Famous Ships Through History Trivia Quiz

Answer: RMS Aquitania

RMS Aquitania held the record for the longest service career (30 years) until 2004 when the QEII became the longest serving vessel. Aquitania held the nickname "Ship Beautiful" as she was one of the most luxurious liners of her day. The decorators of the ship also designed the Ritz hotels of London and Paris.

Answer: The American Civil War

The HL Hunley was the first submarine to sink a ship in battle during the American Civil War when it was built by the Confederacy and incurred a significant loss of life in its creation.

Answer: Hudson River

The Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England, in September 1620, carrying the group of settlers who later became popularly known as the Pilgrims. The Hudson River was its original intended destination, but after encountering rough seas they tried for Northern Virginia but almost shipwrecked, so they returned to Cape Cod and anchored in Provincetown, MA.

Answer: The Beagle

The Beagle was the British Naval vessel on which Charles Darwin served as a naturalist on a voyage to South America and around the world from 1831-1836. The specimens and observations accumulated on this voyage gave Darwin the essential materials for his theory of evolution by natural selection.

Answer: Vasa

The Vasa sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 due to instability. She was salvaged in 1961 and her artifacts have provided scholars with insight into 17th century warfare, shipbuilding, and everyday life.

Answer: USS Constitution

USS Constitution is most remembered for her battles in the War of 1812 where media attention from her battle with the ship Guirriere earned her the nickname Old Ironsides. Because of this public adoration she was saved from the scrapyard and is still afloat today in Boston, MA.

Answer: USS Maine

The USS Maine led to the Spanish-American War, mainly as a result of media coverage that led people to believe that it was a Spanish mine that caused the explosion, and exhorted them to "Remember the Maine!". In 1976 a team of American naval investigators concluded that the explosion was likely caused by a fire that ignited ammunition cargo.

Answer: Santa Maria

The Santa Maria struck a reef off the coast of Haiti on Christmas Day in 1492. Columbus and his men built a fort with the ship's timbers and left 39 men to establish the new fort. When he returned a year later, no one was found alive.

Answer: Titanic

On April 14, 1912 the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sunk with 2,224 people on board, more than 1500 of whom died. The captain ignored iceberg warnings. After the tragedy, regulations about ratio of passenger to life boats was changed.

Answer: Lusitania

The Lusitania played a significant part in the US entering World War I, two years after it sunk, because public opinion held that the Germans had sunk a non military ship in violation of the international cruiser rules, killing 128 citizens.