The Columbus Day Trivia Questions were used on my livestream for Columbus Day 2025. We had some fun with them. Feel free to use them to stump your friends. Most of the answers are pretty straightforward – if you remember some basic history.

Columbus Day Trivia Questions

  1. What holiday is celebrated in many places instead of or alongside Columbus Day to honor Indigenous cultures?
    (Answer: Indigenous Peoples’ Day)

    2. In what year did Christopher Columbus first arrive in the Americas?
    Choices: 1492, 1592, 1692
    (Answer: 1492)

    3. Columbus’s had three ships on his first voyage. Name one.
    (Answer: The Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María)

    4. Which country sponsored Columbus’s voyage across the Atlantic?
    Choices: Italy, Spain, Portugal
    (Answer: Spain)

    5. Columbus was originally from which European country?
    Choices: Italy, Spain, Portugal
    (Answer: Italy — specifically Genoa)

    6. What was Columbus originally trying to find when he sailed west?
    Choices: Looking for the New World, Gold, A new trade route
    (Answer: A new trade route to Asia / the Indies)

    7. Which island did Columbus first land on in 1492?
    Choices: United States Coast, Cuba, Bahamas – San Salvador
    (Answer: An island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador)

    8. Which Spanish monarchs funded Columbus’s voyage?
    Choices: Queen Elizabeth, Kind Louis, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I
    (Answer: King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I)

    9. What U.S. state was the first to officially celebrate Columbus Day?
    Choices: Colorado, New York, Illinois
    (Answer: Colorado, in 1907)

    10. What day is Columbus Day observed in the United States?
    Choices: First Monday, Second Monday or Third Monday
    (Answer: The second Monday in October)

    Sources:
    https://www.history.com/articles/christopher-columbus
    https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/columbus_christopher.shtml