Brits know more about celebrities than key events in our history, it was revealed yesterday.

Whilst nine out of 10 people could confidently name the three Beckham children as being Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, questions about politics, geography and music drew blanks from some of the adults polled.

A third of Brits didn’t know when the last General Election was held – with 12 per cent believing it was last year.

Eleven per cent of people thought Winston Churchill was British Prime Minister during the First Gulf War which took place 1990 to 1991, whilst four in 10 thought it was Margaret Thatcher.

A fifth of folk didn’t know that February 29th was a Leap Day – one in 10 people thought it was either February 30th or 31st.

And one in 10 clueless people thought retired athlete Linford Christie – who hasn’t run professionally for over 10 years – scored the most medals for Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics.

The poll of 3,000 people, conducted by quiz website www.triviala.com, also revealed that 21 per cent of respondents had no idea D-Day was in the 1940s.

Five per cent of people mistakenly thought the Pearl Harbour naval base bombed by the Japanese in 1941 was in Ireland.

Fifteen per cent had no idea Beethoven had composed Symphony No.5 – with other suggestions including Andrew Lloyd Weber, Massive Attack and Bach.

And 25 per cent of people didn’t know Leonardo da Vinci had painted the Mona Lisa; 17 per cent thought it was Van Gogh, four per cent thought it was Leonardo DiCaprio and four per cent thought it was Damien Hirst.

One in five adults didn’t know that Iran used to be called Persia - One in 10 thought Portugal used to be called Persia, whilst a further eight per cent thought the answer was Rome.

A spokesman for www.triviala.com said: “We were genuinely surprised that so many British adults are confused about general history - even more recent events such as the Beijing Olympics left folk floundering.

“However, when it came to celebrities, all of a sudden our respondents were knowledgeable and inspired, quickly coming up with the right answers time after time.”

The poll revealed 85 per cent of Brits know Ashley Cole’s famous wife is Cheryl Cole, and 77 per cent knew Kerry Katona’s first husband was Bryan McFadden.

Respondents correctly identified Liz Dawn as playing Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street for 34 years, and knew Peter Andre and Katie Price were wed in 2005.

Six in 10 Brits were confident that Versace designed the infamous safety pin dress worn by Liz Hurley to the 1994 premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral.

And whilst horse-riding was acknowledged as the sport Zara Philips is famous for, Status Quo was also named as the opening act in the 1985 Live Aid Concert.

A spokesman for www.triviala.com continued: “Although we were surprised at the greater celebrity knowledge of the quiz’s respondents, perhaps it’s just symptomatic of our celebrity-obsessed culture, with gossip stories rather than solid news providing most of the headlines in some sections of the media.

“At Triviala.com we certainly have plenty of celebrity questions, but players can also test their knowledge on more traditional topics, including literature, geography, history, and science.”