Quiz Bowl History Bowl Studying

Marathon

The battle in 490 BC that ended the invasion of Greece by Darius I of Persia.

Pheidippides

The messenger who ran 26 miles to report the victory at Marathon to Athens.

Thermopylae

The 480 BC battle where Persians defeated King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans; 'hot gates'.

Salamis

The naval battle in 480 BC where Themistocles led the Greeks to victory against Xerxes' Persians.

Cannae

The 216 BC battle in the Second Punic War where Hannibal achieved a significant victory.

Zama

The battle in 202 BC where Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal, concluding the Second Punic War.

Milvian Bridge

The 312 battle where Constantine the Great defeated Maxentius.

Tours

The 732 battle where Charles Martel halted the Muslim invasion of Western Europe.

Hastings

The 1066 battle where William the Conqueror defeated Harold Godwinson.

Kadesh

The 1274 BC battle, the largest chariot battle ever fought between the Hittites and Egyptians.

Agincourt

The 1415 battle during the 100 Years War where Henry V defeated the French.

Bosworth Field

The 1485 battle where Henry VII defeated Richard III, ending the Wars of the Roses.

Lepanto

The 1571 naval battle led by Don John of Austria that prevented Turkish expansion.

Naseby

The 1645 battle that was the first major victory for the New Model Army over Charles I.

Bunker Hill

The 1775 Revolutionary War battle fought on Breed's Hill near Boston, a pyrrhic victory for the British.

Saratoga

The 1777 battle considered the turning point of the American Revolution.

Yorktown

The final battle of the American Revolution in 1781 where Cornwallis surrendered.

Austerlitz

The 1805 battle, known as the 'Battle of Three Emperors,' where Napoleon defeated the Third Coalition.

Trafalgar

The 1805 naval battle where British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the Franco-Spanish fleet.

Leipzig

The 1813 battle known as the Battle of Nations, which resulted in Napoleon's exile.

Thames

The 1813 battle in the War of 1812 where the US defeated Great Britain.

Waterloo

The 1815 battle where the Seventh Coalition defeated Napoleon, leading to his exile.

Alamo

The 1836 battle in the War of Texan Independence where Spanish forces killed Crockett and Bowie.

Antietam

The bloodiest single day of fighting in US history during the Civil War, fought in 1862.

Shiloh

The 1862 battle also known as the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing, a significant Union victory.

Vicksburg

The 1863 siege led by US Grant that split the Confederacy in half.

Chancellorsville

The 1863 battle where Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was killed.

Gettysburg

The 1863 battle in Pennsylvania where George Meade defeated Robert E. Lee.

First Battle of the Marne

The 1914 WWI battle that halted the German advance on Paris.

Jutland

The largest naval battle of WWI fought in 1916, where Britain maintained its dominance.

Verdun

The bloody 1916 battle of WWI fought along the Meuse River.

Leningrad

The city besieged for 900 days during WWII.

Pearl Harbor

The 1941 attack that President FDR declared as 'a day that will live in infamy'.

Midway

The 1942 naval battle considered a turning point in the Pacific during WWII.

Coral Sea

The 1942 battle that was the first to be fought entirely with carrier-based airplanes.

Stalingrad

The turning point battle on the eastern front of WWII.

Bulge

The 1945 battle where Anthony McAuliffe famously replied 'Nuts' to a German surrender demand.

Iwo Jima

The battle notable for the iconic photo of Marines raising the American flag on Mt. Suribachi.

Henry VIII

The Tudor king who established the Church of England to obtain a divorce.

Elizabeth I

The 'Virgin Queen' who ruled England and sought to restore Protestantism.

George III

The British king during the American Revolutionary War.

Victoria

The longest-reigning British monarch who oversaw the expansion of the British Empire.

William the Conqueror

The Duke of Normandy who claimed the English throne in 1066 after defeating Harold II.

Charles I

The last absolute monarch of England, executed after the English Civil War.

James I

The king who succeeded Elizabeth I and authorized the King James Bible.

Richard III

The last monarch from the House of York, defeated at Bosworth Field.

Elizabeth II

The current Queen of the United Kingdom, representing a modern ceremonial monarchy.

John Lackland

The king forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.

Charles II

The king who was restored to the throne in 1660 after Cromwell's Commonwealth.

James II

The king deposed in the Glorious Revolution due to his Catholic favoritism.

Henry II

The English king who developed the common law and due process.

Richard I

The king known for his role in the Third Crusade and his limited reign in England.

Alfred the Great

The king who defended Wessex against the Danes and promoted literacy.

Washington

The first President of the United States, set many precedents.

Adams

The second President of the United States known for the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Jefferson

The third President, author of the Declaration of Independence.

Madison

The 'Father of the Constitution' and fourth President of the United States.

Monroe

The fifth President, known for the Monroe Doctrine.

John Quincy Adams

The sixth President of the U.S. who served after a controversial election.

Jackson

The seventh President known for his populist approach and the Indian Removal Act.

Van Buren

The eighth President, known as 'the little magician'.

William Henry Harrison

The ninth President who died shortly after taking office.

John Tyler

The first Vice President who assumed the presidency after Harrison's death.

Polk

The eleventh President, known for territorial expansion.

Taylor

The twelfth President, a hero of the Mexican-American War.

Fillmore

The last Whig president of the United States.

Pierce

The fourteenth President, facing the conflict over slavery.

Buchanan

The fifteenth President, struggling to keep the Union together.

Lincoln

The sixteenth President who led the country during the Civil War.

Johnson

The seventeenth President, who was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act.

Grant

The eighteenth President, known for his administration's scandals.

Hayes

The nineteenth President who ended Reconstruction.

Garfield

The twentieth President, assassinated shortly after taking office.

Arthur

The twenty-first President who completed the Pendleton Civil Service Act.

Cleveland

The only U.S. President to serve two non-consecutive terms.

McKinley

The twenty-fifth President, assassinated after leading the U.S. through the Spanish-American War.

Roosevelt

The twenty-sixth President, known for progressive reforms and conservation efforts.

Taft

The twenty-seventh President, who later served as Chief Justice.

Wilson

The twenty-eighth President, led America through WWI.

Harding

The twenty-ninth President, his term marred by scandals.

Coolidge

The thirtieth President known for his laissez-faire policies.

Hoover

The thirty-first President, criticized for his response to the Great Depression.

Roosevelt

The thirty-second President, known for his New Deal policies.

Truman

The thirty-third President, known for his decision to use atomic bombs in WWII.

Eisenhower

The thirty-fourth President, known for his role in the Cold War.

Kennedy

The thirty-fifth President known for his inspirational speeches and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Johnson

The thirty-sixth President, known for the Great Society programs.

Nixon

The thirty-seventh President who resigned due to the Watergate scandal.

Ford

The thirty-eighth President, known for his controversial pardon of Nixon.

Carter

The thirty-ninth President, known for his humanitarian work post-presidency.

Reagan

The fortieth President, known for conservative policies and ending the Cold War.

Bush

The forty-first President, known for his leadership during the Gulf War.

Clinton

The forty-second President, known for economic prosperity and impeachment.

Bush

The forty-third President, leading the nation during the 9/11 attacks.

Obama

The forty-fourth President, the first African American to hold office.

Versailles Treaty

The treaty that officially ended WWI, signed in 1919.

Utrecht Treaty

The treaty ending the War of the Spanish Succession signed in 1713.

Ghent Treaty

The treaty ending the War of 1812, signed in 1814.

Portsmouth Treaty

The treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War, signed in 1905.

Adams-Onis Treaty

The treaty that settled a boundary dispute between the U.S. and Spain, signed in 1819.