Which president was a peanut farmer? Who coined the moniker the “White House”? Which president was the first to ride in an airplane? Only 46 men have been elected into the Oval Office, making the presidential fraternity one of the smallest groups in the world. However, this small fraternity has had exceptional experiences that lend themselves to trivia questions.
From inspirational quotes to presidential firsts, the American presidents have left their marks on US and world history. Take the advice of Theodore Roosevelt to “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Believe you know the answers and test your knowledge with our presidential trivia questions
If you don’t know the difference between John Adams and John Quincy Adams, or you think only one George Bush was president, then check out our other trivia quizzes on Barack Obama and Donald Trump. You can test your knowledge on subjects like Royal Family, Kings & Queens, or world history.
Which country’s parliament is called the Storting?
Netherlands
Norway
New Zealand
Nigeria
In 1970, politician Iain Macleod died of a heart attack. Which senior governmental post was he in at the time?
Foreign Secretary
Chancellor
Home Secretary
Defence Secretary
Who was the first US President to have been born a US citizen?
James K Polk
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
Henry Harrison
In which US city was George Washington inaugurated for his first term as President of the United States?
Philadelphia
New York
Washington DC
Baltimore
How many times was Franklin D Roosevelt elected as US President?
Four
Three
Two
Five
In which year was US President George W. Bush born?
1946
1942
1950
1938
The Althingi is the name of parliament in which country?
Austria
Iceland
Latvia
Denmark
What did the Tory government introduce in 1973 in a bid to conserve electricity during industrial action by miners?
Three Day Week
Twenty Hour Day
Fifty Minute Hour
Forty Second Minute
When Gordon Brown took over as PM, how many years had Labour been in continuous government?
10
14
6
8
In which year was US President John F. Kennedy born?
1917
1905
1908
1913
Which US president completed the Louisiana Purchase – buying Louisiana Territory from France?
John Adams
James Munroe
James Madison
Thomas Jefferson
When did the House of Lords surrender its absolute right to veto legislation?
1971
1911
1941
2001
Which of these was the second president of the United States?
John Adams
James Madison
Thomas Jefferson
John Quincy Adams
Which of these did NOT serve as Chancellor under Margaret Thatcher?
Norman Lamont
Gordon Brown
John Major
Geoffrey Howe
On what did the ‘Corn Laws’ of 1804, impose a heavy tax?
Imported corn
Exported corn
Cornfalkes
Wasted corn
In which year was US President Barack Obama born?
1961
1953
1957
1965
Which member of Thatcher’s cabinet was nicknamed the ‘Rabbi of Bray’?
Nigel Lawson
Malcolm Rifkind
Michael Heseltine
Leon Brittan
What position did Eric Holder hold in Barack Obama’s first cabinet?
Secretary of Labor
Attorney General
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of State
Which US President was the tallest?
John F Kennedy
Woodrow Wilson
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Which US President died before the others?
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Richard Nixon
Lyndon B. Johnson
Harry S. Truman
Which US President first made his name as an actor?
Jimmy Carter
John F.Kennedy
Ronald Reagan
Richard Nixon
Which Johnson became US President after Kennedy’s assassination?
Magic
Lyndon
Jack
Alan
Which Harry was President of America in the 1940s?
Harry James
Harry S.Truman
Harry Conwick jr.
Harry Houdini
In which year was US President Calvin Coolidge born?
1877
1866
1872
1882
In which year was the voting age reduced from 21 to 18?
1966
1970
1969
1971
Which US President died before the others?
Andrew Jackson
William Henry Harrison
James Madison
John Quincy Adams
In which city was Bobby Kennedy assassinated in 1968?
Los Angeles
New Orleans
New York
San Francisco
Which of these was the birth state of more future US presidents than any other?
Massachusetts
Ohio
Virginia
New York
Who was Bill Clinton’s Republican opponent in the 1992 presidential election?
Bob Dole
Ronald Reagan
George H W Bush
Mitt Romney
The Great Society’ was a set of domestic political programs launches by which US President?
Lyndon Johnson
Richard Nixon
Ronald Reagan
John F Kennedy
Which President had a dog called Checkers?
Richard Nixon
Woodrow Wilson
Harry S.Truman
Lyndon B.Johnson
Which of these is a British MP NOT allowed to do?
Marry a foreigner
Resign
Marry a Roman Catholic
Divorce
What’s the nickname of former MP John Prescott?
Johnny Two Capris
Johnny Two Morris Minors
Johnny Two Jags
Johnny Two Mercs
Who is second in line of succession to the presidency – i.e. after the Vice-President?
Secretary of the Treasury
Head of the Senate
Secretary of State
Speaker of the House
Who was the 40th President of the United States?
Ronald Reagan
Richard Nixon
John F Kennedy
Jimmy Carter
The Teapot Dome Scandal took place during whose presidency?
Ulysses S Grant
Warren G Harding
Andrew Jackson
Rutherford B Hayes
In which year did all voting in British General Elections become secret?
1972
1952
1922
1872
Which US President was in office at the outbreak of the First World War?
Warren G Harding
William Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Theodore Roosevelt
In the UK, which government department oversees the prison and probationary services?
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Sound
Treasury
Which Independent candidate won 46 Electoral College votes and carried 5 states in the 1968 presidential election?
John Anderson
George Wallace
Harry F Byrd
Strom Thurmond
Which former Labour Minister is a defector from the Tory Party?
Hazel Blears
Shaun Woodward
Hilary Benn
Yvette Cooper
Old Hickory’ was a nickname given to which US President?
Rutherford Hayes
Franklin Pierce
Andrew Jackson
John Quincy Adams
In which year did Britain last have a Liberal Prime Minister?
1922
1942
1932
1912
Which US President died before the others?
James Monroe
William Henry Harrison
Andrew Jackson
James Madison
At only 5ft 4in tall, who was the smallest US President?
James Polk
William Taft
James Madison
Calvin Coolidge
Which former President reportedly said: ‘You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog’?
Richard Nixon
Harry S.Truman
Theodore Roosevelt
Herbert Hoover
Apart from John F Kennedy, who is the only US president buried in Arlington National Cemetery?
William Taft
William McKinley
Ulysses S Grant
Theodore Roosevelt
Which political party ruled the UK throughout the 1980s?
Conservative
LibDem
Green
Labour
In which decade did Britain first have a woman Prime Minister?
1970s
1930s
1990s
1950s
George W Bush was visiting a school in which state when he was informed about the 9/11 attacks?
Alabama
Florida
Texas
Louisiana
Which key figure in the Labour Government had previously been university lecturer and also worked in television?
John Prescott
Tony Blair
Alastair Campbell
Gordon Brown
Presidential Inaugurations are usually carried out on the steps of which building?
The Capitol
The Treasury
The Pentagon
The White House
In which year was US President Dwight D. Eisenhower born?
1890
1880
1870
1900
Which US President was born before the others?
James Monroe
Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison
Andrew Jackson
What name is given to the group of ministers selected by the UK Prime Minister to form the government?
Welsh Dresser
Cabinet
Cupboard
Sideboard
Ronald Reagan was once governor of which state?
California
New York
Illinois
Texas
Neville Chamberlain was the Prime Minister at the outbreak of which war?
Boer War
Falklands War
First Gulf War
World War II
Who was the first US President to die in office?
Abraham Lincoln
Zachary Taylor
William Harrison
James Garfield
Who was the first member of the Republican Party to be elected president?
Rutherford B Hayes
Ulysses S Grant
James Garfield
Abraham Lincoln
Which US President’s wife was known as ‘Lady Bird’?
Lyndon Johnson
George W Bush
Ronald Reagan
Jimmy Carter
In which decade did Britain get its first female Prime Minister?
1990s
1930s
1950s
1970s
Who succeeded John F Kennedy as President of the United States?
Lyndon Johnson
Jimmy Carter
Gerald Ford
Richard Nixon
In which decade was Lyndon B. Johnson President?
60s
50s
70s
80s
Which US President was born before the others?
Harry S. Truman
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Herbert Hoover
Which President was nicknamed Ike?
Truman
Eisenhower
Carter
Nixon
In which year was US President Richard Nixon born?
1913
1915
1911
1909
Which of these US Presidents is NOT depicted among the four sculptures on Mount Rushmore?
Thomas Jefferson
Franklin D Roosevelt
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Which of these US Presidents once served as Director of the CIA?
Herbert Hoover
George H W Bush
Richard Nixon
George W Bush
Which US President was born before the others?
Grover Cleveland
Chester A. Arthur
James A. Garfield
Ulysses S. Grant
In which year was US President Lyndon B. Johnson born?
1904
1921
1913
1908
In which year was direct rule imposed on Northern Ireland by Westminster?
1972
1974
1970
1968
Who was the first US president to formally transfer presidential authority to his vice-president while he underwent surgery?
George W Bush
Bill Clinton
George H W Bush
Ronald Reagan
Which of these men did NOT serve as both vice president and president?
Lyndon Johnson
George H W Bush
George W Bush
Gerald Ford
In which year was US President Bill Clinton born?
1940
1951
1946
1935
Who was President of the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Lyndon Johnson
Dwight D Eisenhower
Richard Nixon
John F Kennedy
In which year did all women over 21 receive the vote in Britain?
1998
1928
1958
2008
Which US President was in office at the outbreak of the Second World War?
Herbert Hoover
Harry S Truman
Franklin D Roosevelt
Dwight D Eisenhower
Which of these men never became President of the United States?
Franklin Pierce
James Garfield
Zachary Taylor
Alexander Hamilton
Who was President when the USA purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867?
Abraham Lincoln
James Buchanan
Andrew Johnson
Ulysses S Grant
After the death of the incumbent president, which VP was famously sworn in as President by his father, a notary public?
Calvin Coolidge
John Tyler
Theodore Roosevelt
Chester Arthur
In which decade did Tony Blair first become Prime Minister?
1990s
2000s
1980s
1970s
Who was President at the time of the US Bicentennial in 1976?
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Which President had a cat called Tom Kitten?
John F.Kennedy
Richard Nixon
Jimmy Carter
Gerald Ford
In which decade did the position ‘Secretary of State for War’ cease to be a Cabinet post in the UK?
50s
60s
70s
40s
Who was the first Catholic president of the United States?
John F Kennedy
Harry S Truman
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Which British Prime Minister spoke of ‘peace in our time?’?
Eden
Chamberlain
Home
Attlee
Of which European country has Bertie Ahern been Prime Minster?
Ireland
Greece
Netherlands
Switzerland
Which sorts of business did the UK Government have to ‘rescue’ to the tune of hundreds of billions of pounds in 2008?
Shoe retailers
Car rental firms
Hairdressers
Banks
Which Prime Minister did the IRA try to kill by blowing up the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984?
Heath
Blair
Thatcher
Major
Who was Harry S Truman’s Republican opponent when he won a surprise victory in the 1948 presidential election?
Strom Thurmond
Wendell Willkie
Thomas Dewey
Alf Landon
Which President had the middle name Earl?
Jimmy Carter
Gerald Ford
Bill Clinton
Ronald Reagan
Which former Chancellor of the Exchequer was known as ‘Smuggins’?
Gordon Brown
Norman Lamont
Nigel Lawson
Geoffrey Howe
Former President Jimmy Carter was born in which state?
Indiana
Georgia
Alabama
Montana
Which of these has NOT been the surname of more than one US President?
Harrison
Johnson
Bush
Jackson
Which member of the Government delivers the annual Budget speech?
Chancellor
Home Secretary
Prime Minister
Foreign Secretary
Which former Cabinet member is also a former postman?
Hilary Benn
Alan Johnson
Paul Murphy
James Purnell
Who was President of the United States when Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969?
Gerald Ford
Lyndon Johnson
John F Kennedy
Richard Nixon
At 6ft 4in, who was the tallest President of the US?
Franklin D.Roosevelt
William McKinley
Abraham Lincoln
Theodore Roosevelt
Which President was nicknamed ‘Ten Cent Jimmy’?
James Madison
James Garfield
James Polk
James Buchanan
In which year was US President Herbert Hoover born?
1890
1898
1874
1882
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