Question 1

What wall divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989?

Accepted Answer

Berlin Wall

Question 2

Which ancient wonder was located in Alexandria, Egypt?

Accepted Answer

The Lighthouse

Question 3

Which empire was ruled by Genghis Khan?

Accepted Answer

Mongol Empire

Question 4

English history: Name any year during which Henry VIII reigned.

Accepted Answer

1509 to 1547

Question 5

Which important historical figure was nicknamed “the Little Corporal”?

Accepted Answer

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE  1769-1821

Question 6

Around 1680, when King Charles II repaid a debt owed to his father, this 35-year-old man received a huge parcel of land on the western bank of the Delaware River which eventually became a state bearing his name. What was his name?

Accepted Answer

WILLIAM PENN

Question 7

In June, 1994, the French, British and Americans celebrated the 50th anniversary of what event?

Accepted Answer

D-DAY - Brit, Amer, and Canadian forces landed on Normandy beaches and began liberation of Europe from German control

Question 8

Besides the hanging Gardens of Babylon, the other six "Wonders of the Ancient World" were located in which three countries?

Accepted Answer

GREECE / EGYPT / TURKEY

Question 9

Which U.S. President, who served from 1845-1849, was in office at the beginning of the California gold rush?

Accepted Answer

JAMES K. POLK

Question 10

This German field marshal commanded the African Korps during World War II. After he was implicated in a plot to kill Hitler in 1944, he took his life. He was nicknamed the "desert fox." Who was he?

Accepted Answer

ERWIN ROMMEL

Question 11

During which President's term in office did each of these historical events occur? a. U.S. hostages released from Iran? b. Stock Market crashed 1929  c. First 7 states seceded from the union

Accepted Answer

a. REAGAN - 81   b. HOOVER   c. BUCHANAN - 1860-61

Question 12

In both 1978 the Nobel Peace Prize was shared by two former political adversaries. Who were they?

Accepted Answer

ANWAR SADAT / MENACHEM BEGIN

Question 13

George and Martha Washington are buried on the grounds of their estate in Virginia, which is called what?

Accepted Answer

MOUNT VERNON

Question 14

What is the second largest city in Japan?

Accepted Answer

YOKOHAMA

Question 15

From which building in Dallas, Texas, did Lee Harvey Oswald shoot the bullets that killed President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963?

Accepted Answer

DALLAS BOOK DEPOSITORY

Question 16

What was the first state to enter the U.S. after the original thirteen?

Accepted Answer

DELAWARE

Question 17

In 1938, Mussolini banned all American cartoons in Italy, except for which one?

Accepted Answer

MICKEY MOUSE

Question 18

In 1940, seven months after the outbreak of World War II, Winston Churchill replaced which person as British prime minister?

Accepted Answer

NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN

Question 19

What was the first state to enter the union after the original thirteen?

Accepted Answer

VERMONT

Question 20

In 1774 Rhode Island was the first U.S. state to ban something which is now illegal in all states. What was it?

Accepted Answer

THE IMPORTATION OF SLAVES (SLAVE TRADE) — Rhode Island banned the importation of slaves in 1774, not slavery itself.

Question 21

When, in 1941, General Douglas MacArthur said "I shall return," to which country was he referring?

Accepted Answer

PHILIPPINES

Question 22

He was a Persian mathematician, astrologer, and poet who lived about 900 years ago. He wrote a major treatise on algebra, he was appointed by the Shah of Persia to reform the calendar, but most famously he wrote a number of poems celebrating the pleasures

Accepted Answer

OMAR KHAYYAM

Question 23

What pair of economic philosophers were the driving force behind communism when they wrote the 1848 book "The Communist Manifesto"?

Accepted Answer

KARL MARX / FRIEDRICH ENGELS

Question 24

When this explosive noise occurred in August, 1883, it equaled the sound of 3,000 atomic bombs, could be heard 2,200 miles away, and debris was scattered 4000 miles away. What was it that exploded?

Accepted Answer

KRAKATOA - volvano in indonesia

Question 25

Which country suffered the most deaths of military personnel in World War II?

Accepted Answer

SOVIET UNION (approximately 8.7 to 10.7 million military deaths)

Question 26

During World War I, the allies, Britain, France, the USA primarily fought against Germany and which two major forces?

Accepted Answer

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY / TURKEY

Question 27

America's first home made production sports car was released in 1953. What kind of car was it?

Accepted Answer

CHEVROLET CORVETTE

Question 28

Can you name three other Presidents besides Clinton whose first name was William?

Accepted Answer

William Henry Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft

Question 29

In 1891 Mr. W.L. Judson invented a small metalic object that most people make use of, men a bit more than women. What was it?

Accepted Answer

ZIPPER

Question 30

When future President of the United States Andrew Jackson established this city in 1819 he named it after an ancient city of Egypt. What is it?

Accepted Answer

MEMPHIS  but not alexandria, va. which is much older

Question 31

Which Frenchman is credited with having laid out and designed the city of Washington, D.C.?

Accepted Answer

PIERRE L'ENFANT

Question 32

Which city, founded in 1565, could rightfully be called the oldest existing city in the U.S.?

Accepted Answer

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

Question 33

June 6, 1944 is known as D-Day, when in the early daylight at low tide about 5,000 Allied ships invaded the coastline in what part of France?

Accepted Answer

NORMANDY  the final drive to liberate Europe was under way.

Question 34

The earliest account of European travel to the far east was provided by what Venetian traveler who explored Asia from 1271 to 1295?

Accepted Answer

MARCO POLO  His Travels of Marco Polo was the only account of the Far East available to Europeans until the 17th century.

Question 35

Because the Indian tribes living in this region were so friendly, the Spanish named this region after the Spanish and Indian words which mean "friends" or "allies." Today this region is the state with which name?

Accepted Answer

TEXAS  Spanish and Indian words tejas and techas, meaning "friends" or "allies."

Question 36

This English woman organized the hospital and nursing services during the Crimean War, in 1854, and later became known as the originator of modern nursing techniques. What was her name?

Accepted Answer

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

Question 37

Around 500 B.C., during the golden age of the Greek civilization, what were the three most important city-states of Greece?

Accepted Answer

ATHENS / SP  A / CORINTH

Question 38

When he died in December, 1799, one London newspaper reported, "His fame, bounded by no country, will be confined to no age." In Paris, Napoleon ordered a 10-day requiem, and in Amsterdam funeral music filled the air. Who was he?

Accepted Answer

GEORGE WASHINGTON (died 1799, correct as given) — but note: the description matches Washington. The answer is OK. Correction: actually OK; no fix needed.

Question 39

President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to the date Dec. 7, 1941 with an ominous quotation. What happened on that date, and how did FDR refer to it?

Accepted Answer

PEARL HARBOR ATTACK BY JAPANESE / "THE DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY"

Question 40

On August 9, 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy gave birth to a son, who died 2 days later. What was his name?

Accepted Answer

PATRICK BOUVIER KENNEDY

Question 41

What period of human culture followed the Stone Age and preceded the Iron Age?

Accepted Answer

BRONZE AGE

Question 42

After the union of England and Scotland, in 1707 this woman became the first monarch of Great Britain and Ireland. Later in life, through overeating, she grew so fat she had to be carried. Who was she?

Accepted Answer

ANNE, QUEEN OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND

Question 43

What was the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel?

Accepted Answer

EGYPT

Question 44

From 1859 to 1869, the Suez Canal was designed, engineered, and constructed by a company from which country?

Accepted Answer

FRANCE

Question 45

From 1309 to 1378 , the popes of the Roman Catholic church did not sit in Rome. Which city was the seat of the papacy?

Accepted Answer

AVIGNON, FRANCE

Question 46

The second wife of King Henry VIII was convicted of adultery and beheaded. Who was this woman, the mother of Queen Elizabeth I?

Accepted Answer

ANNE BOLEYN

Question 47

Before Sacramento became California's capital city in 1854, five other places hosted the seat of California's government. Can you name them?

Accepted Answer

LOS ANGELES / MONTEREY / SAN JOSE / BENICIA / VALLEJO

Question 48

A few questions about the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor: a. On which island is Pearl Harbor located?  b. On which date did this attack occur?  c. What three-word phrase did President Roosevelt use to describe the day of this attack?

Accepted Answer

a. OAHU b. DECEMBER 7, 1941 c. DAY OF INFAMY

Question 49

Thirty-six columns surround the Lincoln Memorial. What do they represent?

Accepted Answer

36 U.S. STATES AT TIME OF LINCOLN'S DEATH

Question 50

What king of Mesopotamia, who lived from 1792-1750 BC, put the laws of his country into a formal code?

Accepted Answer

HAMMURABI

100 History Trivia Questions and Answers

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