History Quiz

Take a trip back in time to the wonderful world of history!

Some easy and some more challenging questions about historical figures and phenomena, from ancient gods to the great social upheavals of recent decades!

In this history quiz, you can put your knowledge and general education to the test across a wide range of topics: historical events and figures, achievements in science and technology, and phenomena from cultural history—art, literature, and music included. How did Cleopatra’s nose influence world history? What was the riddle of the Sphinx? How is the origin of Europe explained in ancient mythology? What was Galileo Galilei’s theory of the universe? What was the most popular social game at Renaissance courts? These and many other historical questions await you in the quiz below.

I hope the quiz will also spark your curiosity to explore these topics further.

Instructions: Some questions include an anagram clue to help you find the correct answer. The header images can be zoomed in. Each correctly answered question earns one point, except where a different score is specified. In multiple-choice questions where several answers may be selected and their number is limited, one point is deducted for each incorrect choice.

Enjoy your time with history—and good luck!

Sources:

Alwinton, Tom. The Fundamentally Flawed Quality of a Painting: A Critique of the Political Economy of the Modern Art Market.

Amorison, Machiel, and Susan Wolf, dirs. Mata Hari: The Naked Spy: The Spy as a Work of Art. 2017. Documentary. Indie Rights. YouTube video. Posted December 13, 2025. https://youtu.be/qz6oEgh9hxg.

Black, Jeremy. A History of England. Dolphin Publications, 1993.

Boucher, François. The Rape of Europa. 1747. Oil on canvas. The Wallace Collection, London. Public domain.

———. The Rape of Europa. c. 1732–1734. Oil on canvas. The Wallace Collection, London. Public domain.

Canova, Antonio. Perseus with the Head of Medusa. 1801. Marble. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Public domain.

Gernet, Jacques. A History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Harley, J. B., and David Woodward, eds. The History of Cartography. Vol. 2: Cartography in the Traditional East and Southeast Asian Societies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.

Illingworth, Leslie Gilbert. Cuban Missile Crisis Arm Wrestling. Cartoon. 1962. Originally published in The Daily Mail, October 29, 1962. British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent. http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/record/ILW3584.

Matsys, Quentin. The Moneylender and His Wife. 1514. Oil on panel. Louvre, Paris. Public domain.

Michôd, David, dir. The King. 2019. Netflix/Blumhouse. YouTube clip: “French Cavalry – Battle of Agincourt.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ikrazBByRk.

Monet, Claude. Impression, Sunrise. 1872. Oil on canvas. Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris. Public domain.

Mor, Antonis. Mary Tudor, Queen of England (1516–1558). 1554. Oil on canvas. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Niobid Painter. Red-Figure Amphora with Musical Scene. c. 460–450 BCE. Terracotta. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Public domain.

Oedipus Painter. Oedipus and the Sphinx. c. 470 BCE. Attic red-figure kylix. Vatican Museums, Vatican City. Public domain.

Osterhammel, Jürgen. The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014.

Parra, Félix. Galileo Demonstrating the New Astronomical Theories at the University of Padua. 1873. Oil on canvas. Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City. Public domain.

Pascal, Blaise. Pensées. Edited and translated by Robert Ariew. Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, 2004.

Pickett-Groen, Nicole. “The Next Rembrandt: Bringing the Old Master Back to Life.” Medium.

Porta, Giacomo della. Façade of the Church of Il Gesù, Rome. 1575–1584. Photograph by Alessio Damato, 2007.

Rembrandt van Rijn. Portrait of Marten Looten. 1632. Oil on canvas. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Public domain.

———. Portrait of a Man. 1632. Oil on panel. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Public domain.

———. Portrait of a Man Wearing a Broad-Brimmed Hat. 1635. Oil on canvas. DIC Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art, Sakura. Public domain.

Rossini, Gioachino, composer, “Una voce poco fa”. Performed by Teresa Berganza. YouTube video, Il barbiere di Siviglia / Act 1. YouTube, https://youtu.be/lDUWNWF1AK4 Public Domain.

Savall, Jordi. Improvisations sur les Folies d’Espagne (Marin Marais). 2001. Tous les matins du monde. Alia Vox. YouTube video. https://youtu.be/Ng_cgnjueO4.

Scherrer, Jean-Jacques. Joan of Arc’s Entry into Orléans. 1887. Oil on canvas. Public domain.

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Translated by Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Classics, 1984.

The Next Rembrandt Project. The Next Rembrandt. 2016. 3D-printed oil-based UV ink on canvas.

Thrower, Norman J. W. Maps & Civilization: Cartography in Culture and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.

Unknown Portuguese Cartographer. Cantino Planisphere. 1502. Ink and pigment on parchment. Biblioteca Universitaria Estense, Modena. Public domain.

Unknown. Athenian Silver Tetradrachm. 479–454 BCE. Silver. Staatliche Münzsammlung München. Public domain.

Unknown. Facta et dicta memorabilia. 1475. Illuminated manuscript. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Public domain.

Unknown. Odysseus and the Sirens. 19th century. Wood inlay. Museo Correale di Terranova, Sorrento. Public domain.

Leonardo da Vinci. Mona Lisa. c. 1503–1507. Oil on panel. Louvre, Paris. Public domain.

Walery, Lucien. Mata Hari in Paris. c. 1906. Photograph (postcard, no. 5116 S.I.P.). Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

White, Christopher. Rembrandt and His World. London: Thames & Hudson, 2001.