History

100 Presidential Trivia Questions to Test What You Know About the Men in the Oval Office

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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My passion for travel seamlessly integrates with my love for trivia, as I spend a lot of time on the road. I create engaging trivia quizzes based on the information I gather about new locations, food, music, customs, and people.

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