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Free History quiz: 110 trivia questions and answers — dates, people & great events. Easy to hard, with explained answers. No sign-up.
Start this quiz →🖨️ Printable version (20 questions + answers)
From the French Revolution to the great reforms of the Third Republic, this quiz journeys through the dates, figures and upheavals that shaped the history of France and the world. A fun way to brush up on your historical landmarks, spanning major national narratives and lesser-known details.
This quiz currently has 110 questions, ranging from easy to hard, available in French, English and Spanish when the Spanish translation is available.
Warm up before the quiz with these 20 trivia questions and their explained answers: click a question to reveal the answer.
Answer: 1789. The French Revolution began in 1789.
Answer: Waterloo. The Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815) sealed Napoleon's final defeat against Wellington's and Blücher's allied armies. Victor Hugo immortalized it in Les Misérables. ABBA made a song about it.
Answer: Elizabeth II. Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years and 214 days, from 1952 to 2022 — an absolute record for a British monarch. Queen Victoria's 63-year reign is a distant second.
Answer: Vladimir Lenin. From the proclamation of the USSR on December 30, 1922, Lenin held the position of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom). The ideology is called Marxism-Leninism as Lenin was the founder of the USSR and imposed his vision.
Answer: 1990. Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990, after 27 years of detention, most of it on Robben Island. He became President of South Africa in 1994, the first elected by universal multiracial suffrage.
Answer: New Zealand. New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote in 1893, thanks notably to Kate Sheppard's campaign. France, late to the table, only did so in 1944 — 51 years later.
Answer: 52 BC. Julius Caesar besieged Vercingetorix at Alesia in 52 BC, marking the end of Gallic resistance.
Answer: 1861 to 1865. The American Civil War pitted the Northern states (the Union) against the Southern states (the Confederacy) from 1861 to 1865.
Answer: Babylon. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are believed to have been built under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II.
Answer: the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Restoration returned power to the emperor and launched Japan's accelerated modernization.
Answer: The Norman invasion of England in 1066. The Bayeux Tapestry recounts in 58 embroidered scenes the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror's victory over the Anglo-Saxon king.
Answer: 1965–1968. Operation Rolling Thunder was an intensive aerial bombing campaign during the Vietnam War, conducted by the USAF, US Navy, and the South Vietnamese Air Force against North Vietnam and Laos, from March 2, 1965 to November 1, 1968. It is considered a strategic failure.
Answer: Mongol Empire. Temüjin, who took the title of Genghis Khan ('universal ruler') in 1206, founded the largest contiguous land empire in history. At its peak, the Mongol Empire stretched from China to Eastern Europe. A conquest on horseback, literally.
Answer: The collapse of the New York Stock Exchange. On Thursday, October 24, 1929, known as 'Black Thursday', Wall Street collapsed. Millions of savers lost everything. The crisis spread worldwide and lasted nearly a decade, paving the way for major political upheavals.
Answer: Battle of Gaugamela. At the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC), Alexander the Great crushed the army of Darius III despite being heavily outnumbered. This victory opened the gates of Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis to Alexander, ending the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
Answer: Deposition of Romulus Augustulus. In 476 AD.
Answer: the Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg, in July 1863, marked a decisive turning point in favor of the Union.
Answer: General Gordon. General Charles Gordon was killed when Khartoum fell to the Mahdi's forces in January 1885.
Answer: 1973. The Yom Kippur War pitted Israel against an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria in October 1973.
Answer: Shah Jahan. Emperor Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built in Agra in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
90 more questions are waiting for you in the quiz!