Free Printable Trivia Questions for Seniors

Updated July 28, 2022
Senior woman talks with friends on front porch

Whether you're an active senior looking for trivia questions to keep your mind sharp, or a caregiver looking for a printable trivia activity, finding questions and answers to test your knowledge of the past is a fun way to spend some time. Discover trivia for seniors ranging from easy questions on famous events from the 1950s and 60s to topics on pop culture and movies from the 70s. Quiz yourself, a group of friends, or loved ones in your life and get ready for some fun while you take a trip down memory lane!

Easy-to-Use Free Printable Trivia Questions for Seniors

Get started having fun and boosting brain power with these trivia questions for seniors that are simple to use in a range of ways. Print out these trivia questions and answers to quiz yourself if you're a senior with your own access to a computer and printer, or share them over the phone or through video chat with friends and family. Caregivers can print these pages out and use them for older adults in their care by quizzing them or taking turns answering the different trivia questions.

Tips for Using Trivia

While many of these will prove to be easy trivia questions for seniors, some may find them more challenging. Family or caregivers can make questions easier by offering hints or partial answers if the senior needs a bit of help or if these are used for nursing home activities.

Maybe your senior group is looking for an easy activity that doesn't take a lot of planning, or you work with the elderly and need a simple printable pastime that has lots of interesting options. You can use the trivia page by having one person read the questions to quiz seniors aloud and have participants write down their answers or circle the answer they deem to be correct on their papers. Use this printable alone, with a group, or even as an impromptu senior game idea to see how many facts everyone can really remember, awarding points or prizes to those with the most correct answers.

Print It Out

Simply click on the thumbnail of the free printable trivia for seniors page below to get your copy. If you need help downloading the printables, check out these helpful tips. You can also just refer to the quiz questions directly on this web page for a fun senior activity instead of printing them.

1950s Trivia Questions and Answers for Seniors

Discover how much you remember about the 1950s. Post-World War II, there was a lot going on in the world. From a booming economy to the growth of surburbia, the 1950s saw no shortage of changes. Baby boomers and more can test their knowledge and revisit just what this decade was all about. Share or quiz yourself with 1950s trivia for seniors that runs the gamut from famous discoveries to rock-and-roll hits. Explore the Golden Era with fun senior trivia!

Teenage boy in the 1950s tuning radio

50s History Questions

  1. Which president of the United States was in office from Jan. 20, 1953 to Jan. 20, 1961?
  2. Which disease did Dr. Jonas Salk successfully create a vaccine for in 1952?
  3. What was the name of the first satellite launched into orbit by Russia in 1957?
  4. Who overthrew Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and became dictator of Cuba?
  5. What year did Disneyland open?
  6. What famous explorer first climbed Mount Everest in 1953?
  7. Who became Premier of the Soviet Union in 1958?
  8. Senator Joseph McCarthy, who conducted a nationally televised hearing in 1954 to root out Communists in the government, represented what state?
  9. What is the name of the woman who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955?
  10. Which member of the royal family became head of state in Great Britain in 1953?

50s History Answers

  1. Dwight D. Eisenhower
  2. Polio
  3. Sputnik
  4. Fidel Castro
  5. 1955
  6. Sir Edmund Hillary
  7. Nikita Khrushchev
  8. Wisconsin
  9. Rosa Parks
  10. Queen Elizabeth II

50s Music Questions

  1. Which famous song sung by Doris Day was introduced in the 1956 Hitchcock thriller, The Man Who Knew Too Much?
  2. What singer had a country music chart hit with Sixteen Tons in 1955?
  3. Which group had a hit with Twilight Time in 1958?
  4. Which smoky-voiced singer sang Too Young in 1951?
  5. What Cleveland disc jockey first used the term "Rock N Roll" in 1951?
  6. Tony and Maria were the lead characters in what Broadway musical that premiered in 1957?
  7. Who recorded Rock Around the Clock in 1955?
  8. Who originally sang That'll Be the Day? in 1957?
  9. The Coasters recorded a song in 1959 with the line "You're gonna need an ocean of Calamine lotion." What is the name of the song?
  10. B.J. Thomas sang I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You in 1967. Who first recorded it in 1951?

50s Music Answers

  1. Que Sera Sera
  2. Tennessee Ernie Ford
  3. The Platters
  4. Nat King Cole
  5. Alan Freed
  6. West Side Story
  7. Bill Haley and the Comets
  8. Buddy Holly and the Crickets
  9. Poison Ivy
  10. Hank Williams Sr.

50s Pop Culture Questions

  1. Which aspiring rock-and-roll singer appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, but could only be shown from the waist up?
  2. Which rising young star from the movie Rebel Without a Cause died in an automobile accident in 1955?
  3. Which television game show first aired in 1956 and is still running today?
  4. What famous baseball player married Marilyn Monroe in 1954?
  5. What piece of women's clothing, named after a dog, became popular in the 1950s?
  6. What teen idol sang, Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb?
  7. What type of hat/cap did both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone wear on TV in the 50s?
  8. Eating what type of live fish became popular in the 1950s?
  9. What famous cowboy of the 1950s was really named Leonard Slye?
  10. What was the name of the circular plastic 1950s toy that was placed around the waist and operated by gyrating the hips

50s Pop Culture Answers

  1. Elvis Presley
  2. James Dean
  3. The Price is Right
  4. Joe DiMaggio
  5. Poodle skirt
  6. Edd "Kookie" Burns
  7. Coonskin
  8. Goldfish
  9. Roy Rogers
  10. Hula Hoop

1960s Trivia Questions and Answers for Seniors

Test your knowledge of the 60s! The 1960s were a unique and changing time in history. From the rise of Civil Rights to new trends in fashion and music, there's no question that the 60s were a dynamic and revolutionary era. Rediscover some of the key facts and events of the decade with 1960s trivia for senior citizens that ranges from some of the biggest events in government to fun questions relating to film, art, and music festivals.

1960's American memorabilia

60s History Questions

  1. Who was the first African-American named Supreme Court Justice in 1967?
  2. In 1964, Jack Ruby was convicted of murdering which other accused assassin?
  3. Israeli forces defeated Arab forces in this extremely short but decisive war that took place in June 1967. What is the name of that war?
  4. What was the name of the conflict in 1961 in which CIA-trained forces tried, but failed to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro?
  5. Who was assassinated in November 1963?
  6. What new type of telephone was invented in 1963?
  7. Who delivered the famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963?
  8. What iconic anti-war novel did Joseph Heller publish in 1961?
  9. Russia imprisoned Gary Powers in 1960 for spying. What type of plane did he fly?
  10. What did the U.S. Postal Service add in 1963 that is part of every address today?

60s History Answers

  1. Thurgood Marshall
  2. Lee Harvey Oswald
  3. Six Day War
  4. Bay of Pigs
  5. President John F. Kennedy
  6. Touch-tone
  7. Martin Luther King Jr.
  8. Catch-22
  9. U-2
  10. Zip codes

60s Movies Questions

  1. Which film won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1960?
  2. Which actor won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird?
  3. Which film was the highest grossing release of 1963, yet still lost money because it was one of the most expensive films ever made?
  4. Who played the role of Norman Bates in the 1960 horror movie, Psycho?
  5. What was the name of Butch Cassidy's gang in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?
  6. What type of airplane appears in Dr. Strangelove?
  7. Who landed at 17 Cherry Tree Lane in a well-known Walt Disney movie from 1964?
  8. What famous actor starred in Lilies of the Field and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
  9. Easy Rider starred Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, and Dennis Hopper. Which one directed the movie?
  10. What 1968 movie co-starred a computer named H.A.L?

60s Movies Answers

  1. The Apartment
  2. Gregory Peck
  3. Cleopatra
  4. Anthony Perkins
  5. Hole in the Wall Gang
  6. Boeing B-52
  7. Mary Poppins
  8. Sidney Poitier
  9. Dennis Hopper
  10. 2001: A Space Odyssey

60s Pop Culture Questions

  1. Which iconic blonde actress, and rumored lover of President John F. Kennedy, was found dead in her bedroom August 5, 1962?
  2. Which former first lady married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis October 20, 1968?
  3. In which year did the Woodstock Festival take place?
  4. Which product did Proctor and Gamble launch in 1966 that revolutionized baby care?
  5. What famous band arrived from England to the U.S. in February 1964?
  6. What famous TV series debuted in 1966 with these words … "Space, the final frontier …?"
  7. This bluesy rock singer was discovered at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Her initials are J.J. Who was she?
  8. British fashion designer Mary Quant invented a daring and revealing new type of women's clothing in 1964. What was it called?
  9. What 60s artist was famous for his renderings of everyday objects such as soup cans?
  10. What was this famous boxer's name before he changed it to Muhammad Ali?

60s Pop Culture Answers

  1. Marilyn Monroe
  2. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
  3. 1969
  4. Pampers
  5. Beatles
  6. Star Trek
  7. Janis Joplin
  8. Miniskirt
  9. Andy Warhol
  10. Cassius Clay

1970s Trivia Questions and Answers for Seniors

What do you recall about the decade of the 1970s? From dramatic events in the government to the Women's Rights Movement, the 1970s also saw a plethora of changes. Although the era faced difficulties on a variety of fronts, it was considered a golden age for music, movies, and more. Rediscover iconic stars, emerging authors, and even some of the decade's sports stats with 1970s trivia questions older adults are sure to love.

1970s era television and wallpaper

70s History Questions

  1. Which president resigned in 1974 over the Watergate scandal?
  2. During which Apollo spaceflight did an oxygen tank explode, putting the crew in severe danger even though they managed to survive?
  3. Which Pennsylvania nuclear generating plant suffered a partial meltdown in 1979?
  4. What war ended in April 1975 with the fall of Saigon?
  5. What is the name of the deadly disease that struck a convention in Philadelphia in July 1976 and was named for the convention where it struck?
  6. Who replaced the Shah of Iran in 1979?
  7. What newspaper heiress took part in a San Francisco bank robbery in April 1974?
  8. Who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971?
  9. In June 1971, the 26th Amendment passed giving 18-year-olds what right?
  10. Paul Allen and Bill Gates founded what company in 1973?

70s History Answers

  1. 1970s History
  2. Richard Nixon
  3. Apollo 13
  4. Three Mile Island
  5. Vietnam
  6. Legionnaire's Disease
  7. Ayatollah Khomeini
  8. Patty Hearst
  9. Daniel Ellsberg
  10. Right to vote
  11. Microsoft

70s Sports Questions

  1. Which Olympic athlete set a record in 1972 by winning seven gold medals?
  2. What major sports award did Stanford quarterback Jim Plunkett win in 1970?
  3. Which athlete was the first to earn a perfect score in the history of Olympic gymnastics?
  4. Who was the first member of the Negro League inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
  5. In 1979, who became the first man to win the Daytona 500 six times?
  6. The first back-to-back Triple Crown winners in horse racing history happened in 1977 and 1978. What horses won?
  7. In 1972, Franco Harris put the Steelers in the AFC Championship game with a miracle catch. What was that catch called?
  8. What hide was first used to cover baseballs in 1975?
  9. Who beat the Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974?
  10. In what park was the New York City Marathon run until 1970?

70s Sports Answers

  1. Mark Spitz
  2. Heisman
  3. Nadia Comaneci
  4. Leroy "Satchel" Page
  5. Richard Petty
  6. Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978)
  7. Immaculate reception
  8. Cowhide
  9. Hank Aaron
  10. Central Park

70s Pop Culture Questions

  1. Which video game system debuted in the 1970s and featured now iconic games like Pong and Pac-Man?
  2. Which book about a bird on a journey of self-discovery topped The New York Times best-seller list for 38 weeks in 1970?
  3. What musical genre peaked with the 1977 release of the film Saturday Night Fever?
  4. Which 70s TV series aired Saturday mornings and taught children lessons about math, grammar, government, and more?
  5. What was the name of the character played by Herve Villechaize in the TV series, Fantasy Island?
  6. What singer-songwriter, considered by many to be the greatest electric guitar player of all time died in 1970?
  7. What was the top-selling song of the 1970s decade?
  8. Who created the Muppets?
  9. What movie from the 1970s made many people afraid to go swimming in the ocean?
  10. What was the name of Stephen King's first published novel that came out in 1974?

70s Pop Culture Answers

  1. Atari
  2. Jonathan Livingston Seagull
  3. Disco
  4. School House Rock
  5. Tattoo
  6. Jimi Hendrix
  7. American Pie (Don McLean)
  8. Jim Henson
  9. Jaws
  10. Carrie

Rediscover the Past With Printable Trivia Questions for Seniors

Answering trivia questions can be a fun way to pass time, but it can be so much more than that. Use these fun questions as an opportunity to remember and discuss the past too. Older adults can share their knowledge, while friends, family, or caregivers can gain unique insight and wisdom through senior trivia games. The events and innovations in these trivia topics have had a powerful influence on life as we know it today, making answering the questions and discussing them a great opportunity for the elderly everywhere to revisit and share the past.

Free Printable Trivia Questions for Seniors