What are some good history trivia questions?

Five from this list: In what year did the Berlin Wall come down? (1989) Who became British prime minister in May 1940 and led the country through World War II? (Winston Churchill) What disease caused the Black Death? (Plague (bubonic plague)) Who was the first person to travel into space? (Yuri Gagarin) Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? (Marie Curie)

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History trivia questions

People, places and events from ancient times to the twentieth century.

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In the nativity story, what did the wise men follow?

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All 100 history trivia questions

Updated November 2026.

In the nativity story, what did the wise men follow? Answer: A star
In the Bible story, in which town was Jesus born? Answer: Bethlehem
In what language was "Silent Night" first written? Answer: German
What does the X in "Xmas" stand for? Answer: Christ (X is the Greek letter chi)
From which country did the Christmas tree tradition spread to Britain and the United States? Answer: Germany
Which British queen helped make Christmas trees fashionable in the 1840s? Answer: Queen Victoria
Which country has sent a Christmas tree to Trafalgar Square in London since 1947? Answer: Norway
Santa Claus gets his name from which Dutch figure? Answer: Sinterklaas
Saint Nicholas was a bishop in a town in which modern country? Answer: Turkey
On what date do Western churches celebrate Epiphany? Answer: January 6
What three gifts did the wise men bring in the Bible story? Answer: Gold, frankincense and myrrh
In what year did the Christmas Truce take place during World War I? Answer: 1914
What do we call the wrapped, preserved bodies of ancient Egypt? Answer: Mummies
Before pumpkins, what root vegetable did people in Ireland and Scotland most often carve into lanterns? Answer: Turnips
What ancient Celtic festival is Halloween usually traced back to? Answer: Samhain
What Christian feast day falls on November 1, the day after Halloween? Answer: All Saints' Day
The word Halloween is a short form of what older name? Answer: All Hallows' Eve
In what year was the novel Frankenstein first published? Answer: 1818
Which Washington Irving story has a Headless Horseman? Answer: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
What Massachusetts town held witch trials in 1692? Answer: Salem
In Irish folklore, which trickster is doomed to roam the night carrying a lantern? Answer: Stingy Jack (Jack of the Lantern)
Which Shakespeare play has witches chanting "Double, double toil and trouble"? Answer: Macbeth
January is named after which Roman god with two faces? Answer: Janus
Which month is named after Julius Caesar? Answer: July
The name December comes from the Latin word for which number? Answer: Ten
Which Scottish poet wrote down the words to "Auld Lang Syne"? Answer: Robert Burns
What is the Scottish custom of being the first visitor through a door after midnight called? Answer: First-footing
On New Year's Eve in Japan, how many times do Buddhist temples ring their bells? Answer: 108
What is the name of the calendar most of the world uses? Answer: The Gregorian calendar
Which pope is the Gregorian calendar named after? Answer: Pope Gregory XIII
A year ending in 00 is a leap year only if it divides evenly by which number? Answer: 400
What is the Jewish New Year called? Answer: Rosh Hashanah
What is the Persian New Year, celebrated at the spring equinox, called? Answer: Nowruz
In the earliest Roman calendar, which month began the year? Answer: March
What was the name of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to America in 1620? Answer: The Mayflower
Plymouth, where the Pilgrims settled, is in which present-day US state? Answer: Massachusetts
Which Native American people joined the Pilgrims at the 1621 harvest feast? Answer: The Wampanoag
According to a colonist who was there, how many days did the 1621 harvest feast last? Answer: Three days
Which president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863? Answer: Abraham Lincoln
Which magazine editor spent years writing to presidents to ask for a national Thanksgiving holiday? Answer: Sarah Josepha Hale
Which president signed the 1941 law that fixed the date of Thanksgiving? Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Which Founding Father wrote in a letter that the turkey was a more respectable bird than the bald eagle? Answer: Benjamin Franklin
Which crop did Tisquantum, also known as Squanto, teach the Pilgrims to plant? Answer: Corn
What agreement did the Pilgrims sign aboard their ship before going ashore? Answer: The Mayflower Compact
The ship that carried the Pilgrims to America set sail from which country? Answer: England
Which ocean did the Pilgrims cross to reach America? Answer: The Atlantic Ocean
What is the name of the famous boulder said to mark where the Pilgrims came ashore? Answer: Plymouth Rock
Which war was the United States fighting when Thanksgiving was proclaimed a national holiday in 1863? Answer: The Civil War
Who was the first President of the United States? Answer: George Washington
In what year did World War II end? Answer: 1945
What ocean liner sank on its first voyage in April 1912? Answer: The Titanic
In what year did the Berlin Wall come down? Answer: 1989
In what year did Columbus first sail to the Americas? Answer: 1492
Who was the first person to walk on the Moon? Answer: Neil Armstrong
What ancient people built the pyramids at Giza? Answer: The Egyptians
What Egyptian queen was linked with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony? Answer: Cleopatra
What volcano buried the Roman city of Pompeii in 79 AD? Answer: Mount Vesuvius
Who painted the Mona Lisa? Answer: Leonardo da Vinci
Who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Answer: Michelangelo
What charter of 1215 limited the power of England's King John? Answer: Magna Carta
In what year was the US Declaration of Independence adopted? Answer: 1776
Which US president issued the Emancipation Proclamation? Answer: Abraham Lincoln
Who became British prime minister in May 1940 and led the country through World War II? Answer: Winston Churchill
What language did the ancient Romans speak? Answer: Latin
Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean? Answer: Amelia Earhart
Who was granted the first US patent for the telephone in 1876? Answer: Alexander Graham Bell
What brothers flew their powered airplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903? Answer: The Wright brothers
What ship carried the Pilgrims to America in 1620? Answer: The Mayflower
What French emperor was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo? Answer: Napoleon
Who was the first emperor of Rome? Answer: Augustus (Octavian)
Who led India's nonviolent campaign for independence from Britain? Answer: Mahatma Gandhi
Who was released from prison in 1990 and became president of South Africa in 1994? Answer: Nelson Mandela
What disease caused the Black Death? Answer: Plague (bubonic plague)
Which English king had six wives? Answer: Henry VIII
Who was queen of England when the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1588? Answer: Elizabeth I
What country gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States? Answer: France
What civilization built Machu Picchu? Answer: The Inca
Who gave the "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington in 1963? Answer: Martin Luther King Jr.
What was the name of the first artificial satellite, launched in 1957? Answer: Sputnik 1 (Sputnik)
What Macedonian king built an empire that reached India before he died at 32? Answer: Alexander the Great
What trade route linked China with the Mediterranean for centuries? Answer: The Silk Road
What revolution began in 1789 with the storming of the Bastille? Answer: The French Revolution
Who was the first person to travel into space? Answer: Yuri Gagarin
What picture writing did the ancient Egyptians use? Answer: Hieroglyphs (hieroglyphics)
What title did the kings of ancient Egypt hold? Answer: Pharaoh
What invention is Johannes Gutenberg famous for? Answer: The printing press
Who discovered penicillin in 1928? Answer: Alexander Fleming
What nurse of the Crimean War was known as the Lady with the Lamp? Answer: Florence Nightingale
What empire did Genghis Khan found? Answer: The Mongol Empire
What Portuguese explorer led the first voyage around the world but died before it ended? Answer: Ferdinand Magellan
What Roman wall across northern England is named after the emperor who ordered it? Answer: Hadrian's Wall
What city hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896? Answer: Athens
What disease was declared wiped out worldwide in 1980? Answer: Smallpox
Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? Answer: Marie Curie
What period of European history has a name that means "rebirth"? Answer: The Renaissance
In the Greek legend, what city fell to soldiers hidden inside a wooden horse? Answer: Troy
What is the name of the pirate flag with a skull and crossbones? Answer: The Jolly Roger
Which queen ruled Britain from 1837 to 1901? Answer: Victoria
What 1803 land deal with France roughly doubled the size of the United States? Answer: The Louisiana Purchase
What long wall was built across northern China to keep out invaders? Answer: The Great Wall

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What are some good history trivia questions?: Five from this list: In what year did the Berlin Wall come down? (1989) Who became British prime minister in May 1940 and led the country through World War II? (Winston Churchill) What disease caused the Black Death? (Plague (bubonic plague)) Who was the first person to travel into space? (Yuri Gagarin) Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? (Marie Curie)