area in the 19th century?
Answer: By filling in marshes and tidal areas