History quiz questions.

Thirty history questions from the free bank, easiest first, answers folded away so you can read them out. The bank has 196 in this category.

Run a history round Build a whole night

Which country gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States?
Answer
France
Gustave Eiffel engineered the statue's internal iron framework. Source
Who was the US president during the American Civil War?
Answer
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln was the first president from the Republican Party. Source
Who was granted a US patent for the telephone in 1876?
Answer
Alexander Graham Bell
His first words on the phone were to his assistant: Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you. Source
Who became South Africa's first black president in 1994?
Answer
Nelson Mandela
Mandela shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with F. W. de Klerk. Source
In what year did the Berlin Wall fall?
Answer
1989
The border crossings opened on the night of 9 November 1989. Source
True or false: The Battle of Britain in 1940 was fought mainly at sea.
Answer
False
It was the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. Source
Who became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom in 1979?
Answer
Margaret Thatcher
She served for 11 years, the longest continuous term of any British prime minister in the 20th century. Source
Who gave the I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963?
Answer
Martin Luther King Jr.
He spoke to about 250,000 people at the March on Washington. Source
Whose refusal to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 sparked a boycott?
Answer
Rosa Parks
The Montgomery bus boycott that followed lasted 381 days. Source
How many British colonies declared independence to form the United States?
Answer
13
The 13 stripes on the US flag stand for the original colonies. Source
The gold rush of 1849 drew the forty-niners to which present-day state?
Answer
California
Gold was found at Sutter's Mill in January 1848, and the rush peaked the following year. Source
In which city did colonists throw British tea into the harbour in 1773?New York / Philadelphia / Baltimore / Boston
Answer
Boston
The protesters dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. Source
Who was the last leader of the Soviet Union?
Answer
Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. Source
In what year was the Soviet Union dissolved?
Answer
1991
It split into 15 independent countries, formally ending on 26 December 1991. Source
Which Scottish inventor first publicly demonstrated a working television in 1926?
Answer
John Logie Baird
The demonstration took place in an attic room in Soho, London. Source
What did the Romans call London?Eboracum / Camulodunum / Aquae Sulis / Londinium
Answer
Londinium
The Romans founded Londinium around AD 47 on the north bank of the Thames. Source
In which ship did Francis Drake sail around the world from 1577 to 1580?Golden Hind / Mary Rose / Victory / Revenge
Answer
Golden Hind
Drake renamed the ship, originally the Pelican, partway through the voyage. Source
What 1803 deal with France roughly doubled the size of the United States?
Answer
Louisiana Purchase
The US paid about 15 million dollars for around 2 million square kilometres. Source
Which territory did the United States buy from Russia in 1867?
Answer
Alaska
Critics called it Seward's Folly, after the Secretary of State who arranged it. Source
Who is the only US president elected more than twice?
Answer
Franklin D. Roosevelt
He won four elections, and the 22nd Amendment later limited presidents to two terms. Source
At which Pennsylvania battlefield did Abraham Lincoln give a famous short address in 1863?
Answer
Gettysburg
The Gettysburg Address is just over 270 words long and took about two minutes. Source
True or false: Washington, D.C. has been the capital of the United States since independence.
Answer
False
Congress met in cities including New York and Philadelphia before moving to Washington in 1800. Source
Who was the second President of the United States?Thomas Jefferson / James Madison / Alexander Hamilton / John Adams
Answer
John Adams
Adams was the first president to live in the White House, moving in in 1800. Source
What was New York City called when it was a Dutch colony?New Holland / New Amsterdam / New Rotterdam / Fort Orange
Answer
New Amsterdam
It was renamed New York in 1664 after the English took over, in honour of the Duke of York. Source
Which German engineer built what is widely regarded as the first practical car, patented in 1886?Gottlieb Daimler / Rudolf Diesel / Karl Benz / Henry Ford
Answer
Karl Benz
In 1888 his wife Bertha made the first long-distance car journey, driving about 106 km. Source
What Russian word for openness described Gorbachev's policy of greater transparency?
Answer
Glasnost
It went hand in hand with perestroika, meaning restructuring. Source
Which of these was NOT one of Henry VIII's six wives?Catherine Parr / Jane Seymour / Mary Boleyn / Anne of Cleves
Answer
Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn was Anne Boleyn's sister, and she had an affair with Henry before he married Anne. Source
Who is generally regarded as Britain's first prime minister?
Answer
Robert Walpole
He led the government from 1721 to 1742 and was the first to live at 10 Downing Street. Source
The first public railway to use steam locomotives, opened in 1825, linked Stockton and which town?
Answer
Darlington
George Stephenson's engine Locomotion No. 1 pulled the opening train. Source
True or false: Theodore Roosevelt was the first US president to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Answer
True
He won in 1906 for helping to end the Russo-Japanese War. Source

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