US History By Month Trivia Quiz

On November 4, 1979, American embassy staff members were taken hostage in Tehran, Iran. The Iranian Islamic Revolution took issue with U.S. policy, and militants seized the U.S. embassy. On January 20, 1981, just after the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan, the first 52 hostages were released. This was called the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Presidents' Day is celebrated on the third Monday in February to honor all of the American Presidents, but it began as a celebration of George Washington. President Washington was the only President to be voted in unanimously. Washington was born February 22, 1732, and Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809.

One of the key conflicts that led to the start of the American Revolutionary War against England was the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. Outside of the Customs House, on this date, some angry Boston colonists threw snowballs and rocks at British soldiers. One soldier defied orders and shot into the crowd. Soon after, many shots were fired into the crowd.

They killed five and wounded many others. This conflict united the colonists and led to the upcoming war.

On April 2, 1917, Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. On the sixth, Congress passed the declaration and the United States joined the Allied Forces in World War I. Wilson took issue with Germany's use of unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean and the violation of their agreement to stop.

In Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2nd, 2011, the death of the founder of al-Queda headlined the news. The U.S. Navy Seal Six team killed Osama bin Laden after almost a decade of searching for the terrorist leader. Bin Laden claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001, attack on New York City and Washington DC that resulted in the largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

A day so famous that it's known by a single letter, D-Day was the largest amphibious landing in war history. On this date, the Allies united their attack against Nazi Germany and sent a naval, air, and land attack against the Axis powers. United States troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in France.

The seaborne attack lasted over twelve weeks, and resulted in the loss of over 20,000 lives. It was a pivotal battle in World War II.

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Sea of Tranquility on the moon. Neil Armstrong's famous quote on that day was, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". The Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union took a major change after this monumental event in 1969. Both countries agreed that exploring space was expensive and did not have to be competitive. During the 1970s the two superpowers worked collaboratively on things like the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and shared their knowledge.

The United States wanted to end World War 2 as quickly as possible and to avoid future attacks on American soil. After the new atomic bomb capabilities were tested on U.S. soil, the U.S. decided to drop the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

The bomb was nicknamed "Little Boy", and was released from a B-29 bomber piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets. The date, August 6, 1945, will live in infamy as the lives of many civilians were taken and the majority of the Japanese city was leveled.

September 11, 2001, was named Patriot Day, and in 2009 Congress officially named it the National Day of Service and Remembrance. The Twin Towers in New York City were hit by two commercial airplanes after terrorists took over the cockpits. In all, nearly 3,000 people died, and, at the time, was the deadliest attack on American soil by a foreign entity.

"America's Pastime" is always played in October, so fittingly the first major league baseball championship series began during that month too. In 1903, the Boston Americans played the Pittsburgh Pirates in a best of nine game series. Boston won the series five games to three.

The assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 20, 1963, was a life-changing moment for many Americans. While driving in a convertible in a motorcade in Dallas, President Kennedy was shot in the head with his wife Jacqueline by his side.

The drama of the brutal killing was captured on television sets for families sitting at home together. Newscaster Walter Cronkite held back tears when he announced the passing of the President at 1PM that day. It was determined by the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman assassin.

December 15, 1791, saw the United States adopt the first ten amendments of the Constitution. These are collectively known as the Bill of Rights, and established many rights and legalities to all American citizens. President Washington sent the 12 amendments to the states on October 2, 1789, and on December 15 Virginia was the last state to agree.