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History Fact-Checks

Fact-checks about historical events, figures, dates, and commonly believed historical narratives.

Home › Fact-Checks › History
66 fact-checks
41 debunked
25 verified true
TRUE
The Oxford University is older than the Aztec Empire
99% confidence 724 views
→ TRUE
Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the construction of the Great Pyramid
98% confidence 720 views
→ FALSE
Einstein failed math in school
99% confidence 449 views
→ FALSE
Napoleon Bonaparte was unusually short
98% confidence 414 views
→ FALSE
The Salem witch trials burned witches at the stake
99% confidence 406 views
→ FALSE
Vikings wore horned helmets in battle
99% confidence 400 views
→ FALSE
Napoleon was unusually short
95% confidence 197 views
→ TRUE
Einstein's brain was preserved and studied by scientists after his death
98% confidence 145 views
→ FALSE
The Great Pyramid of Giza was built by slaves
88% confidence 113 views
→ FALSE
Medieval knights could not get on their horses without a crane due to heavy armor
96% confidence 112 views
→ FALSE
The inventor of the guillotine was executed by his own invention
90% confidence 105 views
→ FALSE
Medieval people believed the Earth was flat until Columbus proved otherwise
98% confidence 95 views
→ TRUE
The Boston molasses flood in 1919 killed 21 people
90% confidence 92 views
→ TRUE
The Berlin Wall fell in 1989
99% confidence 90 views
→ TRUE
The Statue of Liberty was originally a copper color, not green
95% confidence 87 views
→ FALSE
Chewing gum was invented in the 20th century
90% confidence 77 views
→ FALSE
Ancient Romans used vomitoriums to purge food during feasts
95% confidence 74 views
→ TRUE
The Titanic was the largest ship in the world when it sank
85% confidence 65 views
→ FALSE
The Berlin Wall was built to keep Western spies from entering East Germany
95% confidence 63 views
→ TRUE
The Wright brothers' first flight was shorter than the wingspan of a Boeing 747
95% confidence 60 views
→ FALSE
Medieval Europeans rarely bathed and considered cleanliness sinful
85% confidence 58 views
→ FALSE
Marie Antoinette said 'Let them eat cake' when told peasants had no bread
85% confidence 56 views
→ FALSE
Einstein believed in a personal God who intervened in human affairs
92% confidence 35 views
→ FALSE
The Emancipation Proclamation immediately freed all enslaved people in the United States
98% confidence 34 views
→ TRUE
Central heating existed in ancient Roman buildings
97% confidence 32 views
→ FALSE
Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids using alien technology
98% confidence 30 views
→ TRUE
The word 'OK' originated as a joke abbreviation in 1830s American newspapers
85% confidence 28 views
→ FALSE
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb entirely by himself
98% confidence 25 views
→ FALSE
Prohibition in the United States successfully eliminated alcohol consumption nationwide
98% confidence 24 views
→ TRUE
The Spanish Flu pandemic killed more people than World War I
85% confidence 24 views
→ TRUE
Ancient Chinese civilization invented gunpowder before Europeans
95% confidence 22 views
→ FALSE
Feudal Japan's samurai were required to commit ritual suicide after any single failure
96% confidence 22 views
→ FALSE
The printing press was invented in Europe before movable type existed in Asia
97% confidence 21 views
→ TRUE
Ancient Greek statues were originally painted in bright colors, not plain white
95% confidence 21 views
→ TRUE
The Cold War never resulted in direct large-scale combat between the US and USSR
90% confidence 19 views
→ FALSE
Modern jury duty and trial by jury originated in ancient Athens with no later legal influence
95% confidence 18 views
→ FALSE
Napoleon's army shot the nose off the Great Sphinx of Giza
85% confidence 18 views
→ FALSE
The Dark Ages were a period of no scientific or cultural progress in Europe
92% confidence 18 views
→ FALSE
The Great Fire of London in 1666 killed thousands of people
85% confidence 18 views
→ TRUE
Handwashing with soap became widely accepted medical practice only after significant resistance from doctors
88% confidence 18 views
→ FALSE
Ancient Rome fell in a single dramatic event rather than a long gradual decline
92% confidence 18 views
→ FALSE
The Great Depression was ended entirely by the New Deal alone
90% confidence 18 views
→ FALSE
The Library of Alexandria was destroyed in a single catastrophic fire
85% confidence 17 views
→ FALSE
The Wright brothers were the very first people in history to achieve powered flight of any kind
85% confidence 16 views
→ FALSE
Ancient sailors believed the Earth was flat and feared falling off its edge
85% confidence 16 views
→ FALSE
Ancient Egyptians primarily used camels to transport materials for building the pyramids
96% confidence 15 views
→ TRUE
Ancient Chinese astronomers recorded observations of supernovae centuries before European astronomers
88% confidence 13 views
→ FALSE
The invention of the printing press had little effect on the spread of literacy in Europe
92% confidence 12 views
→ TRUE
Coca-Cola originally contained cocaine in its formula
95% confidence 10 views
→ TRUE
The word 'quarantine' comes from a term meaning forty days
95% confidence 10 views
→ TRUE
The printing press significantly accelerated the spread of the Protestant Reformation across Europe
95% confidence 9 views
→ FALSE
The moon landing footage was staged by NASA in a film studio
99% confidence 9 views
→ TRUE
The Berlin Wall was covered in graffiti primarily on its western side
85% confidence 9 views
→ FALSE
Rats caused the collapse of medieval society by spreading the Black Death entirely on their own without fleas being involved
95% confidence 9 views
→ FALSE
Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize for his theory of relativity.
97% confidence 8 views
→ TRUE
The Berlin Airlift successfully supplied a blockaded city entirely by air for nearly a year
90% confidence 7 views
→ FALSE
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence alone with no edits from the Continental Congress.
98% confidence 6 views
→ FALSE
The Pilgrims wore black clothes with buckled hats and shoes.
90% confidence 5 views
→ FALSE
The Great Wall of China is a single continuous wall.
96% confidence 5 views
→ TRUE
The Hundred Years' War lasted for 116 years.
93% confidence 5 views
→ FALSE
The Declaration of Independence was signed by all delegates on July 4, 1776.
95% confidence 4 views
→ TRUE
The Black Death killed an estimated third or more of Europe's population in the 14th century.
93% confidence 4 views
→ TRUE
The Hundred Years' War was fought between England and France over the English crown's claims to French territory and the French throne.
92% confidence 4 views
→ FALSE
Mexico's Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexican Independence Day.
98% confidence 3 views
→ FALSE
Christopher Columbus was the first European to reach the Americas.
97% confidence 3 views
→ TRUE
Humans have walked on the Moon six times.
97% confidence 3 views
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