100 World History Trivia Questions (3)

[B] Louis XVI | King Louis XVI lost his head to the guillotine in 1793, symbolizing the collapse of the Ancien Régime.

[C] Columbus reaching the Americas | Columbus’s voyage opened the Columbian Exchange, reshaping diets, ecosystems, and societies on both sides of the Atlantic.

[D] Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels | Published in 1848, the manifesto called for proletarian revolution, influencing socialist movements worldwide.

[A] Alexander Fleming | Fleming noticed a mold killing bacteria, leading to antibiotics that transformed modern medicine.

[C] Sputnik | The Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 shocked the world in 1957, triggering the U.S.–Soviet space race.

[B] James Watt | Watt’s separate condenser design vastly increased efficiency, powering factories, trains, and ships.

[A] Black Tuesday | On 29 October 1929, panicked investors sold shares en masse, precipitating the Great Depression.

[D] U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran | Student revolutionaries seized the U.S. embassy, holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days and reshaping U.S.–Iran relations.

[C] Albert Einstein | Einstein’s equations showed that mass and energy are equivalent (E=mc²), revolutionizing physics and cosmology.

[B] Florence Nightingale | “The Lady with the Lamp” improved hygiene in military hospitals and founded nursing education.

[D] Amelia Earhart | Earhart’s 1932 flight from Newfoundland to Ireland made her an aviation icon, though she later vanished in 1937.

[A] Abolitionist movement | Abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison campaigned relentlessly against human bondage.

[C] Joan of Arc | Joan of Arc claimed divine guidance to lead French troops, and was martyred in 1431 before canonization.

[A] Hellenistic period | The Hellenistic age saw Greek culture spread to Egypt, Persia, and India, fostering cosmopolitan cities like Alexandria.

[D] Magna Carta | Nobles forced King John to accept legal constraints, laying foundations for constitutional government.

[B] Michelangelo | Between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo frescoed biblical scenes like the Creation of Adam on the Vatican chapel’s vault.

[D] Niccolò Machiavelli | Machiavelli’s treatise explored power and statecraft, advising rulers to be feared rather than loved if necessary.

[B] Protestant Reformation | Martin Luther’s 95 Theses in 1517 sparked theological debates that fractured Western Christianity.

[A] Ferdinand Magellan’s crew | Although Magellan died en route, his expedition (1519–1522) proved Earth’s roundness and global sea routes.

[C] Louis XIV | Louis XIV reigned for 72 years, centralizing power and building the opulent Palace of Versailles.

[B] Montesquieu | In 'The Spirit of the Laws' (1748), Montesquieu advocated dividing government into branches to prevent tyranny.

[C] Storming of the Bastille | On July 14, Parisians seized a royal fortress and armory, symbolizing the people’s challenge to absolute monarchy.

[A] Liu Bang | A peasant‑turned‑rebel leader, Liu Bang established the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), ushering in a golden age of Chinese governance.

[D] Telegraph | Samuel Morse’s telegraph allowed instant long‑distance messages, shrinking continents and enabling global markets.

[D] Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand | A Bosnian Serb nationalist shot Austria’s heir in Sarajevo, triggering alliances that escalated into global conflict.

[C] Aztec Empire | The Aztec capital Tenochtitlán dazzled Spaniards until Hernán Cortés’s forces toppled it in 1521.

[A] Adam Smith | Published in 1776, Smith’s work laid the foundations of classical economics and advocated free markets.

[B] Inca Empire | The Incan citadel high in the Andes remains a marvel of engineering, blending sacred sites with dramatic peaks.

[A] Augustus | Octavian took the title Augustus in 27 BCE, transitioning Rome from republic to empire and ushering in the Pax Romana.

[D] Knights Templar | Founded around 1119, the Templars became wealthy bankers before King Philip IV suppressed them in 1312.

[C] Telescope | Galileo’s telescopic observations of Jupiter’s moons and Venus’s phases supported Copernicus’s solar‑centric model.

[B] Elizabeth I | Elizabeth I’s navy and storms repelled Philip II’s armada in 1588, securing Protestant England’s independence.

[D] February Revolution | Protests in Petrograd toppled Nicholas II in March 1917, leading to a provisional government before Bolshevik takeover.

[B] Washington Naval Treaty | The 1922 agreement capped battleship tonnage among major powers, aiming to prevent another arms race.

[A] Mahatma Gandhi | Gandhi’s salt marches and satyagraha campaigns inspired decolonization movements worldwide.

[C] Woodrow Wilson | Wilson’s speech outlined principles like self‑determination and a League of Nations, shaping the postwar order.

[A] Crimean War | Noted for charge of the Light Brigade, the war produced wartime journalism and modern nursing reforms.

[C] Richard Nixon | Facing impeachment over the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned in 1974, handing power to Gerald Ford.

[D] Leif Erikson | Leif’s Vinland settlement in Newfoundland predated Columbus by centuries, proving Viking transatlantic voyages.

[B] Appian Way | Built in 312 BCE, the Appian Way facilitated trade and troop movements across the Italian peninsula.