Thirty questions running from the Sumerians to the fall of the Soviet Union, with a strong core of American history and presidents. Every answer comes with the date or detail that makes it stick.
In what year did the Continental Congress adopt the Declaration of Independence?
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1776
It was adopted on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia. Most delegates signed the engrossed copy on August 2.
Question 2
Who was the first president of the United States?
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George Washington
Washington took the oath on April 30, 1789, and served two terms. Adams, his vice president, was the second president.
Question 3
Which president issued the Emancipation Proclamation?
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Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln issued it on January 1, 1863. Slavery was abolished nationwide by the 13th Amendment in 1865.
Question 4
Which president was elected to more than two terms?
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
FDR won four elections (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944). The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, now limits presidents to two.
Question 5
Who is the only US president to resign from office?
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Richard Nixon
Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, during the Watergate scandal. Johnson and Clinton were impeached but not removed.
Question 6
Which 1803 deal roughly doubled the size of the United States?
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The Louisiana Purchase
The US bought about 828,000 square miles from France for $15 million during Jefferson's presidency.
Question 7
From which country did the United States buy Alaska in 1867?
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Russia
Secretary of State William Seward arranged the $7.2 million purchase, mocked at the time as "Seward's Folly."
Question 8
On what date did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?
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December 7, 1941
The attack on the US naval base in Hawaii brought the United States into World War II. Franklin Roosevelt called it "a date which will live in infamy."
Question 9
Who was the first person to walk on the Moon?
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Neil Armstrong
Armstrong stepped onto the Moon on July 20, 1969, during Apollo 11. Aldrin followed him; Gagarin was the first person in space, in 1961.
Question 10
Which wall fell in November 1989, ahead of German reunification?
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The Berlin Wall
East German authorities opened the border crossings on November 9, 1989. Germany reunified on October 3, 1990.
Question 11
Who wrote the Ninety-five Theses in 1517?
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Martin Luther
Luther's criticism of the sale of indulgences is usually taken as the start of the Protestant Reformation.
Question 12
Which of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is still standing?
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The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid, built around 2560 BC, is both the oldest of the seven and the only one that survives.
Question 13
Who was the first Roman emperor?
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Augustus
Augustus (Octavian) became emperor in 27 BC. Julius Caesar was dictator but never emperor; Augustus was his adopted heir.
Question 14
Which civilization built Machu Picchu?
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The Inca
The Inca built the mountain estate in Peru in the 15th century. It became widely known outside Peru after Hiram Bingham's visit in 1911.
Question 15
Which document, sealed in 1215, limited the power of the English king?
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Magna Carta
King John agreed to it at Runnymede. Clauses on due process later influenced the US Constitution.
Question 16
Which amendment to the US Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote?
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The 19th Amendment
It was ratified in August 1920. The 15th (1870) barred denying the vote on the basis of race.
Question 17
Who gave the "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963?
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Martin Luther King Jr.
King delivered it at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Question 18
Which July 1863 battle is often called the turning point of the American Civil War?
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Gettysburg
Lee's defeat in Pennsylvania, together with the fall of Vicksburg the next day, turned the war toward the Union.
Question 19
Which country did the United States fight in the War of 1812?
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Great Britain
During the war British troops burned the White House and the Capitol in August 1814. The Treaty of Ghent ended it.
Question 20
Who was president when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon?
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Richard Nixon
Nixon spoke to Armstrong and Aldrin by phone from the Oval Office. Kennedy had set the Moon goal in 1961.
Question 21
The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was a protest against taxes imposed by whom?
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The British Parliament
Colonists dumped 342 chests of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act.
Question 22
Which city was the first capital of the United States under the Constitution?
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New York City
Washington was inaugurated at Federal Hall in New York in 1789. The capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790 and to Washington, DC, in 1800.
Question 23
What was the name of the first artificial satellite, launched in 1957?
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Sputnik 1
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik on October 4, 1957. The first US satellite, Explorer 1, followed in January 1958.
Question 24
Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic?
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Amelia Earhart
Earhart flew from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland in May 1932, five years after Charles Lindbergh's solo flight.
Question 25
Which ancient people developed cuneiform, one of the earliest writing systems?
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The Sumerians
Cuneiform began in Mesopotamia around 3200 BC as wedge-shaped marks pressed into clay tablets.
Question 26
In which year did the Soviet Union dissolve?
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1991
Mikhail Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991, and the USSR formally ceased to exist the next day.
Question 27
Which two Japanese cities were struck by atomic bombs in August 1945?
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Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Hiroshima was bombed on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9. Japan announced its surrender on August 15.
Question 28
Who is the longest-reigning British monarch?
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Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years, from 1952 to 2022. Victoria, at 63 years, held the record before her.
Question 29
Which explorer led the first expedition to sail all the way around the world?
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Ferdinand Magellan
Magellan's fleet left Spain in 1519. He was killed in the Philippines in 1521; Juan Sebastián Elcano brought the last ship home in 1522.
Question 30
In which year did Christopher Columbus first reach the Americas?
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1492
His first voyage landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. He made three more voyages, reaching Caribbean islands, Central America and the coast of South America, but never the land that became the United States.
Key numbers
Questions
30
Format
Multiple choice, 4 options
Explanations
Every question
Answers
Hidden until you open them
US history and presidents
About half of this set is American history: the Declaration of Independence, the Louisiana and Alaska purchases, the Civil War, the vote for women and the space race. Presidents come up often because they make good anchors. If you know Nixon was in office for the Moon landing and resigned in 1974, you can place a lot of the 1960s and 70s around him.
World history
The rest moves through the ancient world (cuneiform, the Great Pyramid, the first Roman emperor), the Middle Ages and Reformation (Magna Carta, Martin Luther), exploration (Columbus and Magellan) and the 20th century. Several questions are built around a common mix-up: Julius Caesar was never emperor, and Magellan didn't survive his own voyage around the world.
How we handle dates
Where a date could be read two ways, the explanation gives both. The Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776, but most delegates signed it on August 2. For a trivia night, accept the answer the question asks for and use the explanation as the host's follow-up line.
Every president question has been checked against the White House's official list of presidents, and every date against the National Archives or a standard reference.
What are good history trivia questions for a mixed group?
Questions with a famous anchor work best: the Moon landing, the Titanic, the Berlin Wall, the first president. This set starts with those and gets harder toward the end.
Do these history questions focus on the United States?
About half are about US history and presidents, and the other half cover world history from ancient Mesopotamia to 1991.
What's the hardest question in this history quiz?
The one people miss most is who led the first voyage around the world. Magellan led it, but he was killed in the Philippines, and Juan Sebastián Elcano brought the last ship home.