Boston is one of the oldest US cities based in Massachusetts. The city has seen so many firsts. Renown places like the Boston Common Public Park and Boston Public Library were first established here.
The city is also the birthplace of many inventions, some of which you may be using every day. These inventions include the disposable razor, the microwave, Facebook, and even the World Wide Web e.t.c.
Boston Facts Trivia Questions and Answers – 2022 – 2023
Did you know that Boston was the site of the world’s biggest art heist? On March 18, 1990, two criminals disguised as police officers got into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and stole 13 pieces of art worth more than $500 million.
Looking to learn more about Boston? Check out the following quiz that tests almost everything you can find in Boston and the city’s role in American history.
1. Boston’s original name is from a town in which country?
2. Which section of Boston is home to Mike’s Pastry, La Dolce Vita, and The Improv Asylum?
3. True or false? The Boston Fire Department is the oldest in the United States?
4. What National League baseball team, now located in the southeast, was a Boston team until the 1950s?
5. Which is the oldest public park in Boston?
6. According to an old rhyme, Boston is home to the _____?
7. When was Boston common developed?
8. What does the red brick or painted line on the ground running through Boston signify?
9. What are three things Boston is known for?
10. What was Boston’s original name?
11. What was the name of Boston’s highway reconstruction project that involved “burying” the major routes through the city?
12. Which act was imposed after the Boston Tea Party?
13. In what year was Fenway Park opened?
14. What happened during the famous midnight raid?
15. What did the Tea Act mean?
16. Where in Boston is there a wooden codfish?
17. How much tea was emptied into the water during the Boston Tea Party?
18. What rock and roll icon helped dedicate the Leonard P. Zakim/Bunker Hill Bridge?
19. Name the oldest public institution for higher education found in Boston.
20. Which famous event is reenacted every year on 16 December in Boston Harbor?
21. The J.F.K. museum is located in which section of Boston?
22. When was the city Boston, Massachusetts founded?
23. What Civil War Regiment is honored outside the State House?
24. When and where did the Great Boston Molasses flood occur?
25. What tradition originally started in a retail apparel store located in Boston’s Downtown Crossing?
26. When and where was the first American lighthouse built?
27. Can you name America’s first subway built in Boston?
28. What Red Sox great was known as the ‘Splendid Splinter’?
29. Name the first public beach in the United States.
30. Name the music conductor most associated with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
31. Name America’s first public botanical garden.
32. What Boston Bruins player was gifted with the old Boston Garden penalty box, when construction on the new Boston Garden began?
33. Name the first Municipal public library situated in Boston.
34. What former Massachusetts Senator, who died in 2009, is the brother of a former president?
35. True or false? The Boston Latin School is the first public school in America.
36. What legendary baseball player was considered the cause of the Red Sox’ longtime losing streak through most of the 20th Century?
37. Name the first female marathon runner who ran the Boston Marathon.
38. What act performs on the Esplanade every fourth of July?
39. Who invented the first disposable razor in the year 1901 in Boston?
40. What kitchen utensil is prominent in Boston?
41. What local ice cream shop got its start in Post Office Square and now serves “Big Dig” flavored ice cream all over the state of Massachusetts?
42. Who invented the first disposable razor in the year 1901 in Boston?
43. What city park is home to the Swan Boats?
44. When and by whom was the microwave invented?
45. Which Boston monument became the logo of a famous publisher?
46. True of false? Chocolate chip cookies are native to Massachusetts.
47. What event is held annually on Boston’s City Hall Plaza to raise money for the Jimmy Fund (a cancer research charity), while giving attendees the opportunity to sample old and not-yet-on-the-market ice cream flavors?
48. Which famous American coffee and donut company was founded in Massachusetts?
49. What river is between Boston and Cambridge?
50. Which famous opera was the inspiration for the Swan Boats?
51. Which social media network was created in Boston?
52. Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue cross over each other at what location?
53. Besides swans and seagulls, what other birds are connected with Boston (especially in one specific area)?
54. Who invented Candlepin Bowling?
55. The author of ‘The Man Without A Country’ has a statue of him in the Boston Public Garden. Name him.
56. True or false? The very first Thanksgiving in the United States was celebrated in Massachusetts.
57. Name the United States Of America’s first continuously published newspaper.
58. Which poet was instrumental in saving U.S.S. Constitution?
59. What is Saugus Iron Works National Historic site famous for?
60. What was the vocation of famed freedom rider Paul Revere?
61. What Boston burial ground features the bodies of its hill’s namesake along with Increase Mather and Cotton Mather?
62. What is Saugus Iron Works National Historic site famous for?
63. On what peninsula does the city of Boston rest?
64. When did the first Boston Marathon take place?
65. What museum was named “Fenway Court” during the founder’s lifetime and is just a short walk away from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts?
66. What is the state flower of Massachusetts?
67. What Boston river lies to the north of and flows approximately parallel to the lower portions of the Charles River?
68. What are the Area Codes of Boston city?
69. “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” is one of the most famous novels about Boston, as it realistically and unglamorously depicts a small-time criminal in Boston’s Irish-American underworld in Boston. It was also the debut novel of author George Higgins who was serving in what non-literary profession?
70. What is the name of the primary airport of Boston?
71. What is the name of the bridge in Boston that claims to be the only place that a boat can sail under a train that’s going under a vehicle driving under a plane?
72. What does authentic Bostonian cuisine comprise?
73. Bain & Company was founded in Bill Bain’s home in what Boston neighborhood?
74. True or false? Was the Christmas carol, ‘O’Little Town Of Bethlehem’ written by a Bostonian?
75. What is the name of the first public school in the United States which was founded in Boston in 1635?
76. What is the nickname of Boston city?
77. Boston’s 2015 winter dumped a record-setting amount of snow on the northeastern capital city. Within ten, how many inches of snowfall landed in Beantown that winter?
78. What Nabisco-produced snack (cookie?) with mostly yellow packaging was named for a town near Boston?
79. Why is Boston known as Beantown?
80. Boston is the seat of what Massachusetts county?
81. When was Christmas banned in Boston?
82. In 2018, what well-known consulting firm will be consolidating its two Boston offices and moving into a new 13-story, 370,000 square foot building on the city’s South Boston Waterfront?
83. True or false? 20% of Bostonians walk to work.
84. What critically-acclaimed alternative rock band was founded in Boston in 1986, featured bassist Kim Deal, and disbanded acrimoniously in 1993?
85. The Boston Massacre (really more of a riot than a massacre), occurred in Boston in March 1770 and was largely spurred by the increased presence of British troops following what series of eponymous Acts?
86. Name the American professional baseball team which is situated in Boston.
87. Boston College was in what athletic conference before joining the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2005?
88. How many world series championship have the Red Sox won?
89. What professional trade craft did Paul Revere practice in Boston both before and after the Revolutionary War?
90. What post-work staple has been banned in Boston since 1984 despite the bargain’s near ubiquity in most large American cities?
91. Boston city is made up of 23 distinct neighborhoods.
92. Which serial killer claimed 11 female victims between 1962 and 1964 before he was eventually identified as Albert DeSalvo?
93. Is it illegal or legal in Boston to snore with the windows open at night?
94. What is the name of the Boston-based biotech startup making synthetically producing scents and flavors from micro bugs? The company shares its name with a type of tree.Name the only US state capital with a coastline.
95. Name the only US state capital with a coastline.
96. Your computer is switching to a different _____ when you receive an HTTP code 101. What word fills in the blank?
97. The world’s biggest art heist took place in which Museum?
98. Mary Baker Eddy founded what religion to “reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing”? The religion’s central Church is located in Boston and publishes a popular “Monitor.”
99. Bostonians hold a world record for which activity?
100. Known mainly for spreading a specific type of food, what Massachusetts-born 19th century man was also fond of spreading religion throughout the country on his journeys?
101. What is so special about the Boston University Bridge?
102. What simulation video game franchise was originally developed by Will Wright and launched in 1989 for the Macintosh computer?
103. True or false? The deepest tunnel in North America is situated in Boston.
104. In 2017, the design firm IDEO rebranded the main logo of what American city? The new, simpler logo adds a red line underlining the city’s name and removes an elaborate crest which included the number 1630.
105. What is the name of the deepest tunnel?
106. The record for consecutive NBA championships is eight. What team holds this record?
107. Name the first underground rapid transit station in the US.
108. In the nursery rhyme “Hey, Diddle Diddle,” what type of mammal leaped over the Earth’s largest satellite?
109. What is the Boston Emerald Necklace?
110. What Boston neighborhood was home to Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, and Louisa May Alcott for portions of their lives? Alcott published her first story while living in the neighborhood while Plath and Frost lived here later in life.
111. The International Sand Sculpting Competition is hosted at America’s first public beach, which happens to be located in the Boston Area. What is the name of this beach?
112. Name the tallest skyscraper in Boston.
113. Somerville is the fourth largest (by population) city in what Massachusetts county? Nearly one quarter of the state’s population resides in this county.
114. Name the oldest original major league baseball stadium, which is also home to Boston Red Sox.
115. Due to the celebration’s pagan ties, Boston’s Puritans banned what event from 1659 – 1681?
116. Located in Charlestown and opened in 1780, what Boston tavern is often said to be the oldest watering hole in the state of Massachusetts? George Washington and Paul Revere were both known to frequent the spot.
117. Where is the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site situated?
118. Harry Frazee held what powerful, recognizable Boston role from 1916-1923?
119. What makes the Boston Harbor one of the cleanest harbors in the world?
120. The oldest subway tunnel in North America is the Tremont Street subway, found in what American city?
121. The first public school in the United States was founded in 1635 in Boston. Despite its name, courses were largely taught in English. What was the name of this school?
122. A large, double-sided sign featuring the logo of an oil company overlooks Kenmore Square in Boston. The sign was first installed in 1940 and most recently had its logo updated in 1965. What brand is represented on this sign?
123. What is the estimated population as of 2018?
124. Boston is one of the oldest municipalities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by whom?
125. Despite poor reviews and even poorer performance at the box office, what 1999 movie set in Boston (though mostly filmed in Toronto) followed fraternal-twins turned vigilante killers became a cult favorite in part due to an exclusive partnership with Blockbuster?
126. Upon gaining U.S. independence from Great Britain Boston continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for what?
127. Featuring an eponymous IPA, a series of “UFO” beers, and myriad seasonal beers, what Boston brewery was founded in 1986 and expanded to a second location in Vermont in 2000?
128. The city has expanded beyond the original peninsula through what?
129. The largest art heist in the city of Boston’s history occurred at which of the city’s museums in 1990?
130. The Computer Museum was a museum that opened in 1979 and operated in three different locations until 1999. It closed in 2000 and sent much of its collection across the country to the Computer History Museum in California. In what city would you have found the Computer Museum while it was open?
131. What famed Boston author of “Little Women” was previously taught by Henry David Thoreau and even penned him a poem titled “Thoreau’s Flute?”?
132. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing how many visitors per year?
133. In 2015 Boston opened a 1795 capsule from Sam Adams & what other man, including a silver plate he’s thought to have made?
134. Boston’s many firsts include the United States’ first public what?
135. What term was first coined by physician and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes and is typically used to refer to a group of 50+ “elite” families of Boston often associated with Harvard, Anglicanism, and high social and economic standing?
136. In the Boston-centric 2010 film “The Town,” what actress plays the bank manager taken hostage by the group of bank-robbing protagonists?
137. In 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s first Governor John Winthrop led the signing of what?
138. What TV drama that aired 2000-04 centered on a fictional public high school in Boston named Winslow High School and featured a large ensemble cast of teachers, students, and administrators?
139. America’s first public school, Boston Latin School, was founded in Boston in what year?
140. Boston is of course the capital of Massachusetts, but it is also the name of a town in England that was home to several of the prominent first settlers of the American Boston. In what “presidential” English county is the UK’s Boston located?
141. Boston was the largest town in British America until what city grew larger in the mid-18th century?
142. What seafood-serving Boston restaurant located near Faneuil Hall is located in a building from the early 1700s, is listed as a National Historic Landmark and has a reasonable claim as the oldest restaurant in Boston?
143. Boston’s oceanfront location made it a lively port, and the city primarily engaged in what during its colonial days?
144. What is the name of the band who is most famous for their 2005 song called “Boston” off of the album “All the Stars and Boulevards” which appeared on soundtracks for popular contemporary shows like Scrubs and Smallville (and was even sung by Leonard Hofstadter in season 1 of The Big Bang Theory)?
145. However, Boston stagnated in the decades prior to the what?
146. Boston encountered financial difficulties even as other cities in New England did what?
147. The oldest continuously-running community theatre group in the US is the Footlight Club in Boston, having performed every year since 1877. In what neighborhood will you find this non-profit? The street address of club headquarters is 7 Eliot St.
148. In 1773, what did a group of Boston rebels do as a response to the Tea Act, in an event known as the Boston Tea Party?
149. In 1678, Boston hired Thomas Atkins to be the first chief of a newly-founded paid (non-volunteer) department. This group’s primary purpose was to fight what type of object?
150. What New England-born poet was famously prolific, but having written nearly 1,800 poems had fewer than a dozen published during her lifetime? Famous poems include “Because I could not stop for Death” and “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.”
151. Formerly known as the Mystic River Bridge, the cantilever truss bridge that spans more than two miles from Boston to Chelsea is the largest bridge in New England and was renamed in 1967 for what former Massachusetts governor?
152. Many of the crucial events occurred in or near Boston.
153. Due to the compact design and high population density, Boston’s neighboring city Cambridge often ranks as #1 in the US in the category of highest share of residents that use what form of transportation to commute to work?
154. Boston’s penchant for mob action along with the colonists’ growing distrust in Britain fostered what in the city?
155. Former President George H.W. Bush was born in what affluent Boston suburb in 1924?
156. When the British government passed the Stamp Act in 1765, what did a Boston mob do?
157. The British sent two regiments to Boston in 1768 in an attempt to do what?
158. The sixth American woman to be granted the rank of Papal countess received this honor in 1951 from Pope Pius XII. Who was this Boston-born woman?
159. Boston itself was besieged for how long during the Siege of Boston, which began on April 19, 1775?
160. Ruggles, Stony Brook, Assembly, and Chinatown are all stops on which of Boston’s MBTA train routes?
161. What impeded the movement of the British Army?
162. The Plaque to the Great Elm tree, Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and Boston Massacre Memorial are all located within what Boston institution?
163. Boston is the capital of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. What other state or commonwealth capital city is the closest in distance to Boston?
164. The British army outnumbered the militia stationed there, but why was it a Pyrrhic victory for the British?
165. The Wahlburgers TV series was, unsurprisingly, based on the chain of casual burger restaurants and bars named Wahlburgers. At least five family members featured prominently in the show, including actor Mark Wahlberg. Name any other member of the main cast with the last name Wahlberg.
166. Several weeks later, who took over the militia after the Continental Congress established the Continental Army to unify the revolutionary effort?
167. In Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1895, William Morgan created a new game called Mintonette which was an indoor activity taking some characteristics from tennis and handball. Coincidentally, basketball had been invented ten miles away only four years prior. What sport did Morgan invent?
168. Medical facilities including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School are all located in what “L” Medical and Academic Area in Boston?
169. Boston’s harbor activity was significantly curtailed by what?
170. In 2003, Nike purchased a footwear company that was founded almost 100 years prior in Massachusetts. This acquired company dominated the “court shoe” market for decades and pivoted to military boot manufacturing during WWII. What is this brand, which owns the Jack Purcell and Star Chevron trademarks?
171. Manufacturing became an important component of the city’s economy, and the city’s industrial manufacturing overtook what?
172. Rosie Ruiz rose to fame in 1980 after she finished a running race in a record time of two hours and 31 minutes. However, the fame was mostly infamy as her title was stripped because of her lack of sweating, exhaustion, or knowledge of the course led to the natural conclusion that she had cheated. What was the race?
173. In 1963, he accepted a challenge from the CEO of The Boston Company to create a consulting arm for the bank. The consulting arm initially operated as a subsidiary of the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company. Billings for the first month were only US$500. Who?
174. Boston remained one of the nation’s largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century and was known for its what?
175. A network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of what?
176. Later, a dense network of “what” furthered the region’s industry and commerce?
177. Which Boston University has the nickname “Huskies,” competes in the Colonial Athletic Association, and is located in the Fenway, Roxbury, South End, and Back Bay neighborhoods adjacent to Huntington Avenue near the Museum of Fine Arts and Symphony Hall?
178. Boston was an early port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies, but was soon overtaken by who?
179. What outdoors wear apparel company founded in Boston in 1952 is known mostly for its footwear? Its “Yellow Boot” collection has become a global pop culture icon.
180. Boston eventually became a center of what?
181. There is a notary-focused Boston startup that raised $35 million in Series C funding in July 2020. Unsurprisingly, what is the company’s name?
182. The city reacted strongly to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, contributing to President Franklin Pierce’s attempt to do what?
183. Charles H. Taylor is one of six businessmen that founded a company in 1872 which has continued to exist until the present day in Boston. The company was purchased in 2013 by Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C. owner John W. Henry for $70 million. What is the company?
184. Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following what?
185. What American fast casual restaurant, formerly known as Boston Chicken, was founded in Newton, MA in 1984? While the company headquarters have since moved to Colorado, the chain sticks to its proud Boston namesake roots.
186. There are 50 state capitals. Let’s rank them by population size. What number is Boston? In this case, 1 is the most populous U.S. state capital and 50 is the least populous. We’ll accept responses within two positions of the correct answer.
187. By 1850, how many Irish lived in Boston?
188. After the Great Boston fire of 1872, workers used building rubble as what?
189. Set just before the American Revolution, what Newbery-winning Esther Forbes novel’s title character is a silversmith’s apprentice who takes part in the Boston Tea Party?
190. Six letters, starts with an N: Among crossword enthusiasts, what suburb of Boston has become synonymous with an obscure answer in a puzzle that is crossing another hard-to-figure-out answer?
191. Boston went into decline by the early to mid-20th century, as factories became old and obsolete and businesses moved out of the region for what?
192. In 1965, the Columbia Point Health Center opened in the Dorchester neighborhood, becoming the first what?
193. The Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston was one of the turning points of the American Revolutionary War. Today, you can visit the monument as well as climb the 221-foot granite obelisk which honors the fallen soldiers. Within 20 steps, how many steps does it take to climb to the top?
194. A large brown bear named Blades is the mascot of what Boston professional sports team?
195. By the 1970s, the city’s economy had recovered after 30 years of what?
196. “I’ve had dreams of Boston all my life” is a line from the 2008 song “Ladies of Cambridge” by what rock band with an undead creature in its name?
197. One of Boston’s best-known skyscrapers, “The Pru’s” nickname is short for the name of what insurance company?
198. On April 15, 2013, what did two Chechen Islamist brothers do in Boston?
199. In 2016, Boston briefly shouldered a bid as the US applicant for what?
200. What is the highest point in Boston?
201. The Boston Bruins last won the Stanley Cup in 2011, defeating what team that plays its home games more than 2,500 miles — and across a national border — from Boston?
202. Boston is the only state capital in the contiguous United States with a what?
203. In 2003, Siamak Taghaddos and David Hauser founded a Boston-based virtual phone system company that shares what name with a crème de menthe and crème de cacao cocktail?
204. What trail in Boston passes along 16 different foundational US historical sites through the city? It starts in Boston Common and ends up 2.5 miles later at Charlestown’s Bunker Hill monument.
205. Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital was in the news in January 2022 for refusing to perform a transplant of what vital organ on a patient who was unvaccinated against COVID-19?
206. Named after a founding father (who may have been a brewer himself), what’s the official beer of the Boston Red Sox?
207. The Long Island hospital in Boston Harbor inspired Dennis Lehane to write what 2003 horror novel, which was adapted into a 2010 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio?
208. The Boston Marathon begins in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and ends in Copley Square at what landmark Boston building, designed by architect Charles McKim?
209. What was unique about the geographic layout of the city of Boston?
210. How many students attend Boston’s colleges when they are in session?