Companies older than countries
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Companies Older Than Countries — Daily trivia Tuesday, May 26, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Which Canadian fur-trading firm, chartered by King Charles II, once held a monopoly over more than a third of modern Canada?
- ACanadian Pacific Railway
- BTim Hortons
- CHudson's Bay Company
- DBombardier Inc.
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Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company's 1670 charter granted it Rupert's Land, 197 years before Confederation; the retailer it became was liquidated in 2025.
Q 02Which Virginia plantation on the James River is North America's oldest family-owned business?
- AMount Vernon
- BShirley Plantation
- CBoone Hall Plantation
- DMonticello
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Shirley Plantation
Shirley Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia, was settled in 1613 and has been run by the Hill-Carter family since 1638, making it the oldest family-owned business in North America, well before independence in 1776.
Q 03Which London institution was founded as the government's banker before the Act of Union created Great Britain?
- ABank of England
- BRoyal Bank of Scotland
- CHSBC
- DBarclays
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Bank of England
The Bank of England was set up in 1694 as the English government's banker and debt manager during the Nine Years' War, 13 years before the 1707 Act of Union.
Q 04Which Swedish maker of outdoor power products, firearms and sewing machines dates back to the 17th century?
- ASaab
- BHusqvarna
- CSKF
- DElectrolux
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Husqvarna
Husqvarna began as a rifle factory in 1689; when demand for rifles fell by 1872, its machinery turned out sewing machines instead, a lineage 87 years older than the United States.
Q 05Which Savile Row tailor has dressed British royalty and military officers for more than 250 years?
- AGieves & Hawkes
- BErmenegildo Zegna
- CBrioni
- DHenry Poole & Co
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Gieves & Hawkes
Gieves & Hawkes grew from Thomas Hawkes's 1771 shop and James Gieve's naval tailoring business, and it holds royal warrants from its home at 1 Savile Row.
Q 06Which British coinage institution traces its origins to 886 AD?
- ALloyd's of London
- BThe Royal Mint
- CThe Crown Estate
- DRoyal Mail
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The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint traces its origins to about 886 AD, over 1,100 years ago. England's many mints were unified under a single system at the Tower of London in 1279 - still centuries before the 1707 Act of Union created Great Britain.
Q 07Which Italian firearms maker is one of the world's oldest continuously operating businesses?
- AFiat
- BLamborghini
- CBeretta
- DFerrari
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Beretta
Beretta, founded no later than 1526 in Gardone Val Trompia, is the world's oldest active gunmaker, 335 years older than the Kingdom of Italy.
Q 08Which company traces its roots to a medieval copper mine in Falun, Sweden, making it one of the oldest in the world?
- AEricsson
- BIKEA
- CVolvo
- DStora Enso
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Stora Enso
Stora Enso descends from Stora Kopparberg, whose 1288 share certificate is the oldest known, and it took its present name after merging with Finland's Enso in 1998.
Q 09Which Salzburg abbey restaurant is recorded in a letter to Charlemagne as early as 803 AD?
- ASt. Peter Stiftskulinarium
- BGriechenbeisl
- CFiglmüller
- DAugustiner-Keller
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St. Peter Stiftskulinarium
St. Peter Stiftskulinarium, inside Salzburg's St Peter's Abbey, is first mentioned in a letter to Charlemagne in 803, but it has closed at times, so it cannot claim the oldest continuous run.
Q 10Which Japanese temple-building company is said to have been founded in 578 AD?
- ATakenaka Corporation
- BShimizu Corporation
- CKajima Corporation
- DKongō Gumi
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Kongō Gumi
Kongō Gumi was purportedly founded in 578 to build Osaka's Shitennō-ji temple, and after more than 1,400 years on its own it became a subsidiary of Takamatsu Construction Group in 2006.
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