History Trivia Questions — page 14

Early in his administration this US President survived being shot by an assassin and even showed a sense of humor when he told his wife, Honey, I forgot to duck.

• ANixon
• BReagan
• CFord
• DCarter

This Japanese city had a large section burned out in a fire storm started by a large B29 air raid in March 1945. Although statistics are inadequate to judge conclusively, the raid may have killed as many people in one night as were killed by the atomic bomb at Hiroshima.

• AOsaka
• BSapporo
• CKyoto
• DTokyo

On November 8, 1843 this ship left Lisbon, Portugal, with 84 convicts and headed for Goa, India. Near Cape of Good Hope the ship was taken by a strong current and was driven too close to the shore. She then struck the reef off Muli Island in Mulaku Atoll.

• AThe Prazer e Allegria
• BTitanic
• CThe Ravestein
• DThe Empress of Ireland

On Columbia's first mission, the crew noticed something very disturbing after opening the 60 ft. long payload bay doors.

• AOne of the radiators attached to the doors was loose
• BThermal tiles were missing
• CThe doors would not close back
• DThe left door slightly bent

On what day did Germany invade Poland?

• ASeptember 1, 1939
• BJune 22, 1941
• CJuly 7, 1937
• DDecember 7, 1941

How have archaeologists characterized the monuments built by the Olmec?

• Asurplus food storage centers
• BHalafian ritual monuments
• Cregal-ritual centers
• Dmegalithic chiefdoms

Toussaint Louverture led a successful slave revolt in which country?

• AHaiti
• BCuba
• CFrance
• DUnited States

What was the name of the tough Colonel who commanded the Hessian Garrison during the Battle of Trenton?

• AKarl Stern
• BHeinrich Bannerman
• CErnst Von Klieg
• DJohann Rall

Which Greek historian is known as the Father of History?

• ATitus
• BPlato
• CIsocrates
• DHerodotus

The First Triumvirate was a secret pact in Ancient Rome aimed at controlling the Republic. It was formed in the mid-1st century BC by three great men - Pompey, Crassus, and who else?

• AOctavian
• BJulius Caesar
• CJulio-Claudian
• DMark Antony

King Carl XVI Gustaf ascended to the throne on September 15, 1973, after the death of his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf. Carl XVI Gustaf, who is probably best known as the presenter of the Nobel Prizes, publicly admitted to suffer from this condition.

• AHemophilia
• BEpilepsy
• CDyslexia
• DAsthma

Which King of England was faced with the Peasants' Revolt in 1381?

• AEdward III
• BEdward II
• CRichard II
• DHenry IV

What does the term Mesozoic mean?

• AMiddle life
• BRecent life
• CAncient life
• DAge of ancient reptiles

In the Battle of Gaugamela, 331 B.C. , Alexander the Great of Macedonia defeated which king?

• ACyrus the Great
• BLeonidas of Sparta
• CMarcellus Germanicus
• DDarius III

In this movie the main character experiences a flashback in which he is tied in a crucifying position and being slowly slashed with a large knife.

• AIron Eagle
• BFirst Blood
• CUncommon Valor
• DRambo III

What was the nickname of William, Prince of Orange, Count of Nassau (Willem, Prins van Oranje, Graaf van Nassau), killed in 1584 in the city of Delft?

• AThe Wealthy
• BThe Bold
• CThe Conqueror
• DThe Silent

Which language was NOT commonly spoken by inhabitants of the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages?

• AItalian
• BSpanish
• CGerman
• DPolish

Where was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan killed in 1521?

• ACanary Islands
• BArgentina
• CGuam
• DThe Phillipines

His first crime was breaking into a store and taking a pair of pants, leaving a message that he would pay later. He went on to steal cattle from farmers, and later robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride, escaping with $20,000.

• APancho Villa
• BDaniel Boone
• CButch Cassidy
• DBuffalo Bill

This British engineer is best known as the creator of the Great Western Railway, during the Victorian Age.

• AGeorge Stephenson
• BR.P. Brereton
• CHenry Robinson Palmer
• DIsambard Kingdom Brunel

Pol Pot was the former dictator of which country?

• AVietnam
• BNorth Korea
• CCambodia
• DLaos

At the battle of Hastings (1066) an army of Normans, led by William the Conqueror, defeated the Anglo-Saxon forces. Who actually were Normans?

• AVikings from Norway
• BA mixture of Dutch, French and Spanish
• CFrench
• DVikings who settled in Normandy and spoke French

Of the following, which is the earliest example of the development of a complex society?

• AJericho in Israel
• BOlmec along the Gulf Coast
• CStonehenge in England
• DCaral in Peru

The Salvation Army, a world-wide charity organization, was established in what year?

• A1835
• B1895
• C1865
• D1885

In order to become a knight nowadays, you would have to be given the title in royal recognition, or to belong to an order. In the UK the knight is styled Sir and the female -- this.

• ADame
• BBaroness
• CKnightess
• DLady

Based on archaeological evidence, which of the following is accurate regarding civilization in general?

• AThe occurrence of warfare is uncommon and occurs only with the concentration of wealth.
• BThe concentration of wealth is a common feature.
• CThe occurrence of warfare decreases as people increasingly invest time in the production of art.
• DThe concentration of wealth is uncommon and occurs only occasionally.

Which dating technique is based on the patterns of tree-ring growth?

• Aradiocarbon dating
• Bpaleomagnetic dating
• Cdendrochronology
• Dfission-track dating

What object, often regarded as a symbol of American consumerism, was designed in 1957 by Don Featherstone, who was later awarded the Ig Nobel Prize, a parody of the Nobel Prize?

• AVelcro
• BThe cordless router
• CThe pink flamingo lawn ornament
• DThe smiley face

This mans biological son became famous after his death.

• AAlexander the Great
• BNeither
• CJulius Caesar
• DBoth

In which years did the Battle of Gallipoli take place?

• A1914 - 1915
• B1914 - 1918
• C1915 - 1916
• D1915 - 1918

Farmland, owned by the McPherson family, the Cordori family, the Spangler family, the Culp family, and the Rose family is part of which battlefield?

• ACedar Mountain
• BGettysburg
• CBull Run
• DFranklin

Clovis points are NOT found in:

• AMexico.
• BCanada.
• CAlaska.
• Dthe continental United States.

Which of the following events happened on March,1692?

• AAn earthquake in Mexico killed over 10,000
• BThe Salem witch trials began in New England
• CThe Indians sold Manhattan Island to the Dutch
• DGeneral Braddock was killed by the French

Which British band released the hit single Hippy Hippy Shake in 1963?

• AThe Rolling Stones
• BThe Hollies
• CThe Swinging Blue Jeans
• DThe Kinks

The Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear bomb ever tested, had a yield of 50 megatons but theoretically had a maximum yield of how much?

• A75 Megatons
• B200 Megatons
• C100 Megatons
• D150 Megatons

The Battle of Lone Pine was an important battle of the Gallipoli campaign. How many Anzacs died to capture Lone Pine?

• AOver 1500
• BOver 3000
• COver 4000
• DOver 2000

What 1945 conference considered the final plans for the defeat of Germany and postwar Europe?

• APotsdam Conference
• BDumburton Oaks Conference
• CYalta Conference
• DTehran Conference

This cavalry officer commanded the Union cavalry at Gettysburg.

• AGeorge Custer
• BJudson Kilpatrick
• CJohn Buford
• DWesley Merritt

King Henry VIII was the second monarch of which European royal house?

• ALancaster
• BTudor
• CStuart
• DYork

The first person who lost his life in a space flight was the Soviet cosmonaut, Vladimir M. Komarov. How did he die?

• AHis Soyuz 1 capsule burnt up in space because the heat shields were inadequate.
• BHis Soyuz 1 capsule landed on hard ground rather than making a soft, water landing.
• CThe parachutes on his Soyuz 1 capsule did not deploy and the hard entry caused his death.
• DThe capsule of his Soyuz 1 spacecraft burned upon re-entry, due to damage to the heat shields.

Mesopotamia is located between which two rivers?

• AThames and Danube
• BEuphrates and Nile
• CAmazon and Nile
• DTigris and Euphrates

It could not miss. It was directed by the great Elaine May. It featured Charles Grodin, Isabelle Adjani, Tess Harper, Carol Kane, Jack Weston, and, oh yes, Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty. It was a total flop. What was the name of this comedy?

• AIshtar
• BShanghai Surprise
• CBig Town
• DPlaying the Hilton

Before arriving at Gallipoli, the Anzacs trained in what country?

• AEgypt
• BLibya
• CGreece
• DSyria

Mark Twain published Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Robert Louis Stevenson published Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde during this decade.

• A1780s
• B1820s
• C1850s
• D1880s

After Cleopatra and Anthonys death, who became guardian of their children?

• AThe children were executed.
• BOctavian
• COctavia Minor, Anthonys fourth wife
• DCleopatras oldest son, Caesarion

The Yalta Conference ended in February 1945 . Do you know when it started?

• AJanuary 1945
• BFebruary 1945
• CDecember 1944
• DNovember 1944

Spain was formed in 1469 with the marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of what other Iberian kingdom?

• AAragon
• BGalicia
• CNavarre
• DLeón

In what month are the World Health Day and Buddhas Birthday celebrated?

• ASeptember
• BJune
• CFebruary
• DApril

The directed breeding of plants and animals by humans is called:

• Anatural selection.
• Bherding.
• Cartificial selection.
• Dforaging.

Which of the following was referred to as the Gift of the Nile?

• AThe annual Nile flood
• BEgypt
• CThe development of writing
• DThe creation of civilization