Geography

101 Explorer Trivia Questions That are Pure Gold

Explorers, trailblazers, gallavanters, and pioneers… No matter what name they go by, history is chock-full of plucky seafarers and stouthearted globetrotters bubbling over with wanderlust. Whether questing for glory, God, or gold, these OG flat-earthers were willing to risk it all for a taste of adventure.  

Think you’re ready to stand amongst giants like Vespucci and de Gama? Want to show Shackleton and Shaw who’s boss? Then prepare to hoist anchor as you circumnavigate a brave new world of explorer trivia questions and answers that will prove just how big of a history buff you are. 

These questions will test your knowledge to its limit- and prove how much explorer knowledge you have. 

Once you’re done dodging dreaded sea monsters and conquering far shores, why not take a crack at trivia about Africa, Europe, or geography? Or kick it old school with an ancient and medieval trivia quiz that’ll keep you entertained all knight.

Jacques Cartier discovered which country?

Canada

Mexico

Brazil

United States

Who was Ferdinand Magellan?

A 19th century philosopher

The Archduke of Austria who was assassinated in Sarajevo

economist and social reformer

A Portuguese explorer and the first European to cross the Pacific

Who was David Livingstone?

A Dutch scholar and humanist of the Protestant Reformation

A famous diplomat and spy during World War I

A Scottish missionary and explorer in Africa

A British author who wrote ‘Oliver Twist’

What name was given to the islands we now know as Hawaii when they were first discovered by Europeans?

Gilbert Islands

Spice Islands

Marshall Islands

Sandwich Islands

T. E. Lawrence became famous as Lawrence of …?

America

Arabia

Afghanistan

Algeria

In 1963, who became the first woman to fly in space?

Anna Kournikova

Valentina Kournikova

Valentina Terranova

Valentina Tereshkova

Who conquered the Greeks around 2,100 years ago?

Persians

Egyptians

Romans

Babylonians

Which famous ship was sunk in 1545?

Mary Rosalind

Mary Rhonda

Mary Rose

Millie Rose

In what capacity was Vasco Nunez de Balboa famous in history?

Explorer

Led the Spanish Armada

Royal artist

Wrote ‘Don Quixote’

Who discovered Greenland?

Erik The Blue

Erik The Red

Erik The Green

Erik The Black

Who was king when Columbus discovered America?

Edward VI

James I

Charles I

Henry VII

Who was Richard E. Byrd?

The Vice President to Richard Nixon

A Soviet spy during the Cold War

A famous New York gangster during the1940s

A pioneering American aviator and polar explorer

Which explorer gave the name Canada?

Amerigo Vespucci

Jacques Cartier

Christopher Columbus

Marco Polo

Who was Roald Amundsen?

A 19th and 20th century social reformer

The last King of Norway

A Norwegian explorer and the first man to reach the South Pole

A 20th century author and journalist who opposed totalitarianism

Who arrived in Massachusetts from England in 1620?

Pilgrim Potter

Perky Mothers

Pilgrim Fathers

Pilgrim Friends

Where did the British establish an outpost in 1803?

Van Dimming Land

Van Dinsen Land

Van Diemen’s Land

Van Densing Land

Who discovered the Lost City of Machu Picchu in 1912?

Hiram Bingham

James Brightman

William Shelton

Alfred Hanson

Who was the first man to conquer Mount Everest?

Edmund Stacy

Edmund Sarah

Edmund Hillary

Edmund Veronica

Who discovered Canada?

Christopher Columbus

Amerigo Vespucci

Marco Polo

Jacques Cartier

Walter Raleigh named which US state after Elizabeth I?

Virginia

Dakota

Hawaii

Utah

Which famous explorer’s ship was called The Discovery?

Captain James Cook

Captain Dale Dakota

Captain Pete Miller

Captain Jack Sparrow

Which explorer first claimed Canada for France?

Christopher Columbus

Jacques Cartier

Amerigo Vespucci

Marco Polo

Who carried out the second circumnavigation of the world?

Jacob Le Maire

John Hawkins

Thomas Doughty

Francis Drake

Where did explorers first arrive in Canada?

Cape Breton

Goose Bay

Fredericton

L’Anse aux Meadows

Who was John Cabot?

A Victorian pioneer of archaeology

An 18th and 19th century pioneer of vaccination and immunology

A 15th century Italian explorer

The U.S. President who won the Civil War and abolished slavery

What did Captain Cook discover in 1778?

The Sandwich Islands

New Zealand

Tasmania

Christmas Island

Which of the following four ships was launched the earliest?

Mayflower

SS Great Britain

Cutty Sark

Discovery

Who claimed the East Coast of Australia as British in 1770?

Cpt James Cook

Cpt Jimmy Cool

Cpt James Copthorne

Cpt James Corol

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first men to climb which mountain?

Mount Olympus

Mount Doom

Mount Rushmore

Mount Everest

Which ‘Apollo’ mission landed the first humans on the Moon?

13

12

11

15

The tomb of which boy king was first discovered in 1922?

Akhenaten

Ramesses

Tutankhamen

Khufu

What was the name of a famous Norse explorer in the 10th Century?

Erik The Red

Erik The Blue

Erik The Black

Erik The Green

What was the name of the ship that James Cook used on his first voyage of discovery to Australia and New Zealand?

HMS Eagle

HMS Endeavour

HMS Discovery

HMS Resolution

What was the name of the ship on which the Pilgrims came to America?

Ark

Dove

Discovery

Mayflower

Who was the first man to circumnavigate Australia?

Nicolas Baudin

George Bass

Matthew Flinders

Arthur Philip

Who was the first to explore Germany?

Strabo

Herodotus

Eratosthenes

Pytheas

Meriwether Lewis was an American what?

Lawyer

Doctor

Explorer

Politician

Which explorer died en route to Tahiti?

William Dampier

Nicolas Baudin

Matthew Flinders

George Bass

In which century did James Cook discover the Hawaiian islands?

16th

18th

17th

19th

Marco Polo was an explorer from which country?

Brazil

Morocco

Italy

Scotland

Which British captain and explorer proved that New Zealand was not a part of a continent?

Ferdinand Magellan

Amerigo Vespucci

Christopher Columbus

James Cook

Who was Leif Ericson?

The last King of Sweden

A Victorian pioneer of computer science

An 11th century explorer who may have discovered the Americas

A 16th century scientist and pioneer of magnetism

Who first sailed around the Cape of Good Hope?

Ferdinand Magellan

Vasco da Gama

Francois Emerald

Marco Polo

What led to the growth of California in 1848?

Oil

Diamonds

Gold

Tin

Which Dutch navigator led the first European expedition to sight the Fiji island group?

Jan Carsenszoon

Willem Janszoon

Dirk Hartog

Abel Tasman

Who was Vasco da Gama?

Italy’s Fascist dictator during World War II

A Portuguese explorer and navigator

The President of Portugal during World War I

A famous 16th century pirate who terrorized the Caribbean

Why was Easter Island named Easter island?

The indigenous people used to paint eggs

Jacob Roggeveen had sailed east when he found it

The indigenous people wore feathers in their hair

It was discovered on Easter Sunday

What name is given to the 11 ships that sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787?

First Fleet

Southern Settlers

Pilgrim Fathers

Israelites

In what year did Roald Amundsen reach the South Pole?

1916

1907

1902

1911

In what year did Christopher Columbus discover America?

1495

1601

1492

1512

Which English explorer credited with ‘the establishment of the first English settlement in North America was born on New Year’s Day 1580?

Joseph Smith

David Smith

John Smith

Jack Smith

Who is credited with discovering America?

Christopher Columbus

Jesse James

Thomas Edison

William Shakespeare

Who was the first woman in outer space?

Gertrude Bell

Osa Johnson

Mae Jemison

Valentina Tereshkova

Where did the marauding Vikings come from?

Scandinavia

China

Portugal

Middle East

What did the Europeans want from Asia?

Diamonds

Spices, gold, and silk

Slaves

Cotton, tobacco, and food

How did Europeans learn about Asia?

Columbus told them

Reference books

Native Americans

Soldiers returning from the Crusades

Who discovered the sea route to India?

Ferdinand Magellan

Francois Emerald

Marco Polo

Vasco da Gama

Which explorer was the first to circumnavigate the globe?

Marco Polo

Magellan

Drake

Columbus

Cpt James Bligh captained which famous ship?

HMS Snickers

HMS Wispa

HMS Bounty

HMS Galaxy

Which year did the Americans launched their first satellite Explorer 1?

1970

1969

1985

1958

Which of these happened first?

Diaz Rounds Cape of Good Hope

De Gama reaches India

Columbus visits Jamaica

Madeira and Azores discovered

Man finally landed on the moon in which year?

2009

1999

1939

1969

Which explorer first entered San Francisco Bay in 1579?

Henry Hudson

Juan Ponce de Leon

Amerigo Vespucci

Francis Drake

In which century was explorer Marco Polo born?

16th

13th

15th

14th

Which explorer’s expedition was the first to circumnavigate the earth?

Cook

Magellan

Cartier

de Gama

Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered in which decade?

1910s

1890s

1880s

1920s

Jacques Cartier claimed which part of Canada for France?

Ontario

Quebec

Manitoba

British Colombia

Who was the first to call America a ‘New World’?

Amerigo Vespucci

Amarisio Walti

Wamerico Cocci

Liam Merica

In which century did Christopher Columbus discover America?

15th

16th

17th

14th

Who was the explorer who died in Panama in 1596?

Henry Hudson

Juan Ponce de Leon

Francis Drake

Amerigo Vespucci

Which was the first continent to be discovered that had no native population?

Antarctica

America

Australia

Asia

In what year was the wreck of the Titanic discovered?

1989

1980

1983

1985

What did the early explorers originally call America?

The Colonies

New England

The Land of Opportunity

The New World

Who discovered the ‘New World’ of the Americas?

Christopher Columbus

Hernán Cortés

Francis Drake

Ferdinand Magellan

Who settled Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607?

John Winthrop

Walter Raleigh

John Smith

John Rolfe

Who was the second person to walk on the moon?

Buzz Aldrin

Neil Armstrong

Michael Collins

John Glenn

Who was the first person to reach the North Pole?

Frederick Cook

Matthew Henson

Robert Peary

Roald Amundsen

Who sailed in the ‘Santa Maria’?

Walter Raleigh

Christopher Columbus

James Cook

Amerigo Vespucci

Who was Captain James Cook?

A famous 16th century pirate who harried the Caribbean

A 18th century explorer who mapped Australia and claimed it for Great Britain

A feared British U-boat captain during World War II

The officer who mobilized the Arab Revolt of World War I

Who said ‘Dr Livingstone I Presume’?

David Linvingstone

John Hanning Speke

Henry Morton Stanley

Leopold II of Belgium

Why did Columbus call the Arawaks Indians?

It was their secret name

He thought he had reached the Indies

They told him to

They had dark skin

What nationality was the great explorer Vasco Da Gama?

Italian

French

Portuguese

Spanish

Who was Sir Richard Burton?

The Prime Minister of England during World War II

The inventor of the telephone

A British 19th and 20th century writer and Nobel Prize winner

A Victorian explorer and writer

Who was Marco Polo?

A 16th century French prophet

A 14th century theologian who translated the bible into Latin

seer and healer

A 13th century Venetian explorer of China

Where did the first fleet of British ships land in 1788?

Boitano Bay

Botswana Bay

Botany Bay

Bobby Bay

The first German immigrants to Australia settled where?

Exeter

Klemzig

Ottoway

Taperoo

Edmund Hillary was the first man to conquer which mountain?

Table Mountain

Mount Everest

Ben Nevis

K2

What was the middle name of the explorer Captain Scott?

Kestrel

Eagle

Falcon

Merlin

Which explorers expedition was the first to circumnavigate the earth?

Cook

Magellan

Cartier

de Gama

Who is credited with bringing tobacco to England?

Sir Walter Filter

Sir Walter Snuff

Sir Walter Hamlet

Sir Walter Raleigh

What was the common nationality of the explorers Vasco da Gama, Bartholomew Diaz and Ferdinand Magellan?

English

Spanish

French

Portuguese

Who was Christopher Columbus?

A 19th century inventor and electrical pioneer

A 20th century nuclear physicist and Nobel Prize winner

One of the first explorers to reach the Americas

A U.S. president who resigned after the Watergate scandal

Hiram Bingham rediscovered which archeological site in 1911?

Great Pyramid Of Giza

Great Wall Of China

Machu Picchu

Stonehenge

What did Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon discover in 1922?

DNA

Tomb of Tutankhamen

The Elgin Marbles

Diamonds

On which date of 1969 did Neil Armstrong walk on the moon?

May 12th

January 16th

July 20th

April 13th

Which famous waterfalls did David Livingstone discover in 1855?

Niagara Falls

Zambezi Falls

Angel Falls

Victoria Falls

Who was the first black woman in space?

Nichelle Nichols

Sally Ride

Mae Jemison

Bessie Coleman

Who led the team that discovered Tutankhamen’s tomb?

Harold Abrahams

Howard Carter

Howard Keel

Harold Pullman

Who discovered the sea route to India in 1497?

Marco Polo

Francois Emerald

Vasco da Gama

Ferdinand Magellan

Who discovered Tutankhamen’s tomb?

Howard Keil

Howard Carter

Harold Pullman

Harold Abrahams

What South American country is named after a famous explorer?

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Peru

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