130 free September trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
55 free September trivia questions with answers. This trivia about September covers the whole month, not just the first day of school. It starts with the basics of the calendar (why a month named for seven is ninth, the sapphire and the aster, Virgo and Libra, when the equinox and Harvest Moon fall) and moves through the observances: Labor Day and Grandparents Day, Constitution Day, Patriot Day, Hispanic Heritage Month, Rosh Hashanah, Oktoberfest, Michaelmas, Talk Like a Pirate Day, Hobbit Day and the New Year of Ethiopia. Then it turns to September in history and culture: the eleven days Britain skipped in 1752, the start and end of World War II, Antietam, the Great Fire of London, the discovery of Neptune, Cal Ripken's streak, Star Trek's premiere, Google's founding, and the 21st night that Earth, Wind & Fire made famous. Use it for a back-to-school icebreaker, a September birthday party, a senior-centre round or a pub quiz's month-themed section. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia and primary sources, and each question shows its citation once you have answered.
30 of 130 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01September's name comes from the Latin word for which number?
Seven
It was the seventh month of the old Roman calendar, which began in March; when January and February were added it slid to ninth but kept the name.
Q 02How many days does September have?
30
It had 29 in the early Roman calendar until Julius Caesar's reform added one.
Q 03What is September's birthstone?
Sapphire
The name comes via Latin from a Greek word that originally referred to lapis lazuli, a different blue stone entirely.
Q 04Which of these is one of September's birth flowers?
Aster
The morning glory and forget-me-not share the honour; the marigold belongs to October.
Q 05Someone born on September 25 falls under which zodiac sign?
Libra
Virgo runs to September 22, and Libra takes over on the 23rd.
Q 06In the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological autumn begins on which day of the month?
The 1st
Astronomers wait for the equinox around the 22nd; meteorologists prefer whole calendar months, so their seasons start on the first.
Q 07The autumn equinox can fall on any date within which range of the month?
The 21st to the 24th
The drift comes from the mismatch between the calendar year and the tropical year, corrected by leap years.
Q 08The Harvest Moon is defined as the full moon that occurs when?
Nearest the autumnal equinox
It can land up to two weeks either side of the equinox, so some years the Harvest Moon is actually in October, and the next full moon is the Hunter's Moon.
Q 09When Britain went Gregorian in 1752, the 2nd of the month was immediately followed by which day?
The 14th
Eleven days vanished; the same act moved New Year's Day from March 25 to January 1.
Q 10The Anglo-Saxons called September Gerstmonath, after which crop that was harvested then?
Barley
Charlemagne's calendar simply called it harvest month, and it is still Herbstmonat in Switzerland.
Q 11Per US birth statistics from 1994 to 2014, the most common birthday falls on which day of the month?
The 9th
Nine of the ten most common birthdays are in September, roughly nine months after the winter holidays; September 1 is the least common date in the month.
Q 12In which year did the 'Eternal September' begin, when commercial providers flooded Usenet with new users?
1993
Before that, the only yearly surge of newcomers came each September when university students got their first accounts.
Q 13In the United States, Labor Day is celebrated on which day of the month?
The first Monday
The Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor organised the first parade in New York City; it became a federal holiday in 1894.
Q 21Which South American country celebrates its independence on September 7, known as Sete de Setembro?
Brazil
Chile's Fiestas Patrias follow on the 18th, giving the continent two of the biggest parties of the month.
Q 22Enkutatash, the New Year of Ethiopia and Eritrea, falls on September 11 and its name means what?
Gift of jewels
Tradition says the Queen of Sheba returned from visiting Solomon on that day and her followers greeted her with jewels.
Q 23What instrument is sounded during Rosh Hashanah?
A shofar, made from a ram's horn
Apples dipped in honey are eaten to wish for a sweet year, and the holiday opens the Ten Days of Repentance ending at Yom Kippur.
Q 14US National Grandparents Day is celebrated on which day?
The first Sunday after Labor Day
A nine-year-old named Russell Capper wrote to President Nixon in 1969 suggesting the day; the reply politely declined.
Q 15US Constitution Day falls on the 17th because of what event on that date in 1787?
Delegates signed the document in Philadelphia
Thirty-nine delegates signed at Independence Hall; Rhode Island had refused to send anyone at all.
Q 16In which year was the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in American military history?
1862
Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and McClellan's Army of the Potomac met at Sharpsburg, Maryland, exactly 75 years after the Constitution was signed.
Q 17Francis Scott Key wrote 'The Star-Spangled Banner' after watching the British bombard which Baltimore stronghold?
Fort McHenry
The flag he saw flying over the harbour had 15 stars and 15 stripes.
Q 18Patriot Day, observed in the US on September 11, remembers the victims of which year's attacks?
2001
President Bush first proclaimed a Day of Prayer and Remembrance for September 14, 2001; Congress then fixed the annual observance on the 11th.
Q 19US National Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15 rather than the first of the month. Why?
It is the independence day of five Central American nations
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica all celebrate on the 15th, Mexico on the 16th and Chile on the 18th; the month runs to October 15.
Q 20Who gave the Grito de Dolores of 1810, marked by Mexico's Independence Day on September 16?
Miguel Hidalgo
Every year the Mexican president re-enacts the cry from the National Palace balcony, ringing the same bell Hidalgo used.
Q 24Munich's Oktoberfest, despite its name, opens in mid-September. The first one in 1810 celebrated what?
A royal wedding
Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen and the meadow was named Theresienwiese, still called the Wiesn.
Q 25What did one of the Oregon founders of Talk Like a Pirate Day yell during a 1995 racquetball game?
Aaarrr!
The game was in June, but they picked September 19 as the date; the Pastafarian movement later adopted the holiday.
Q 26Hobbit Day, September 22, marks the shared birthday of which two characters?
Bilbo and Frodo Baggins
The American Tolkien Society proclaimed it in 1978; The Hobbit itself was published on September 21, 1937.
Q 27According to Maurice White, why does Earth, Wind & Fire's 'September' name the 21st night?
It simply sounded best when sung
His wife later revealed it was also the expected due date of their son, and comedian Demi Adejuyigbe turned the date into an annual internet event.
Q 28The United Nations International Day of Peace is observed on which day of the month?
The 21st
The Peace Bell rung at UN headquarters was a gift from Japan, cast from coins donated by people on every continent except Africa.
Q 29Michaelmas, September 29, has traditionally been one of the four what in England and Ireland?
Quarter days
Rents fell due and university terms began on it; Oxford still calls its autumn term Michaelmas.
Q 30Japan's Respect for the Aged Day, once fixed on the 15th, has been held on which day since 2003?
The third Monday
The shift came under the Happy Monday System, which moved several holidays to create long weekends.