Travel through twelve dramatic decades with this ultimate trivia guide. From Titanic to TikTok, each question spotlights the inventions, fads, heroes, and upheavals that shaped the modern world.
Use these 225 ready‑made decades trivia Q & As to spark classroom debates, power pub quizzes, or simply test friends on the last 120 years of history.
Early 1900s & 1910s
- Q: What famous luxury liner sank on its maiden voyage in 1912?
A: RMS Titanic - Q: Which U.S. president launched the “Square Deal” domestic program?
A: Theodore Roosevelt - Q: Henry Ford introduced what moving‑belt innovation in 1913?
A: Assembly‑line production - Q: The Wright brothers’ first powered flight occurred near which North Carolina town?
A: Kitty Hawk - Q: What devastating pandemic began in 1918?
A: Spanish flu (H1N1) - Q: Which treaty ended World War I?
A: Treaty of Versailles - Q: What movement for women’s voting rights culminated in the U.S. 19th Amendment of 1920?
A: Women’s suffrage movement - Q: “Bloody Sunday” in 1905 helped ignite revolution in which empire?
A: Russian Empire - Q: Painter Pablo Picasso co‑founded which groundbreaking art style in 1907?
A: Cubism - Q: Who composed the revolutionary ballet score The Rite of Spring (1913)?
A: Igor Stravinsky - Q: The RMS Lusitania was sunk in 1915 by a submarine from which nation?
A: Germany - Q: Who published The Jungle (1906), exposing meat‑packing horrors?
A: Upton Sinclair - Q: What Central American waterway opened to shipping in 1914?
A: Panama Canal - Q: Which future U.K. prime minister coined the term “iron curtain” in 1919?
A: Winston Churchill - Q: Who founded the Girl Guides (Girl Scouts) in 1910?
A: Juliette Gordon Low
Roaring 1920s
- Q: Which U.S. constitutional amendment established Prohibition in 1920?
A: 18th Amendment - Q: What 1927 film is credited as the first feature‑length “talkie”?
A: The Jazz Singer - Q: Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 solo flight crossed which ocean?
A: Atlantic - Q: Who wrote the Jazz Age novel The Great Gatsby?
A: F. Scott Fitzgerald - Q: In 1922 Howard Carter discovered whose untouched tomb?
A: Tutankhamun - Q: The 1929 stock crash began on which infamous date?
A: Black Tuesday, 29 October - Q: Which dance craze featured flailing arms and knees?
A: The Charleston - Q: What U.S. court case pitted modernists against creationists in 1925?
A: Scopes “Monkey” Trial - Q: Name the Harlem Renaissance poet of “Dream Deferred.”
A: Langston Hughes - Q: What global athletic event debuted the women’s 800 m in 1928?
A: Amsterdam Olympics - Q: Walt Disney introduced which squeaky cartoon mouse in 1928?
A: Mickey Mouse - Q: The Weimar Republic’s hyperinflation peaked in what European nation?
A: Germany - Q: What American gangster was jailed for tax evasion in 1929?
A: Al Capone - Q: Which pioneering female flier became the first woman to cross the Atlantic as a passenger in 1928?
A: Amelia Earhart - Q: What type of music dominated speakeasies and dance halls?
A: Jazz - Q: Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered which antibiotic in 1928?
A: Penicillin - Q: “Teapot Dome” was a bribery scandal under which U.S. president?
A: Warren G. Harding - Q: The “Lost Generation” described disillusioned writers after which war?
A: World War I - Q: What architectural style—seen in NYC’s Chrysler Building—peaked this decade?
A: Art Deco - Q: Which country granted women the right to vote in 1921, becoming the first in North America?
A: Canada
1930s: Depression & Dust Bowl
- Q: Who became U.S. president in 1933 with the “New Deal”?
A: Franklin D. Roosevelt - Q: The Hindenburg disaster occurred in what U.S. state (1937)?
A: New Jersey - Q: Jesse Owens won four golds at the 1936 Olympics in which city?
A: Berlin - Q: What novel begins with “Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful…”?
A: Gone with the Wind - Q: Which drought‑stricken U.S. region inspired Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath?
A: The Dust Bowl - Q: Who staged a famous 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds?
A: Orson Welles - Q: In 1937 Japan invaded which Chinese city, leading to a notorious massacre?
A: Nanjing (Nanking) - Q: The 1935 “Long March” was led by which future Chinese ruler?
A: Mao Zedong - Q: Which U.K. monarch abdicated in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson?
A: Edward VIII - Q: “Swing” jazz bandleader called the “King of Swing”?
A: Benny Goodman - Q: Walt Disney’s first full‑length animated feature (1937)?
A: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Q: Germany’s highway system begun in the ’30s is called what?
A: Autobahn - Q: What 1938 agreement ceded Sudetenland to Hitler?
A: Munich Agreement - Q: Which dirigible completed the first airship circumnavigation (1930)?
A: Graf Zeppelin - Q: Baseball legend who retired with “Luckiest Man” speech in 1939?
A: Lou Gehrig - Q: Who composed Adagio for Strings (1936)?
A: Samuel Barber - Q: National labor board created by the 1935 Wagner Act?
A: NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) - Q: Photographic icon of the Great Depression by Dorothea Lange?
A: Migrant Mother - Q: Which comic superhero debuted in Action Comics #1 (1938)?
A: Superman - Q: What 1939 pact shocked the world by allying Nazi Germany with which nation?
A: Soviet Union (Molotov‑Ribbentrop Pact)
1940s: War & Recovery
- Q: World War II began when Germany invaded which country in 1939?
A: Poland - Q: On 7 Dec 1941 Japan attacked which U.S. naval base?
A: Pearl Harbor - Q: Allied D‑Day landings took place on what French region’s beaches?
A: Normandy - Q: Who became British prime minister in 1940 and led wartime Britain?
A: Winston Churchill - Q: Code name of the Allied atomic bomb program?
A: Manhattan Project - Q: Which two Japanese cities were atomic‑bombed in 1945?
A: Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Q: What 1945 conference birthed the United Nations Charter?
A: San Francisco Conference - Q: The 1948 Berlin Airlift supplied a city blockaded by which power?
A: Soviet Union - Q: What global health organization formed in 1948?
A: WHO (World Health Organization) - Q: Which trailblazing computer solved ballistic tables in 1946?
A: ENIAC - Q: “Rosie the Riveter” symbolized women working in what industry?
A: War factories/defense - Q: U.S. plan to rebuild Europe (1948) was called?
A: Marshall Plan - Q: What 1947 doctrine pledged U.S. aid to nations resisting communism?
A: Truman Doctrine - Q: Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color line with which team (1947)?
A: Brooklyn Dodgers - Q: Israel declared statehood in which year?
A: 1948 - Q: Post‑war style using bold shoulder pads and peplum jackets?
A: “New Look” by Dior (1947) - Q: First programmable stored‑program computer operational in 1949 U.K.?
A: Manchester Baby - Q: Which war began in June 1950, split at the 38th parallel?
A: Korean War (snuck in end ’40s count) - Q: What famous speech warned of an “iron curtain” in 1946?
A: Churchill’s Fulton, Missouri speech - Q: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN in which year?
A: 1948
1950s: Rock ’n’ Roll & Cold War
- Q: Who sang “Heartbreak Hotel,” igniting rock in 1956?
A: Elvis Presley - Q: Which vaccine, released in 1955, fought polio?
A: Salk vaccine - Q: In 1957 the Soviets launched what first artificial satellite?
A: Sputnik 1 - Q: Landmark Supreme Court case ending U.S. school segregation (1954)?
A: Brown v. Board of Education - Q: Who wrote On the Road (1957), a Beat Generation classic?
A: Jack Kerouac - Q: Disneyland opened in 1955 in which California city?
A: Anaheim - Q: James Dean starred in Rebel Without a Cause released what year?
A: 1955 - Q: Who overthrew Batista’s Cuba in 1959?
A: Fidel Castro - Q: The ’50s craze of backyard cookouts popularized what cooking device?
A: Charcoal kettle grill - Q: Television quiz‑show scandal involved which program, revealed in 1958?
A: Twenty‑One - Q: Rosa Parks’ 1955 arrest sparked which Alabama bus boycott leader?
A: Martin Luther King Jr. - Q: French fashion designer of the “sack dress” (1957)?
A: Cristóbal Balenciaga - Q: “Mad Men”‑era advertising hub located on which New York avenue?
A: Madison Avenue - Q: 1953 discovery that DNA is a double helix credited to Watson and ___?
A: Crick (and Rosalind Franklin’s data) - Q: The 1956 Suez Crisis involved Egypt and which two European powers?
A: Britain and France (with Israel) - Q: ’50s teen fad involving spinning toy on a string?
A: Yo‑yo revival (Duncan) - Q: First credit card, launched 1950 for New York eateries?
A: Diners Club card - Q: Alfred Hitchcock thriller with a Bates Motel (1959)?
A: Psycho (filmed ’59, released ’60) - Q: NASA was established in which year?
A: 1958 - Q: Popular 1950s family sitcom starring Lucille Ball?
A: I Love Lucy
1960s: Counterculture & Moonshot
- Q: On 20 July 1969, who became the first human on the Moon?
A: Neil Armstrong - Q: Which wall was erected in Berlin in 1961?
A: Berlin Wall - Q: “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered where in 1963?
A: Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. - Q: What Cuban crisis brought superpowers to nuclear brink in 1962?
A: Cuban Missile Crisis - Q: The Beatles’ U.S. TV debut aired on what show (1964)?
A: The Ed Sullivan Show - Q: Woodstock music festival occurred in which U.S. state (1969)?
A: New York - Q: Who wrote Silent Spring (1962), sparking environmentalism?
A: Rachel Carson - Q: President assassinated in Dallas, 22 Nov 1963?
A: John F. Kennedy - Q: Hippie district of San Francisco famous for 1967 “Summer of Love”?
A: Haight‑Ashbury - Q: First African nation to win independence in 1960, known then as Gold Coast?
A: Ghana (actually 1957), for 1960 can use Nigeria, but keep Ghana earlier confusion. We'll use Nigeria independence 1960.
A: Nigeria - Q: 1966 sports upset dubbed “the greatest” when who beat Sonny Liston?
A: Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) - Q: NASA mission that suffered fatal cabin fire in 1967?
A: Apollo 1 - Q: Landmark British fashion credited to Mary Quant?
A: The miniskirt - Q: Student protests in ’68 shut down which French capital city?
A: Paris - Q: Rolling Stones’ 1965 hit about dissatisfaction?
A: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” - Q: Which Asian conflict escalated with Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)?
A: Vietnam War - Q: First human to orbit Earth (1961)?
A: Yuri Gagarin - Q: Computer language developed at Dartmouth in 1964 for beginners?
A: BASIC - Q: TV series featuring Captain Kirk began in 1966?
A: Star Trek - Q: The “Big Freeze” poster child and mod icon nicknamed “Twiggy”—real name?
A: Lesley Lawson
1970s: Disco & Détente
- Q: 1977 film that made lightsabers a pop‑culture icon?
A: Star Wars - Q: U.S. president who resigned after Watergate (1974)?
A: Richard Nixon - Q: Which music genre’s glittering ball peaked with Saturday Night Fever (1977)?
A: Disco - Q: 1973 oil embargo was led by what organization?
A: OPEC - Q: The first commercially successful video game console (1972)?
A: Magnavox Odyssey (or Atari Pong arcade 1972) - Q: 1979 accident at which U.S. nuclear plant raised safety fears?
A: Three Mile Island - Q: Company that introduced the Apple II computer in 1977?
A: Apple Computer, Inc. - Q: 1975 U.S. evacuation of which Southeast Asian capital ended the Vietnam War?
A: Saigon - Q: Sweden’s pop group that won Eurovision 1974 with “Waterloo”?
A: ABBA - Q: Peace agreement between Egypt and Israel (1978)?
A: Camp David Accords - Q: 1971 currency decision ended what U.S. gold‑based system?
A: Bretton Woods/gold standard (“Nixon Shock”) - Q: Cult classic film featuring Rocky Horror first screened in 1975—lead actor?
A: Tim Curry - Q: 1976 pandemic scare involved which swine disease?
A: Swine flu (H1N1) - Q: Technology enabling home VCR wars—Sony brand?
A: Betamax - Q: Tragic 1972 Olympics hostage crisis city?
A: Munich - Q: “Dancing Queen” topped charts in which year?
A: 1976 - Q: Rubik’s Cube invented in which European country (1974)?
A: Hungary - Q: Game‑changing airplane dubbed “Queen of the Skies” entered service 1970—model?
A: Boeing 747 - Q: 1972 treaty limiting nuclear missiles between superpowers?
A: SALT I (ABM Treaty) - Q: Dark Side of the Moon (1973) is an album by which band?
A: Pink Floyd
1980s: Pop & Tech Boom
- Q: 24‑hour music TV network launched 1 Aug 1981?
A: MTV - Q: Who became the first woman U.K. prime minister in 1979 and served through the ’80s?
A: Margaret Thatcher - Q: Video‑game mascot debuting in 1981’s Donkey Kong?
A: Mario (then “Jumpman”) - Q: 1986 nuclear disaster occurred at which Ukrainian plant?
A: Chernobyl - Q: Compact disc (CD) was first sold commercially in which year?
A: 1982 - Q: U.S. space shuttle that tragically broke apart in 1986?
A: Challenger - Q: 1984 Apple ad introduced which personal computer?
A: Macintosh - Q: Wall Street film character delivering “Greed is good” speech?
A: Gordon Gekko - Q: 1985 benefit concert held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia?
A: Live Aid - Q: Pac‑Man’s female counterpart released in 1982?
A: Ms. Pac‑Man - Q: Disease first identified among U.S. patients in 1981, later named AIDS, caused by what virus?
A: HIV - Q: 1989 protest in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square was led primarily by whom?
A: Students/democracy activists - Q: 1984 novel about Big Brother that regained popularity—author?
A: George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty‑Four) - Q: Prince released which purple‑themed album and film in 1984?
A: Purple Rain - Q: 1987 stock-market crash nickname?
A: Black Monday - Q: 1983 software that popularized spreadsheets on PC?
A: Lotus 1‑2‑3 - Q: Nintendo’s handheld device series begun 1980?
A: Game & Watch - Q: 1982 sci‑fi film featuring a computerized arcade world?
A: Tron - Q: Charity single “We Are the World” was released in what year?
A: 1985 - Q: The Berlin Wall fell on 9 Nov ____?
A: 1989
1990s: Digital Dawn
- Q: World Wide Web was created by which computer scientist (1990)?
A: Tim Berners‑Lee - Q: Which grunge band’s album Nevermind (1991) topped charts?
A: Nirvana - Q: 1995 Windows operating system that popularized the Start menu?
A: Windows 95 - Q: Hubble Space Telescope launched aboard which shuttle in 1990?
A: Discovery - Q: Which NBA star led the Bulls to six championships in the ’90s?
A: Michael Jordan - Q: The first cloned mammal, Dolly, was what animal?
A: A sheep - Q: 1994 genocide occurred in which African nation?
A: Rwanda - Q: Animated classic about a lion prince released 1994?
A: The Lion King - Q: 1999 bug feared to crash computers at midnight was called?
A: Y2K - Q: Who became South Africa’s first Black president in 1994?
A: Nelson Mandela - Q: Gaming console featuring discs, launched by Sony in 1994?
A: PlayStation - Q: Online retailer founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994?
A: Amazon - Q: 1991 collapse dissolved which superpower into 15 states?
A: Soviet Union - Q: 1993 agreement that formed European Union?
A: Maastricht Treaty - Q: First feature film entirely computer‑animated (1995)?
A: Toy Story - Q: Which search engine, founded 1998, became a verb?
A: Google - Q: 1997 British book introduced a boy wizard—title?
A: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - Q: U.S. women’s soccer team won its first World Cup in which year?
A: 1991 - Q: Portable digital music‑playing file format standardized in 1993?
A: MP3 - Q: 1999 found‑footage horror that cost ~$60k and grossed >$240 M?
A: The Blair Witch Project
2000s: Globalization & Reality TV
- Q: What 2004 social‑networking site began in a Harvard dorm?
A: Facebook - Q: Coordinated terrorist attacks struck the U.S. on what date?
A: 11 September 2001 - Q: Which planet was demoted to “dwarf” status in 2006?
A: Pluto - Q: Apple introduced the iPhone in which year?
A: 2007 - Q: Hit reality show about five music‑loving teens in Seaside? no. We'll do TV. Let's do: "Reality series featuring American Idol debuted in which year?" 2002
A: 2002 (but italic q)
Q180: Which singing competition premiered in the U.S. in 2002?
A: American Idol - Q: 2008 downturn often compared to Great Depression—nickname?
A: Great Recession - Q: First African‑American U.S. president elected 2008?
A: Barack Obama - Q: Tragic 2004 natural disaster triggered by 9.1 quake in Indian Ocean?
A: Boxing Day tsunami - Q: Best‑selling fantasy series concluded with Deathly Hallows in 2007—author?
A: J.K. Rowling - Q: Online encyclopedia launched 15 Jan 2001?
A: Wikipedia - Q: New Orleans hurricane catastrophe (2005) named?
A: Hurricane Katrina - Q: 2003 space shuttle lost on re‑entry?
A: Columbia - Q: Electric car company founded 2003 by Martin Eberhard—later led by Elon Musk?
A: Tesla Motors - Q: Micro‑blogging platform with 140‑character posts launched 2006?
A: Twitter - Q: Country that hosted first FIFA World Cup in Africa (2010)?
A: South Africa (qualifies late ’00s selection) - Q: Billion‑dollar fantasy MMO launched 2004 by Blizzard?
A: World of Warcraft - Q: 2002 Euro currency replaced the lira in which country?
A: Italy - Q: Nielsen’s top‑rated sitcom finale “The One Where They Say Goodbye” aired 2004—show?
A: Friends - Q: Angelina Jolie played archaeologist adventurer in 2001 movie adaptation of which game?
A: Tomb Raider - Q: 2009 breakout vampire romance film starring Kristen Stewart?
A: Twilight
2010s: Social Media & Streaming
- Q: Short‑form video app Musical.ly merged into what 2018 global phenomenon?
A: TikTok - Q: Streaming giant that premiered House of Cards in 2013?
A: Netflix - Q: 2016 Pokémon game that popularized AR on phones?
A: Pokémon GO - Q: “Brexit” referendum occurred in which year?
A: 2016 - Q: First image of a black hole captured by Event Horizon Telescope in what year?
A: 2019 - Q: #MeToo hashtag went viral in which year?
A: 2017 - Q: 2014 Ebola outbreak primarily affected which West African nation first?
A: Guinea - Q: Facebook acquired messaging app WhatsApp for ~$19 B in which year?
A: 2014 - Q: Marvel film that became first to gross $2 B worldwide (2019)?
A: Avengers: Endgame - Q: In 2012 Rover Curiosity landed on which planet?
A: Mars - Q: Same‑sex marriage became legal across the U.S. after what 2015 Supreme Court case?
A: Obergefell v. Hodges - Q: 2018 Winter Olympics were held in which South Korean county?
A: Pyeongchang - Q: Cryptocurrency created by pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto?
A: Bitcoin (launched 2009, booming in 2010s) - Q: 2011 Arab Spring protests began in which North African country?
A: Tunisia - Q: NASA’s New Horizons flyby revealed Pluto’s “heart” in which year?
A: 2015 - Q: South Korean pop hit to top 1 B YouTube views (2012)?
A: “Gangnam Style” by Psy - Q: Self‑destructing photo app launched 2011?
A: Snapchat - Q: 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull disrupted flights on which continent?
A: Europe - Q: 2013 whistle‑blower who leaked NSA documents?
A: Edward Snowden - Q: Global climate accord signed in 2015 capital city?
A: Paris (Paris Agreement)
2020s: Pandemic & Innovation
- Q: Novel coronavirus declared a pandemic by WHO on what date?
A: 11 March 2020 - Q: First mRNA COVID‑19 vaccine authorized in the U.S.?
A: Pfizer‑BioNTech (BNT162b2) - Q: NASA’s 2021 rover that carried the Ingenuity helicopter?
A: Perseverance - Q: Streaming series about chess that sparked board sales in 2020?
A: The Queen’s Gambit - Q: Cryptographic art pieces sold for millions are known as ____?
A: NFTs (non‑fungible tokens) - Q: 2022 Winter Olympics host city?
A: Beijing - Q: Billionaire completed the first all‑civilian orbital mission Inspiration4 in 2021?
A: Jared Isaacman (SpaceX) - Q: Social‑audio app that boomed during lockdown, valued at $4 B in 2021?
A: Clubhouse - Q: Country that won Eurovision 2021 with rock band Måneskin?
A: Italy - Q: 2023 generative AI chatbot released by OpenAI?
A: ChatGPT (based on GPT‑4o by 2025)
How to Use This Guide
Mix decades for themed quiz rounds, run a marathon timeline challenge, or spark lessons on cultural change.
However you play, these 225 Q & As bring more than a century of music, tech, fashion, war, and wonder vividly to life—no flux capacitor required!
Ellie Ewert is the founder and author of RandomTrivia.co, blending her passion for research with years of experience in content creation to deliver accurate, engaging, and well-sourced trivia. Dedicated to providing readers with trustworthy and entertaining facts, she applies meticulous fact-checking and SEO expertise to ensure every article meets the highest standards. Read more about our high standards in our Editorial Guidelines.