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50 free 1984 trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
1984 gave us the Macintosh, the PG-13 rating, Ghostbusters, Purple Rain, the first MTV Video Music Awards and the first American CD. It also brought the Bhopal disaster, Indira Gandhi's assassination, the Brighton bombing and a Los Angeles Olympics that the Soviet bloc skipped. These 1984 trivia questions cover the news, sport, music, film and technology of the year, from Carl Lewis to Band Aid. Every answer is sourced, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss.
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Q 01Which personal computer did Steve Jobs launch on January 24, 1984?
The Macintosh
Its famous commercial had aired nationally two days earlier during the Super Bowl.
Q 02Who directed Apple's "1984" commercial?
Ridley Scott
It aired nationally just once, in the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on CBS.
Q 03Apple's "1984" ad first aired in a tiny market in which state to qualify for the Clios?
Idaho
It ran on KMVT in Twin Falls at the last break before midnight on December 31, 1983.
Q 04Which Asian sultanate gained full independence from Britain on January 1, 1984?
Brunei
Six days later it became the sixth member of ASEAN.
Q 05Who succeeded Yuri Andropov as Soviet leader in February 1984?
Chernenko
He lasted just 13 months before Gorbachev took over in March 1985.
Q 06Which city hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics?
Sarajevo
Eight years later the city was under siege in the Bosnian War.
Q 07Which two astronauts made the first untethered spacewalk in February 1984?
Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart
McCandless floated free of Challenger using a nitrogen-powered backpack.
Q 08Which Canadian prime minister announced his retirement on February 29, 1984?
Pierre Trudeau
John Turner took over in June, then lost to Brian Mulroney's record majority in September.
Q 09A year-long British strike beginning March 12, 1984, involved which workers?
Coal miners
The National Union of Mineworkers walked out over colliery closures.
Q 10Who became the first Indian in space in April 1984?
Rakesh Sharma
He flew aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 to the Salyut 7 station.
Q 11Which policewoman's shooting outside the Libyan embassy led to an 11-day London siege?
Yvonne Fletcher
Britain severed diplomatic relations with Libya after the siege.
Q 12Which song was proclaimed the national anthem Down Under on April 19, 1984?
Advance Australia Fair
Green and gold were made the national colours on the same day.
Q 13Which Swedish act won the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest with "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley"?
Herreys
The contest was held in Luxembourg and the song became a top-ten hit in five countries.
Q 21Diego Maradona was sold to Napoli in 1984 by which club?
Barcelona
The $10.48 million fee was a world record at the time.
Q 22Who became the first woman to perform a spacewalk, in July 1984?
Svetlana Savitskaya
Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to do so that October.
Q 23How many Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics?
14
Only one Soviet-aligned state attended, and it finished second in the medal table.
Q 24Roughly how much profit did the privately funded 1984 Los Angeles Games make?
Q 14The Itaipu Dam, switched on in 1984, sits on Brazil's border with which country?
Paraguay
It was the largest hydroelectric dam in the world at the time, after nine years of construction.
Q 15Which denomination did Australia first issue as a coin on May 14, 1984?
One dollar
The two-dollar coin followed in 1988.
Q 16Liverpool beat which club on penalties to win the 1984 European Cup?
Roma
The final was played in Rome, in the Italian side's own stadium.
Q 17Operation Blue Star, launched June 5, 1984, targeted which site?
The Golden Temple in Amritsar
The prime minister who ordered it was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards less than five months later.
Q 18Which Canadian entertainment company was founded on June 16, 1984?
Cirque du Soleil
Virgin Atlantic made its first flight six days later.
Q 19France beat which team 2–0 to win Euro 84?
Spain
Michel Platini scored nine goals in the tournament, still a record for one edition.
Q 20Which was the last European country to grant women the vote, on July 1, 1984?
Liechtenstein
Switzerland had done so at the federal level in 1971, though one canton held out until 1990.
$232.5 million
Organizers reused existing venues and leaned on corporate sponsors, becoming a model for later Games.
Q 25Which barefoot South African runner collided with Mary Decker in the Olympic 3000 m final?
Zola Budd
Neither finished as a medallist; the gold went to a runner from Eastern Europe.
Q 26Which African country renamed itself Burkina Faso on August 4, 1984?
Upper Volta
Thomas Sankara chose a name meaning "land of upright people".
Q 27Which carmaker was acquitted of cocaine trafficking charges in August 1984?
John DeLorean
He was cleared of all eight charges on entrapment grounds.
Q 28Which Space Shuttle made its maiden voyage on August 30, 1984?
Discovery
It landed at Edwards Air Force Base six days later.
Q 29Who became the first person to fly a balloon solo across the Atlantic in September 1984?
Joe Kittinger
Kittinger already held the record for the highest parachute jump, from 1960.
Q 30Which children's TV series by Britt Allcroft broadcast its first episodes in October 1984?
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
Ringo Starr narrated the early British episodes.