Random Mode Keyboard shortcut: Command/Ctrl + Shift + R
thumbnail

Years in History #1 - Multiple Choice

For each event, guess the year in which it happened.
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Last updated: January 12, 2019
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedJanuary 12, 2019
Times taken55,529
Average score70.0%
Rating4.76
4:00
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
1. Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon
1969
1973
1977
1983
2. Columbus "discovers" America
1201
1492
1575
1699
3. Fall of the Berlin Wall
1969
1979
1989
1999
4. The Wright Brothers fly the first airplane
1888
1903
1917
1931
5. World War I begins
1813
1873
1893
1914
6. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor
1929
1939
1941
1945
7. The start of the Great Depression
1893
1907
1919
1929
8. The Spanish Armada sails to invade England but is scattered
1347
1490
1588
1702
9. Edison patents the light bulb
1879
1909
1929
1949
10. The Black Plague reaches Europe
799
1045
1347
1501
11. The U.S. Declaration of Independence is signed
1694
1736
1776
1814
12. The Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes and others try to blow up the English Parliament
1305
1455
1605
1755
13. Napoleon's final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo
1701
1751
1815
1871
14. The Thirty Years War comes to an end with the Peace of Westphalia
998
1448
1648
1848
15. The Protestant Reformation begins
792
1000
1311
1517
16. The U.S. Civil War begins
1791
1831
1861
1891
17. Constantinople falls to Turkish invaders - ending the Byzantine Empire
477
901
1199
1453
18. King John signs the Magna Carta
999
1215
1370
1511
19. Muhammed dies in Medina
332
632
932
1232
20. Alexander the Great dies in Babylon
979 BC
323 BC
11 AD
380 AD
+51
Level 90
Jan 12, 2019
The fall of Constantinople has the worst percentage? I thought it was one of those iconic dates in history.
+18
Level 77
Jan 12, 2019
Because the west does not care about the east. Too shame, because the east is the cradle of modern western world.
+1
Level 72
Jan 13, 2019
Yeah, I had no clue on that one. Pure guess work. Though I did have the same issue with the lightbulb, plague and the last four. I managed to narrow a few down to one of two dates, but needless to say, picked the wrong date each and every time.
+2
Level 75
Mar 7, 2019
I did the same thing, Algernon. I knew the general time, but sometimes chose the wrong one of two that looked likely.
+3
Level 63
Mar 7, 2019
They didn't have baseball, so they were worth a bag of pig slop.
+8
Level 62
Aug 8, 2020
What? I'm Belgian. I learned about the fall of the Byzantine Empire in great detail at school. It is one of the dates that could be considered the end of the Middle Ages
+2
Level 59
Jan 22, 2021
Really? I thought more people would know this. We definitely learned it at school in Iowa.
+2
Level 70
Sep 20, 2022
same, in the uk we learn about the roman empire and subsequently the byzantines, so i am surprised more people didn't get this. ig it depends on what you define as "west"
+1
Level 72
Sep 21, 2022
@ w3irdchamp, you might say that's when Constantinople stops being part of "West" and starts being part of "East"
+2
Level 86
Mar 7, 2019
If there hadn't been choices--or if the choices had been grouped more closely together--I probably wouldn't have gotten it. As it is, I thought it was pretty easy.
+1
Level 50
Mar 17, 2019
I was confused with the Battle of Constantinople which happened in the 12th century, Hence why I got the answer wrong.
+3
Level 66
Mar 28, 2021
Not enough Europa Universalis players around here, I see
+1
Level 49
Oct 4, 2021
I thought the same thing, smh im so disapointed in yall
+4
Level 70
Sep 20, 2022
1453 worst year of my life
+9
Level 93
Jan 12, 2019
AD comes before the year number. BC comes after. So, AD 380 but 323 BC.
+6
Level 82
Jan 12, 2019
Are you sure?
+5
Level 69
Jan 13, 2019
I would request, Quizmaster, that you use BCE and CE. You know, since we're so academic around here!
+5
Level 70
Jan 16, 2019
BCE and CE are brain-dead dating systems that ignore their own base years, academic or no
+7
Level 74
Jan 19, 2019
AD and BC are more recognizable. Also the Common Area system is still based around the same event, the birth of Jesus.
+1
Level 65
Mar 7, 2019
Agree, especially since Jesus Christ wasn't actually born in 1 AD.
+6
Level 70
Mar 8, 2019
Either system is fine in my opinion. While AD and BC may be more recognisable if you have never seen CE and BCE or aren't used to them, I think most people would understand the meaning of either. The idea that CE and BCE are "brain-dead" is wrong though, and what they actually stand for is more accurate than "anno Domini" and "before Christ", as when Jesus was actually born (or conceived, depending on which you think constituted the beginning of his life) is unknown. While the base year was intended to be the year of Jesus' birth or possibly conception, it actually is more accurate to call the years since (AD) 1 (CE) the "common era", as the entire world uses it now and not just Christians.
+1
Level 59
Jan 22, 2021
I believe it was meant to be conception, but I've heard that the current estimate is he was born in 4 BC.
+2
Level 79
Mar 7, 2019
This is correct. Question 20 has incorrect usage of AD after the date.
+1
Level 79
Jan 14, 2019
Just missed on the Guy Fawkes question. You learn something every day!
+1
Level 63
Feb 7, 2019
Tough one.
+1
Level 82
Mar 7, 2019
I only missed two. Can't believe that one of them was the Berlin Wall. ::facepalm::
+2
Level 82
Mar 7, 2019
Also a bit surprised that's only good enough for 75th percentile, currently. Probably because it's shortly after this got to the front page.
+4
Level 65
Mar 7, 2019
I can't believe how many people got the fall of Constantinople in 1453 question wrong.
+1
Level 57
Mar 7, 2019
Great Quiz. Just the Spanish armada's year wrong - others okay - partly with good luck..
+1
Level 77
Mar 7, 2019
I don't usually comment on my successes or failures but I just had to share this. I only knew 12 of the answers on this quiz. The other 8 were total guesses....and I got every one right for 100%. What are the odds?? :-)
+5
Level 66
Mar 7, 2019
Doing well on multiple choice quizzes is a skill. It's entirely possible to get a score that reflects much higher than what you actually know, if you can eliminate one or two answers as unlikely. This is how I got a B in high school physics despite not understanding a damn thing about physics.
+2
Level 28
Sep 21, 2022
There were also a few for me where I had to guess and also got 20/20, but it makes it a lot easier with how spaced the choices are. For example even if you have to guess, you all but know that Alexander had to have died in BC so that automatically knocks off two options. Other questions are the same.
+1
Level 65
Mar 7, 2019
Great quiz QM, thanks
+1
Level 89
Mar 7, 2019
Well I feel dumb. I somehow misinterpreted the question about when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor as when the Japanese themselves were bombed.
+1
Level 58
Aug 23, 2023
I did exactly the same, for some reason I selected 1945 because I was thinking about the atomic bombs. Regardless I didn't know when the japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
+3
Level 68
Mar 7, 2019
Pretty much knew all of them except when the American thing of Independence got signed. It's never come up in my life, here in NZ. I only knew the American civil war one from reading "Little Women".
+1
Level 82
Mar 9, 2019
Pretty important event in history. If you knew all of these except for the two about the USA that seems like there's almost a deliberate bias in New Zealand history education against teaching anything about America. Judging from comments left by other non-Americans on the site signaling chagrin that they should be expected to know anything at all about the country or its history, I almost even expect that this is true.
+5
Level 77
Jan 10, 2021
Kalbahamut, if Kiwiquizzer didn't know the year of the Chilembwe uprising or that of Malawian Independence from British rule, would you be saying that there was a deliberate bias in New Zealand history education against Malawian history?
+4
Level 67
Sep 20, 2022
I think the difference is that the US is the most influential country in the world. Malawi doesn't affect world events on nearly the same scale. It's just a fact that a handful of countries--the US, Russia, Germany, France, UK, China, India, Japan, Iran, and a few others have an outsized impact on world affairs. That's why their leaders and, yes, their histories are better-known. To compare US history to Malawian history in the way you're doing is intentionally obtuse. Do you consider the Magna Carta merely "British history"? Or do people study it because of the impact it's had on history since it happened? The American Revolution is likewise a huge event because without it, the last century would be very different than it was.
+1
Level 82
Sep 20, 2022
smh...
+3
Level 68
Sep 20, 2022
There is not a deliberate bias in NZ history education against teaching anything about America. Just not the American Declaration of Independence. Of course there is a big focus on the Treaty of Waitangi. The curriculum here regarding USA includes Black Civil Rights in the USA, the Vietnam War, and World War I and II.
+1
Level 82
Sep 20, 2022
Pretty big omission, kiwi. The British Empire losing her North American colonies (the first time any such declaration of independence from the European colonial powers happened - and it's not like it was just some small island backwater that did it - this was huge), let alone the founding of the United States, is easily one of the most important events in world history. And my being an American has nothing to do with that statement. Any British, French, Russian, or Chinese historian worth their salt would absolutely tell you the same. It is indeed weird that basic history curricula anywhere would ignore it. Or focus on the Civil Rights movement or Vietnam War instead. I know Oz and NZ were involved in Vietnam and the World Wars so that makes some sense, but, Civil Rights over the American Revolution makes no sense even down under.
+1
Level 82
Sep 21, 2022
should clarify: the bulk of her North American colonies. The empire still had Canada, several Caribbean islands, and Belize...
+1
Level 45
Mar 18, 2019
Meh. Good questions, but choices too easy for most of them (I still struggled on a few, but really...)
+2
Level 35
Jul 1, 2020
Would've been much harder if the years were closer. I know most of it by century, not by the exact year.
+1
Level 59
Jan 22, 2021
The only thing I missed was the gunpowder plot. I've definitely never heard of it. I figured it was one of the later two dates, though. Just guessed the wrong one.
+1
Level 59
Mar 11, 2021
I knew that it was a catholic plot against the protestant Parliament. And therefore only 1605 did fit.
+1
Level 59
Mar 11, 2021
20/20

2:09 left

+1
Level 64
Jun 7, 2021
i GUESSED four of them and i still got them all right :D
+2
Level 74
Aug 18, 2022
There's no "the" in "Magna Carta".
+3
Level 70
Sep 20, 2022
That's why I missed it and got all except it
+2
Level 80
Sep 20, 2022
Because there is a “the”? I hope you’re joking.
+1
Level 66
Sep 22, 2022
Wow you really aren't a genius!
+1
Level 57
Sep 20, 2022
Wow the black plague was so much later than I thought, I assumed it reached its peak in the 1200s
+1
Level 67
Sep 20, 2022
I don't usually comment on my result, but I scored 16 here. As I only studied Chinese History and not Western History at school (the later was an elective that I didn't pick), I have no idea about many of these, such as the Protestant Reformation and Gunpowder Plot. In fact, I had to convert the years into the corresponding Chinese dynasties and guessed the answers. I was surprised that the US Civil War happened so late in history, which was towards the end of Taiping Rebellion in Qing dynasty.
+2
Level 82
Sep 20, 2022
Most of us would fail pretty hard at a quiz on the stuff you probably learned in school. Western education barely teaches Chinese or Asian history at all. It's pretty much all Egypt, Greece, Persia, Europe Europe Europe Europe, and (at least in the US, since the rest of the world sometimes seems to want to ignore that America exists) a lot of American history... when it comes to China we learn about the Great Wall, some ancient Chinese inventions, maybe a few paragraphs about Confucius, and the Mongols, and if you're in a good school district they might get to the Opium Wars, treaty ports, and Communist revolution.. but that's about it.
+1
Level 56
Sep 20, 2022
Not sure why, but I thought Muhammad's time was earlier than 632 AD. I guess we all learn something new every day
+2
Level 82
Sep 20, 2022
That's why the Hijra calendar is still in the 1400s. It's not actually because they're stuck in the Middle Ages.
+2
Level 66
Sep 20, 2022
lmao in Brazil we're taught that Santos Dumont invented the airplane, and when the Wright Brothers are mentioned we just say that their model barely worked and that it shouldn't even count as an aiplane.
+1
Level 82
Sep 20, 2022
You're being fed lies in Brazil, then.
+2
Level 43
Sep 20, 2022
Elaborate?
+1
Level 82
Sep 21, 2022
The Wright Brothers invented the airplane. Dumont didn't. I'm not going to elaborate on something so easy to look up...
+1
Level 66
Nov 9, 2022
mfw
+1
Level 66
Sep 20, 2022
Anyone still believe that moon landing crap?
+3
Level 82
Sep 20, 2022
You mean the crap about it being a hoax? I wish I could believe not, but I know there are still quite a few dorks out there who do...
+1
Level 66
Sep 20, 2022
I won't waste time with you Kalbahamut (and won't call you names either).

For anyone interested, just go look at pictures of the Apollo Lunar module. If you still believe the fairytale after that, there's nothing more to add.

+2
Level 68
Sep 20, 2022
https://www.iop.org/explore-physics/moon/how-do-we-know-we-went-to-the-moon#gref
+1
Level 66
Sep 21, 2022
Lol, that settles it.
+3
Level 82
Sep 21, 2022
There's nothing to settle. This has never been in question among serious persons.
+1
Level 58
Aug 23, 2023
Then they're not serious persons.
+2
Level 43
Sep 20, 2022
It’s a huge trigger reading Wright Brothers name as a Brazilian. I mean, Santos Dumont created the first heavier-than-air aircraft, so... whatever. I guess.
+1
Level 55
Jan 24, 2024
The Wright Brothers claim seems pretty good.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claims_to_the_first_powered_flight

+2
Level 56
Dec 12, 2022
1216, one after Magna Carte!
+1
Level 47
Dec 24, 2022
you're telling me a man just happens to fall like that??
+1
Level 43
Dec 26, 2022
I missed 6, but happy to know I answered the ones I should know right.

However, I was quick and thought said bombed japan, so thought the atomic bomb so got it wrong. I knew 30 years wars wasnt that long ago so guess 1848 sounded right but was 1648.

I had no clue what era Armada could be. Alexander thought was more around 0 bc. I had zero clue Muhammed existed let alone when. I tried to think when Constaninople existed and was off by 1000 years.