Playing trivia is a great icebreaker game because even if you don't know the answer, it's always fun to guess - not to mention you can learn a lot by simply playing. These History trivia questions have been hand-selected and all serve as a great way to start getting into trivia.
If are a huge trivia fan and can't ever get enough, try challenging your friends or co-workers online. The multiple-choice format of trivia will let you just dive right in and start playing in seconds; no sign-up is required and is completely free. There's a wide range of categories and difficulties for you to choose from, so there's something for the beginner and veteran alike.
History Trivia Questions
Are you a fan of history trivia? Fancy yourself a bit of a history buff? Is your head filled with dates, names, and historical events that others have long forgotten? It's your time to shine, with our History Trivia questions.
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US History Trivia Questions
1. Q: TRUE or FALSE - The United States was a member of the League of Nations.
A: FALSE
2. Q: In what year did the North American Video Game Crash occur?
A: 1983
3. Q: TRUE or FALSE - United States President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during his presidential motorcade in Atlanta, Georgia on November 22nd, 1963.
A: FALSE
4. Q: What year was the United States Declaration of Independence signed?
A: 1776
5. Q: What was the bloodiest single-day battle during the American Civil War?
A: The Battle of Antietam
6. Q: The Fallingwater House, located in Pennsylvania, was designed by which architect?
A: Frank Lloyd Wright
7. Q: In what year did Kentucky become the 15th state to join the union?
A: 1792
8. Q: What was the original name of New York City?
A: New Amsterdam
9. Q: In 1961, an American B-52 aircraft crashed and nearly detonated two 4mt nuclear bombs over which US city?
A: Goldsboro, North Carolina
10. Q: In what year did Texas secede from Mexico?
A: 1836
11. Q: Which U.S. president took part in the Potsdam Conference, where the Allies reached a peace settlement with Germany?
A: Harry S. Truman
12. Q: What year was Barack Obama elected President of the United States?
A: 2008
13. Q: TRUE or FALSE - The man that shot Alexander Hamilton was named Aaron Burr.
A: TRUE
14. Q: Where was civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. born?
A: Atlanta, Georgia
15. Q: When did the Battle of Gettysburg take place?
A: July 1-3 1863
16. Q: What year was George H.W Bush elected president?
A: 1988
17. Q: What do the stripes on the American flag represent?
A: The 13 original colonies
18 .Q: Which state is the Liberty Bell located in?
A: Pennsylvania
19. Q: Which US president’s face is on the $1 (USD) bill?
A: George Washington
20. Q: True or false: US President Thomas Jefferson bought the state of Louisiana from France in 1803.
A: True
21. Q: What series of laws and labour agreements temporarily brought Mexican farmworkers to assist in the US war effort during the Second World War?
A: Bracero Program/Act
22. Q: What group of immigrants from England settled in the United States following their decision to break away from the Church of England?
A: Puritans
23. Q: True or False? Prohibition, which lasted between 1920-1933, was a nationwide ban on the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.
A: True
24. Q: Which U.S President famously told Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”?
A: Ronald Reagan
25. Q: True or false: Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, created the world’s first-ever automobile: the Model T.
A: False
26. Q: Who served as president for the Confederacy (Confederate States)?
A: Jefferson Davis
27. Q: Which founding father of the United States has a critically acclaimed and famous Broadway musical about him? (Hint: Lin Manuel Miranda created the screenplay)
A: Alexander Hamilton
28. Q: What was the route across the US continent that many Americans used to travel to the West Coast during the 19th century?
A: The Oregon Trail
29. Q: What famous music festival took place in New York from August 15-18, 1969?
A: Woodstock
European History Trivia Questions
- Q: Where and when was the first cardboard box made for industrial use?
A: England, 1817
2. Q: Bohdan Khmelnytsky was which of the following?
A: Leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks
3. Q: When was the city of Rome, Italy founded?
A: 753 BCE
4. Q: In what year did the Berlin Wall fall?
A: 1989
5. Q: Which country was Josef Stalin born in?
A: Georgia
6. Q: What did the abbreviation RMS stand for in the RMS Titanic in 1912?
A: Royal Mail Ship
7. Q: Who was the first Chancellor of a united Germany in 1871?
A: Otto Von Bismark
8. Q: During the Wars of the Roses (1455 - 1487) which Englishman was dubbed the Kingmaker?
A: Richard Neville
9. Q: When did the Berlin Wall fall down?
A: 1994
10. Q: What year was the European Union founded?
A: 1993
11. Q: Which country had an Orange Revolution between 2004 and 2005?
A: Ukraine
12. Q: What prison did revolutionaries taking part in the French Revolution storm in 1789?
A: The Bastille
13. Q: What event led to the fall of the Russian monarchy and rise of Leninism?
A: The Russian Revolution
14. Q: What was the name of the constitutional republic that governed Germany post WW1, from 1919-1933?
A: Weimar Republic
15. Q: What is the birthplace of Napoleon?
A: Corsica
16. What city was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius?
A: Pompeii
17. Q: Who was the first emperor of Rome?
A: Augustus Octavian
18. Q: A period of the French Revolution saw an unprecedented number of mass-executions in response to "revolutionary fervour, anticlerical sentiment, and accusations of treason" among the French population. What was this period (between 1793-94) called?
A: Reign of Terror
19. Q: During the Middle Ages, which group of people were considered the 'working class' and worked for lords who owned the land they lived on?
A: Peasants
20. Q: Between 1346 to 1353, a deadly virus known as Yersinia Pestis swept across parts of Eurasia, North Africa, and the European continent. What was this pandemic commonly referred to?
A: Black Death/The Plague
Ancient History Trivia Questions
- Q: Which American civilization is the source of the belief that the world would end or drastically change on December 21st, 2012?
A: The Mayans
2. Q: When Christopher Columbus sailed to America, what was the first region he arrived in?
A: The Bahamas Archipelago
3. Q: When was the People's Republic of China founded?
A: 1872
4. Q: What was the name commonly given to the ancient trade routes that connected the East and West of Eurasia?
A: Silk Road
5. Q: The Herero genocide was perpetrated in Africa by which of the following colonial nations?
A: Germany
6. Q: When did Canada leave the confederation to become their own nation?
A: July 1st, 1867
7. Q: What number does the Roman numeral D stand for?
A: 500
8. Q: What is the name of the ancient region in southwest Asia that is referred to today as the Middle East?
A: Mesopotamia
9. Q: What was the name of the military government that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868?
A: Tokugawa [Edo] Shogunate
10. Q: When was Roman dictator Julius Caesar assasinated?
A: 15 March, 44 B.C
Modern History Trivia Questions
- Q: In which year did the Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack occur?
A: 1995
2. Q: What was the first sport to have been played on the moon?
A: Golf
3. Q: When did Jamaica receive its independence from England?
A: 1962
4. Q: How many manned moon landings have there been?
A: 6
5. Q: What year did the Cuban Missile Crisis occur?
A: 1962
6. Q: When was the supersonic jet Concorde retired fromall commercial flights?
A: October 24, 2003
7. Q: When did Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok International Airport open for service?
A: July 6, 1998
8. Q: What was the name of the conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for 20 years?
A: The Troubles
9. Q: What year saw the launch of the Nintendo Wii?
A: 2006
10. Q: Which World Cup did France host in 2007?
A: Rugby World Cup
11. Q: Which city hosted the 2008 summer Olympics?
A: Beijing
12. Q: What year was the Euro currency adopted by the European Union?
A: 2002
13. Q: What supercomputer defeated professional Chess player Garry Kasparov in 1997?
A: Deep Blue
14. Q: Between what years did Australia's 'Stolen Generations' occur?
A: 1905-1970
15. Q: When was the Ottman Empire officially dissolved?
A: November 1, 1922
War History Trivia Questions
- Q: Adolf Hitler was born on which date?
A: -3906
2. Q: What year did the Vietnam War end?
A: 1975
3. Q: Which countries were part of the Axis Powers in WW2?
A: Germany, Japan, and Italy
4. Q: Which countries represented the Allied Powers in WW2?
A: United States, United Kingdom, and Australia
5. Q: What event arguably led to the start of WWI?
A: Assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
6. Q: Which naval battle was considered the turning point of the Pacific Ocean Theater during World War 2?
A: Battle of Midway
7. Q: What historical event was Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture referencing?
A: The Napoleonic Wars
8. Q: Which one of these tanks was designed and operated by the United Kingdom?
A: Tog II
9. Q: During the Wars of the Roses (1455 - 1487) which Englishman was dubbed the Kingmaker?
A: Richard Neville
10. Q: What year did the Japanese armed forces attack Pearl Harbor?
A: 1941
11. Q: What year did HMS Dreadnought enter service under the Royal Navy?
A: 1906
12. Q: What First World War peace treaty was signed on June 28, 1919?
A: Treaty of Versailles
13. Q: When was the League of Nations founded, following the end of the First World War?
A: January 10, 1920
14. Q: Which popular children’s book author also penned political cartoons during WW2?
A: Dr. Seuss
15. Q: When was Poland invaded by Adolf Hitler?
A: September 1, 1939
16. Q: When did the Axis Powers surrender to the Allied Powers, marking the end of WW2?
A: May 7, 1945
17. Q: What was the codename for the project that led to the creation of the atomic bomb, two of which would be dropped on Japan in 1945?
A: Manhattan Project
18. Q: True or False: The Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942 prevented Japan from invading Australia
A: True
19. Q: When is Anzac Day celebrated in Australia and New Zealand?
A: April 25
20. Q: Which U.S President declared the Pearl Harbor attack a 'date which will live in infamy'?
A: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Slavery History Trivia Questions
- Q: Which US President officially declared that slavery in the United States was illegal?
A: Abraham Lincoln
2. Q: Which amendment in the US Constitution officially abolished slavery in the entire country?
A: The 13th Amendment
3. Q: Which African American woman laid the foundation for the ‘Underground Railroad’?
A: Harriet Tubman
4. Q: Which former slave stole a Confederate boat to escape slavery during the Civil War and went on to serve five terms in Congress as a representative of South Carolina?
A: Robert Smalls
5. Q: Between what years did the Civil War last?
A: 1861-1865
6. Q: True or False? The ‘Underground Railroad’ was an actual railway in operation when Slavery was legal.
A: False
7. Q: What was the name of the proclamation issued by President Lincoln in 1863, that officially declared all slaves were to be legally freed?
A: Emancipation Proclamation
8. Q: What was the name of the novel that former slave Solomon Northup wrote, describing his kidnapping and being forced into slavery in Louisiana?
A: Twelve Years a Slave
9. Q: Where did most of the slave population originate prior to their arrival in America?
A: Western Africa
10. Q: Approximately how many slaves were freed at the end of the Civil War?
A: 3.9 million
11. Q: When was the Slavery Abolition Act passed in Britain, freeing all slaves held in the country?
A: 1833
12. Q: Which country began trafficking African slaves as far back as the 1440s?
A: Portugal
13. Q: When was the 13th Amendment officially ratified into the U.S constitution?
A: January 31, 1865
14. Q: Which industry in the United States relied signficantly on slave labor?
A: Cotton Industry
15. Q: During President Lincoln's term, several Southern states seceded from the Union due to opposing views towards slavery. What were these independent states known as?
A: Confederate States of America
Further Reading
If you would like to read about some more trivia ideas, have a look at our other trivia blog posts below!
Hard General Knowledge Trivia Questions
Geography Trivia Questions
Trivia Categories - Questions and Answers
