Historical Events Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 637
In which city did 29 men die from 'Legionnaires' Disease' while staying at a hotel in 1976?
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philadelphia
In what year did Yitzhak Rabin shake Yasir Arafat's hand at the White House?
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1993
In which city was the old Ducal Theater destroyed by fire in 1776 and later replaced by La Scala?
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milan
In what year did King John place his seal on the Magna Carta?
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1215
In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was planning a second march on which city to unite poor people?
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washington, d.c.
In what year was Ben Johnson stripped of his Olympic gold medal, the Iran-Iraq war ended, and Hurricane Gilbert hit Mexico?
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1988
In which country did British forces seize the Dutch Cape Colony in 1795?
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south africa
In 1933, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations because its conquest of which region in China wasn't recognized?
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manchuria
What 74-day-long event did Richard Russell lead in the Senate in 1964?
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filibuster
Which eyepatched Israeli minister of defense almost led ground troops to Damascus during the Six-Day War?
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moshe dayan
In what year did Operation 'Desert Storm' commence, marking the invasion of Iraq?
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1991
From which group, known as the Golden Horde, did Ivan the Great gain independence?
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mongols
Which volcano did Pliny the Elder visit, leading to his death from inhaling toxic fumes during its eruption?
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mount vesuvius
Which WWII B-29 bomber went on display at the Smithsonian in 1995 after much controversy and debate?
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enola gay
In which country did President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismiss Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto from office in August 1990?
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pakistan
What was the name of the band of Vermonters led by Ethan Allen against the government of New York?
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green mountain boys
In which present-day state did Patrick Henry deliver his famous 'Give me liberty or give me death' speech?
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virginia
What was the name of the fleet that Philip II discovered had failed to invade England in 1588 when only half returned home?
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spanish armada
What significant event, involving a standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, concluded on October 28, 1962?
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cuban missile crisis
In which island did the tragic fire at the DuPont Plaza Hotel occur that became one of the headline stories of 1987?
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puerto rico
Which city's main public library experienced significant fires in both April and September of 1986?
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los angeles
On July 4, 1994, the French established a safe zone in which country after rebels captured its capital city of Kigali?
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rwanda
Who was the Lincoln county sheriff that captured Billy the Kid in 1880?
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pat garrett
Which city did the Persians set on fire in 482 B.C., destroying its Hanging Gardens?
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babylon
In what year did the Italian republic lose the Peloponnesus to Turkey?
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venice
What 1605 'plot' to blow up Parliament is the subject of Antonia Fraser's 1996 book 'Faith And Treason'?
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gunpowder plot
What was the name of the U.S. spy ship whose crew was captured and held prisoner by North Korea in 1968 for 11 months?
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pueblo
During which war did Walt Whitman go to Virginia to nurse his brother George who had been wounded?
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american civil war
In 1995, a visit to the United States by the president of which country strained relations with China?
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taiwan
In which city on the Mississippi did the financially disastrous world's fair of 1984 go bankrupt?
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new orleans
Who was the band master who got things marching along with the U.S. Marine Band at Garfield's inauguration?
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john philip sousa
What is the name of the Palestinian uprising that began in 1987 and negatively affected tourism in Bethlehem?
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intifada
Which island did Turkish troops land on July 20, 1974, where they have stayed since?
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cyprus
What body of water was the center of naval action during the 1991 Gulf War?
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persian gulf
Which country issued an edict on March 31, 1492, offering Jews the choice of baptism or exile?
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spain
Which Canadian city was connected to Detroit by an underwater tunnel that opened on November 3, 1930?
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windsor, ontario
In which Eastern European country did thousands die or were taken to Russia when 'order' was restored after the 1956 revolt?
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hungary
Which U.S. city experienced a fire in 1906 that took 3 days to extinguish and burned 512 blocks?
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san francisco
What famous fleet was defeated 400 years before 1988?
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spanish armada
On June 27, 1950, the U.N. Security Council voted to deploy troops to protect the independence of which country?
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south korea
In 1968, what ship was seized by North Korea on January 23, with its crew held until December 22?
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pueblo
Which country experienced both the February Revolution and the October Revolution?
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russia
Which heiress was kidnapped in 1974 by the Symbionese Liberation Army, who demanded food for the poor as ransom?
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patty hearst
Which Syrian territory, captured by Israel in 1967, was annexed by Israel in 1981?
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golan heights
On December 1, 1988, Carlos Salinas was sworn in as president of which country, where he later lived in Ireland in 1998?
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mexico
What fleet did England first encounter off Plymouth on July 31, 1588?
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spanish armada
In 1985, whose bones were suspected to have been dug up in South America, leading Time to ask 'Is this the Nazi doctor?'
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josef mengele
On which holiday is Washington's crossing of the Delaware reenacted near Trenton, New Jersey every year?
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christmas
Which 1773 event is associated with a DAR chapter in Massachusetts possessing one of its chests?
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boston tea party
Who resigned as president of Czechoslovakia in 1992 after Slovakia's parliament declared sovereignty?
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václav havel
Which country renounced all claims to the West Bank on August 31, 1988, leaving its future to the PLO?
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jordan
Who was the notorious gangster whose gang, dressed as policemen, gunned down 7 of Bugs Moran's men in 1929?
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al capone
Across which river did painter Charles Willson Peale cross as part of a battalion on December 27, 1776 during the American Revolution?
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delaware
Which Soviet premier's death on March 5, 1953 likely sped up the conclusion of the Korean War?
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joseph stalin
What substance was the cause of two wars that led to the ceding of Hong Kong to Great Britain in China?
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opium
What fleet was Sir Francis Drake preparing for in 1588 after being alerted by spies while he was bowling?
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spanish armada
On Sept. 9, 1974, the news included the pardon of which man and 'Knievel Safe As Rocket Falls'?
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richard nixon
Who was hanged, drawn, and quartered in front of Parliament on January 31, 1606, making it a notoriously bad day for him?
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guy fawkes
As Secretary of State under Polk, which island did James Buchanan try to buy from Spain for $120 million dollars?
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cuba
Which country was involved in the espionage scandal that led to Chancellor Willy Brandt's resignation in 1974 due to a close aide being accused of spying?
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east germany