Current Affairs MCQs – Page 71 (Q701-710)

Ferdinand Magellan led the expedition that achieved the first circumnavigation of the globe, though he himself was killed in the Philippines in 1521 during the voyage and did not live to see its completion. His remaining crew, under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano, eventually completed the journey back to Spain in 1522. James Cook, Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama are tempting distractors, as each was another major age-of-exploration figure, though none led the first circumnavigation. Only 18 of the roughly 270 crew members who originally set sail survived to complete the historic voyage.

Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, became the first person to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911, narrowly beating a rival British expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott, who arrived over a month later only to perish along with his entire team on the return journey. Amundsen's meticulous planning, including the use of sled dogs and expert skiing, contributed heavily to his expedition's success. Robert Falcon Scott, Robert Peary and Ernest Shackleton are tempting distractors, with Scott being Amundsen's ill-fated rival and Shackleton another famous but ultimately unsuccessful Antarctic explorer of the same era. Amundsen later also became one of the first explorers to fly over the North Pole, in 1926.

Robert Peary, an American explorer, is officially credited as the first person to reach the North Pole, in April 1909, accompanied by his associate Matthew Henson and four Inuit guides. His claim has long been disputed by historians due to questions about the accuracy of his navigation and the feasibility of his reported travel speed. Roald Amundsen, Fridtjof Nansen and Richard Byrd are tempting distractors, as each was another notable polar explorer, though none holds the officially credited first claim to the North Pole. Matthew Henson, Peary's African American associate, is now increasingly recognized for his crucial role in the historic expedition.

Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer, and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepali Sherpa, became the first climbers confirmed to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 29, 1953, as part of a British expedition. Their achievement was celebrated worldwide and announced just in time to coincide with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Britain. George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler, and Junko Tabei are tempting distractors, with Mallory and Irvine having disappeared attempting the summit in 1924 under circumstances that remain unresolved, and Messner and Habeler later achieving the first ascent without supplemental oxygen in 1978. Hillary and Norgay's success made Everest, the world's highest peak, a lasting symbol of human achievement and endurance.

New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote in national elections, in 1893, following a determined campaign led by activist Kate Sheppard and the broader women's suffrage movement. This landmark reform predated similar changes in many other Western democracies by decades. United States, United Kingdom and Finland are tempting distractors, with Finland notably being the first country to grant women both the right to vote and to stand for national parliament, in 1906, and the US and UK following even later. New Zealand's pioneering step is still commemorated each year on September 19, the anniversary of the law's passage.

Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, completing the challenging transatlantic flight nearly five years after Charles Lindbergh's famous solo crossing in 1927. Her achievement cemented her status as one of the most celebrated aviators of her era, inspiring generations of women in aviation. Harriet Quimby, Jacqueline Cochran and Bessie Coleman are tempting distractors, as each was another pioneering female aviator, though none was the first to complete a solo transatlantic flight. Earhart later disappeared without a trace in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world, a mystery that remains unsolved to this day.

China is generally credited as the first country to use paper currency, dating back to the Tang and Song dynasties around the 7th to 11th centuries, developed as a more convenient alternative to carrying heavy metal coins over long trade distances. The famous Venetian traveler Marco Polo later described this Chinese paper money system with great fascination to audiences in Europe. Egypt, India and Persia are tempting distractors, as each was another ancient civilization with sophisticated early economic and trade systems, though none pioneered paper currency. Paper money did not become widely adopted in Europe until several centuries later.

The University of Al Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco, is widely recognized by UNESCO and the Guinness World Records as the oldest existing degree-granting university in the world, having been founded by Fatima al-Fihri, a Muslim woman. It has continuously operated as a center of learning for over a thousand years. University of Oxford, University of Bologna and University of Paris are tempting distractors, as each is also among the world's oldest and most prestigious universities, with Bologna, founded in 1088, often cited as the oldest university in the Western world specifically. Al Qarawiyyin remains an active institution of higher learning in Morocco today.

George Washington served as the first President of the United States, taking office in 1789 after being unanimously elected by the Electoral College, a distinction he holds uniquely in American history. He served two terms before voluntarily stepping down, setting a powerful precedent for the peaceful transfer of power that shaped the young nation's democratic traditions. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson are tempting distractors, with Adams actually serving as the second president and Jefferson the third, while Franklin, though a key founding father, never served as president. Washington's image now famously appears on the US one-dollar bill and the quarter coin.

Joshua Slocum, a Canadian-American sailor, became the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, completing his historic voyage aboard his small sloop, the Spray, between 1895 and 1898. His remarkable journey inspired countless later generations of solo sailors and adventurers. Francis Chichester, Alain Gerbault and Robin Knox-Johnston are tempting distractors, as each achieved other significant later solo sailing milestones, with Knox-Johnston in particular completing the first non-stop solo circumnavigation in 1969. Slocum's own account of his voyage, Sailing Alone Around the World, remains a classic of maritime literature.