10 Random History Questions - Statistics

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Hint	Answer	% Correct
In which century did humans first settle in Aotearoa (New Zealand)?	13th Century	100%
In 1867, this territory was purchased from Russia by the United States and eventually became a US state in 1959.	Alaska	100%
These structures, found in Rome, transported water to different parts of Rome, acting as an early plumbing system.	Aqueducts	100%
During the invasion of Syracuse by Rome, a roman soldier killed an old man for refusing to obey him. This man would later turn out to be this genius mathematician and philosopher.	Archimedes	100%
Greek philosopher Plato was born in this city.	Athens	100%
In 1971, East Pakistan became independent from Pakistan and became known as this modern nation state.	Bangladesh	100%
Name either of the last two battles in the Pacific during World War II.	Battle of Iwo Jima/Battle of Okinawa	100%
This battle marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars with Napoleon’s defeat.	Battle of Waterloo	100%
The United States failed to invade Cuba in 1961 at this location.	Bay of Pigs	100%
In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to accept this as legal tender.	Bitcoin	100%
This system of social classes, deeply ingrained in Hinduism and Indian history, was outlawed in 1950.	Caste System	100%
This famous farm workers’ rights activist was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994.	Cesar Chavez	100%
On January 28, 1986, this space shuttle exploded just 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven astronauts onboard including a schoolteacher from New Hampshire.	Challenger	100%
This acclaimed French WWII general went on to become president of France.	Charles de Gaulle	100%
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on this island, which had only become a part of France 2 years beforehand. He was even said to speak with an Italian-sounding accent.	Corsica	100%
This Persian ruler, known as one of the greatest rulers in history, created the Achaemenid Empire, which was, at the time, the largest empire in history.	Cyrus the Great	100%
This Buddhist leader, who was also once ruler of Tibet, currently resides in India following Chinese occupation.	Dalai Lama	100%
Hannibal, who led the Carthaginian army into Europe, was known for navigating 37 of these animals across the Alps.	Elephant	100%
The holiday of Juneteenth celebrates slaves in the United States finding out about the signing of this executive order by Abraham Lincoln, which declared all slaves freed.	Emancipation Proclamation	100%
In 1982, the United Kingdom invaded these islands, sparking a war with Argentina.	Falkland Islands	100%
This nation became the first country to send a cat into outer space.	France	100%
In ancient Greece, this animal was associated with the presence of Zeus.	Golden eagle	100%
This device, which was ironically invented to reduce human suffering, was used to kill thousands of people during the Reign of Terror in France.	Guillotine	100%
This blind author of the Iliad and the Odyssey quite possibly never even existed.	Homer	100%
In 1984, this prime minister of India was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, which caused tensions between India’s Sikh and Hindu populations to boil over.	Indira Gandhi	100%
The ancient city of Babylon was situated in this modern-day nation.	Iraq	100%
Traders from Arabia helped spread this belief system to Indonesia, where it still holds strong.	Islam	100%
During a jail transport following the assassination of US president John F Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald was then assassinated himself by this man.	Jack Ruby	100%
The Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) were taken over by this nation in 1942.	Japanese Empire	100%
This man became responsible for the Red Scare, accusing many major figures in the United States of being communists.	Joseph McCarthy	100%
Name one of the first three wives of Henry VIII.	Katherine of Aragon/Anne Boleyn/Jane Seymour	100%
The Persian Gulf War was sparked by the Iraqi invasion, led by Saddam Hussein, of this country.	Kuwait	100%
What was the cause of death of Elizabeth I?	Lead poisoning	100%
This country in West Africa was founded in 1822 as an outpost for freed American slaves who wished to return to Africa.	Liberia	100%
This early system of checks and balances, signed by King John in 1215, was meant to ensure that the king of England was not above his own law.	Magna Carta	100%
In a battle at this town in 490 BC, the Greek herald Pheidippides ran 26 miles to the capital of Athens, announcing their victory, which created a modern day sporting event by the same name.	Marathon	100%
A part of the First Triumvirate alongside Pompey and Caesar, this man is often considered “the richest man in Rome”, owning a large percentage of the city of Rome’s real estate.	Marcus Licinius Crassus	100%
Who was known for publishing his 95 Theses?	Martin Luther	100%
This US commodore led a fleet of gunboats to force Japan to trade with rhe United States and end their isolation.	Matthew Perry	100%
This ancient civilization, known for its pyramids and calendar, were wiped out during Spanish conquests in Mexico and Central America.	Mayan	100%
This city, considered the holiest city in Islam, was the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.	Mecca	100%
While in jail, Adolf Hitler wrote this book, whose title translates to “My Struggle”.	Mein Kampf	100%
This city, located in the US state of Tennessee, was named after the ancient capital of Lower Egypt.	Memphis	100%
This Renaissance artist painted the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel.	Michelangelo	100%
During the American Revolution, a “brown bess” was a type of this.	Musket	100%
While many supposedly remembered that this South African leader died in prison in the 1980s, he actually died in 2013 at the age of 95, sparking a phenomenon of the same name regarding mass false memory.	Nelson Mandela	100%
This British ivy-league university originally didn’t teach calculus, because it hadn’t even been invented yet.	Oxford	100%
On September 1, 1939, this country was invaded by Nazi forces, sparking World War II.	Poland	100%
Since 1988, all but 2 countries have eradicated this disease, which wreaked havoc during the early 20th century.	Polio	100%
A term for military victories with a staggeringly high cost and loss of life refers to this Greek king, who was infamous for these kinds of victories.	Pyrrhus	100%
This actor, who starred in the movie Bedtime for Bonzo where he got drunk alongside a chimpanzee, would go on to become president of the United States.	Ronald Reagan	100%
The insight of this Native American woman was vital in helping Lewis and Clark on their expedition of the Louisiana territory.	Sacagawea	100%
This famous actress and wife of Roman Polanski was killed in a series of murders carried out by the Manson Family.	Sharon Tate	100%
This figure, born in modern-day Nepal to royal blood, renounced his royalty and gave up all of his possessions, living as a vagrant and striving for a higher purpose, eventually reaching nirvana and becoming the first major Buddhist teacher.	Siddhartha Gautama/Buddha	100%
Blankets laced with this disease were given to various Native American tribes, a disease which killed at least 3 million Natives from 1550 to 1850.	Smallpox	100%
This country had by far the highest casualty rate of WWII.	Soviet Union	100%
On the day of the Tiananmen Square massacre, a man carrying grocery bags became known for standing in front of one of these, blocking its path.	Tank	100%
In 2021, after US troops withdrew from Afghanistan, it was recaptured by this fundamentalist Islamic terrorist group.	The Taliban	100%
Which US president owned 600+ slaves and was later discovered to have fathered a secret child with one of his slaves?	Thomas Jefferson	100%
The Soviet Union tested this weapon in 1961, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever tested.	Tsar Bomba	100%
In this unethical study between 1932 and 1972, the US Public Health Service carried out an experiment on 400 black men, where they did not treat their syphilis and observed its effects on the body. The subjects were not informed, and over 100 died as a result.	Tuskegee Experiment	100%
Which was the first of the original 13 colonies to be ratified as a US state?	Delaware	75%
Following the fall of the Soviet Union, this nation is the only current communist country outside of Asia.	Cuba	67%
This civilization was the first major civilization in Italy, predating the Romans, who later conquered them.	Etruria	67%
In 1893, the United States annexed this island kingdom.	Hawaii	67%
This king is often ascribed to the colonial horrors that unfolded in the Belgian Congo.	Leopold II	67%
Three of this animal was adopted as a symbol of England. Ironically, none have lived there in the wild for a minimum of 12,000 years.	Lion	67%
The world’s oldest human fossil, found in Ethiopia, was given this nickname by scientists.	Lucy	67%
Who was known as the lord protector of England?	Oliver Cromwell	67%
This US president had many achievements, including passing the Meat Inspection Act, creating the Food and Drug Administration as well as national parks, and saving the sport of American football through key regulations.	Theodore Roosevelt	67%
In which year did the United Kingdom hand control of Hong Kong back to China after 99 years?	1997	50%
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts a (fairly inaccurate) portrayal of this battle in 1066.	Battle of Hastings	50%
This WWII aerial battle served as the turning point of the Pacific theater.	Battle of Midway	50%
Which bloody World War II battle marked the turning point of World War II in Europe?	Battle of Stalingrad	50%
Between 1899 and 1901, a series of anti-imperialist uprisings against foreign and Christian influence known by this moniker unfolded in China.	Boxer Rebellion	50%
The Punic Wars were a series of bloody conflicts between Rome and this other power.	Carthage	50%
This bishop was a major figure in ending Apartheid in South Africa.	Desmond Tutu	50%
This warlord was said to have fathered 1,000-2,000 children and is rumored to be a direct ancestor of about 1/5 of the Earth’s population.	Genghis Khan	50%
This Japanese general led the Japanese Empire as Prime Minister throughout World War II, before being tried with war crimes and executed in 1948.	Hideki Tojo	50%
This man invented the printing press in the 15th century.	Johann Gutenberg	50%
According to the Bible, this was the only one of the twelve apostles who didn’t die a violent death.	John	50%
The state of California became a part of the United States in 1848 after it was ceded by this nation.	Mexico	50%
The ancient Greeks believed that the gods resided on top of this mountain.	Mount Olympus	50%
China and Britain have fought two wars over the trade of this addictive substance.	Opium	50%
The unification of Germany following the Franco-Prussian and Austro-Prussian wars were led by this figure.	Otto von Bismarck	50%
Which of the original 13 colonies was originally founded in 1681 as a place to protect quakers from religious persecution, and was named after its founder, a quaker himself?	Pennsylvania	50%
This king and father of Charlemagne once jumped into a ring with a lion and a bull and slew them both as a show of power.	Pepin the Short	50%
Until fairly recently, dyes of this color were very expensive to make, and thus it became associated with royalty.	Purple	50%
A period of Japanese history known for its constant bloody battles between states.	Sengoku/Warring States Period	50%
At Potosi, over 45,000 tons of this were discovered and extracted between 1556 and 1783, and became Spain’s main source of colonial wealth.	Silver	50%
In the late 90s, there were fears that all computers would shut down to to an oversight, which was commonly referred to by this shortening of “Year Two-Thousand”.	Y2K	50%
In what year did Russia annex Crimea?	2014	33%
In the courthouse of this town in Virginia, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, ending the American Civil War.	Appomattox	33%
This agreement, following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, divided the Middle East into British and French territory, with borders that are still mostly used today.	Sykes-Picot Agreement	33%
In 1952, this man was offered the presidency of Israel but turned it down.	Albert Einstein	0%
This country was the last African colony of France, only gaining independence in 1962 following a brutal war.	Algeria	0%
When the royal family of Russia was executed in 1917, countless theories to this teenage grand dutchess surviving arose, including an old woman decades later who claimed to be her.	Anastasia Romanov	0%
In order to divorce his first wife and produce an heir, Henry VIII split from the Catholic Church and created which church?	Anglican Church	0%
Despite suffering from leprosy, this king of Jerusalem ruled a powerful and thriving crusader state.	Baldwin IV	0%
In 1789, French insurgents stormed this building, which kicked off the French Revolution.	Bastille	0%
This bloody battle, which took place in 1415 during the Hundred Years’ War, resulted in an English victory and dominance in the region for the next 14 years.	Battle of Agincourt	0%
What were the first two battles of the American Revolution?	Battles of Lexington and Concord	0%
This horse was famously tamed by a young Alexander the Great, and was his companion and steed in many battles.	Bucephalus	0%
This emperor founded the Maurya empire in northern India.	Chandragupta Maurya	0%
This figure led the Republic of China against communist forces, before being defeated and eventually retreating to Taiwan, which he ruled until his death in 1975.	Chiang Kai-shek	0%
After their defeat at the hands of Octavius, this Egyptian pharaoh and this Roman general, who were romantic partners of over 11 years, both committed suicide, as detailed by an eponymous Shakespeare play.	Cleopatra and Mark Antony	0%
This Roman emperor was the first emperor to convert to Christianity, and was responsible for a shift from Paganism to Christianity in the Roman Empire and halting Christian persecution in the region.	Constantine the Great	0%
This ancient writing system was originally developed to write in Sumerian and was used for several different languages in the Near East.	Cuneiform	0%
A marble statue, sculpted over the course of three years by Michelangelo and hailed as a classic piece of Renaissance art, depicts this king of Israel.	David	0%
This frontiersman and military statesman was regarded as “king of the frontiers”, and became a folk hero after he was killed in the Alamo.	Davy Crockett	0%
This ancient philosopher, known as the father of cynicism, lived in a large, wooden barrel, one of his only possessions, and would gather audiences and make statements through hurling obscenities and publicly urinating.	Diogenes of Sinope	0%
This animal was the first animal to be domesticated by early humans around 15,000 years ago.	Dog	0%
A period of Japanese history from 1603-1868 known for its economic growth and peace.	Edo/Tokugawa Period	0%
How many years passed between the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address?	Eighty-seven	0%
This legislative assembly, developed in 14th century France, was a way to balance power between the nobility, the clergy, and the common people, or the first, second, and third estates.	Estates General	0%
This author, orator, and abolitionist, who was born into slavery and secretly taught himself how to read at an early age, was one of the most prominent abolition leaders in the 19th century.	Frederick Douglass	0%
This weapon, developed in the height of the American Civil War, functioned as the predecessor to the machine gun.	Gattling Gun	0%
It was said that whoever could untie this complex knot in Phrygia would go on to rule all of Asia. Alexander the Great’s response was to cut it with his sword.	Gordian Knot	0%
This South American country split up in 1831, forming several nations which still stand today.	Gran Colombia	0%
This structure was built centuries ago to keep Mongol invaders out of China.	Great Wall of China	0%
This incendiary weapon, used by the Byzantine Empire during naval warfare, acted as a rudimentary version of napalm.	Greek fire	0%
This Caribbean island was invaded by the US in 1983, overthrowing the government.	Grenada	0%
The first written code of law, inscribed on a stone pillar, was recorded nearly 4,000 years ago by this Babylonian king.	Hammurabi	0%
This nation lasted for nearly 1,000 years and contained what is now Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and northern Italy.	Holy Roman Empire	0%
This man is widely regarded as being the best naval commander in history, whose unconventional tactics helped destroy the Spanish Armada.	Horatio Nelson	0%
This instrument was used in the 1940 assassination of Leon Trotsky.	Ice pick	0%
The mathematical concept of “zero” was invented in this nation.	India	0%
On December 6, 1921, this country gained independence from the British Empire.	Ireland	0%
This founding father had by far the largest signature on the Declaration of Independence.	John Hancock	0%
This Enlightenment philosopher’s words, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of property”, would go on to be influential in the writing of the US Declaration of Independence.	John Locke	0%
Over 900 people died in this incident after a mass murder/mass suicide was carried out in Guyana by the Peoples Temple, a cult led by Jim Jones.	Jonestown Massacre	0%
At the Yalta conference following World War II, British prime minister Winston Churchill and US president Harry Truman met with this man.	Joseph Stalin	0%
The months of July and August were named after these two Roman emperors.	Julius and Augustus Caesar	0%
This American couple was tried with espionage, having allegedly sold nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, allowing them to develop nuclear weapons, and were summarily executed in 1953.	Julius and Ethel Rosenberg	0%
This Byzantine emperor was known for his massive influence, having built the Hagia Sophia and aiming to reclaim much of the lost Western Roman territory.	Justinian I	0%
In 1903, the Wright Brothers tested their first flight at this site, near the town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.	Kill Devil Hills	0%
This Mongol emperor carried on his grandfather’s legacy and expanded the Mongol Empire all the way into Europe.	Kublai Khan	0%
These caves, located in France and discovered in 1940 by an 18 year old Marcel Ravidat and his pet dog, contain over 600 cave paintings made by early humans.	Lascaux Caves	0%
This Norse explorer is believed to be the first European to set foot in America nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus, having established a Norse settlement in Vinland.	Leif Erikson	0%
In 2022, this woman became the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, resigning after only seven weeks in office.	Liz Truss	0%
In 1803, president Thomas Jefferson nearly doubled the size of the US when he bought a massive area of land from France at roughly 4 cents an acre in this purchase.	Louisiana Purchase	0%
This French king attempted to flee France during the French Revolution, but was ironically recognized by a coin with his face on it, leading to his capture.	Louis XVI	0%
Alexander the Great was known for ruling this empire, expanding it from the balkans all the way out to India.	Macedonian Empire	0%
This food, according to the Bible, was sent by God to keep the Israelites from starving.	Manna	0%
This king of Mali is widely regarded as the richest man in History, and toured the world showing off his vast wealth.	Mansa Musa I	0%
This Roman emperor and philosopher was known for bringing peace, prosperity, and stability to Rome, and was the last emperor during Pax Romana.	Marcus Aurelius	0%
This blacksmith is widely regarded as being the most revered and skilled swordsmith in Japanese history.	Masamune	0%
In the 1984 US presidential election, this was the only state (not counting Washington DC) to not vote for incumbent president Ronald Reagan.	Minnesota	0%
The city of Pompeii was destroyed in 79 AD when this volcano erupted, burying the city in ash.	Mount Vesuvius	0%
In this horrific massacre during the Vietnam War, American troops murdered between 350 and 500 civilians, most of whom were women, children, or elderly men.	My Lai Massacre	0%
Nejima, a trade port off of Nagasaki, was built to establish trade with Portugal, and later this country, who traded with Japan even during their isolation period.	Netherlands	0%
Before being known as New York after being taken over by the English, this was the original name of the colony.	New Amsterdam	0%
On Christmas day in 1989, Romania executed this dictator, along with his wife, with machine guns on live television.	Nicolae Ceaușescu	0%
This failed coup attempt in 1944 involved a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb.	Operation Valkyrie	0%
This term is used to describe early human history prior to the Stone Age.	Paleolithic Era	0%
Originally, 1 pound consisted of 240 of these. Today, it is only made up of 100.	Pence	0%
The Second Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta led to a Spartan victory and a period of Spartan hegemony over Greece after this empire intervened and sided with Sparta.	Persian Empire	0%
This king of Russia went to great lengths to westernize Russia to compete with its contemporaries, even imposing a beard tax.	Peter the Great	0%
Around a quarter of the population of Cambodia were killed under the brutal reign of this dictator.	Pol Pot	0%
This belief system, which originated from Jamaica, believes that Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia is a living incarnation of God.	Rastafari	0%
The sinking of this ocean liner by German U-boats in 1915 was one of the major catalysts that caused the United States to get involved in WWI.	RMS Lusitania	0%
This Confederate general during the American Civil War’s last words were reportedly “Strike the tent.”	Robert E. Lee	0%
Who was generally regarded as being the first Prime Minister of Great Britain?	Robert Walpole	0%
This figure was the first king of the Akkadian Empire over 4,000 years ago.	Sargon the Great	0%
This trade route, which spanned Asia, connected China to Arabia and boosted the economies of Central Asia.	Silk Road	0%
In the Aztec empire, if you stole from someone, you would repay your debt to them through this punishment.	Slavery	0%
A pickelhaube was a helmet worn by German soldiers in the 19th and 20th century featuring this on top of it.	Spike	0%
This nation joined NATO in 2024, marking the end of over 200 years of neutrality.	Sweden	0%
This industrialization campaign, led by the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong, resulted in the deaths of about 30 million people from starvation.	The Great Leap Forward	0%
This book was written in the 16th century by Nicolo Machiavelli as an “instruction manual” for princes and rulers.	The Prince	0%
This English-born founding father and later French revolutionary is known for the phrase, “Give me liberty or give me death!”	Thomas Paine	0%
This compromise in 1787 at the US Constitutional Convention declared that, when counting the US population, slaves counted as only 3/5 of a person.	Three-Fifths Compromise	0%
A samurai and daimyo who became known as the “second great unifier of Japan” and earned the rank and title of Kampaku and Daijō-daijin, despite his peasant-born origins.	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	0%
This 1494 treaty was a colonial agreement between Spain and Portugal, dividing South America up between the two countries with an invisible line.	Treaty of Tordesillas	0%
These ships, which were a part of Greek naval warfare, were slender, quick, and oar-driven, and were designed to ram other ships.	Trireme	0%
Benjamin Franklin was noted as not wanting the bald eagle as the US’ national bird, but this bird instead.	Turkey	0%
This short-lived nation existed as a union between Egypt and Syria.	United Arab Republic	0%
As a result of this war, the nation of Bolivia lost its pacific coastline to Chile.	War of the Pacific	0%
This incident, where American diplomats met with French agents to negotiate peace who in turn demanded a bribe, sparked the Quasi War.	XYZ Affair	0%
In the early 1990s, this communist nation split apart into six independent nations.	Yugoslavia	0%
This cosmonaut became the first human in space on April 12, 1961.	Yuri Gagarin	0%

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