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History General Knowledge #15

Can you answer these random history questions?
Quiz by
Quizmaster
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Last updated: January 15, 2025
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First submittedJanuary 15, 2025
Times taken25,132
Average score55.0%
Rating4.65
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Question
Answer
What was the largest contiguous empire of all time?
The Mongol Empire
Who was the son of Erik the Red?
Leif Erikson
What number is sometimes said to have been "invented" in India
sometime before 1000 AD?
Zero
To what island did Chiang Kai-shek flee in 1949?
Taiwan
In the book "Heart of Darkness", what product did Kurtz seek to export out of Africa?
Ivory
What African country was home to the "pieds-noirs", French settlers who
once formed more than 10% of the population?
Algeria
In what city did Cleopatra meet her end in 30 BC?
Alexandria
What U.S. citizen ruled Japan as a de-facto dictator from 1945–1951?
Douglas MacArthur
In the 1860s, what small country lost up to 90% of its adult male population fighting
a war against the combined forces of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay?
Paraguay
What scientist led the Royal Mint from 1699–1727?
Isaac Newton
Whose marriage to Isabella in 1469 united the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon?
Ferdinand
What province didn't become part of Canada until 1949?
Newfoundland and
Labrador
What language's first written records date to about 1250 BC when it was inscribed
on bones and turtle shells as part of divination rituals?
Chinese
What king did William the Conqueror defeat at the Battle of Hastings?
Harold Godwinson
What island chain was conquered by Kamehameha the Great in the late 1700s?
Hawaii
What Greek goddess is said to have been born out of sea foam on
the island of Cyprus?
Aphrodite
What is the Babylonian ruler Hammurabi best known for?
His legal code
Who was the last major Aztec emperor?
Moctezuma II
What was the last imperial dynasty of Russia, ruling from 1613–1917?
Romanov
What structure gets its modern name from the humongous bronze statue of Nero
which once stood outside?
Colosseum
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18 Comments
+2
Level 78
Jan 15, 2025
Have history quizzes been increasing in popularity lately?
+2
Level 62
Jan 16, 2025
YES!
+8
Level 82
Jan 15, 2025
Could you please accept Fernando? I couldn't work out why it wasn't working until I eventually remembered that he's known as Ferdinand in English.
+4
Level 86
Jan 16, 2025
I agree, this should be allowed.
+2
Level 82
Feb 17, 2026
Is there any chance of this? Apart from anything else, it would bring it into line with most of the rest of the quizzes on the site.
+3
Level 67
Jan 15, 2025
Put "tusks" for heart of darkness question. Doh
+1
Level 79
Jan 15, 2025
Just missed Colosseum
+1
Level 62
Jan 16, 2025
AMAZING QUIZ!!!!!!!!
+5
Level 89
Jan 16, 2025
This was such a good quiz. It spanned the globe and was challenging, but you could logic your way to many of the answers. Just solid all around. Kudos, Quizmaster!!
+2
Level 73
Jan 16, 2025
Enjoyed this quiz a lot, though the modifier "major" in "last major Aztec emperor" seems a little squishy
+1
Level ∞
Jan 16, 2025
Certainly you can see why this "squishy" modifier is there.
+2
Level 86
Jan 24, 2025
I was gonna comment that Moctezuma II was not the last emperor, but Cuauhtemoc.

However, that "major" modifier... it piqued my curiosity. Is it used because Moctezuma II was the last emperor before the war against the Spaniards?

+6
Level 86
Jan 18, 2025
Shouldn't Formosa be an acceptable type-in? It's a common name of the island itself after all
+2
Level 44
Feb 17, 2026
seconding this
+2
Level 48
Jan 22, 2025
Is Chinese a language? I thought there were a few like Mandarin or Cantonese
+3
Level 89
Jan 28, 2025
The thing is, that distinction primarily applies to the spoken languages, not the written one. Written Chinese is basically identical in all dialects/sub-languages.

So, since we're explicitly referring to the written form here, I would imagine that just "Chinese" is actually the best answer, and Mandarin/Cantonese/Min/Hakka/whatever would be incorrect.

Not an expert here, though, so if someone knows more than me, please chime in!

+1
Level 75
Jun 20, 2025
It was at this point in time that they were all Old Chinese. Most Chinese varieties split during Middle Chinese with the exception of Min.
+1
Level 64
Jan 31, 2025
I said MacArthy, what a dope. :)