General Knowledge MCQs
Topic Notes: General Knowledge
MCQs and preparation resources for competitive exams, covering important concepts, past papers, and detailed explanations.
Plato
- Biography: Ancient Greek philosopher (427–347 BCE), student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy in Athens.
- Important Ideas:
- Theory of Forms
- Philosopher-King
- Ideal State
21
Which British explorer is known for his travel across the 'Empty Quarter' of Arabia?
Answer:
Wilfred Thesiger
Wilfred Thesiger crossed the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) twice and wrote 'Arabian Sands' about the Bedouin way of life.
22
Who was the first Western woman to enter the forbidden city of Lhasa, Tibet?
Answer:
Alexandra David-Néel
Alexandra David-Néel disguised herself as a beggar and a monk to enter Lhasa in 1924.
23
Who performed the first spacewalk (EVA) in history?
Answer:
Alexei Leonov
Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov exited his spacecraft for 12 minutes on March 18, 1965.
24
Who was the first American in space?
Answer:
Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard became the first American in space on May 5, 1961, aboard the Freedom 7 capsule.
25
Who piloted the bathyscaphe 'Trieste' to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 1960?
Answer:
Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh
They were the first humans to reach the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the Earth's oceans.
26
Who was the first mountaineer to ascend Mount Everest alone and without supplemental oxygen?
Answer:
Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner is renowned for his pioneering ascents without bottled oxygen, including the first solo ascent of Everest in 1980.
27
Who is the Australian geologist famous for his solitary survival trek in Antarctica after his companions died?
Answer:
Douglas Mawson
Mawson survived a harrowing journey across the ice in 1912-1913, often described as the greatest survival story in polar history.
28
Which Antarctic explorer discovered the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf?
Answer:
James Clark Ross
Sir James Clark Ross mapped much of the Antarctic coastline in the 1840s; Mount Erebus is named after his ship.
29
Who was the first French navigator to circumnavigate the globe?
Answer:
Louis-Antoine de Bougainville
Bougainville's expedition (1766–1769) is famous for its visit to Tahiti and the botanical discovery of the Bougainvillea plant.
30
Who discovered Easter Island (Rapa Nui) on Easter Sunday in 1722?
Answer:
Jacob Roggeveen
Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen was the first European to encounter the island and its massive moai statues.