History isn’t just about memorizing dates—it’s full of amazing stories, incredible people, and events that shaped the world we live in today.
From ancient Egypt to American history, there are so many fascinating things to discover.
That’s why we’ve put together this huge set of history trivia questions for kids, designed to be both fun and educational.
PIN FOR LATER 📌
With 120 questions spread across ancient civilizations, famous leaders, inventions, wars, landmarks, and more, this quiz is perfect for classrooms, family game nights, or anyone curious about the past.
Ready to test your knowledge of history? Let’s get started!
🏺Ancient Civilizations Trivia
- Which river was most important to the people of Ancient Egypt?
Answer: The Nile River - What huge stone structures were built in Egypt as tombs for pharaohs?
Answer: The Pyramids - Who was the boy king of Ancient Egypt whose tomb was discovered in 1922?
Answer: Tutankhamun (King Tut) - Which ancient people invented the first system of writing called cuneiform?
Answer: The Sumerians - What wonder of the ancient world stood in the city of Babylon?
Answer: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Which ancient civilization built the Parthenon in Athens?
Answer: The Ancient Greeks - In Roman times, what building in Rome was used for gladiator fights?
Answer: The Colosseum - Who was the famous queen of Ancient Egypt who met Julius Caesar and Mark Antony?
Answer: Cleopatra - What was the writing system of the Ancient Egyptians called?
Answer: Hieroglyphics - Which ancient empire built roads that stretched across Europe, North Africa, and Asia?
Answer: The Roman Empire - Which ancient wonder was a giant statue located in Rhodes, Greece?
Answer: The Colossus of Rhodes - What ancient civilization is known for building ziggurats (step pyramids)?
Answer: The Mesopotamians - Which ancient sport, still played today, began in Greece?
Answer: The Olympic Games - What material did ancient people first use to make paper in Egypt?
Answer: Papyrus - Which famous wall was built in China to protect against invaders?
Answer: The Great Wall of China
👑 Famous Leaders & Explorers Trivia
- Who was the first President of the United States?
Answer: George Washington - Which U.S. president wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson - Who was the U.S. president during the Civil War?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln - Which Founding Father is famous for flying a kite in a thunderstorm?
Answer: Benjamin Franklin - Who was known as the “Maid of Orléans” and became a French heroine?
Answer: Joan of Arc - Which Italian explorer sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492?
Answer: Christopher Columbus - Who conquered much of the ancient world and was called “the Great”?
Answer: Alexander the Great - Which British queen ruled for more than 60 years during the 1800s?
Answer: Queen Victoria - Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?
Answer: Amelia Earhart - Who was the leader of India’s independence movement known for nonviolent protests?
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi - Who was the powerful ruler of the Mongol Empire in the 1200s?
Answer: Genghis Khan - Which U.S. president is on the $1 bill?
Answer: George Washington - Who was the famous South African leader who fought against apartheid?
Answer: Nelson Mandela - Which Spanish explorer’s expedition was the first to sail around the world?
Answer: Ferdinand Magellan - Who was the first emperor of Rome?
Answer: Augustus Caesar
💡Inventions & Discoveries Trivia
- Who invented the telephone?
Answer: Alexander Graham Bell - Who invented the light bulb?
Answer: Thomas Edison - What famous scientist developed the theory of relativity?
Answer: Albert Einstein - Who built the first successful airplane in 1903?
Answer: The Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur Wright) - What did Johannes Gutenberg invent in the 1400s that changed books forever?
Answer: The printing press - Which scientist discovered gravity after seeing an apple fall from a tree?
Answer: Isaac Newton - Who was the first person to walk on the moon?
Answer: Neil Armstrong - What ancient tool is considered one of the greatest early inventions?
Answer: The wheel - Who invented the first successful telephone?
Answer: Alexander Graham Bell - Which invention allows people to see faraway objects in the sky?
Answer: The telescope - Who is credited with discovering electricity using a kite experiment?
Answer: Benjamin Franklin - Which scientist discovered that Earth orbits around the sun?
Answer: Nicolaus Copernicus - Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for her work with radioactivity?
Answer: Marie Curie - What type of engine powers most modern cars?
Answer: The internal combustion engine - Which invention made long-distance travel by sea much faster in the 1800s?
Answer: The steamship
🦅 American History Trivia
- What year was the Declaration of Independence signed?
Answer: 1776 - Which U.S. state was the first to join the Union?
Answer: Delaware - Who was the main author of the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson - What war was fought between the North and South regions of the United States?
Answer: The Civil War - Who gave the Gettysburg Address?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln - What event started on December 16, 1773, when colonists protested British taxes?
Answer: The Boston Tea Party - Who was the first African American president of the United States?
Answer: Barack Obama - Which U.S. state was the last to join the Union in 1959?
Answer: Hawaii - What is the capital of the United States?
Answer: Washington, D.C. - Who was the first President to live in the White House?
Answer: John Adams - Which famous U.S. document begins with the words “We the People”?
Answer: The Constitution - What is the national bird of the United States?
Answer: The Bald Eagle - Who was president during the American Revolution?
Answer: No one—the U.S. didn’t have a president until after the Revolution. - Which purchase in 1803 doubled the size of the United States?
Answer: The Louisiana Purchase - Which New York statue was a gift from France in 1886?
Answer: The Statue of Liberty
🌍 World History & Cultures Trivia
- Which wall divided East and West Berlin until 1989?
Answer: The Berlin Wall - In what year did World War II end?
Answer: 1945 - Which country built the Great Wall?
Answer: China - Who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?
Answer: Michelangelo - Which country is the birthplace of the Olympic Games?
Answer: Greece - Who was the first emperor of China?
Answer: Qin Shi Huang - Which U.S. president is honored on Presidents’ Day in February?
Answer: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln - Which ancient city was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE?
Answer: Pompeii - What was the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620?
Answer: The Mayflower - What European country was home to the famous artist Leonardo da Vinci?
Answer: Italy - Which empire built Machu Picchu in Peru?
Answer: The Inca Empire - Who was the first European explorer credited with discovering the Americas in 1492?
Answer: Christopher Columbus - Which European city hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896?
Answer: Athens, Greece - Which African country built the Great Pyramids?
Answer: Egypt - What year did humans first land on the moon?
Answer: 1969
⚔️ Wars & Peace Trivia
- Which war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919?
Answer: World War I - Who was the British prime minister during most of World War II?
Answer: Winston Churchill - Which U.S. president was in office during World War II?
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt (and later Harry S. Truman) - Who was the first man in space?
Answer: Yuri Gagarin (1961, from the Soviet Uni - What year did women in the United States gain the right to vote?
Answer: 1920 - Who was the German leader during World War II?
Answer: Adolf Hitler - Which Asian country did the U.S. fight during the Vietnam War?
Answer: Vietnam - What country was divided into North and South after World War II?
Answer: Korea - Which treaty ended World War I?
Answer: The Treaty of Versailles - What war took place between 1939 and 1945?
Answer: World War II - Which U.S. president helped end the Cold War in the 1980s?
Answer: Ronald Reagan - What country did the U.S. gain independence from in 1776?
Answer: Great Britain - Which famous speech begins with “I Have a Dream”?
Answer: Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech (Civil Rights Movement, not a war but peace-related) - Which symbol became famous for peace in the 1960s?
Answer: The peace sign (☮) - What war was fought in the 1860s in the United States?
Answer: The Civil War
🗽 Landmarks & Monuments Trivia
- Where is the Eiffel Tower located?
Answer: Paris, France - What giant statue stands in New York Harbor?
Answer: The Statue of Liberty - What is the tallest mountain in the world?
Answer: Mount Everest - What landmark in Egypt has the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh?
Answer: The Great Sphinx - What ancient structure in England is made of giant stones in a circle?
Answer: Stonehenge - Where can you find Mount Rushmore with four U.S. presidents’ faces carved into it?
Answer: South Dakota, USA - Which famous clock tower is in London?
Answer: Big Ben (now called the Elizabeth Tower) - Which building in Italy is famous for leaning?
Answer: The Leaning Tower of Pisa - What famous square in China is one of the largest public spaces in the world?
Answer: Tiananmen Square - Which landmark in India was built as a tomb for a queen?
Answer: The Taj Mahal - What U.S. monument honors soldiers who died in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam?
Answer: The National Mall’s war memorials (Washington, D.C.) - Which landmark in Peru was built by the Incas high in the mountains?
Answer: Machu Picchu - Which ancient wonder of the world was a lighthouse in Egypt?
Answer: The Lighthouse of Alexandria - Where is the Lincoln Memorial located?
Answer: Washington, D.C. - What famous U.S. landmark in Arizona is one of the world’s seven natural wonders?
Answer: The Grand Canyon
🤓 Fun & Weird History Facts
- Which U.S. president wore a tall stovepipe hat?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln - Which famous ship sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg?
Answer: The Titanic - What ancient city in Iraq is known as the “Cradle of Civilization”?
Answer: Mesopotamia - Who was the first African American woman in space?
Answer: Dr. Mae Jemison (1992) - What animal did Hannibal famously use to cross the Alps in battle?
Answer: Elephants - Which U.S. state was once its own country before joining the Union?
Answer: Texas - Which country built the Panama Canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?
Answer: The United States (completed in 1914) - What fruit was the first to be eaten on the moon?
Answer: A peach - Who invented Mickey Mouse?
Answer: Walt Disney - Which U.S. president was the first to appear on television?
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt - What year did the Wright brothers first fly an airplane?
Answer: 1903 - Which famous Italian city was buried by a volcano in 79 CE?
Answer: Pompeii - Who discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic?
Answer: Alexander Fleming - What toy became popular after World War II and was originally meant as a naval invention?
Answer: The Slinky - Which Viking reached North America about 500 years before Columbus?
Answer: Leif Erikson