1900s
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100 free 1900s trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
14 free 1900s trivia questions with answers. Step back in time with our engaging 1900s trivia quiz! Test your knowledge of the early twentieth century, from groundbreaking inventions to pivotal historical moments. With 9 challenging questions, this quiz covers the people, events, and culture that shaped the 1900s.
30 of 100 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which year did the Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained powered flight, at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina?
1903
It happened on December 17, 1903, four miles south of Kitty Hawk, in the Wright Flyer.
Q 02Which major US city was levelled by an earthquake and the fires that followed on April 18, 1906?
San Francisco
The San Francisco quake, estimated at magnitude 7.9, was followed by fires that swept through the city for several days.
Q 03In what year did Einstein publish his 'Annus Mirabilis' papers, including special relativity?
1905
Albert Einstein published four groundbreaking papers in 1905, often referred to as his 'Annus Mirabilis' or 'Miracle Year' papers, which fundamentally reshaped physics with concepts like special relativity and the photoelectric effect.
Q 04Which city hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1900?
Paris
The second modern Olympic Games, and the first of the 20th century, were held in Paris, France, in 1900, coinciding with the Universal Exposition.
Q 05Which iconic automobile, known for its impact on mass production, was first introduced in 1908?
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T was introduced on October 1, 1908, and quickly became famous for its affordability and the revolutionary use of assembly line production, making car travel accessible to many.
Q 06What do Westerners call the anti-foreign, anti-Christian Chinese uprising of around 1900?
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) was led by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists across North China; Westerners called its martial-arts-practising members 'Boxers'.
Q 07In what year were the first Nobel Prizes awarded?
1901
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded on December 10, 1901, the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace.
Q 08What was the name of the first fully synthetic plastic, invented in 1907?
Bakelite
Bakelite, invented by Leo Baekeland in 1907, was the world's first fully synthetic plastic, known for its durability and heat resistance, and was widely used in various products.
Q 09Which British campaign adopted militant direct action under Emmeline Pankhurst from 1903?
Suffragette Movement
The Suffragette Movement got its name from a Daily Mail journalist who coined 'suffragette' in 1906; the WSPU embraced it. The union had split from the larger, peaceful NUWSS.
Q 10Who became president following William McKinley's assassination, taking office at the age of 42?
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt, aged 42, succeeded McKinley on September 14, 1901, after six months as vice president, and held the presidency until 1909.
Q 11The Treaty of Portsmouth brought which conflict to an end?
The Russo-Japanese War
The Treaty of Portsmouth (September 1905) ended the Russo-Japanese War; Theodore Roosevelt's brokering earned him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize, the first awarded to an American.
Q 12Which country took over the stalled Panama Canal project in 1904, buying the French works for $40 million?
The United States
The United States bought the French company's works for $40 million in 1904 and opened the canal on 15 August 1914.
Q 13Which Spanish artist painted the 1907 canvas Les Demoiselles d'Avignon?
Pablo Picasso
Q 21The first zeppelin flight took place on 2 July 1900 over which body of water?
Lake Constance
LZ 1 rose from a floating hangar on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen on 2 July 1900; the town became the home of Zeppelin airship building.
Q 22Which cycling race was held for the first time in 1903?
Tour de France
The first Tour de France ran in July 1903 over six stages and was won by Maurice Garin; Paris–Roubaix dates from 1896 and the Giro from 1909.
Q 23Willis Carrier invented the first indoor air conditioning system in which year?
1902
Willis Carrier designed the first modern air-conditioning system in 1902 for the Sackett-Wilhelms printing plant in Brooklyn, controlling humidity as well as temperature.
Pablo Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907; its mask-like faces, shaped by Iberian and African art, opened the road to Cubism.
Q 14In which territory does Signal Hill in St John's, site of Marconi's first transatlantic wireless attempt, stand?
Newfoundland
Signal Hill stands in St John's, Newfoundland; Marconi heard the letter 'S' there on 12 December 1901 after storms wrecked his planned Cape Cod receiving station.
Q 15In 1906, which country became the first in Europe to grant women the right to vote?
Finland
Finland, then an autonomous grand duchy of Russia, gave women full voting and candidacy rights in 1906; 19 women were elected to its parliament in 1907.
Q 16The first feature-length film, released in Melbourne in 1906, told which outlaw's story?
Ned Kelly
The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), about bushranger Ned Kelly, ran over an hour when most films lasted minutes, making it the first feature-length film.
Q 17The Tunguska event of June 1908 flattened roughly 2,000 square kilometres of forest in which region?
Siberia
The Tunguska event struck near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia on 30 June 1908, and is attributed to the airburst of a meteoroid or comet fragment.
Q 18Which Sicilian city, along with Calabria, was devastated by the 1908 earthquake and tsunami?
Messina
The 28 December 1908 earthquake and tsunami destroyed Messina and Reggio Calabria, killing roughly 80,000 people in one of Europe's deadliest natural disasters.
Q 19Which country declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire on 5 October 1908?
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, a tributary principality since 1878, proclaimed full independence on 5 October 1908, with Prince Ferdinand taking the title Tsar.
Q 20Whose 1907 Victor recording of 'Vesti la giubba' was the first record to sell a million copies?
Enrico Caruso
Enrico Caruso's 1907 Victor recording of 'Vesti la giubba', from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, is credited as the first record to sell a million copies.
Q 24The Electric Theatre, the first movie theater in the United States, opened in April 1902 in which city?
Los Angeles
Thomas L. Tally opened the Electric Theatre on Main Street in Los Angeles on 2 April 1902; The Great Train Robbery became American cinema's first big hit the next year.
Q 25The first modern World Series in 1903 was won by a team then known as the 'Americans', now called what?
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Americans, renamed the Red Sox for 1908, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1903 World Series, with Cy Young pitching for Boston.
Q 26The 1903 World Series was played as a best-of-how-many series?
Nine
The 1903 World Series was best-of-nine; Boston won five games to three, and Pittsburgh's Deacon Phillippe pitched five complete games.
Q 27The teddy bear was named after an incident on a November 1902 hunting trip in which U.S. state?
Mississippi
On a November 1902 hunt near Onward, Mississippi, Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear tied to a tree; Clifford Berryman's Washington Post cartoon immortalised the moment.
Q 28Which Brooklyn shopkeeper made the first American teddy bear and later founded the Ideal toy company?
Morris Michtom
Morris Michtom, a Brooklyn candy-store owner, sold his 'Teddy's bear' from 1903 and founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company; Richard Steiff was making a similar bear in Germany.
Q 29The 1904 Olympics were the first held outside Europe and were staged in which city?
St. Louis
Chicago had won the bid, but the 1904 Games moved to St. Louis to coincide with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, making them the first Olympics outside Europe.
Q 30Which now-standard Olympic tradition was introduced at the 1904 Games?
Gold, silver and bronze medals
The 1904 St. Louis Games were the first to award gold, silver and bronze medals; American gymnast George Eyser won six despite a wooden left leg.