You found our list of 50 History-themed trivia questions & answers.

‍

Looking to host your next epic trivia night, and need a little help coming up with some questions? Well look no further! Whether it’s for your next Pub Quiz, family-fun night, teambuilding, or whatever else the occasion, we hope you’ll enjoy these trivia questions. We’ve included the answer as well as 4 possible multiple choice options for each question - so whatever format you prefer, we’ve got you covered.

‍

Oh by the way...if you're looking for more great Trivia questions that you can download, print, and use at a moment's notice - be sure to check out our epic Trivia Bundle on Etsy! It's all the trivia you'll ever need!

‍

‍

History Trivia Questions

‍

‍

‍

1.  Approximately how many Viking warriors could fit in a longboat? 

Answer: 60

a) 30

b) 45

c) 60

d) 80

‍

2. Which ancient Mesopotamian ruler is credited with creating one of the world’s earliest and most complete written legal codes?

Answer: Hammurabi

a) Hammurabi

b) Sargon

c) Gilgamesh

d) Nebuchadnezzar

‍

3.  Which Egyptian pharaoh is known for attempting to shift Egypt from polytheism to monotheism, worshiping the sun disk Aten?

Answer: Akhenaten

a) Akhenaten

b) Tutankhamun

c) Ramses II

d) Hatshepsut

‍

4.  What calendar system immediately preceded the Gregorian calendar?

Answer: Julian Calendar

a) Julian Calendar

b) Roman Calendar

c) Hebrew Calendar

d) Islamic Calendar

‍

5. Which ancient kingdom, located in modern-day Sudan, ruled over Egypt during the 25th Dynasty?

Answer: Kush

a) Kush

b) Axum

c) Nubia

d) Meroë

‍

6. Sukarno was the first president of which Asian country?

Answer: Indonesia

a) Malaysia

b) Philippines

c) Indonesia

d) Thailand

‍

7.  Which Southeast Asian empire was known for constructing the massive temple complex of Angkor Wat?

Answer: Khmer Empire

a) Khmer Empire

b) Srivijaya

c) Champa Kingdom

d) Majapahit

‍

8.  Which Indian emperor converted to Buddhism after the bloody Kalinga War and promoted the spread of Buddhism throughout Asia?

Answer: Ashoka

a) Harsha

b) Chandragupta Maurya

c) Ashoka

d) Akba

‍

9.  Which dynasty ruled Korea for more than five centuries, from 1392 to 1897, making it the longest-lived imperial dynasty in Korean history?

Answer: Joseon Dynasty

a) Goryeo Dynasty

b) Joseon Dynasty

c) Baekje Dynasty

d) Silla Dynasty

‍

10.  According to traditional Indian medicine, what is the number of major chakras in the human body? 

Answer: 7

a) 6

b) 7

c) 8

d) 9

‍

11.  What country ceded Florida to the USA in 1821 with the Treaty of Adams-Onis?

Answer: Spain

a) Britain

b) France

c) Portugal

d) Spain

‍

12.  Which treaty, signed in 1898, marked the end of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the U.S. acquiring the Philippines? 

Answer: Treaty of Paris 

a) Treaty of Versailles 

b) Treaty of Paris 

c) Treaty of Tordesillas 

d) Treaty of Ghent

‍

13.  The Mau Mau Uprising in the 1950s was a key part of which African nation’s struggle for independence from British rule?

Answer: Kenya

a) Nigeria

b) South Africa

c) Zimbabwe

d) Kenya

‍

14.  Which African country achieved independence from Belgium in 1960, following a significant decolonization movement? 

Answer: Congo 

a) Nigeria 

b) Kenya 

c) Ghana 

d) Congo

‍

15.  The Bretton Woods Agreement, which established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, was signed in which year?

Answer: 1944

a) 1944

b) 1947

c) 1949

d) 1953

‍

16.  What year did the Euro debut as a financial unit in corporate and investment markets?

Answer: 1999

a) 1995

b) 1997

c) 1999

d) 2001

‍

17.  What term refers to the large industrial conglomerates that dominated the Japanese economy from the late 19th century until World War II?

Answer: Zaibatsu
a) Zaibatsu
b) Keiretsu
c) Sogo Shosha
d) Shinkin

‍

18.  Which cartoon character was featured on the emergency currency issued in the Philippines during World War II as a result of hyperinflation?

Answer: Mickey Mouse
a) Bugs Bunny
b) Mickey Mouse
c) Donald Duck
d) Popeye

‍

19. How many of King Henry VIII’s wives were called Anne?

Answer: Two

a) One

b) Two

c) Three

d) Four

‍

20. On which Mediterranean island was Napoleon Bonaparte born?

Answer: Corsica

a) Sicily

b) Malta

c) Corsica

d) Cyprus

‍

21.  Which French king was known as the Sun King?

Answer: Louis XIV

a) Louis XVI

b) Louis XV

c) Louis XIII

d) Louis XIV

‍

22. What king of England signed the Magna Carta in 1215?

Answer: King John

a) King Richard

b) King John

c) King Henry VIII

d) King William the Conqueror

‍

23. Which leader succeeded Mikhail Gorbachev, becoming the first president of Russia?

Answer: Boris Yeltsin

a) Boris Yeltsin

b) Vladimir Putin

c) Dmitry Medvedev

d) Leonid Brezhnev

‍

24.  Which explorer led the first successful circumnavigation of the globe, even though he was killed before completing the voyage?

Answer: Ferdinand Magellan

a) Vasco da Gama

b) Ferdinand Magellan

c) Christopher Columbus

d) Hernán Cortés

‍

25.  Which ship took Charles Darwin on his voyage to the Galapagos Islands?

Answer: Beagle

a) Endeavour

b) Adventure

c) Discovery

d) Beagle

‍

26.  Which was the largest of Christopher Columbus's ships on his first voyage across the Atlantic? 

Answer: Santa María

a) Pinta

b) Santa María

c) Niña

d) Victoria

‍

27.  What British explorer is credited with the discovery of Australia in 1770?

Answer: James Cook
a) James Cook
b) Robert Falcon Scott
c) Captain Arthur Phillip
d) William Bligh

‍

28. What 15th-century Portuguese navigator's expeditions led to the European discovery of the sea route to India?

Answer: Vasco da Gama
a) James Cook
b) Henry the Navigator
c) Ferdinand Magellan
d) Vasco da Gama

‍

29.  According to legend, what British noblewoman rode through the streets of Coventry naked? 

Answer: Lady Godiva

a) Lady Macbeth

b) Lady Jane Grey

c) Queen Victoria

d) Lady Godiva

‍

30.  What animal did Mao Zedong famously declare war against?

Answer: Sparrows

a) Rats

b) Flies

c) Sparrows

d) Weasels

‍

31. What revolutionary wrote The Motorcycle Diaries about his travels around South America?

Answer: Che Guevara

a) Fidel Castro

b) Che Guevara

c) Simon Bolivar

d) Hugo Chavez

‍

32. Who was the first Holy Roman Emperor, crowned in the year 800 by Pope Leo III?

Answer: Charlemagne

a) Otto the Great

b) Charlemagne

c) Frederick Barbarossa

d) Louis the German

‍

34. What nickname is outlaw Henry McCarty most commonly known by in modern times?

Answer: Billy the Kid

a) Jesse James

b) Billy the Kid

c) Wild Bill Hickok

d) Butch Cassidy

‍

35.  The three founders of YouTube all met while working at what other company?

Answer: PayPal

a) Google

b) Apple

c) PayPal

d) Microsoft

‍

36. In Greek mythology, what is the name of the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity?

Answer: Prometheus

a) Atlas

b) Prometheus

c) Epimetheus

d) Oceanus

‍

37. In Roman mythology, who is the god of agriculture and fertility?

Answer: Saturn

a) Jupiter

b) Mars

c) Saturn

d) Neptune

‍

38.  Who replaced Kofi Annan as Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2007?

Answer: Ban Ki-moon

a) Ban Ki-moon

b) Boutros Boutros-Ghali

c) António Guterres

d) Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

‍

39. The "Reign of Terror" during the French Revolution was marked by the rule of which radical political group?

Answer: Jacobins

a) Girondins

b) Jacobins

c) Montagnards

d) Thermidorians

‍

40.  Which country experienced a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy in 1974, known as the Carnation Revolution?

Answer: Portugal

a) Italy

b) Spain

c) Greece

d) Portugal

‍

41. Which African leader is best known for leading the movement for Ghana's independence from British rule in the 1950s? 

Answer: Kwame Nkrumah 

a) Jomo Kenyatta 

b) Nelson Mandela 

c) Kwame Nkrumah 

d) Patrice Lumumba

‍

42.  The 1917 February Revolution in Russia led to the abdication of which Czar?

Answer: Nicholas II

a) Nicholas II

b) Alexander III

c) Peter the Great

d) Ivan IV

‍

43.  How much money did the United States pay France for the Louisiana territory?

Answer: $15 Million

a) $10 Million

b) $15 Million

c) $20 Million

d) $25 Million

‍

44. Which New England state was an independent republic for 14 years before joining the union?

Answer: Vermont

a) Connecticut

b) New Hampshire

c) Maine

d) Vermont

‍

45. Which battle of the American Civil War marked the first victory for the Confederate Army?

Answer: First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)

a) Battle of Antietam

b) Siege of Yorktown

c) Battle of Fort Sumter

d) First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)

‍

46. Which former chairman of Enron Corporation was convicted of multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the company's collapse?

‍Answer: Kenneth Lay

a) Martha Stewart

b) Kenneth Lay

c) Jeffrey Skilling

d) Bernie Ebbers

‍

47. Who was the American con artist who posed as an airline pilot, doctor, and lawyer, among other professions, in the 1960s and 1970s, inspiring the movie "Catch Me If You Can"?

‍Answer: Frank Abagnale

a) Gregor MacGregor

b) Victor Lustig

c) Frank Abagnale

d) Carlos Kaiser

‍

48.  In 1963, which American author published the influential book "The Feminine Mystique," sparking the second wave of feminism in the United States?

Answer: Betty Friedan

a) Gloria Steinem

b) Simone de Beauvoir

c) Betty Friedan

d) Angela Davis

‍

49.  On what day of the week did Hitler's Germany invade Poland, beginning World War II?

Answer: Friday

a) Monday

b) Wednesday

c) Friday

d) Sunday

‍

50.  What was the real name of the German pilot known as "The Red Baron"?

Answer: Manfred von Richthofen

a) Ernst Udet

b) Hermann Göring

c) Erwin Rommel

d) Manfred von Richthofen

‍

‍

Love it and want more? Click on the image below to host a Trivia Party you'll never forget!

‍

‍

‍