History Quiz: 18 Questions and Answers From Ancient Rome to 1969

History is the category that separates a decent quizzer from a good one. Dates are easy to look up and hard to hold, which is exactly why they turn up in every quiz. These eighteen questions run from ancient Egypt to the twentieth century, grouped so you can start where you are comfortable and stop where you start guessing.

Easy history questions

1. Which ancient civilisation built the pyramids at Giza? — Ancient Egypt
2. Who was the first President of the United States? — George Washington
3. In which year did the Second World War end? — 1945
4. Which wall divided a German city until 1989? — The Berlin Wall
5. Who led the Indian independence movement through non-violent protest? — Mahatma Gandhi
6. Which ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912? — The Titanic

Medium history questions

1. Which empire was ruled from Constantinople after Rome fell? — The Byzantine Empire
2. In which year did the French Revolution begin? — 1789
3. Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? — Marie Curie
4. Which treaty formally ended the First World War? — The Treaty of Versailles
5. Which civilisation developed the first known writing system, cuneiform? — The Sumerians
6. Who was the last Tsar of Russia? — Nicholas II

Hard history questions

1. In which year was the Magna Carta sealed? — 1215
2. Which battle in 1066 changed the course of English history? — The Battle of Hastings
3. Who was the Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps with elephants? — Hannibal
4. Which dynasty built the Great Wall sections most visitors see today? — The Ming dynasty
5. What was the name of the 1919 conference that redrew Europe’s borders? — The Paris Peace Conference
6. Which country was formerly known as Abyssinia? — Ethiopia

If you cleared the hard round, your weak spot is probably geography rather than history — that is usually where the next tie-breaker comes from.