50 History quiz questions and answers
Every answer is right there. Take the questions for your own quiz night, or start a round here and get them shuffled, hidden and against a timer.
Easy questions50
Who painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling?
- Donatello
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Raphael
- Michelangelo
Answer: Michelangelo
Who was the first human in space?
- Yuri Gagarin
- Neil Armstrong
- Buzz Aldrin
- Alan Shepard
Answer: Yuri Gagarin
In which year did the Titanic sink?
- 1907
- 1910
- 1912
- 1915
Answer: 1912
Who was the first President of the United States?
- Abraham Lincoln
- John Adams
- Thomas Jefferson
- George Washington
Answer: George Washington
In which year did Columbus first reach the Americas?
- 1392
- 1492
- 1592
- 1692
Answer: 1492
In which city was the Declaration of Independence signed in 1776?
- Boston
- Philadelphia
- New York
- Washington
Answer: Philadelphia
Which civilisation built Machu Picchu?
- The Inca
- The Olmecs
- The Aztecs
- The Maya
Answer: The Inca
Who was British Prime Minister for most of the Second World War?
- Anthony Eden
- Neville Chamberlain
- Winston Churchill
- Clement Attlee
Answer: Winston Churchill
In which year did the Second World War end in Europe?
- 1943
- 1944
- 1945
- 1946
Answer: 1945
Which empire did Genghis Khan rule?
- The Mongol Empire
- The Persian Empire
- The Mughal Empire
- The Ottoman Empire
Answer: The Mongol Empire
Who invented printing with movable metal type in Europe?
- William Caxton
- Martin Luther
- Johann Fust
- Johannes Gutenberg
Answer: Johannes Gutenberg
In which year did humans first land on the Moon?
- 1965
- 1967
- 1969
- 1971
Answer: 1969
Whose tomb was discovered almost intact in 1922?
- Tutankhamun
- Khufu
- Akhenaten
- Ramesses II
Answer: Tutankhamun
Which disease killed around a third of Europe's population in the 14th century?
- Cholera
- Bubonic plague
- Typhus
- Smallpox
Answer: Bubonic plague
Which country gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States?
- Spain
- The Netherlands
- France
- Britain
Answer: France
Which battle ended Napoleon's rule in 1815?
- Austerlitz
- Leipzig
- Waterloo
- Trafalgar
Answer: Waterloo
Which event triggered the First World War in 1914?
- The German invasion of Poland
- The sinking of the Lusitania
- The fall of the Russian Tsar
- The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Answer: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Which German city hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics?
- Frankfurt
- Berlin
- Munich
- Hamburg
Answer: Munich
Which people ruled central Mexico when Cortés landed there in 1519?
- The Olmecs
- The Aztecs
- The Maya
- The Inca
Answer: The Aztecs
Which machine did James Watt improve so decisively in the 1770s that it powered industrialisation?
- The blast furnace
- The steam engine
- The spinning frame
- The power loom
Answer: The steam engine
Which country attacked the US base at Pearl Harbor in December 1941?
- The Soviet Union
- Japan
- Germany
- Italy
Answer: Japan
Which two superpowers faced each other in the Cold War?
- The USA and China
- Britain and the Soviet Union
- The Soviet Union and China
- The USA and the Soviet Union
Answer: The USA and the Soviet Union
Who wrote the "Communist Manifesto" together with Friedrich Engels in 1848?
- Ferdinand Lassalle
- Rosa Luxemburg
- Karl Marx
- August Bebel
Answer: Karl Marx
Which event does the French national holiday on 14 July commemorate?
- The storming of the Bastille
- The execution of King Louis XVI
- The coronation of Napoleon
- The Battle of Waterloo
Answer: The storming of the Bastille
Which country did Germany invade on 1 September 1939, starting the Second World War?
- Poland
- France
- Belgium
- Denmark
Answer: Poland
What did the term "Iron Curtain" refer to?
- The line of fortifications France built against Germany
- Napoleon's blockade of the British ports
- The customs border between Prussia and Austria
- The Cold War divide between Eastern and Western Europe
Answer: The Cold War divide between Eastern and Western Europe
Which Western military alliance was founded in 1949?
- NATO
- Warsaw Pact
- SEATO
- League of Nations
Answer: NATO
What name is given to the wars in which European Christians set out from 1096 to capture Jerusalem?
- The Pilgrimages
- The Reconquista
- The Hussite Wars
- The Crusades
Answer: The Crusades
From which plant did the ancient Egyptians make their writing material?
- Papyrus
- Flax
- Bamboo
- Date palm
Answer: Papyrus
Who crowned himself Emperor of the French in Paris in 1804?
- Louis Philippe
- Napoleon
- Louis XVIII
- Charles X
Answer: Napoleon
Which Greek city-state was known for its harsh military upbringing?
- Corinth
- Thebes
- Sparta
- Athens
Answer: Sparta
Which US president led the Union during the American Civil War?
- Andrew Jackson
- Thomas Jefferson
- Abraham Lincoln
- Ulysses S. Grant
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 set the rules for the European powers' partition of which continent?
- South America
- Australia
- Africa
- Asia
Answer: Africa
Which crisis brought the USA and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war in 1962?
- The Korean War
- The Cuban Missile Crisis
- The Bay of Pigs invasion
- The Suez Crisis
Answer: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Which seafarers from Scandinavia raided and settled large parts of Europe from the 8th century?
- The Vikings
- The Huns
- The Goths
- The Saxons
Answer: The Vikings
What name is given to the network of trade routes that linked China with the Mediterranean from antiquity?
- The Silk Road
- The Amber Road
- The Incense Route
- The Spice Route
Answer: The Silk Road
Which Italian city was ruled by the Medici family?
- Naples
- Florence
- Venice
- Milan
Answer: Florence
What were the medieval associations of craftsmen of one trade in a town called?
- Orders
- Leagues
- Estates
- Guilds
Answer: Guilds
Why were medieval castles often built on high ground?
- Valley land was reserved for fields
- Floods threatened the valleys
- They were easier to defend there
- There was more sunlight up there
Answer: They were easier to defend there
Which Macedonian king conquered the Persian Empire in the 4th century BC?
- Antiochus the Great
- Leonidas of Sparta
- Alexander the Great
- Philip of Macedon
Answer: Alexander the Great
In which region of France did the Allies land on 6 June 1944?
- Brittany
- Provence
- Alsace
- Normandy
Answer: Normandy
How did the Romans carry water over long distances into their cities?
- By ship canal
- By chains of wells
- By aqueduct
- By cistern
Answer: By aqueduct
In which city were the leading Nazi war criminals tried by an international court in 1945–46?
- Nuremberg
- Munich
- Berlin
- Frankfurt
Answer: Nuremberg
Which river's annual floods made farming possible in ancient Egypt?
- The Euphrates
- The Jordan
- The Tigris
- The Nile
Answer: The Nile
Which monk set off the Reformation with his 95 Theses in 1517?
- Martin Luther
- John Calvin
- Thomas Müntzer
- Ulrich Zwingli
Answer: Martin Luther
Why did the ancient Egyptians mummify their dead?
- To stop disease spreading through the crowded cities
- Because wood for funeral pyres was scarce
- So the dead could be revived later
- The body was thought to be needed in the afterlife
Answer: The body was thought to be needed in the afterlife
Who led the Soviet Union during the Second World War?
- Leon Trotsky
- Joseph Stalin
- Vladimir Lenin
- Nikita Khrushchev
Answer: Joseph Stalin
Who gave the "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington in 1963?
- Frederick Douglass
- Thurgood Marshall
- Rosa Parks
- Martin Luther King
Answer: Martin Luther King
Who became South Africa's first Black president in 1994?
- Robert Mugabe
- Kenneth Kaunda
- Nelson Mandela
- Desmond Tutu
Answer: Nelson Mandela
Who led non-violent resistance against British rule in India?
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Jawaharlal Nehru
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah
- Subhas Chandra Bose
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi