History questions

The World Wars Life in the UK Test Questions

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Question 1MediumOften tested

Who discovered the penicillin in 1928?

Alexander Fleming

Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 while researching influenza at St Mary's Hospital, London.

Correct answer

John McLeod

John Macleod was the co-discoverer of insulin used to treat diabetes, not penicillin.

Howard Florey

Howard Florey and Ernst Chain further developed Fleming's discovery into a usable drug in the 1940s.

Sir Robert Watson-Watt

Sir Robert Watson-Watt developed radar in the 1930s, not penicillin.

Explanation

Alexander Fleming was researching influenza (the ‘flu’) in 1928 when he discovered penicillin.

Question 2MediumOften tested

The First World War ended at 11.00 am on 11 November 1918.

False

True

Correct answer

Explanation

The ending of the First World War on 11 November 1918 is still commemorated to this day.

Question 3MediumOften tested

The First World War ended on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month in 1918

False

True

Correct answer

Explanation

The First World War ended at 11 am on 11 November 1918, remembered as the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Question 4MediumOften tested

Winston Churchill lost the General Election in 1945

False

True

Correct answer

Explanation

Churchill was the son of a politician and, before becoming a Conservative MP in 1900, was a soldier and journalist. In May 1940 he became Prime Minister. He refused to surrender to the Nazis and was an inspirational leader to the British people in a time of great hardship. He lost the General Election in 1945 but returned as Prime Minister in 1951.

Question 5MediumOften tested

'We shall fight them on the beaches' is a famous quote from a speech by Queen Elizabeth I about the Spanish Armada.

False

Correct answer

True

Explanation

We shall fight them on the beaches' is a quote from a speech by Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister in 1940, about a potential German invasion.

Question 6MediumOften tested

'We shall fight them on the beaches' is a famous quote from a speech by Queen Elizabeth II about the Spanish Armada

False

Correct answer

True

Explanation

It's a quote from a speech by Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister in 1940, about a potential German invasion

Question 7MediumOften tested

When did Winston Churchill die?

In 1965

Churchill died in 1965 and was given a state funeral.

Correct answer

In 1955

Churchill returned as Prime Minister in 1951; he did not die in 1955.

In 1960

Churchill stood down from Parliament at the 1964 election, not 1960.

In 1964

Churchill stood down at the 1964 general election but died the following year, 1965.

Explanation

Winston Churchill died in 1965.

Question 8MediumOften tested

Which of these was said by Winston Churchill?

All of the these

All three famous quotes are attributed to Churchill in his WWII speeches.

Correct answer

'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat' only

This is one Churchill quote, but he made all three listed speeches.

'We shall never surrender' only

This is one Churchill quote, but he is credited with all three.

'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few' only

This tribute to the RAF is one Churchill speech; he made all three listed.

Explanation

All three famous phrases — 'blood, toil, tears and sweat', 'we shall never surrender', and 'never in the field of human conflict' — are attributed to Winston Churchill in his Second World War speeches.

Question 9MediumOften tested

During the ______ World War Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister

Second

Correct answer

First

Question 10Medium

Who was Prime Minister for most of the Second World War?

Clement Richard Attlee

Attlee became PM after Churchill lost the 1945 election; he led the post-war Labour government

James Harold Wilson

Harold Wilson was PM in the 1960s and 1970s; not during WWII

Arthur Neville Chamberlain

Chamberlain was PM at the war's outset but resigned in May 1940; Churchill succeeded him

Winston Churchill

Churchill became PM in May 1940 and led Britain through WWII until the 1945 election

Correct answer

Explanation

Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minister when the war began in 1939. Winston Churchill replaced him in May 1940 and led Britain until the 1945 election, so he was the war leader for most of the Second World War.

Question 11Medium

In British history D-Day refers to

battle of Trafalgar

Trafalgar was the 1805 naval battle against France and Spain; D-Day was in 1944

end of the war in Europe in 1945

VE Day on 8 May 1945 marked the end of the war; D-Day was the preceding invasion

Allied invasion of Europe in 1944

On 6 June 1944, Allied forces landed in Normandy — D-Day — opening the Western Front

Correct answer

dropping of the atom bomb on Japan

The atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945

Explanation

D-Day refers to 6 June 1944, when Allied forces landed in Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany.

Question 12Medium

When did Adolf Hitler come to power in Germany?

1933

Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933

Correct answer

1942

By 1942 Germany was already deep into the Second World War

1931

Germany was in political turmoil but Hitler had not yet taken power

1922

Mussolini came to power in Italy in 1922, not Hitler in Germany

Explanation

Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933.

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