Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
10 questions No timer
50 free 1962 trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This 1962 trivia quiz covers the year the Cold War came closest to turning hot. Expect questions on the Cuban Missile Crisis and the submarine officer who refused to fire, John Glenn's three orbits, Telstar's first transatlantic TV signal, Mariner 2 at Venus, Algeria's independence, Jamaica, Uganda and Trinidad leaving the British Empire, the Second Vatican Council and the Alcatraz escape. Culture rounds cover the Seattle World's Fair, the Rolling Stones' first gig, Lawrence of Arabia, Johnny Carson taking the Tonight Show, Marilyn Monroe's death, the year's Nobel Prizes and the babies of 1962, from Tom Cruise to Jodie Foster. Early rounds suit anyone who lived through it or studied it; later rounds reward real year-by-year buffs. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which October 1962 confrontation brought the world closest to nuclear war?
Cuban Missile Crisis
The stand-off between the US and USSR lasted 12 days in October.
Q 02Which three major US retailers opened their first stores in 1962?
Walmart, Kmart and Target
Target's first store opened in Roseville, Minnesota; Kohl's also opened its first department store that year.
Q 03Which Pacific nation became independent from New Zealand on January 1, 1962?
Western Samoa
It was the first of several independence days that year.
Q 04Which Cuban leader did the Vatican announce had been excommunicated in January 1962?
Fidel Castro
The reason given was preaching communism and interfering with Catholic churches in Cuba.
Q 05Aboard which capsule did John Glenn become the first American to orbit Earth on February 20?
Friendship 7
He circled the planet three times in under five hours.
Q 06Which first lady gave television viewers a tour of the White House in February 1962?
Jacqueline Kennedy
The broadcast was a landmark of early-1960s television.
Q 07Which French designer launched his own fashion house in 1962?
Yves Saint Laurent
He had previously headed the House of Dior.
Q 08Which 1962 agreement ended the Algerian War?
Évian Accords
Algeria formally became independent from France on July 5.
Q 09Who became Algeria's first president in 1962?
Ahmed Ben Bella
A referendum that July backed independence with a 99% majority.
Q 10Which film won Best Picture at the 34th Academy Awards in April 1962?
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia only premiered that December.
Q 11Which landmark opened with the Century 21 Exposition World's Fair in April 1962?
Space Needle
The fair ran in Seattle through the year.
Q 12Which club beat Real Madrid 5–3 in Amsterdam to win the 1961–62 European Cup?
Benfica
The final was played at the Olympic Stadium.
Q 13Which country hosted the 1962 FIFA World Cup?
Chile
Brazil beat Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final to retain the trophy.
Q 14Whom did Brazil beat in the 1962 World Cup final?
Q 21Which British prime minister sacked a third of his cabinet in the 1962 'Night of the Long Knives'?
Harold Macmillan
The press borrowed the phrase from Nazi Germany's 1934 purge.
Q 22Which 4,645-mile road officially opened end to end on July 30, 1962?
Trans-Canada Highway
Completing the Rogers Pass section made it the world's longest uninterrupted highway at the time.
Q 23How old was Marilyn Monroe when she was found dead in August 1962?
36
Her death at her Brentwood home was officially ruled a probable suicide.
Czechoslovakia
The score was 3–1.
Q 15Which composer's War Requiem premiered at the new Coventry Cathedral in May 1962?
Benjamin Britten
The cathedral was consecrated on May 25 and the premiere followed on May 30.
Q 16Which prison did Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers escape from in June 1962?
Alcatraz
It was never confirmed whether they reached the shore.
Q 17Which student group completed the Port Huron Statement in June 1962?
Students for a Democratic Society
It became a founding document of the New Left.
Q 18Which two countries gained full independence from Belgium on July 1, 1962?
Rwanda and Burundi
Both had been administered as a single trust territory.
Q 19What was Telstar, launched by AT&T on July 10, 1962?
First commercial communications satellite
It relayed the first live transatlantic television signal on July 23.
Q 20At which London venue did the Rolling Stones make their debut on July 12, 1962?
Marquee Club
They opened for Long John Baldry.
Q 24Near which town was Nelson Mandela arrested in August 1962?
Howick
He was charged with incitement to rebellion and sentenced to prison on November 7.
Q 25Which Caribbean island became independent from Britain on August 6, 1962?
Jamaica
Trinidad and Tobago followed on August 31.
Q 26Which two monsters met in a Japanese film released in August 1962, the first of each in colour?
King Kong and Godzilla
It was the third film in both franchises.
Q 27Which French president survived a machine-gun attack on his car at Petit-Clamart in August 1962?
Charles de Gaulle
The mastermind, Jean Bastien-Thiry, was later executed.
Q 28Which NASA probe, launched in August 1962, first sent back data from another planet?
Mariner 2
It flew past Venus in December; Mariner 1 had to be destroyed minutes after launch in July.
Q 29Where did Bob Dylan premiere 'A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall' in September 1962?
Carnegie Hall
The New York concert came weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Q 30Alouette 1, launched in September 1962, was the first satellite built by which country?
Canada
It was the first satellite built outside the United States and the Soviet Union.