British History A-Z #2

A sometimes lighthearted quiz relating to British history. Can you guess these people, places, and things from A-Z?

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Last updated: February 14, 2026

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First submitted	January 25, 2019
Times taken	5,065
Average score	73.1%
Rating	4.31

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Answer

Battle where the English defeated the French in 1415. A modern legend says this is the origin of the two fingered salute.

Battle of Agincourt

Mop headed Liverpudlian rockers who were bigger than Jesus according to one of them

The Beatles

Great Dane who was King of England from 1016–1035

Cnut the Great

Where the British Expeditionary Force evacuated France in 1940

Dunkirk

Scientific principle described in "On the Origin of Species"

Evolution

"We shall _____ on the beaches", said Churchill

Fight

Grandiose Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister on four occasions between 1868–1894

William Gladstone

"My kingdom for a _____", said Richard III (at least according to Shakespeare)

Horse

Notable engineer, bridge builder and all-around polymath of the Industrial Revolution

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

The largest naval battle of WWI, and the last one anywhere fought primarily with battleships

Battle of Jutland

Lord who created a temperature scale which starts at absolute zero

Lord Kelvin

Suicidal cavalry bunch extolled by Tennyson: "Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die"

Light Brigade

Maverick field marshal of the North African campaign in WWII

Bernard Montgomery

He lost his arm at Tenerife and his life at Trafalgar

Horatio Nelson

Britain's oldest university

Oxford

Powerful advisory board of the monarch in Medieval times

Privy Council

Religious sect who were persecuted in England and fled to Pennsylvania

Quakers

Slang for the supporters of Parliament during the English Civil War

Roundheads

Culinary phenomenon born when an earl decided he didn't want to leave his gaming table to eat, choosing meat between slices of bread instead

Sandwich

Modernising if controversial Prime Minister of the 1980s, not popular amongst Argentinians...

Margaret Thatcher

Flag whose current design dates to 1801

Union Flag

The Empress of India, she married her German first cousin

Victoria

Fighter who led the Scots to victory against the English at the battle of Stirling Bridge

William Wallace

Televised contest launched by Simon Cowell in 2004

The X Factor

Official name of the Beefeaters, the costumed guards of the Tower of London

Yeomen Warders

South African tribe who lost a war against the British in 1879, despite some early success

Zulu

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19 Comments

Level 68

Jul 8, 2022

My mum is from Bristol and I knew Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but just not how to spell it!

Level 80

Feb 15, 2026

Yeah, I'd have liked some more type-ins for that one. It wouldn't even take Isembard. :(

Level 89

Feb 14, 2026

I know “Great Dane” is referring to a Danish person for C, but I can’t help but picture a large dog being the King of England.

Level 88

Feb 16, 2026

But Great Danes (the dogs) are known to be gentle giants - totally contrary to the behaviour historically associated with English kings.

Level 87

Feb 17, 2026

Imagining King Scooby

Level 94

Feb 15, 2026

You could delete “in medieval times” from the P question, it’s still very much a thing.

Level ∞

Feb 15, 2026

The privy council is not powerful in modern times.

Level 58

Feb 17, 2026

I mean, it's still the highest court in the Commonwealth?

Level 88

Feb 15, 2026

24 / 26... not bad for someone born and raised in the US. I'll say this though... there's exactly zero chance of me ever remembering the name "Isambard Kingdom Brunel". Because even if I remember who he is, I'm inevitably going to remember his first name as "Isengard".

Level 82

Feb 20, 2026

they're taking the hobbits to Isambard!

Level 86

Feb 15, 2026

It's 'yeoman warders'. 'Yeomen' is a correct plural noun, but not when it's adjectival.

Level ∞

Feb 15, 2026

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeomen_Warders

Level 84

Feb 15, 2026

Thanks for the tweaks and feature QM 🙏

Level 89

Feb 15, 2026

Modernising is not the term I'd use to describe Thatcher. Regressive would be more accurate.

Level 92

Feb 16, 2026

That clue for Thatcher is an interesting choice...

Level 84

Feb 16, 2026

Compare Britain in the 90s to Britain in the 70s, I'm no fan but the country was completely different for her tenure.

Level 88

Feb 16, 2026

Isn't "mop headed" a hyphenated term?

Level 89

Feb 16, 2026

"Quaker" in both the US and British quizzes . . . just not that many historical Q words available, huh?

Level 82

Feb 20, 2026

to be fair the Quakers were a very important part of 17th and 18th-century British history, although they did far more than just flee to Pennsylvania