General Modern History Trivia
Question: October 2011 was selected by the UN as the symbolic date when the world's population reached how many?
Answer: 7 billion
Question: Which country was hit by a meteor in February 2013?
Answer: Russia
Question: Which American journalist died in March 2013?
Answer: Anthony Lewis
Question: Who was Pope throughout the 1990s?
Answer: John Paul II
Question: Tim Cook took over as CEO of which company in 2011?
Answer: Apple
Question: Which of these was declared an independent republic in the early 1990s?
Answer: Croatia
Question: Which city in Europe had a city that was taken down in 1989?
Answer: Berlin
Question: Time Magazine's Person of the Year was awarded to which of these people in 2009?
Answer: Ben Bernanke
Question: Which company purchased the rights to the Star Wars movie franchise in 2013?
Answer: Disney
Question: What was the code name for the SAS military operation that stormed London's Iranian Embassy to free hostages in 1980?
Answer: Nimrod
Question: Which tech icon and former Apple CEO died in 2011?
Answer: Steve Jobs
Question: Who was the Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2012?
Answer: Barack Obama
Question: Who did the famous 'I Have a Dream' speech?
Answer: Martin Luther King, Jr.
Question: In 2010, who was awarded the Time Magazine Person of the Year?
Answer: Mark Zuckerberg
Question: Which country became the 18th to join the Eurozone in January 2014?
Answer: Latvia
Modern History Figures Trivia
Question: In 1996, who was chosen to design the Euro banknotes?
Answer: Robert Kalina
Question: In what year did Emperor Hirohito of Japan die?
Answer: 1989
Question: What movement did Lord Baden Powell found in 1907?
Answer: Boy Scouts
Question: Chief Justice Earl Warren swore which man into the presidency?
Answer: Ronald Reagan
Question: September 15th, 1916, saw the first deployment of Big Willie. What was it?
Answer: A World War I Tank
Question: The QE2 made its maiden voyage in which decade?
Answer: 1960s
Question: Which iconic Ford car was first released in the 1960s?
Answer: Ford Mustang
Question: Whose arrest and beating by the LAPD in 1991 led ultimately to widespread rioting?
Answer: Rodney King
Question: Which tax ultimately led to the downfall of UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher?
Answer: Poll tax
Question: Who, in 1991, became the first Briton in space?
Answer: Helen Sharman
Historical Events Trivia
Question: Which famous wall came down in 1989?
Answer: The Berlin Wall
Question: Which city was attacked by ISIS in November 2015?
Answer: Paris
Question: In 2010, an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was caused by the rupturing of which company's oil rig?
Answer: BP
Question: In 2010, how many Chilean miners were trapped underground for a record 69 days?
Answer: 33
Question: In what year did the Challenger explode?
Answer: 1986
Question: Which US President was assassinated in 1963?
Answer: John F. Kennedy
Question: In what year did California become a US state?
Answer: 1850
Question: In 2013, which holiday fell on the same day as the first day of Hanukkah?
Answer: Thanksgiving
Question: In February 2013, who resigned as Pope?
Answer: Benedict XVI
Question: Which former British Prime Minister passed away in 2013?
Answer: Margaret Thatcher
Famous People Trivia
Question: Which American writer died in November 2013?
Answer: Peter W. Kaplan
Question: Nicolas Sarkozy married which model in 2008?
Answer: Carla Bruni
Question: Adolf Hitler was the leader of which of these countries?
Answer: Germany
Question: Which American politician died in February 2013?
Answer: Ed Koch
Question: Which US President was responsible for the Watergate scandal?
Answer: Richard Nixon
Question: Which British prince had a baby in 2013?
Answer: Prince William
Question: The film 'Avatar' is one of the highest-grossing films of the 21st century. Who directed it?
Answer: James Cameron
Question: Pope Francis, who was elected in 2013, was born in which country?
Answer: Argentina
Question: Who was the first balloonist to fly solo around the world?
Answer: Steve Fossett
Question: Who won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer: Alice Munro
Science & Technology Trivia
Question: During the 1990s, how was the disease BSE more commonly known?
Answer: Mad Cow Disease
Question: Who was the leader of the Branch Davidians, 76 of whom died in a fire in Waco, Texas, in 1993?
Answer: David Koresh
Question: Which American columnist died in January 2013?
Answer: Pauline Phillips
Question: Which social media platform floated on the Stock Exchange in 2012?
Answer: Facebook
Question: The first hot air balloon solo flight around the world was in what year?
Answer: 2002
Question: Which Mediterranean island suffered a major banking crisis during 2012-13?
Answer: Cyprus
Question: In what year did Pope John Paul II die and Iraq's first free elections were held?
Answer: 2005
Question: Which kind of crops were developed for commercial use in the '90s?
Answer: Genetically modified
Question: In the 1990s, which industry, in particular, was affected by the BSE crisis?
Answer: Farming
Question: Which of these was discovered in the '90s?
Answer: Dark Matter
Significant Events & Discoveries Trivia
Question: Which rare event happened in Miami, Florida in January 1977?
Answer: Snow
Question: What was the name of the first video game, invented in 1962?
Answer: Spacewar!
Question: Which Spanish king stepped down in 2014?
Answer: Juan Carlos I
Question: Which world-famous business leader stepped down on June 27, 2008, to focus on his charity work?
Answer: Bill Gates
Question: Who led the UK miners' strike during 1984 and 1985?
Answer: Arthur Scargill
Question: Who was arrested in 2008 for the greatest-ever Ponzi Scheme fraud?
Answer: Bernard Madoff
Question: The Arab Spring is said to have begun in which North African nation?
Answer: Tunisia
Question: Often in the news in early 1997, who or what was Hale-Bopp?
Answer: Comet
Question: Which Royal house in the UK was severely damaged by fire in 1992?
Answer: Windsor Castle
Question: What celebrated its 100th birthday in the '80s?
Answer: Coca-Cola
Famous Personalities Trivia
Question: Who lit the Olympic flame during the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony?
Answer: Steve Redgrave
Question: Which British jockey was stripped of his OBE after he was jailed for tax irregularities in 1988?
Answer: Lester Piggott
Question: What is the profession of Hans Blix?
Answer: Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector
Question: What was the first name of '90s South African President Mr. Mandela?
Answer: Nelson
Question: Who became the new James Bond actor in 2005?
Answer: Daniel Craig
Question: Who was the Time Magazine person of the year in 2011?
Answer: The Protestor
Question: Who famously turned up, uninvited, in Queen Elizabeth's bedroom in 1982?
Answer: Michael Fagan
Question: Who became the first woman to be appointed as managing director of the IMF in 2011?
Answer: Christine Lagarde
Question: Winston Churchill was Prime Minister of which country?
Answer: United Kingdom
Question: Which African-American religious figure died in November 2013?
Answer: T. J. Jemison
Scientific Frontiers Trivia
Question: Which Russian space station orbited the Earth throughout the '90s?
Answer: Mir
Question: What was the name of the cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Isola de Giglio, Italy, in 2012?
Answer: Costa Concordia
Question: Which programming language was first developed in 1964?
Answer: BASIC
Question: Which human body part was produced at Cornell University using a 3D printer?
Answer: Ear
Question: In what year did Encyclopedia Britannica discontinue its print edition after 244 years?
Answer: 2012
Question: Which medical professional died in February 2013?
Answer: C. Everett Koop
Question: In 1979 Michael Aldrich invented what?
Answer: E-commerce
Question: Sony introduced which product in 1979?
Answer: Walkman
Question: The United States' first space station was launched in 1973, what was it called?
Answer: Skylab
Question: The Apple iPod was released in what year?
Answer: 2001
Cultural & Fashion Trends Trivia
Question: Which hairstyle would you associate with the '80s?
Answer: The Perm
Question: Which video format lost the battle to VHS in the 1980s?
Answer: Betamax
Question: In the '80s, what did the 414 Gang become infamous for?
Answer: Computer hacking
Question: Coco Chanel died in 1971. What was her profession?
Answer: Fashion Designer
Question: Which street in London is often associated with 1960s fashion?
Answer: Carnaby Street
Question: Which British Lord famously disappeared after the death of his children's nanny in 1974?
Answer: Lucan
Question: HBO was created in 1982. What does HBO stand for?
Answer: Home Box Office
Question: In which decade were leotards and dancewear associated with fashion trends?
Answer: '80s
Question: Which British politician was nicknamed 'the milk snatcher' after stopping free milk in schools?
Answer: Margaret Thatcher
Question: Which of these fashion trends is associated with the '80s?
Answer: Leotards & Dancewear
Modern Technology Trivia
Question: Of the following organs, which was available as an artificial version in 1969?
Answer: Heart
Question: Which European country established a military dictatorship in 1967?
Answer: Greece
Question: In 1993, what did Barbara Harmer become the first woman to do?
Answer: Fly Concorde
Question: What was the name of the leading Soviet rocket engineer in the 1960s?
Answer: Sergei Korolev
Question: In what year was the Islamic Republic established in Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini?
Answer: 1979
Question: The Universal Product Code was scanned for the first time in 1974, to sell what?
Answer: Wrigley's gum
Question: In what year was the Supermarine Spitfire retired by the Irish Air Corps?
Answer: 1961
Question: Which of these medical procedures was first attempted in the 1970s?
Answer: Face lifts
Question: In what year was the Euro banknotes designed by Robert Kalina?
Answer: 1996
Question: The QE2 made its maiden voyage in which decade?
Answer: 1960s
Modern Political & Social Figures Trivia
Question: In 1992, which US city saw over 50 people killed in the Rodney King Riots?
Answer: LA
Question: When Saddam Hussein came to power, who did he replace?
Answer: Hassan al-Bakr
Question: Who was the President of Argentina at thetime of the Falklands invasion in 1982?
Answer: General Galtieri
Question: Who became prime minister of the United Kingdom in 1990?
Answer: John Major
Question: Which country launched its first satellite, with the help of the USSR, in 1975?
Answer: India
Question: Which well-known physicist was born in Oxford in 1942?
Answer: Stephen Hawking
Question: In 1995, who famously was pursued by police while driving his white Ford Bronco?
Answer: O. J. Simpson
Question: The US President made an unprecedented visit to where to meet with Mao Zedong?
Answer: China
Question: Which British politician was nicknamed 'the milk snatcher' after stopping free milk in schools?
Answer: Margaret Thatcher
Question: Who described 1992 as an 'annus horribilis'?
Answer: The Queen
Miscellaneous Trivia
Question: Which Polish pope died in 2005?
Answer: John Paul II
Question: Of which country did Nelson Mandela become President in the 1990s?
Answer: South Africa
Question: British artist Banksy had a month-long residency in which city in October 2013?
Answer: New York City
Question: Black Saturday Bushfires swept across which state in2009?
Answer: Victoria
Question: The 9/11 attacks occurred in what year?
Answer: 2001
Question: The Titanic was what type of vehicle?
Answer: Ship
Question: The Large Hadron Collider was built under the border of which two European countries?
Answer: Switzerland & France
Question: In what year was the Wall Street Crash?
Answer: 1929
Question: Which famous British record label went bust in 2012?
Answer: EMI
Question: In 1994, which country became linked to mainland Britain by an under-the-sea tunnel?
Answer: France