49 presidential trivia questions with answers

Questions for a Presidents' Day lesson, a social studies class or a history round at quiz night, for players about 10 and up: Presidents' Day, faces on coins and bills, the first presidents, famous firsts, the rules of the job and life in the White House. Each of the six sections makes a round, and every answer links to its source.

The next Presidents' Day is Monday 15 Feb 2027. Source: Wikipedia

49 questions · Presidential trivia questions with answers · answers included

Updated 28 Oct 2026

Presidents' Day

1
On which Monday of February is Presidents' Day held?

easy

Answer
The third Monday.
A 1968 law moved the holiday to a Monday to give federal workers a three-day weekend.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents'_Day?oldid=1379217312
2
Which pie is a traditional Presidents' Day treat, thanks to a story about young George Washington?

easy

Answer
Cherry pie.
The story of the chopped-down tree was spread by an early biographer, Parson Weems, and historians call it a myth.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents'_Day?oldid=1379217312
3
What is Presidents' Day officially called by the federal government?

medium

Answer
Washington's Birthday.
An early plan to rename the holiday Presidents' Day failed in a congressional committee.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents'_Day?oldid=1379217312
4
On what date was George Washington born, by today's calendar?

medium

Answer
February 22, 1732.
He was born at Popes Creek, in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents'_Day?oldid=1379217312
5
Between which two dates does Presidents' Day always fall?

hard

Answer
February 15 and 21.
So the holiday never lands on Washington's real birthday.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents'_Day?oldid=1379217312
6
Since 1862, which of Washington's writings has the US Senate read aloud on his birthday?

hard

Answer
The Farewell Address.
Washington wrote it in 1796, warning Americans about the dangers of division.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents'_Day?oldid=1379217312

Presidents on money and monuments

7
Whose face has been on the penny since 1909?

easy

Answer
Abraham Lincoln.
1909 marked 100 years since his birth.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)?oldid=1382259998
8
Which president is on the front of the nickel?

easy

Answer
Thomas Jefferson.
Despite its name, the coin is three-quarters copper and only one-quarter nickel.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_(United_States_coin)?oldid=1382300434
9
Which president has been on the dime since 1946?

medium

Answer
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The back shows an olive branch, a torch and an oak branch.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dime_(United_States_coin)?oldid=1380469173
10
Whose profile is on the front of the quarter?

easy

Answer
George Washington.
Since the late 1990s, the back of the coin has changed often, with new designs for states, parks and more.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_(United_States_coin)?oldid=1378350694
11
Whose portrait is on the front of the $20 bill?

medium

Answer
Andrew Jackson.
The White House is pictured on the back.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_twenty-dollar_bill?oldid=1364782299
12
Which Civil War general, later the 18th president, is on the $50 bill?

hard

Answer
Ulysses S. Grant.
The US Capitol is pictured on the back.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_fifty-dollar_bill?oldid=1366400224
13
Which Founding Father, who was never president, is on the $100 bill?

medium

Answer
Benjamin Franklin.
The $10 bill, with Alexander Hamilton, is the only other bill printed today without a president on it.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_one-hundred-dollar_bill?oldid=1379549004
14
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is built to look like what kind of ancient building?

medium

Answer
A Greek temple.
The giant seated statue inside was carved from marble by the Piccirilli brothers.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial?oldid=1382049202
15
The domed Jefferson Memorial borrows its look from which ancient building in Rome?

hard

Answer
The Pantheon.
Its bronze statue was added in 1947, four years after the memorial opened.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Memorial?oldid=1375776441
16
What shape is the Washington Monument?

medium

Answer
An obelisk.
At 555 feet, it was the world's tallest structure until the Eiffel Tower passed it in 1889.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument?oldid=1381064248

The first presidents

17
Which army did George Washington command in the Revolutionary War?

easy

Answer
The Continental Army.
He was picked to lead it in 1775.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington?oldid=1381875691
18
What was the name of George Washington's plantation home in Virginia?

easy

Answer
Mount Vernon.
Washington is buried there, beside the Potomac River.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington?oldid=1381875691
19
Who was the first president to live in the White House, moving in in 1800?

medium

Answer
John Adams.
Before that, he lived in the President's House in Philadelphia, which was then the capital.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House?oldid=1381763768
20
Which 1803 land deal with France, made under Thomas Jefferson, doubled the size of the country?

medium

Answer
The Louisiana Purchase.
The land stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson?oldid=1381901012
21
Which president is known as the "Father of the Constitution"?

medium

Answer
James Madison.
He also introduced the Bill of Rights in Congress in 1789.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison?oldid=1381094866
22
Which president warned European countries in 1823 to keep out of the newly independent nations of the Americas?

hard

Answer
James Monroe.
He was the last Founding Father to serve as president.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Monroe?oldid=1379665734
23
In 1825, who became the first son of a former president to be president himself?

medium

Answer
John Quincy Adams.
Only one other son has done it since: George W. Bush, 176 years later.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quincy_Adams?oldid=1380186498
24
What nickname did Andrew Jackson earn for being as tough as a hard wood?

medium

Answer
Old Hickory.
He became a national hero after winning the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson?oldid=1381465102

Famous presidents and firsts

25
What two-word nickname did Abraham Lincoln have?

easy

Answer
Honest Abe.
Before politics, he worked as a lawyer in Illinois.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln?oldid=1381516586
26
In which state was Abraham Lincoln born, in a one-room log cabin?

medium

Answer
Kentucky.
He grew up on the frontier and later made his home in Illinois.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln?oldid=1381516586
27
Who became the 47th president in January 2025?

easy

Answer
Donald Trump.
Freezing weather moved the ceremony indoors, into the Capitol rotunda.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_inauguration_of_Donald_Trump?oldid=1375332963
28
Who became the first African American president, in January 2009?

easy

Answer
Barack Obama.
He was born in Honolulu, the only president born outside the lower 48 states.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama?oldid=1381116891
29
Who is the only president to have been elected to more than two terms?

medium

Answer
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
He won four elections in a row and served from 1933 until his death in 1945.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution?oldid=1380709557
30
What was the nickname of the cavalry unit Theodore Roosevelt helped lead in Cuba in 1898?

medium

Answer
The Rough Riders.
They became famous for charging up Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt?oldid=1382280793
31
Theodore Roosevelt is the youngest person ever to be president. How old was he when he took office?

hard

Answer
42.
He took over in 1901 after President William McKinley was assassinated.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt?oldid=1382280793
32
Who is the youngest person ever elected president, at age 43?

medium

Answer
John F. Kennedy.
He was also the first Roman Catholic president.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy?oldid=1382113460
33
Which president was both the 22nd and the 24th president?

medium

Answer
Grover Cleveland.
He is also the only president to get married in the White House.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland?oldid=1382359366
34
Which president served only 31 days, the shortest time in office?

hard

Answer
William Henry Harrison.
His grandson Benjamin Harrison became president 48 years later.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States?oldid=1381483112

The president's job

35
What is the youngest age a person can be to serve as president?

easy

Answer
35.
Senators must be at least 30, and members of the House at least 25.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States?oldid=1382268555
36
For at least how many years must a president have lived in the United States?

hard

Answer
14.
A president must also be a natural-born citizen.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States?oldid=1382268555
37
How many years long is one presidential term?

easy

Answer
4.
Presidents are chosen through the Electoral College, together with the vice president.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States?oldid=1382268555
38
Since 1937, on what date has each new presidential term begun?

medium

Answer
January 20.
From 1793 until 1933, new presidents took office on March 4.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_inauguration?oldid=1380939767
39
Who usually swears in a new president on Inauguration Day?

medium

Answer
The chief justice of the United States.
George Washington was sworn in by a New York judge, because there was no Supreme Court yet.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_inauguration?oldid=1380939767
40
Finish the president's oath of office: "preserve, protect and defend the ..."

medium

Answer
Constitution of the United States.
The exact words are written into Article II, so every president says the same thing.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_office_of_the_president_of_the_United_States?oldid=1376074500
41
Which amendment, ratified in 1951, says no one can be elected president more than twice?

hard

Answer
The 22nd Amendment.
It took effect once 36 of the then 48 states had approved it.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution?oldid=1380709557
42
The Secret Service guards the president today, but what crime was it first set up to investigate, in 1865?

hard

Answer
Counterfeiting, or making fake money.
It was part of the Treasury Department until 2003.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service?oldid=1381192040

The White House

43
What is the street address of the White House?

easy

Answer
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The main house has six floors, counting a two-story basement.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House?oldid=1381763768
44
Which country's army set the White House on fire in 1814?

medium

Answer
The British.
It happened during the War of 1812, and the inside had to be rebuilt.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House?oldid=1381763768
45
Which Irish-born architect designed the White House?

hard

Answer
James Hoban.
He modeled it on Leinster House, a building in Dublin.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House?oldid=1381763768
46
In which wing of the White House is the Oval Office?

medium

Answer
The West Wing.
The first Oval Office was built in 1909, under President William Howard Taft.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oval_Office?oldid=1381292111
47
The famous desk in the Oval Office was built from the oak timbers of what?

hard

Answer
HMS Resolute, a British ship.
Queen Victoria gave the desk to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolute_desk?oldid=1380550332
48
"Air Force One" is not the name of one airplane. What is it?

medium

Answer
A call sign, used for any Air Force plane carrying the president.
The call sign was created in 1954.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_One?oldid=1380956169
49
In which state is Camp David, the president's country retreat?

medium

Answer
Maryland.
It was first called Shangri-La, after a make-believe paradise in the Himalayas.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David?oldid=1382272989

Timer and team scores

Seconds per turnTurns in the session

8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.

Pause whenever the group needs more time.

Teams

Team Lime's turn

Team Lime: 0

Team Violet: 0

Use this set with a group

Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.

Games and printables

Find a game