History Trivia Quiz questions (2024 update)
Below is a selection of history trivia Quiz questions. Free to use. For example, to test your own historical knowledge with. Or to use for that quiz you are creating. Use them however you want :-)!
This page was last updated on: January 10, 2024
History questions
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Question: What was the name of the research ship on which Charles Darwin traveled?
Answer: The Beagle
Question: About whom it is said "His name is small, his deeds are big, his deeds are big, he has won the Silver Fleet"?
Answer: Piet Hein
Question: Who was king of the Netherlands during World War I?
Answer: Wilhelmina
Question: Which British admiral led the British at The Battle of Trafalgar?
Answer: Horatio Nelson
Question: Which saint was murdered near Dokkum in 754?
Answer: Saint Boniface
Question: In what year was King William Alexander inaugurated?
Answer: 2013
Question: In what century did Maarten Luther bring his 95 theses into the public domain?
Answer: 16th century
Question: Which world leader is famous for his "Red Book"?
Answer: Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung)
Question: Which volcano buried Pompeii in 79 A.D.?
Answer: Vesuvius
Question: In which country did the industrial revolution begin around 1750?
Answer: England
Question: What was the name of the ancient trade route that connected the East with the West?
Answer: The Silk Road
Question: Which American spoke the legendary words "Ich bin ein Berliner" in 1963?
Answer: John F. Kennedy
Question: Besides Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, who was the purpose of the Apollo 11 crew?
Answer: Michael Collins
Question: To whom is the statement "The dice is cast" attributed?
Answer: Julius Ceasar
Question: The French Revolution took place in the 19th century, true or false?
Answer: Not true (The French Revolution took place in the late 18th century)
Question: What was the code name for Germany's attack on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 during World War II?
Answer: Operation Barbarossa
Question: Which brothers were lynched in The Hague in 1672?
Answer: The De Wit brothers
Question: In what year did the Flood Disaster take place?
Answer: 1953
Question: Which historian wrote Most people are good (De Meeste Mensen Deugen)?
Answer: Rutger Bregman
Question: Who was the famous king of the Mali Empire who was known for his pilgrimage to Mecca and his wealth?
Answer: Mansa Musa
Question: Which war ended with the signing of the Peace of Münster in 1648?
Answer: The Eighty Years’ War
Question: What day do Surinamese call 'Freedom Day' or 'Emancipation Day'?
Answer: Keti Koti
Question: Who was the U.S. president at the start of the Vietnam War?
Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson
Question: What historical document from 1215 limited the power of the English king and is considered one of the earliest constitutional documents?
Answer: The Magna Carta
Question: What is the name of the city formerly called Lutetia?
Answer: Paris
Question: The Netherlands united in their resistance to Spain in 1576 in the Pacification of ...?
Answer: Pacification of Ghent
Question: In what year did the French Revolution begin?
Answer: 1789
Question: To whom did Anne Frank address her letters in her diary?
Answer: Kitty
Question: Which Russian monk did Boney M make a song about?
Answer: Rasputin
Question: On what day in November are the victims of World War I commemorated in many countries?
Answer: November 11
Question: Which German city was a Reich city within the Holy Roman Empire from 1306 to 1797?
Answer: Aachen
Question: What was the name of the zeppelin that crashed in 1937?
Answer: The Hindenburg
Question: During the Second World War, which Dutch city was heavily bombed by Allied forces during Operation Market Garden?
Answer: Arnhem
Question: Who was superior of Dutchbat when Srebrencia was attacked by Mladic's Serb forces in July 1995?
Answer: Thom Karremans
Question: Who was the English king during the Battle of Hastings in 1066?
Answer: Harold II, also known as Harold Godwinson
Question: According to a medieval legend, which blind medieval poet and singer was healed of his blindness by the apostle Liudger?
Answer: Bernlef
Question: Which James is considered the inventor of the modern steam engine?
Answer: James Watt
Question: In April 1982, conflict broke out between Argentina and Great Britain. Which islands in the South Atlantic was the conflict about?
Answer: The Falkland Islands
Question: Which U.S. president is known for his New Deal program?
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Question: What was the Titanic's intended final destination in 1912?
Answer: New York
Question: Which year in the Golden Age do we also call the disaster year (Rampjaar) in the Netherlands?
Answer: 1672
Question: Which count has been given a place in the Canon of the Netherlands?
Answer: Floris the Fifth
Question: In what year did the attacks on the Twin Towers take place?
Answer: 2001
Question: What is the modern name of the city of Constantinople?
Answer: Istanbul
Question: Who was the emperor of Japan during World War II?
Answer: Emperor Hirohito
Question: Where was Adolf Hitler born?
Answer: Braunau am Inn (Austria)
Question: Which Roman emperor implemented a series of reforms in the empire and was known for his "Pax Romana"?
Answer: Emperor Augustus
Question: Which brothers are known as inventors of the airplane?
Answer: The Wright brothers
Question: Which William was also called William the Silent?
Answer: William of Orange
Question: Who crowned himself emperor in 1804?
Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte
Question: Who created the first successful printing press?
Answer: Johannes Gutenberg
Question: Which Roman emperor issued the Edict of Milan, which introduced freedom of religion for Christians?
Answer: Constantine the Great
Question: Who painted the Sistine Chapel?
Answer: Michelangelo
Question: Which U.S. naval base was attacked by Japan on Dec. 7, 1941?
Answer: Pearl Harbor
Question: In what century was there a period when it was fashionable in posh circles to wear a wig, called the Wig Age?
Answer: The 18th century
Question: Which battle was the largest operation on Dutch soil during World War II?
Answer: Battle of the Scheldt
Question: The Spanish Civil War took place in the 1920s, true or false?
Answer: Not true (it was set in the 1930s)
Question: Who was the great teacher of the Greek philosopher Plato?
Answer: Sokrates
Question: What was the night in 1938 called when Jewish property was destroyed and hundreds of Jews were murdered in Germany?
Answer: The Kristallnacht
Question: Who built the first car in America?
Answer: Henry Ford
Question: Which terrorist organization committed the attacks in Madrid in 2004?
Answer: Al-Qaida
Question: In what year was the Berlin Wall torn down?
Answer: 1989
Question: Which English king signed the Magna Carta in 1215?
Answer: King John without Land, also known as King John
Question: What was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II?
Answer: Operation Barbarossa
Question: Which Louis was nicknamed The Sun King? The 14th, 15th or 16th?
Answer: Louis the Fourteenth
Question: What was the main purpose of Operation Manna and Operation Chowhound in April 1945?
Answer: providing food aid to the starving population in the western part of the Netherlands
Question: Who was the U.S. president who ultimately initiated the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam?
Answer: Nixon
Question: Which two important nobles were beheaded in the Grand Place of Brussels on June 5, 1568?
Answer: Lamoral of Gavere (Count of Egmont) and Philip of Montmorency (Count of Horne)
Question: Which founder of psychoanalysis was an avid cocaine user?
Answer: Sigmund Freud
Question: Which 18th century Frenchman is known for his nickname "l'Incorruptible" (=The incorruptible)
Answer: Maximilien de Robespierre
Question: When was the Dutch VOC declared bankrupt?
Answer: 1799
Question: In what century did Desiderius Erasmus die?
Answer: In the 16th century
Question: From what year to what year did World War I last?
Answer: 1914-1918
Question: In which city was found one of the wonders of the ancient world, the "Hanging Gardens of.."?
Answer: Babylon
Question: Which terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the 2015 Paris attacks?
Answer: ISIS
Question: In what year was Pim Fortuyn assassinated?
Answer: 2002
Question: To which island was Napoleon exiled (bonus point for chronologically naming two islands
Answer: Elba, st Helena
Question: In what year was Queen Elizabeth II crowned?
Answer: 1953
Question: In what century did the Reformation take place?
Answer: 16th century
Question: What is the name of the ui 1997 protocol to the Climate Convention that governs the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions?
Answer: Kyoto Protocol
Question: Which American wrote "Common Sense", an influential pamphlet that called for independence from Britain?
Answer: Thomas Paine
Question: In what year was slavery abolished in the Netherlands?
Answer: 1863
Question: Which Dutch politician was the first postwar prime minister of the Netherlands?
Answer: Willem Schermerhorn
Question: In 1831, which lieutenant reportedly uttered the words "Then rather the air" when he blew up his ship?
Answer: Lieutenant Van Speijk
Question: Which country was hit by a devastating earthquake in 2010 that resulted in a major humanitarian crisis?
Answer: Haiti
Question: Which medieval ruler of England ruled from 1154 to 1189 and was known for his reforms of justice and government, and for his conflicts with the Catholic Church?
Answer: Henry II of England
Question: Who became Finland's first female prime minister in 2019?
Answer: Sanna Marin
Question: In what century did the Plague pandemic take place?
Answer: 14th century
Question: Who was the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic?
Answer: Amelia Earhart
Question: Who was crowned the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the pope in Rome in 962?
Answer: Otto I
Question: Which German philosopher is known for the categorical imperative?
Answer: Immanuel Kant
Question: On what day is the Gronings Ontzet, also known as Bommen Berend, celebrated?
Answer: August 28
Bonus history questions 
Question: In the early days of the Reformation, what was a predication in the open field also called?
Answer: A ‘hagenpreek’
Question: In what year did the Bijlmer disaster take place?
Answer: 1992
Question: What was the nickname of the Polizeigeigefängnis in the house of detention in Scheveningen during World War II?
Answer: The Oranjehotel
