History

1. In which century did 10 Downing Street become the official residence of the Prime Minister of Great Britain?

18th century (1735 – https://www.gov.uk/government/history/10-downing-street)

2. Which nationality was the polar explorer Roald Amundsen?

Norweigan

3. Which year marked the end of British rule on the Indian subcontinent?

1947

4. Which Apollo mission allowed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to walk on the moon?

Apollo 11

5. How many times was the Summer Olympic Games hosted in the United Kingdom during the twentieth century?

Twice (London in 1908 and 1948 – It was due to be hosted in London in 1944 but was cancelled due to the war)

6. Who was the first female Prime Minister of Australia?

Julia Gillard (2010-2013)

7. From which country did Algeria gain independence in 1962?

France

8. Three members of the House of York became Kings of England. Can you name two?

Two of: Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III

9. In which US city is Ford’s Theatre, where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865?

Washington, D.C.

10. Which English explorer was executed in 1618, fifteen year after being found guilty of conspiracy against King James I of England and VI of Scotland?

Sir Walter Raleigh

1. Which two of Henry VIII’s wives were executed?

Anne Boleyn and Kathryn Howard

2. Queen Elizabeth II is Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, followed by Queen Victoria – but who comes third in the list?

George III

3. Which English city was once known as Duroliponte?

Cambridge (Roman name)

4. What was the first name of the man after whom the Geiger counter was named?

Hans

5. What were the exact first words spoken by Neil Armstrong, shortly after he stepped onto the moon for the first time?

That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind (Neil Armstrong insisted he said ‘a’ but it was inaudible in recordings. Accept answers with or without)

6. In which city was RMS Titanic constructed?

Belfast

7. The first successful vaccine was introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796. Which disease did it guard against?

Smallpox

8. What was the name of the baker in whose bakery the Great Fire of London of 1666 apparently started?

Thomas Farriner (or Farynor)

9. In which year was the Munich air disaster, when British European Airways flight 609 crashed while carrying the Manchester United football team?

1958

10. In 1970, Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to successfully land on another planet and transmit data back to Earth. Which planet did it land on?

Venus

1. Who was the first wife of Henry VIII?

Catherine of Aragon

2. Who became the first President of the Republic of Ireland in June 1938?

Douglas Hyde

3. The USSR dissolved into how may independent countries in 1991?

Fifteen (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Russia)

4. The Belgian revolution of 1830-1831 led to their independence from which country?

Netherlands

5. Approximately how many thousand years ago was Stonehenge erected?

5000 (erected around 2500BC )

6. A surprise attack by the Japanese on which naval base led to the US entering World War II?

Pearl Harbor

7. The Battle of Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of which series of civil wars?

Wars of the Roses

8. Which famous first was achieved by Constance Markievicz on 14th December 1918?

She was the first woman to be elected to the British House of Commons (She did not, however, take her seat – Nancy Astor was the first to do so in 1919)

9. On which date did Euro coins and bank notes first enter general circulation?

1st January 2002

10. How many British monarchs were crowned during the twentieth century?

Four (Edward VII, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II – Edward VIII was never crowned)

1. In which year was Korea divided into North Korea and South Korea?

1945

2. Who was the wife of King George V?

Mary (of Teck)

3. In which war was the Battle of Shiloh fought?

American Civil War

4. The British Women’s Institute was founded, photos were required in UK passports for the first time and the British nurse Edith Cavell was executed by German firing squad – All of these events happened in which year of the 20th century?

1915

5. In which year did Abraham Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address?

1863

6. In which century did Richard the Lionheart rule England?

12th century (1189-1199)

7. Which two of Henry VIII’s wives were executed?

Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard

8. Who is the only Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to have been assassinated?

Spencer Perceval

9. Whose famous last words in 1999 reportedly were, “I finally get to see Marilyn”?

Joe DiMaggio

10. Vietnam claimed independence from which country in 1945?

France

History Trivia

1. Which King of England, born in 1452, was the son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville?

Richard III

2. Which Russian word, literally meaning ‘publicity’ or ‘openness’, was made popular by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s when it became the name of the Soviet policy of open discussion of political and social issues?

Glasnost

3. In which war did the battle of Tel-el-Kebir take place?

Anglo-Egyptian War (1882)

4. Who was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on the 30th January 1948?

Mahatma Gandhi

5. How many children did Queen Victoria have?

9 (Victoria (Princess Royal), Edward VII, Alice, Alfred (Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), Helena, Louise, Arthur (Duke of Connaught and Strathearn), Leopold (Duke of Albany) and Beatrice)

6. Robert Walpole, William Pitt the Elder and George Grenville were all leaders of which political party?

Whig

7. Which Scottish King died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513?

James IV of Scotland

8. Who was married both to Louis VII of France and to Henry II of England and was therefore Queen consort of both countries?

Eleanor of Aquitaine

9. Which Conservative Home Secretary, who later became Prime Minister, is responsible for introduction of the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829?

Sir Robert Peel

10. Malcolm Fraser, Sir Robert Menzies and Joseph Lyons were all 20th century Prime Ministers of which country?

Australia

To download the history trivia quiz as a PDF contestant question paper, with printed questions plus spaces for contestant answers, please click on the grey box below:

Three events from a year

1. Clement Attlee became Prime Minister, V-E Day was celebrated and George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ was published.

1945

2. The first episode of ‘EastEnders’ was broadcast, Comic Relief was launched and the first UK heart-lung transplant was carried out in Middlesex.

1985

3. Queen Victoria died at Osborne House, Alexandra Palace opened to the public and a national census was conducted.

1901

4. The BBC was formed, Andrew Bonar Law became Prime Minister and the entrance to King Tutankhamen’s Tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered.

1922

5. Fleetwood Mac’s album ‘Rumours’ was released, Red Rum won the Grand National for the third time and Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Silver Jubilee.

1977

6. Old Trafford, the largest football stadium in England, was opened, Dr. Crippen was hanged in Pentonville prison and the Terra Nova set sail for the Antarctic in Robert Falcon Scott’s last expedition.

1910

7. Concorde was unveiled in France, the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act made pirate radio illegal and Milton Keynes was formally designated a ‘new town’.

1967

8. Winston Churchill resigned from his post as Prime Minister due to ill health, Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in the UK and Stirling Moss became the first English winner of the British Grand Prix.

1955

9. George VI became the first reigning monarch to visit Canada, petrol rationing and identity cards were introduced and registration for national service for men aged between 20 and 23 began.

1939

10. Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Ruby Jubilee, the Duke and Duchess of York separated and Betty Boothroyd became the first female Speaker of the House of Commons.

1992

1. Boudicca was queen of which historic tribe of eastern Britain?

Iceni (or Eceni)

2. D-Day and the Normandy landings took place on which date?

June 6th 1944

3. Which war was ended by the Treaty of Paris in 1783?

American revolutionary War

4. In which year did the United Nations officially come into existence?

1945

5. Who succeeded Charles II as King of England after his death in 1685?

James II (of England and VII of Scotland)

6. What was the first name of the doctor who invented the Heimlich manoeuvre?

Henry

7. Who was the first British monarch to visit India?

George V (1911)

8. In which century did Joan of Arc live?

15th Century (Lived from 1412 until 1431)

9. Which battle was the final confrontation in the Jacobite rising of 1745?

Battle of Culloden

10. Aquae Sulis was the Roman name for which English city?

Bath

History Pub Quiz Questions and Answers

1. The ‘Gettysburg Address’ was delivered by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, but can you quote the first six words of this famous speech?

Four score and seven years ago…

2. Which of Henry VIII’s wives is buried alongside him in St. George’s chapel in Windsor Castle?

Jane Seymour (Henry was buried alongside her at his request)

3. Who became the first woman to sit as an MP in the House of Commons in 1919?

Nancy Astor (Viscountess Astor)

4. Who was the first leader of the Liberal Democrat party, having led the Liberal Party until it merged with the Social Democratic Party in 1988?

David Steel

5. Who was President of the United States when Neil Armstrong first set foot upon the moon?

Richard Nixon (He famously made a telephone call to Armstrong and Aldrin)

6. Name five of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Five of: Colossus of Rhodes, Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Lighthouse of Alexandria, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

7. According to the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve had a number of children, but only three are named. What were the names of these three?

Cain, Abel and Seth

8. The Battle of Goose Green was fought during which war?

The Falklands War

9. Which South American country declared independence from Portugal on September 7th 1822?

Brazil

10. Which English monarch was the father of Richard I?

Henry II

To download the History Pub Quiz questions as a PDF contestant question paper, with questions only plus spaces for contestant answers, please click on the link below:

1. The Royal Pavilion in Brighton was built as a seaside palace for which king?

King George IV

2. Britain joined the EEC on the 1st January in which year?

1973

3. Canaan Banana was the first ever president of which country?

Zimbabwe (1980-1987)

4. In which battle was Richard III killed?

Battle of Bosworth Field

5. How many kings of England have been named Edmund?

Two

6. What was the name of the Baker in whose bakery the Great Fire of London is said to have started?

Thomas Farriner (or Farynor)

7. Why did 83-year-old Spanish pensioner Cecilia Giménez hit the headlines in 2012?

She decided to ‘restore’ the ‘Ecce Homo’ fresco of Jesus in a church near Zaragoza – see before and after pictures here.

8. How many popes have been named Pius?

Twelve

9. In which century was the Statue of Liberty dedicated to the United States as a gift from France?

19th Century/1800s (1886)

10. Who or what, according to legend, is the ‘Flying Dutchman’?

A ghost ship/the captain of this ship (some stories say it is the name of the ship, others say it is a name for the captain)

History Pub Quiz Questions

1. Who was the first person to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean?

Charles A. Lindbergh (1927)

2. Who was the first monarch of the House of Windsor?

George V (He was responsible for changing the name from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor)

3. How many shillings were formerly equivalent to one crown?

5

4. Which American battle is sometimes referred to as ‘Custer’s Last Stand’?

Battle of the Little Bighorn

5. Which is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to still be standing?

The Great Pyramid at Giza

6. ‘Eboracum’ was the Roman name for which English city?

York

7. In which year was Abraham Lincoln assassinated?

1865

8. The ‘Estampie’ was a medieval form of what?

Dance/musical form

9. Who was the first President of India?

Rajendra Prased (Held the post from 1950 to 1962)

10. In which U.S. city did Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech in 1963?

Washington D.C.

1. King George V and Queen Mary had how many children?

6 (George VI, Edward VIII, Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Prince George, Duke of Kent and Prince John)

2. In which year was the Gunpowder Plot?

1605

3. Which of Adolf Hitler’s cabinet held the post of ‘Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda’?

Joseph Goebbels

4. Who resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 22nd May 1923 due to ill health?

Andrew Bonar Law

5. Which American political protest took place on December 16th 1773?

Boston Tea Party

6. Who did Ronald Reagan succeed as President of the USA?

Jimmy Carter

7. Which former British colony gained independence on 15th August 1947?

India

8. Which Scottish monarch was convicted of treason and was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire on the 8th February 1587?

Mary I (of Scotland)/Mary Queen of Scots

9. On which date was Queen Elizabeth II born?

21st April 1926

10. What was the name of the galleon in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe between 1577 and 1580?

The Golden Hind

1. Who succeeded George Washington as President of the United States?

John Adams

2. In which year was compilation of the Domesday Book completed?

1086

3. Which monarch was on the English throne at the time of the Great Fire of London?

Charles II

4. In which century did the mass starvation in Ireland commonly referred to as the ‘potato famine’ lead to around a million deaths and mass emigration?

19th century (1845-1852)

5. The Battle of Little Bighorn took place during which war?

Great Sioux War of 1876/Black Hills War

6. In which country did the first human to human heart transplant take place in 1967?

South Africa (Cape Town)

7. Who was the last British monarch to have been born outside of the UK?

George II  (Born in Hanover)

8. What was the name of Lord Nelson’s flagship?

HMS Victory

9. How was New York known prior to 1664?

New Amsterdam

10. In which battle did King Richard III meet his end?

Battle of Bosworth Field

1. In which city did Anne Frank live and write her diary during World War II?

Amsterdam

2. Which famous German fighter pilot was shot down and killed on 21st April 1918?

Manfred, Baron von Richthofen (The Red Baron)

3. Who was President of the United States when the National Prohibition Act was passed in 1919?

Woodrow Wilson (The act was passed by Congress, despite his veto.)

4. Genghis Khan was the Great Khan and founder of which empire?

Mongol Empire

5. Who initiated a series of railway timetables and travel guide books in 1839, one of which is used by Michael Portillo in his “Great British Railway Journeys”?

George Bradshaw

6. Who became Israel’s fourth and first female Prime Minister in March 1969?

Golda Meir

7. Which is the oldest university in Scotland?

University of St Andrews

8. Which Australian soprano was known as “La Stupenda”?

Dame Joan Sutherland

9. In which year was Nelson Mandela released from prison?

1990

10. Who succeeded Richard III as King of England in 1485?

Henry VII

1. Who was the oldest person to assume office as the President of the United States?

Ronald Reagan

2. Which British monarch was on the throne during the time of the First Boer War?

Queen Victoria

3. Who was the first leader of the Soviet Union?

Vladimir Lenin

4. The ‘Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis’ was an agreement marking the end of a 65-year struggle between France and Spain for the control of which country?

Italy

5. Which mausoleum was commissioned by the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal?

Taj Mahal

6. What was the name of the series of conflicts fought in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648?

Thirty Years War

7. To which royal house did William I and William II belong?

House of Normandy

8. Who commissioned the Arc de Triomphe?

Napoleon I

9. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 in Ford’s Theatre in which U.S. city?

Washington D.C.

10. Which U.S. naval base was  attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7th 1941?

Pearl Harbor

To download the history quiz as a contestant question paper, with printed questions and spaces for contestants to fill in their answers, please click on the grey box below:

This week’s history quiz is very simple. We will give you a famous event from history and you need to give us the year in which it happened.

1. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

1914

2. Boston Tea Party

1773

3. Martin Luther King Jr. made his “I have a dream” speech.

1963

4. Anne Boleyn was beheaded.

1536

5. Battle of Waterloo.

1815

6. The sinking of the Titanic.

1912

7. Battle of Bannockburn

1314

8. Coronation of Queen Elizabeth I.

1559

9. Hillsborough Disaster.

1989

10. Sir Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest.

1953

1. Henry VII was born in which Welsh castle?

Pembroke Castle

2. The Battle of Marston Moor took place during which conflict?

The English Civil War

3. The last confirmed sighting of which bird species occurred in 1844, when two birds were shot off the coast of Iceland and the species was then declared extinct?

Great auk

4. Which Emperor ruled Rome at the beginning of year 1 AD?

Augustus

5. In which year was Marie Antoinette executed by guillotine?

1793

6. From which country did Algeria gain its independence in 1962?

France

7. In which year did American athlete Jesse Owens win four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics?

1936

8. Which famous sea captain and politician was born in Tavistock, Devon in around 1540?

Sir Francis Drake

9. Who was the longest-reigning Tudor monarch?

Elizabeth I

10. Which is the oldest university in England?

Oxford

1. Moshe Dayan was a military leader and politician in which country?

Israel

2. In which year was  Queen Victoria crowned?

1838

3. Who was god of the sun in Ancient Egyptian mythology?

Ra

4. Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife of Henry VIII, was born in which modern day country?

Germany (Düsseldorf)

5. Who was the longest serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?

Sir Robert Walpole

6. How many United Stated presidents have resigned from office?

One (Richard Nixon in 1974)

7. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first woman in the UK to qualify and work as what?

Doctor (physician and surgeon)

8. The ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ took part during which war?

Crimean War

9. In which year did Princess Diana die in a car crash in Paris?

1997

10. The ‘Khmer Rouge’ was a name for the Communist regime which ruled which country between 1975 and 1979?

Cambodia

To download the quiz as a PDF question papers for contestants, please click on the grey box below:

1. The Battle of Naseby was a decisive battle in which war?

English Civil War

2. Which English king was nicknamed the ‘Merry Monarch’?

Charles II

3. Which U.S. political party did President Richard Nixon represent?

Republican

4. The Treaty of Nanking was signed on 29th August 1842 and marked the end of which war?

The (First) Opium War/ Anglo-Chinese War

5. By what name was the American William Frederick Cody better known?

Buffalo Bill

6. Which term was commonly used for the series of disagreements from the 50s onwards between the UK and Iceland over fishing rights in the North Atlantic?

Cod Wars

7. Of which British tribe was Boudicca queen?

Iceni

8. King Hussein bin Talal was king of which country between 1952 and 1999?

Jordan

9. What relation is Queen Elizabeth II to Queen Victoria?

Great-great-granddaughter

10. Who was the first British Prime Minister to be born in the 20th Century?

Sir Alec Douglas-Home

To download the history quiz questions as a contestant question paper, please click on the grey box below: