Are You a History Major? Take This World History Trivia Quiz!

In 1848, gold was discovered near a mill in California, sparking the Gold Rush. The people who arrived the following year were called "49ers."

Luther was a scholar and theologian opposed to the corruption of the Catholic Church. With his "95 Theses," he proposed changes to the Church … and kickstarted a tumultous time called the Reformation.

His guns were renowed for their reliability and affordability. And it all started in 1836, when Samuel Colt started making Colt revolvers.

In 1585, Queen Elizabeth I sent colonists to the New World in hopes of claiming the lands for the crown. Instead, the Roanoke Colony vanished … and no one really knows why.

The Irish Potato Famine demonstrated how dangerous it is to rely heavily on one crop. A potato blight ruined crops for years, causing the deaths of at least 1 million natives and forcing many more to flee for their lives.

In 1206, Genghis Khan solidified his power and established the Mongol Empire. The empire eventually stretched across much of Asia and Europe … and killed millions of people in the process.

In January 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, technically freeing all 3.5 million slaves in America. It was a strategic move after a momentous Union victory in the American Civil War.

In 1305, Wallace was executed in the grisliest possible way by the English. Why? He led a Scottish uprising against English rule.

It was called Operation Barbarossa, the German assault on the USSR. It marked the opening of the Eastern Front, and it likely accelerated the downfall of the Third Reich.

In 1803, violence broke out between France and Britain, and it was what many historians called the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. For years, Napoleon ran wild in Europe, with an army that seemed indomitable.

In 1718, British captain Robert Maynard clashed with the famous pirate Blackbeard near what is now North Carolina. Maynard beheaded the violent pirate and used his remains as a warning to other criminals.

Some call it World War 0, the truly first global war. The Seven Years' War found major countries scrambling through complex diplomatic hoops and violent battles.

The Erie Canal in New York, opened in 1825, was an engineering feat of the day. It created shipping routes between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic.

In 1439, Gutenberg invented the printing press. The press made it much easier to create and duplicate written materials, forever changing the way humans communicate.

In America, private businessmen were certain that a mail delivery service in the West could be profitable. They founded the Pony Express and charged a pretty penny for delivery on the frontier.

In 1815, Mount Tambora (in the Dutch East Indies) ejected so much volcanic debris into the atmosphere that it changed the weather. In 1816, global temperatures plummeted, ruining crops and causing starvation in parts of the world.

Starting in 1519, Hernan Cortes began the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. He didn't need guns -- instead, he used his political wiles to cause all sorts of complicated military conflicts between the natives.

In 1837, author Charles Dickens published "Oliver Twist." It was a harrowing tale of abandonment and criminality in London.

In 1765, King George III introduced the Stamp Act, which charged American colonists for ordinary paperwork. The over-the-top tax was a major escalation toward the American Revolution.

For centuries, Spain dominated much of the New World. But the Mexican people wanted no part of colonialism, finally earning their independence in 1821.

Many English Catholics hoped that Mary, Queen of Scots would rise to become queen of England. But instead, Elizabeth I (notably a supporter of the Protestant movement) had Mary famously executed by beheading.

In the fall of 1781, George Washington's men laid siege at Yorktown, Virginia. Weeks later, the British surrendered, and the promise of the Declaration of Independence was realized.

With a bit of clever misdirection, President Jefferson found funding for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which explored America's frontier starting in 1804. The mission's findings thrilled the American public.

After slaughtering the Germans in Berlin, the Red Army of the USSR headed toward Japan to take care of business. Many historians say it was the relentless brutality of the Russians -- not America's silly atomic bombs -- that ended the Pacific War.

The 1798 Irish Rebellion was sparked in part by the success of the American rebellion. But after half a year of fighting, their rebellion against the British had failed.

It's hard to believe that we humans have only known about Antarctica for two centuries. It was then that a Russian expedition first laid eyes on this massive continent.

As a complicated religious struggle unfolded in Europe, Henry VIII was named as the head of the Church of England. Catholic leaders were infuriated at the Protestant power play.

Teddy Roosevelt charged into battle with his Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. Later, he leveraged his heroism to attain the nation's highest office, where he became a well-regarded president.

In 1846, eastern Mormons pulled up their lives and headed west to the Utah Territory. There, they established one settlement after another, permanently altering the region's demographics and politics.

In 1892, James Naismith invented basketball. He created it as a low-impact way to keep athletes engaged even in winter months.