National History Bee

Varsity & JV Divisions Homepage

2023 National Champions:
2023 Varsity – Ian Lu, Hunter College High School, New York City, NY
2023 Junior Varsity – Robert Wang, Livingston High School, Livingston, NJ

National History Bee
National History Bee

The National History Bee Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions Overview

National History Bee

The National History Bee is a quiz competition for individual students, testing knowledge of the history of all eras and all parts of the world. Founded as one of the first two IAC events in 2010, the National History Bee has welcomed hundreds of thousands of students since then in a competition celebrating knowledge of all facets of human history. The National History Bee consists of a network of Regional Tournaments, which are held both in-person and online from late October through early April. Qualified students then contest the annual National Championships each year in Arlington, VA in late April. At Regionals and Nationals, the Junior Varsity Division is contested for students entirely in 10th grade and younger.

  • Eligibility: Students in 11th and 12th Grade are eligible to compete in the Varsity Division. Students in 10th graders and younger are eligible to compete in the Junior Varsity Division. It is not permitted for younger students to play in the Varsity Division.
  • Competitors:  Individual students. Nationals requires qualification at Regionals.
  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based

  • Inquiries: Contact hs-info@iacompetitions.com

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IAC Competitors

Competition Format

For students competing in the Varsity & JV Divisions, the National History Bee is a two-stage competition, consisting of the Regional Tournaments, and the National Championships. Students can also qualify for the International History Olympiad by competing in the National History Bee.

Stage
1

Regional Tournaments

The first stage of the National History Bee in the Varsity and Junior Varsity Divisions are the Regional Tournaments. Between 60-80 of these are held each year both in-person around the USA and online. Tournaments consist of 3 preliminary rounds and a final round. Each tournament has a Varsity and Junior Varsity Division; the JV Division is limited to students in 10th grade and younger. Students in 8th grade and younger are welcome to compete in the Junior Varsity Division. All National History Bee questions for the Varsity and Junior Varsity Divisions are played with a buzzer system. Students are read paragraph-length questions out loud with the clues arranged in decreasing order of difficulty. Students buzz in when they believe they know the answer; if they are correct, they score the point for that question, otherwise they cannot ring in again. Please see the rules files posted here for further details on how the competition works.

The Regional Tournament season runs from late October to early April each academic year. A list of tournaments is maintained on the website here; registration is done by clicking on the tournament you wish to attend, and filling out the registration form on that tournament’s website. Each tournament runs on one of three question sets which are labeled A, B, and C. Past questions can be found on the website here for practice. Chronologically, C Set is offered first, beginning in the fall, followed by B, and then A, which is first played in February. However, C and B Set tournaments take place throughout the later months of the Regional Tournament season as well. Students can thus play up to 3 times each year: once on each question set. No Regional Tournament requires prior qualification, and out-of-state students are always welcome at all tournaments, even those designated as a State Championships.

At each in-person regional tournament, the National History Bowl is also offered, as well as the National Qualifying Exams for the US History Bee, National Geography Bee / US Geography Championships, National Science Bee, and National Political Science Bee. The four exams are given during the lunch break. The typical schedule of a tournament is 3 History Bowl preliminary rounds, 3 History Bee preliminary rounds, lunch, 2 more History Bowl preliminary rounds, History Bee final round, History Bowl playoff rounds. For each online Regional Tournament, the Bee is typically on one day on a weekend, and the History Bowl on the other day.

Students qualify for the National Championships by finishing in the top 50% of their age division at any Regional Tournament. If a student qualifies for Nationals at one tournament, and then attends a second or third tournament and does not place in the top 50% at those, they are still qualified to compete at the National Championships.

For all questions on the 2023-24 National History Bee Regional Tournaments, please email hs-info@iacompetitions.com

Stage
2

National Championships

The second stage of the National History Bee for the Varsity and Junior Varsity Divisions is the National Championships, which for the 2023-24 academic year will take place at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA on Sunday, April 28, 2024. We expect approximately 300 students to attend from throughout the USA, and we hope that you will be able to join us! All students play six preliminary matches on Sunday morning, with the playoff rounds taking place on Sunday afternoon.

On the same weekend that the National History Bee National Championships are held, there are numerous other competitions that take place at other times during that same weekend at the same hotel (e.g. the National History Bowl, National Geography Bee, US History Bee, National Championship Exams [a number of these have a history focus], National Science Bee, etc.), so students can take part in all of them if they are eligible to do so. A full schedule of 2024 Varsity & Junior Varsity National Championships Events is available here. 

The cost to compete at the 2024 National Championships is $135 if registration takes place prior to the end of 2023; otherwise it is $139. Registration for the National Championships opens in November and runs through early April on this page.

For all questions on the 2024 Varsity & Junior Varsity National Championships, please email hs-info@iacompetitions.com.

Bonus
Stage

International History Olympiad

Students who compete in the Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions of the National History Bee can qualify for the 2025 International History Olympiad which will likely be held in London in July 2025! Students qualify for the International History Olympiad by finishing in the top 25% in their age division at any 2023-24 or 2024-25 National History Bee Regional Tournament or National History Bowl Regional Tournament, or in the top 50% at the 2024 or 2025 National Championships of the National History Bee or National History Bowl. There are other qualifying methods as explained here, but qualifying through performance in the National History Bee or National History Bowl is the most common approach.

The International History Olympiad is a week-long event with numerous competitions, field trips, family activities and more. In each event, medals are awarded to the top 3 competing students in each age division. US students compete for their state; students from other countries (or students in the USA who were born abroad or who have foreign citizenship) represent those countries. Two of the most prestigious events at the Olympiad are the International History Bowl World Championships and the International History Bee World Championships; an overall Olympiad Championship title is also awarded in each age division; please view the website at www.historyolympiad.com for further details on all events and to register. We are expecting 300-400 students from around the world to attend the 2025 International History Olympiad!

For all questions on the 2025 International History Olympiad, please email david@iacompetitions.com

National History Bee Practice Resources

Study Guides

Study Guides for this current academic year’s B and C Set Regional Tournaments

Past Questions

Past Questions from National History Bee Regional Tournaments and National Championships

IAC National Capitals Study Guide

International History Olympiad

Additional history questions are found under the Schedule & Event Information tab on the International History Olympiad site though some are in different formats from those used in the National History Bee.

Quiz Bowl Packets

This site has links to hundreds of thousands of additional questions; most of which are not history-themed, though a good many are

Rules & FAQs

Please see the files here that pertain to the National History Bee.

Students and teams can compete up to three times each academic year at Regionals, once on each set of questions: A, B, and C. No Regional Tournament requires prior qualification.

The National History Bee has questions from all parts of the world, and all eras in history (including, but not exclusively, American history). The US History Bee focuses solely on the history of the USA, including the colonial period. Structurally, the US History Bee consists solely of the National Qualifying Exam at the Regional level, while the National History Bee consists of buzzer-based tournaments at the Regional level. For more information on the US History Bee please visit the US History Bee Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions homepage.

 

There is no difference in terms of content focus, but there are some differences in difficulty. B Set is meant to be slightly harder than C Set, but A Set is meant as preparation for the National Championships, so it is notably a more challenging set than B or C. Still, it is accessible enough for teams to play even if they have not played

The hotels where we have room blocks, especially the host hotel, provide us with meeting space to hold the competitions and with sleeping accommodations for our staff, which we need to fly in from around the country. They do this in return for a commitment to fulfill a large number of sleeping room bookings over the course of Nationals weekend. For students who live near the Nationals host site for whom it would make sense to attend Nationals as a day trip and go back to their home each night, this rule does not apply.

Yes! They are actively encouraged to do so, and if they do so, they would play in the Junior Varsity Division which includes students in the 9th and 10th grade. Students cannot transfer qualification in the National Championships at the Junior Varsity level to the Middle or Elementary School level National Championships. For more information on how the National History Bee works for students in 8th grade and younger, please visit the National History Bee Middle & Elementary School Divisions Homepage.

Past National Champions

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Year Division National Champion School City State
2023 Varsity Ian Lu Hunter College High School New York City NY  NY
2023 Junior Varsity Robert Wang Livingston High School Livingston NJ  NY
2022 Varsity Andrew Zeng Hunter College High School New York City NY  NY
2022 Junior Varsity Robert Wang Livingston High School Livingston NJ  NY
2021 Varsity Andrew Zeng Hunter College High School New York City NY  NY
2021 Junior Varsity Ian Lu Hunter College High School New York City NY  NY
2020 Varsity Pedro Juan Orduz Hunter College High School New York City NY  NY
2020 Junior Varsity Andrew Zeng Hunter College High School New York City NY  NY
2019 Varsity Hari Parameswaran Beavercreek High School Beavercreek OH  OH
2019 Junior Varsity Shiva Oswal Homeschool Cupertino CA  CA
2018 Varsity Alex Schmidt Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School Bethlehem PA  PA
2018 Junior Varsity Govind Prabhakar Adlai Stevenson High School Lincolnshire IL   IL
2017 Varsity Jakob Myers Naperville North High School Naperville IL   IL
2017 Junior Varsity Justin Young McLean High School McLean VA  VA
2016 Varsity Jakob Myers Naperville North High School Naperville IL   IL
2016 Junior Varsity Douglas Simons High Technology High School Lincroft NJ  NJ
2015 Varsity Bruce Lou Saratoga High School Saratoga CA  CA
2015 Junior Varsity Alex Schmidt Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School Bethlehem PA  PA
2014 Varsity Jonathan Leidenheimer George C. Marshall High School Falls Church VA  VA
2014 Junior Varsity Daniel Yan Farragut High School Knoxville TN  TN
2013 Varsity Sameer Rai Bellarmine College Prep San Jose CA  CA
2013 Junior Varsity Connor Wood Maggie Walker Governor’s School Richmond VA  VA
2012 Varsity Alex Frey St. Joseph High School Metuchen NJ  NJ
2012 Junior Varsity Sameer Rai Bellarmine College Prep San Jose CA  CA
2011 Varsity Mark Arildsen University School of Nashville Nashville TN  TN
2011 Junior Varsity Sameer Rai Bellarmine College Prep San Jose CA  CA