History50 randomly selected History questions for quizmasters. New random selection made weekly. Next update: Monday 26th October 2026 (Please note: Questions are taken from our database of previous quizzes. Some questions and answers may be outdated.) |
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| 1. | What 'P' described the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s? |
| 2. | What nationality is Sharbat Gula, famously photographed by Steve McCurry for National Geographic in December 1984? |
| 3. | What was written below the word "TITANIC" on the stern of RMS Titanic? |
| 4. | What 11th century King of Denmark, England and Norway reputedly commanded the incoming tide to halt and, in failing to do so, demonstrated that he did not possess Godly powers? |
| 5. | What 10-letter German word meaning "lightning war" entered the English language during World War II? |
| 6. | A political leader in the 20th century, what was the surname of Josip Broz? |
| 7. | What was the first country to be invaded by Germany at the start of the First World War in August 1914? |
| 8. | What leader of the Russian revolution was appointed first People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in 1917, expelled from the Communist Party in 1927, and assassinated in Mexico in 1940? |
| 9. | What was the name of the Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship that rescued most of the survivors of RMS Titanic after it struck an iceberg and sank on 15th April 1912? |
| 10. | Troops from what country were responsible for the Mỹ Lai Massacre in 1968? |
| 11. | An American labor union official and enforcer for Jimmy Hoffa and Russell Bufalino, born in 1920, by what nickname was Frank Sheeran best known? |
| 12. | In what year did Bill Gates and Paul Allen found a small company called Microsoft? |
| 13. | In which year did Singapore gain independence from the United Kingdom and merge with the newly formed Malaysia? |
| 14. | Who was executed by firing squad in Bolivia on 9th October 1967? |
| 15. | Who did anarchist Leon Czolgosz assassinate in 1901? |
| 16. | Olaf Palme was Prime Minister of what country before he was assassinated in February 1986? |
| 17. | Who commanded the Scottish army during the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314? |
| 18. | What was the largest naval battle of the First World War? |
| 19. | In what year did the Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft make the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon? |
| 20. | What was established in Western Europe in 1478 and not disbanded until 1834? |
| 21. | Introduced in New York in 1950, what was the world's first credit card? |
| 22. | Legend says it fell from the heavens at the Battle of Valdemar on 15th June 1219; which country has the oldest state flag in the world still in use by an independent nation today? |
| 23. | What Portuguese explorer became the first European to reach India by sea in 1498? |
| 24. | The German plan to invade Britain in 1940 was codenamed Operation what? |
| 25. | What future president, after representing Pepsi-Cola at an American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages convention, left Dallas just a few hours before John F. Kennedy was shot? |
| 26. | Formed in 1933, how was the Geheime Staatspolizei better known? |
| 27. | With 25.1% of the vote, who came second to Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries? |
| 28. | What was the name of the supertanker that ran aground off the coast of Cornwall in 1967, causing the worst oil spill in British history? |
| 29. | Beginning on 8th November 1942, what name was given to the British–American invasion of French North Africa during World War II? |
| 30. | What mode of transport was invented by Baron Karl von Drais in Germany in 1817? |
| 31. | Which day of the week was deemed "Black" in the October 1987 stock market crash? |
| 32. | What major event took place on 15th March 44 BC? |
| 33. | In Greek mythology, what is the name of the giant huntsman placed among the stars by Zeus as a constellation? |
| 34. | What style of writing was developed by Isaac Pitman in 1837? |
| 35. | The spire of what New York City landmark was originally designed as a mooring mast for dirigibles? |
| 36. | What British monarch was the target of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605? |
| 37. | Before Constantinople was founded in AD 330, by what name was the city known? |
| 38. | Daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, who was crowned Queen of England on 1st October 1553? |
| 39. | Whose statue was pulled down in Firdos Square in April 2003? |
| 40. | What leader of the Scottish resistance was brutally executed in London on 23rd August 1305? |
| 41. | Complete this famous quote from June 1963: ... and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ...
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| 42. | In what year was Abraham Lincoln assassinated? |
| 43. | Between 1953 and 1961, who was Vice President of the United States under President Dwight D. Eisenhower? |
| 44. | What 'D' was the code name given to the evacuation of Dunkirk in spring 1940? |
| 45. | On what British park was the Great Exhibition of 1851 held? |
| 46. | How old was Mahatma Gandhi when he was shot dead in January 1948? |
| 47. | King Philip II of Macedon was assassinated in 336 B.C. and was succeeded by his son. Who was his son? |
| 48. | What South American country became landlocked after losing its coastal territories to Peru and Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879-1904)? |
| 49. | The site of the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American War of Independence is located in what modern day U.S. city? |
| 50. | What English king was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22nd August 1485? |
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