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1971

January 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

During the Middle Ages under the influence of the Catholic Church, many countries in western Europe decided to move the start of the year to one of several important Christian festivals – December 25 (the Nativity of Jesus), March 1, March 25 (the Annunciation), or even Easter. The Byzantine Empire began its numbered year on September 1.

In England, January 1 was celebrated as the New Year festival, but from the 12th century to 1752 the year in England began on March 25 (Lady Day). So, for example, the Parliamentary record notes the execution of Charles I as occurring on January 30, 1648, (as the year did not end until March 24), although modern histories adjust the start of the year to January 1 and record the execution as occurring in 1649.

Most western European countries changed the start of the year to January 1 before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. For example, Scotland changed the start of the Scottish New Year to January 1 in 1600. England, Ireland and the British colonies changed the start of the year to January 1 in 1752. Later that year in September, the Gregorian calendar was introduced throughout Britain and the British colonies. These two reforms were implemented by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.

January 1 became the official start of the year as follows:

Julian calendar:

  • 1544 Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
  • 1556 Spain, Portugal
  • 1559 Prussia, Sweden
  • 1564 France
  • 1576 Southern Netherlands
  • 1579 Duchy of Lorraine
  • 1583 Northern Netherlands
  • 1600 Scotland
  • 1700 Russia
  • 1752 Great Britain (excluding Scotland) and its colonies
  • 1804 Serbia

Gregorian calendar:

  • 1750 Tuscany
  • 1797 Republic of Venice
  • 1918 Ottoman Empire
  • 1941 Thailand

Events on January 1

Pre-Julian Roman calendar

  • 153 BC – For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1.

Early Julian calendar (before Augustus’ leap year correction)

  • 45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year.
  • 42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.

Julian calendar

  • 193 – The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emper]or.
  • 404 – Saint Telemachus tries to stop a gladiatorial fight in a Roman amphitheatre, and is stoned to death by the crowd. This act impresses the Christian Emperor Honorius, who issues a historic ban on gladiatorial fights.
  • 417 – Emperor Honorius forces Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militum) (probable).
  • 1001 – Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II (probable).
  • 1068 – Romanos IV Diogenes marries Eudokia Makrembolitissa and is crowned Byzantine Emperor.
  • 1259 – Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.
  • 1438 – Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.
  • 1502 – The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is first explored by the Portuguese.
  • 1515 – Twenty-year-old Francis, Duke of Brittany, succeeds to the French throne following the death of his father-in-law, Louis XII.
  • 1527 – Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as King of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin.
  • 1583 to 1700 – see January 11
  • 1600 – Scotland recognises January 1 as the start of the year, instead of March 25.
  • 1651 – Charles II is crowned King of Scotland.
  • 1700 – Russia begins using the Anno Domini era instead of the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1701 to 1800 – see January 12
  • 1801 to 1900 – see January 13
  • 1901 to 2100 – see January 14

Gregorian calendar

  • 1707 – John V is proclaimed King of Portugal and the Algarves in Lisbon.
  • 1739 – Bouvet Island, the world’s remotest island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
  • 1772 – The first traveler’s cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, were issued by the London Credit Exchange Company.
  • 1773 – The hymn that became known as “Amazing Grace”, then titled “1 Chronicles 17:16–17” is first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.
  • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Norfolk, Virginia is burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action.
  • 1776 – General George Washington hoists the first United States flag; the Grand Union Flag at Prospect Hill.
  • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne’s command rebel against the Continental Army’s winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781.
  • 1788 – First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
  • 1801 – The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is proclaimed.
  • 1801 – Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
  • 1803 – Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.
  • 1804 – French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America after the United States.
  • 1806 – The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
  • 1808 – The United States bans the importation of slaves.
  • 1810 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales.
  • 1822 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
  • 1847 – The world’s first “Mercy” Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh, United States, by a group of Sisters of Mercy from Ireland; the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world.
  • 1860 – The first Polish stamp is issued, replacing the Russian stamps previously in use.
  • 1861 – Liberal forces supporting Benito Juárez enter Mexico City.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory.
  • 1877 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.
  • 1885 – Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming’s proposal for standard time (and also, time zones).
  • 1890 – Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government
  • 1892 – Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States.
  • 1898 – New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
  • 1899 – Spanish rule ends in Cuba.
  • 1901 – Nigeria becomes a British protectorate
  • 1901 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister
  • 1902 – The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California.
  • 1910 – Captain David Beatty is promoted to Rear admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal family members) since Horatio Nelson.
  • 1912 – The Republic of China is established.
  • 1914 – The SPT Airboat Line becomes the world’s first scheduled airline to use a winged aircraft.
  • 1923 – Britain’s Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.
  • 1927 – New Mexican oil legislation goes into effect, leading to the formal outbreak of the Cristero War.
  • 1928 – Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran. He is the only assistant of Joseph Stalin’s secretariat to have defected from the Eastern Bloc.
  • 1929 – The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver.
  • 1932 – The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth.
  • 1934 – Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison.
  • 1934 – A “Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring” comes into effect in Nazi Germany.
  • 1942 – The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
  • 1945 – World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops kill 60 German POWs at Chenogne.
  • 1945 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow.
  • 1947 – Cold War: The American and British occupation zones in Allied-occupied Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, which later (with the French zone) became part of West Germany.
  • 1947 – The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens.Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
  • 1948 – The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways.
  • 1949 – United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
  • 1956 – Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom.
  • 1957 – George Town, Penang, is made a city by a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
  • 1958 – European Economic Community is established.
  • 1959 – Cuban Revolution: Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro’s forces.
  • 1960 – Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom.
  • 1962 – Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
  • 1964 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
  • 1965 – The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  • 1970 – The defined beginning of Unix time, at 00:00:00.
  • 1971 – Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.
  • 1973 – Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom are admitted into the European Economic Community.
  • 1976 – A bomb explodes on board Middle East Airlines Flight 438 over Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 81 people on board.
  • 1978 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747, crashes into the Arabian Sea, due to instrument failure, spatial disorientation, and pilot error, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing all 213 people on board.
  • 1979 – Normal diplomatic relations are established between the People’s Republic of China and the United States.
  • 1981 – Greece is admitted into the European Community.
  • 1982 – Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
  • 1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet.
  • 1984 – The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
  • 1984 – Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
  • 1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.
  • 1987 – The Isleta Pueblo tribe elect Verna Williamson to be their first female governor.
  • 1988 – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
  • 1989 – The Montreal Protocol comes into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.
  • 1990 – David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City’s first black mayor.
  • 1993 – Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
  • 1994 – The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
  • 1994 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect.
  • 1995 – The World Trade Organization comes into being.
  • 1995 – The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
  • 1995 – Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU.
  • 1998 – Following a currency reform, Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
  • 1999 – Euro currency is introduced in 11 member nations of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden; Greece later adopts the euro).
  • 2004 – In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is “deemed to be elected” to the office of President until October 2007.
  • 2007 – Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.
  • 2007 – Adam Air Flight 574 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes near the Makassar Strait, Indonesia killing all 102 people on board.
  • 2009 – Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
  • 2010 – A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.
  • 2011 – A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
  • 2011 – Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.
  • 2013 – At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
  • 2015 – The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
  • 2017 – An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year’s celebrations, kills at least 39 people and injures more than 60 others

Births on January 1

  • 766 – Ali al-Ridha (d. 818) 8th Imam of Twelver Shia Islam
  • 1431 – Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503)
  • 1449 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian politician (d. 1492)
  • 1467 – Sigismund I the Old, Polish king (d. 1548)
  • 1484 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss pastor and theologian (d. 1531)
  • 1511 – Henry, Duke of Cornwall, first-born child of Henry VIII of England (d. 1511)
  • 1557 – Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1606)
  • 1600 – Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1649)
  • 1628 – Christoph Bernhard, German composer and theorist (d. 1692)
  • 1655 – Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher (d. 1728)
  • 1684 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch scholar and author (d. 1748)
  • 1704 – Soame Jenyns, English author, poet, and politician (d. 1787)
  • 1711 – Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)
  • 1714 – Giovanni Battista Mancini, Italian soprano and author (d. 1800)
  • 1714 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (d. 1780)
  • 1735 – Paul Revere, American silversmith and engraver (d. 1818)
  • 1745 – Anthony Wayne, American general and politician (d. 1796)
  • 1752 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, credited with designing the Flag of the United States (d. 1836)
  • 1768 – Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish author (d. 1849)
  • 1769 – Marie-Louise Lachapelle, French obstetrician (d. 1821)
  • 1774 – André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist and academic (d. 1860)
  • 1779 – William Clowes, English publisher (d. 1847)
  • 1803 – Edward Dickinson, American politician and father of poet Emily Dickinson (d. 1874)
  • 1806 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (d. 1853)
  • 1809 – Achille Guenée, French lawyer and entomologist (d. 1880)
  • 1813 – George Bliss, American politician (d. 1868)
  • 1814 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebellion leader and king (d. 1864)
  • 1818 – William Gamble, Irish-born American general (d. 1866)
  • 1819 – Arthur Hugh Clough, English-Italian poet and academic (d. 1861)
  • 1819 – George Foster Shepley, American general (d. 1878)
  • 1823 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and activist (d. 1849)
  • 1833 – Robert Lawson, Scottish-New Zealand architect, designed the Otago Boys’ High School and Knox Church (d. 1902)
  • 1834 – Ludovic Halévy, French author and playwright (d. 1908)
  • 1839 – Ouida, English-Italian author and activist (d. 1908)
  • 1848 – John W. Goff, Irish-American lawyer and politician (d. 1924)
  • 1852 – Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, French chemist and academic (d. 1904)
  • 1854 – James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist and academic (d. 1941)
  • 1854 – Thomas Waddell, Irish-Australian politician, 15th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1940)
  • 1857 – Tim Keefe, American baseball player (d. 1933)
  • 1859 – Michael Joseph Owens, American inventor (d. 1923)
  • 1859 – Thibaw Min, Burmese king (d. 1916)
  • 1860 – Michele Lega, Italian cardinal (d. 1935)
  • 1863 – Pierre de Coubertin, French historian, and educator, founded the International Olympic Committee (d. 1937)
  • 1864 – Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, and curator (d. 1946)
  • 1864 – Qi Baishi, Chinese painter (d. 1957)
  • 1867 – Mary Ackworth Evershed, English astronomer and scholar (d. 1949)
  • 1874 – Frank Knox, American publisher, and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1944)
  • 1874 – Gustave Whitehead, German-American pilot and engineer (d. 1927)
  • 1877 – Alexander von Staël-Holstein, German sinologist and orientalist (d. 1937)
  • 1878 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician, statistician, and engineer (d. 1929)
  • 1879 – E. M. Forster, English author and playwright (d. 1970)
  • 1879 – William Fox, Hungarian-American screenwriter and producer, founded the Fox Film Corporation and Fox Theatres (d. 1952)
  • 1883 – William J. Donovan, American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1959)
  • 1884 – Chikuhei Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant, engineer, and politician, founded Nakajima Aircraft Company (d. 1949)
  • 1887 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (d. 1945)
  • 1888 – Georgios Stanotas, Greek general (d. 1965)
  • 1888 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand rifle (d. 1974)
  • 1889 – Charles Bickford, American actor (d. 1967)
  • 1890 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1891 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 3rd Governor of Rajasthan (d. 1969)
  • 1892 – Mahadev Desai, Indian author and activist (d. 1942)
  • 1892 – Manuel Roxas, Filipino lawyer and politician, 5th President of the Philippines (d. 1948)
  • 1893 – Mordechai Frizis, Greek colonel (d. 1940)
  • 1894 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, and mathematician (d. 1974)
  • 1894 – Edward Joseph Hunkeler, American clergyman (d. 1970)
  • 1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, American law enforcement official; 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese soldier and diplomat (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1990)
  • 1902 – Buster Nupen, Norwegian-South African cricketer and lawyer (d. 1977)
  • 1902 – Hans von Dohnányi, German jurist and political dissident (d. 1945)
  • 1904 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (d. 1982)
  • 1905 – Stanisław Mazur, Ukrainian-Polish mathematician and theorist (d. 1981)
  • 1906 – Manuel Silos, Filipino filmmaker, and actor (d. 1988)
  • 1907 – Kinue Hitomi, Japanese sprinter and long jumper (d. 1931)
  • 1909 – Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)
  • 1909 – Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian soldier and politician (d. 1959)
  • 1911 – Audrey Wurdemann, American poet and author (d. 1960)
  • 1911 – Basil Dearden, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1971)
  • 1911 – Hank Greenberg, American baseball player (d. 1986)
  • 1911 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (d. 2012)
  • 1912 – Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1995)
  • 1912 – Kim Philby, British spy (d. 1988)
  • 1912 – Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek poet and academic (d. 1991)
  • 1914 – Noor Inayat Khan, British SOE agent (d. 1944)
  • 1917 – Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
  • 1918 – Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2000)
  • 1918 – Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (d. 1997)
  • 1919 – Carole Landis, American actress (d. 1948)
  • 1919 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (d. 2010)
  • 1919 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer and actor (d. 1990)
  • 1920 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – César Baldaccini, French sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1921 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (d. 1986)
  • 1921 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Ernest Hollings, American soldier, and politician, 106th Governor of South Carolina (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Valentina Cortese, Italian actress (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Milt Jackson, American jazz vibraphonist and composer (d. 1999)
  • 1924 – Francisco Macías Nguema, Equatorial Guinean politician, 1st President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (d. 1979)
  • 1925 – Matthew Beard, American child actor (d. 1981)
  • 1925 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2005)
  • 1926 – Kazys Petkevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Doak Walker, American football player and businessman (d. 1998)
  • 1927 – James Reeb, American clergyman and political activist (d. 1965)
  • 1927 – Maurice Béjart, French-Swiss dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Vernon L. Smith, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1928 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
  • 1928 – Gerhard Weinberg, German-American historian, author, and academic
  • 1929 – Larry L. King, American journalist, author, and playwright (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – Frederick Wiseman, American director and producer
  • 1930 – Gaafar Nimeiry, Egyptian-Sudanese politician, 4th President of the Sudan (d. 2009)
  • 1932 – Giuseppe Patanè, Italian conductor (d. 1989)
  • 1933 – James Hormel, American philanthropist and diplomat.
  • 1933 – Joe Orton, English dramatist (d. 1967)
  • 1934 – Alan Berg, American lawyer and radio host (d. 1984
  • 1934 – Lakhdar Brahimi, Algerian politician, Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1935 – Om Prakash Chautala, Indian politician
  • 1936 – James Sinegal, American businessman, co-founded Costco
  • 1939 – Michèle Mercier, French actress
  • 1939 – Phil Read, English motorcycle racer and businessman
  • 1939 – Senfronia Thompson, American politician
  • 1941 – Younoussi Touré, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali
  • 1942 – Alassane Ouattara, Ivorian economist and politician, President of the Ivory Coast (doubtful)
  • 1942 – Anthony Hamilton-Smith, 3rd Baron Colwyn, English dentist and politician
  • 1942 – Country Joe McDonald, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1942 – Dennis Archer, American lawyer and politician, 67th Mayor of Detroit
  • 1942 – Gennadi Sarafanov, Russian pilot and cosmonaut (d. 2005)
  • 1943 – Don Novello, American comedian, screenwriter and producer.
  • 1943 – Tony Knowles, American soldier and politician, 7th Governor of Alaska.
  • 1943 – Vladimir Šeks, Croatian lawyer and politician, 16th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament
  • 1944 – Mati Unt, Estonian author, playwright, and director (d. 2005)
  • 1944 – Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese field marshal and politician, 7th President of Sudan
  • 1944 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1944 – Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistani field hockey player and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Pakistan
  • 1945 – Jacky Ickx, Belgian racing driver
  • 1945 – Victor Ashe, American politician and former United States Ambassador to Poland
  • 1946 – Claude Steele, American social psychologist and academic
  • 1946 – Rivellino, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Jon Corzine, American sergeant and politician, 54th Governor of New Jersey
  • 1948 – Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish economist, academic, and politician, 57th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
  • 1948 – Dick Quax, New Zealand runner and politician (d. 2018)
  • 1948 – Pavel Grachev, Russian general and politician, 1st Russian Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
  • 1949 – Borys Tarasyuk, Ukrainian politician and diplomat
  • 1952 – Shaji N. Karun, Indian director and cinematographer
  • 1953 – Gary Johnson, American businessman and politician, 29th Governor of New Mexico
  • 1954 – Bob Menendez, American lawyer and politician
  • 1954 – Dennis O’Driscoll, Irish poet and critic (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Yannis Papathanasiou, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
  • 1955 – LaMarr Hoyt, American baseball player
  • 1955 – Mary Beard, English classicist, academic and presenter
  • 1956 – Sergei Avdeyev, Russian engineer and astronaut
  • 1956 – Christine Lagarde, French lawyer and politician; Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
  • 1957 – Evangelos Venizelos, Greek lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece
  • 1958 – Grandmaster Flash, Barbadian rapper and DJ
  • 1959 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghan colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1959 – Azali Assoumani, Comorian colonel and politician, President of the Comoros
  • 1959 – Panagiotis Giannakis, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1962 – Anton Muscatelli, Italian-Scottish economist and academic
  • 1963 – Jean-Marc Gounon, French racing driver
  • 1964 – Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress
  • 1966 – Anna Burke, Australian businesswoman and politician, 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
  • 1966 – Ivica Dačić, Serbian journalist and politician, 95th Prime Minister of Serbia
  • 1966 – Tihomir Orešković, Croatian–Canadian businessman, 11th Prime Minister of Croatia
  • 1968 – Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
  • 1971 – Bobby Holík, Czech-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1971 – Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician
  • 1971 – Sammie Henson, American wrestler and coach
  • 1972 – Lilian Thuram, French footballer
  • 1974 – Christian Paradis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Industry
  • 1975 – Becky Kellar-Duke, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Chris Anstey, Australian basketball player and coach
  • 1975 – Fernando Tatís, Dominican baseball player
  • 1975 – Joe Cannon, American soccer player and sportscaster
  • 1979 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
  • 1981 – Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian racing driver
  • 1981 – Mladen Petrić, Croatian footballer
  • 1982 – David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
  • 1982 – Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1983 – Melaine Walker, Jamaican hurdler
  • 1983 – Park Sung-hyun, South Korean archer
  • 1983 – Calum Davenport, English footballer
  • 1984 – Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian footballer
  • 1985 – Steven Davis, Northern Irish footballer
  • 1985 – Tiago Splitter, Brazilian basketball player
  • 1986 – Pablo Cuevas, Uruguayan tennis player
  • 1986 – Ramses Barden, American football player
  • 1987 – Meryl Davis, American ice dancer1987 – Patric Hörnqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Marcel Gecov, Czech footballer
  • 1989 – Jason Pierre-Paul, American football player
  • 1991 – Darius Slay, American football player

Deaths on January 1

  • 138 – Lucius Aelius, adopted son and intended successor of Hadrian (b. 101)
  • 404 – Telemachus, Christian monk and martyr
  • 466 – Qianfei, Chinese emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty (b. 449)
  • 898 – Odo I, Frankish king (b. 860)
  • 951 – Ramiro II, king of León and Galicia1031 – William of Volpiano, Italian abbot (b. 962)
  • 1189 – Henry of Marcy, Cistercian abbot (b. c. 1136)
  • 1204 – Haakon III, king of Norway (b. 1182)
  • 1387 – Charles II, king of Navarre (b. 1332)
  • 1496 – Charles d’Orléans, count of Angoulême (b. 1459)
  • 1515 – Louis XII, king of France (b. 1462)
  • 1559 – Christian III, king of Denmark (b. 1503)
  • 1560 – Joachim du Bellay, French poet and critic (b. 1522)
  • 1617 – Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1558)
  • 1697 – Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine historian and author (b. 1625)
  • 1716 – William Wycherley, English playwright and poet (b. 1641)
  • 1748 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (b. 1667)
  • 1780 – Johann Ludwig Krebs, German organist and composer (b. 1713)
  • 1782 – Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)
  • 1789 – Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English lawyer and politician, British Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1716)
  • 1793 – Francesco Guardi, Italian painter and educator (b. 1712)
  • 1817 – Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist and academic (b. 1743)
  • 1846 – John Torrington, English sailor and explorer (b. 1825)
  • 1853 – Gregory Blaxland, Australian farmer and explorer (b. 1778)
  • 1862 – Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Ukrainian mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
  • 1881 – Louis Auguste Blanqui, French activist (b. 1805)
  • 1892 – Roswell B. Mason, American lawyer and politician, 25th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
  • 1894 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist and academic (b. 1857)
  • 1896 – Alfred Ely Beach, American publisher and lawyer, created the Beach Pneumatic Transit (b. 1826)
  • 1906 – Hugh Nelson, Scottish-Australian farmer and politician, 11th Premier of Queensland (b. 1833)
  • 1918 – William Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet and author (b. 1858)
  • 1921 – Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, German lawyer and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1856)
  • 1929 – Mustafa Necati, Turkish civil servant and politician, Turkish Minister of Environment and Urban Planning (b. 1894)
  • 1931 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (b. 1851)
  • 1937 – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Indian religious leader, founded the Gaudiya Math (b. 1874)
  • 1940 – Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian author and educator (b. 1865)
  • 1944 – Edwin Lutyens, English architect, designed the Castle Drogo and Thiepval Memorial (b. 1869)
  • 1944 – Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (b. 1862)
  • 1953 – Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)
  • 1954 – Duff Cooper, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1890)
  • 1954 – Leonard Bacon, American poet and critic (b. 1887)
  • 1955 – Arthur C. Parker, American archaeologist and historian (b. 1881)
  • 1960 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress (b. 1909)
  • 1966 – Vincent Auriol, French journalist and politician, 16th President of the French Republic (b. 1884)
  • 1969 – Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright and screenwriter (b. 1902)
  • 1971 – Amphilochius of Pochayiv, Ukrainian saint (b. 1894)
  • 1972 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (b. 1888)
  • 1978 – Carle Hessay, German-Canadian painter (b. 1911)
  • 1980 – Pietro Nenni, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1891)
  • 1981 – Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Australian pianist (b. 1920)
  • 1982 – Victor Buono, American actor (b. 1938)
  • 1984 – Alexis Korner, French-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
  • 1992 – Grace Hopper, American computer scientist and admiral, co-developed COBOL (b. 1906)
  • 1994 – Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt, New Zealand physician and politician, 11th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1900)
  • 1994 – Cesar Romero, American actor (b. 1907)
  • 1994 – Edward Arthur Thompson, Irish historian and academic (b. 1914)
  • 1995 – Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
  • 1996 – Arleigh Burke, American admiral (b. 1901)
  • 1996 – Arthur Rudolph, German-American engineer (b. 1906)
  • 1997 – Townes Van Zandt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
  • 1998 – Helen Wills, American tennis player and coach (b. 1905)
  • 2000 – Betty Archdale, English-Australian cricketer and educator (b. 1907)
  • 2001 – Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (b. 1944)
  • 2003 – Joe Foss, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Shirley Chisholm, American educator and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Harry Magdoff, American economist and journalist (b. 1913)
  • 2007 – Roland Levinsky, South African-English biochemist and academic (b. 1943)
  • 2007 – Tillie Olsen, American short story writer (b. 1912)
  • 2008 – Pratap Chandra Chunder, Indian educator and politician (b. 1919)
  • 2009 – Claiborne Pell, American politician (b. 1918)
  • 2010 – Lhasa de Sela, American-Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1972)
  • 2012 – Kiro Gligorov, Bulgarian-Macedonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Nay Win Maung, Burmese physician, businessman, and activist (b. 1962)
  • 2012 – Tommy Mont, American football player and coach (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Patti Page, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (b. 1910)
  • 2014 – Juanita Moore, American actress (b. 1914)
  • 2014 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (b. 1950)
  • 2015 – Boris Morukov, Russian physician and astronaut (b. 1950)
  • 2015 – Donna Douglas, American actress (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Omar Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 58th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1934)
  • 2016 – Dale Bumpers, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1925)
  • 2016 – Fazu Aliyeva, Russian poet and journalist (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Derek Parfit, British philosopher (b. 1942)
  • 2017 – Tony Atkinson, British economist (b. 1944)
  • 2017 – Yvon Dupuis, Canadian politician (b. 1926)
  • 2018 – Robert Mann, American violinist (b. 1920)
  • 2019 – Pegi Young, American singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist (b. 1952)
  • 2019 – Paul Neville, Australian politician (b. 1940)
  • 2020 – David Stern, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1942)
  • 2020 – Alexander Frater, British travel writer and journalist (b. 1937)
  • 2020 – Barry McDonald, Australian rugby union player (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances on January 1

  • Christian feast day:
    • Adalard of Corbie
    • Basil the Great (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
      • Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
      • Feast of Fools (Medieval Europe)
    • Fulgentius of Ruspe
    • Giuseppe Maria Tomasi
    • Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Octave Day of Christmas, considered a holy day of obligation in some countries (Catholic Church); and its related observances:
      • World Day of Peace
    • Telemachus
    • Zygmunt Gorazdowski
    • January 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Handsel Monday can fall, while January 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of the year (Scotland)
  • The second day of Hogmanay (Scotland) December 31-January 1, in some cases until January 2.
  • The last day of Kwanzaa (African-Americans)
  • The eighth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
  • Constitution Day (Italy)
  • Dissolution of Czechoslovakia-related observances:
    • Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
    • Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State (Czech Republic)
  • Emancipation Day (United States)
  • Euro Day (European Union)
  • Flag Day (Lithuania) commemorates raising of the Lithuanian flag on Gediminas’ Tower in 1919
  • Founding Day (Taiwan) commemorates the establishment of the Provisional Government in Nanjing
  • Global Family Day
  • Independence Day (Brunei, Cameroon, Haiti, Sudan)
  • International Nepali Dhoti and Nepali Topi Day
  • Jump-up Day (Montserrat)
  • Kalpataru Day (Ramakrishna Movement)
  • Kamakura Ebisu, January 1–3 (Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan)
  • National Bloody Mary Day (United States)
  • National Tree Planting Day (Tanzania)
  • New Year’s Day (Gregorian calendar)
    • Japanese New Year
    • Novy God Day (Russia)
    • Sjoogwachi (Okinawa Islands)
  • Polar Bear Swim Day (Canada and United States)
  • Public Domain Day (multiple countries)
  • Triumph of the Revolution (Cuba)

January 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

Flannery O’Connor Quiz

MCQs / Q&A, Personalities /

Flannery O’Connor was an American writer. She wrote two novels and 32 short stories. Her Complete Stories won the 1972 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction.

1. What was Flannery O’Connor’s first name?
a) Hilda
b) Mary
c) Stephanie
d) Jane

2. When was Flannery O’Connor born?
a) 25 March 1925
b) 18 May 1922
c) 31 July 1919
d) 30 December 1915

3. Where was Flannery O’Connor born?
a) Boston
b) Atlanta
c) Savannah
d) New Orleans

4. Which college did Flannery O’Connor attend?
a) Bethany College
b) St. John’s College
c) St. Agnes’ College
d) Georgia State College for Women

5. Which university did Flannery O’Connor attend?
a) Harvard
b) Yale
c) Princeton
d) Iowa

6. Which was Flannery O’Connor’s first novel?
a) Wise Blood
b) The Violent Bear It Away
c) Mystery and Manners
d) The Habit of Being

 

7. When did Flannery O’Connor publish A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and Other Stories?
a) 1979
b) 1955
c) 1969
d) 1971

8. Which disease afflicted Flannery O’Connor?
a) Parkinson’s disease
b) Alzheimer’s disease
c) Lupus erythematosus
d) Agranulocytic angina

9. When did Flannery O’Connor die?
a) 22 January 1969
b) 12 June 1978
c) 3 August 1964
d) 5 November 1984

10. Where did Flannery O’Connor die?
a) Reno
b) Milledgeville
c) Albuquerque
d) Portland

Flannery O’Connor Quiz Questions with Answers

 

1. What was Flannery O’Connor’s first name?
b) Mary

2. When was Flannery O’Connor born?
a) 25 March 1925

3. Where was Flannery O’Connor born?
c) Savannah

4. Which college did Flannery O’Connor attend?
d) Georgia State College for Women

5. Which university did Flannery O’Connor attend?
d) Iowa

6. Which was Flannery O’Connor’s first novel?
a) Wise Blood

7. When did Flannery O’Connor publish A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and Other Stories?
b) 1955

8. Which disease afflicted Flannery O’Connor?
c) Lupus erythematosus

9. When did Flannery O’Connor die?
c) 3 August 1964

10. Where did Flannery O’Connor die?
b) Milledgeville

Flannery O’Connor Quiz Read More »

MCQs / Q&A, Personalities

General Science & Ability MCQs (Natural Hazards and Disasters, Set-II)

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A /

Click HERE for previous questions.

An example of a shield volcano is
(a) Mount Fuji
(b) Mount Pinatubo
(c) Puy de Dome
(d) Mauna Loa
Answer: (d)
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.Mauna Loa is a shield volcano that has erupted some three dozen times since its first well-documented eruption in 1843

Volcanoes that have erupted in historic times and are still likely to erupt, are known as
(a) Active volcanoes
(b) Dormant volcanoes
(c) Extinct volcanoes
(d) Instinct volcanoes
Answer: (b)

Top of magma is forced onto Earth’s surface is known as
(a) Vent
(b) Cone
(c) Pipe
(d) Crater
Answer: (d)
A volcanic crater is a roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature within which occurs a vent or vents

Volcano that forms from column of magma is called a/an
(a) underwater volcano
(b) convergent volcano
(c) divergent volcano
(d) hot spot volcano
Answer: (d)

Reference to how thick a liquid is known as
(a) density
(b) conductivity
(c) viscosity
(d) volatility
Answer: (c)

Fluidity of lava is determined by amount of
(a) copper
(b) iron
(c) nickel
(d) silica
Answer: (d)

A flash flood is a flood that:
(a) is caused by heavy rain rather than from the flooding of a river
(b) occurs in urban areas
(c) occurs suddenly and unexpectedly and for a short duration
(d) is caused by the blocking of drains.
Answer: (c)
Flash floods are defined by the speed of flooding, not the source or location of flooding. While flash floods are often caused by heavy rainfall, they can also result from other events, such as drain blockages and bursts or the flooding of a river.

Monsoon is caused by: (CSS-2009)
(a) Seasonal reversal of winds
(b) Revolution of earth
(c) Movement of clouds
(d) Rise in temperature
(e) Rain forests
Answer: (a)
The monsoon, which is essentially the seasonal reversal in wind direction, causes most of the rainfall received in Pakistan and some other parts of the world. The primary cause of monsoons is the difference between annual temperature trends over land and sea. The apparent position of the Sun with reference to the Earth oscillates from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn. Thus the low pressure region created by solar heating also changes latitude. The northeast and southeast trade winds converge in this low pressure zone, which is also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ. This low pressure regions sees continuous rise of moist wind from the sea surface to the upper layers of the atmosphere, where the cooling means the air can no longer hold so much moisture resulting in precipitation. The rainy seasons of East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and the southern parts of North America coincide with the shift of ITCZ towards these regions.

A flood can vary in:
(a) size
(b) speed of water flow
(c) duration
(d) all of the above.
Answer: (d)
The size, duration and water flow speed of floods can vary. The volume, rate of rise and areal extent (i.e. the total area under flood waters) of flooding can also vary.

When a river’s water level reaches 10 meters, this means that:
(a) the water level is 10 meters above an arbitrary ‘zero’ level
(b) the water level is 10 meters above mean sea level
(c) the water level is 10 meters above mean sea level or an arbitrary ‘zero’ level
(d) it will flood.
Answer: (c)
River height is the level of water in a river as measured by a river gauging station and is expressed in meters above either the Australian Height Datum (i.e. mean sea level) or an alternative arbitrary ‘zero’ level, depending on the location.

The size of a flood is measured by:
(a) the rate of flow of water in a waterway or river
(b) the level of water in a waterway or river
(c) a river gauging station
(d) all of the above.
Answer: (d)
The size of a flood can be measured by the highest level that water in a waterway reaches, referred to as the ‘peak water level’ or ‘flood peak’. It can also be measured by the maximum water flow rate in a waterway, referred to as the ‘peak flow rate’ or ‘peak water flow’. Each of these variables can be measured using a river gauging station.

Which of the following is associated with a La Niña event?
(a) The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is strongly negative.
(b) The ocean surface off the coast of South America is warmer than usual.
(c) There is an increased chance of above average rainfall in eastern Australia.
(d) All of the above.
Answer: (c)
In a La Niña event, the equatorial ocean surface off the coast of South America is abnormally cool, and the SOI is strongly positive. Trade winds blow strongly across the warm Pacific, picking up plenty of moisture and increasing the likelihood of above average rainfall in eastern Australia.

Which of the following potentially affects the size of a flood?
(a) bridges and other structures in waterways
(b) the size and windiness of a river
(c) vegetation in and around a river
(d) all of the above.
Answer: (d)
Many factors can affect the size of a flood, including rainfall intensity, weather conditions prior to a rainfall event, tidal and storm surges, dams and other man-made and natural water storages, catchment size and shape, soil types in a catchment, vegetation in and around a waterway, the size and windiness of a waterway, levees, bridges and other structures in waterways and catchments, and urbanization.

Seasons are generated by (CSS-2012)
(a) The movement of sun around the Milky Way
(b) The movement of the earth around the sun
(c) Relativistic Quantum
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)

The 2010 floods had cost the Pakistan’s economy around
(a) $17b
(b) $11b
(c) $10b
(d) $13b
Answer: (c)
It estimates that just a little less than 1pc of Pakistan’s GDP is exposed to river floods every year. It is ranked 16th by the WRI on the list of the top 20 countries with the highest GDP exposure to river floods.
The World Resources Institute (WRI) says Pakistan falls 5th on the list of top 15 countries that account for 80pc of the population exposed to river-flood risk worldwide.

In Pakistan, the most expensive natural disaster is:
(a) Drought
(b) Floods
(c) Bushfires
(d) Cyclones.
Answer: (b)
Pakistan faces a major financing challenge arising from natural catastrophes, with flooding causing an estimated annual economic impact of between three and four per cent of the federal budget,” adds the report. It estimates the annual economic impact of flooding at between $1.2bn and $1.8bn, or 0.5-0.8pc of GDP.

Which of the following is an environmental consequence of floods?
(a) dispersal of weed species
(b) erosion of soil
(c) release of pollutants into waterways
(d) all of the above.
Answer: (d)
Floods can have negative environmental consequences, such as soil erosion, release of pollutants and excess sediments and nutrients into waterways and the ocean, dispersal of weed species, and negative impacts on fish and other aquatic life. Floods can also have positive environmental consequences, such as recharging groundwater systems, filling wetlands, moving useful nutrients around the landscape, and triggering breeding events (for example, of water birds).

Which of the following is used to estimate which areas will be inundated during a flood, based on river height information?
(a) satellite and radar images
(b) flood maps / floodplain hydraulic models
(c) river gauging stations
(d) all of the above.
Answer: (b)
Floodplain hydraulic models and flood maps are used to estimate which areas will be inundated based on river height information. Satellite and radar images, rain gauges and river gauging stations are used to estimate river heights.

Which of the following statements is false?
(a) Weather forecasts for a small region are more accurate than those for a large region.
(b) Weather forecasts are more accurate in Melbourne than in Darwin.
(c) Forecasts of temperature are more accurate than forecasts of rainfall.
(d) All of the above.
Answer: (a)
The accuracy of weather forecasts varies depending on lead time, the size of the region of interest, the weather variable being forecast, and the latitude of the region. Generally, temperature forecasts are more accurate than rainfall forecasts; the mid-latitudes are easier to forecast than the tropics; and it is generally easier to forecast rainfall over a large area (for example, a large catchment) than local rainfall (for example, a reservoir).

Which of the following is true? Flood warnings:
(a) should not be released until the information is certain
(b) should indicate what the threat is, what
(c) action should be taken, by whom and when
(d) are best if they come from a single source
(e) all of the above.
Answer: (b)
Flood warnings should provide information on what the threat is, what action should be taken, by whom and when. While it is desirable for flood warnings to be accurate, warnings are predictions about the future, so there is inevitably some uncertainty. Accuracy needs to be balanced with timeliness, to allow enough time for appropriate action. Warnings are most likely to reach different audiences and to be heeded if they come from multiple trusted sources.

Flood risk refers to:
(a) the chance of a flood occurring
(b) the number of people and properties exposed to floodwaters if a flood occurs
(c) the vulnerability of people and properties that are exposed to floodwaters
(d) all of the above.
Answer: (d)
Flood risk includes both the chance (or probability) of a flood occurring, and the consequences if a flood occurs. The consequences of a flood are in turn affected by the number of people and properties exposed to floodwaters for a flood of a particular size, and the vulnerability of those people and properties. For example, a river might burst its banks regularly, but if this flooding occurs in an isolated area where there are no people or infrastructure, then the risk is low. Similarly, a river might flood very rarely, but if many people and properties are located near this river and they live in dwellings that are vulnerable to water damage, then the flood risk will be greater.

Which of the following can reduce the risk of flooding?
(a) zonings and building regulations for new developments
(b) dams, detention basins and levees
(c) flood awareness and education programs
(d) all of the above.
Answer: (d)
Flood risk in new developments can be reduced by restricting the location of development (zonings) and placing controls (regulations) on development. In existing developed areas, risk can be reduced by modifying flood behaviour (for example, through dams, detention basins, levees, waterway modifications), property modification measures (for example, land filling, flood proofing, house raising, removing developments), and response modification measures (for example, upgrading flood evacuation routes, flood warnings, flood evacuation planning, flood education programs).

The Probable Maximum Flood is:
(a) an estimation of the largest possible flood that could occur at a particular location
(b) the maximum flood experienced in the last 100 years
(c) the maximum flood experienced in the last 200 years
(d) the maximum flood experienced since flood records have existed.
Answer: (d)
The Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) is an estimate of the largest possible flood that could occur at a particular location, under the most severe meteorological and hydrological conditions as they are currently understood.

In the future, which of the following is expected to increase the risk of flooding?
(a) population growth
(b) urbanization
(c) climate change
(d) all of the above.
Answer: (d)
In the future, climate change is likely to result in an increased chance of flash floods and coastal inundation. Australia’s growing population and urbanization are likely to place increased pressure on our waterways and to increase the chance of flooding in cities and the number of properties and people exposed to floodwaters.

In the future, which of the following is unlikely?
(a) There will be an increased chance of flash flooding and coastal inundation.
(b) Flood risk will increase due to population growth and urbanization.
(c) Improvements in flood forecasting and warning technologies will reduce the impacts of floods.
(d) We will be able to eliminate the risk of flooding.
Answer: (d)
It is not possible to eliminate the risk of flooding. Indeed, it is likely that flood risk will increase in the future due to climate change, population growth and urbanization. However, we can better manage flood risk through improvements in flood forecasting and warning technologies, as well as improved land use planning, floodplain management and integrated water management.

Higher level of floods and droughts are led by
(a) sand storms
(b) lower precipitation
(c) higher precipitation
(d) none of the above
Answer: (c)

Approximately how fast do tsunami waves travel in the open ocean?
(a) 100 km/hour
(b) 1600 km/hour
(c) 200 km/hour
(d) 400 km/hour
(e) 800 km/hour
Answer: (e)

Tsunami waves travel between 500 and 950 km/hour.
What can cause a tsunami?
(a) Landslide
(b) Underwater earthquake
(c) Volcanic eruption
(d) All of the above
Tsunamis are usually generated by undersea earthquakes at tectonic plate boundaries, but they can also be triggered by underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions, or even a giant meteor impact with the ocean.

Do all undersea earthquakes trigger a tsunami?
(a) Yes
(b) No
Answer: (b)
An undersea earthquake creates a tsunami only if it is of sufficient force and there is a violent enough movement of the seafloor to displace a massive amount of water.

What does the word “tsunami” mean in Japanese?
(a) Tidal wave
(b) Harbor wave
(c) Killer wave
(d) Century wave
Answer: (b)
English word “tsunami” comes from the Japanese term for “harbor wave.” Tsunamis are not the same things as tidal waves and actually consist of a series of waves.

Witnesses have said that an approaching tsunami sounds like what?
(a) Firecrackers exploding
(b) A freight train
(c) Ice cracking
(d) Nothing—there is absolute silence
Answer: (b)
Many witnesses have described the sound of an approaching tsunami as being similar to a freight train’s.

What is the most active tsunami area?
(a) Pacific Ocean
(b) Caribbean Sea
(c) Indian Ocean
(d) North Atlantic Ocean
Answer: (a)
Most tsunamis, about 80 percent, happen within the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, a geologically active area where tectonic shifts make volcanoes and earthquakes common.

What is the deadliest tsunami ever recorded?
(a) The 1782 South China Sea tsunami
(b) The 1868 northern Chile tsunami
(c) The 1883 South Java Sea tsunami
(d) The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
Answer: (d)
In 2004 more than 200,000 people—the most ever recorded—died in an Indian Ocean tsunami that was triggered by an earthquake off Sumatra, Indonesia.

How fast can a tsunami travel?
(a) Up to 100 miles an hour (160 kilometers an hour)
(b) Up to 200 miles an hour (320 kilometers an hour)
(c) Up to 500 miles an hour (800 kilometers an hour
(d.) Up to 1,000 miles an hour (1,600 kilometers an hour)
Answer: (c)
Tsunamis race across the sea at up to 500 miles (805 kilometers) an hour—about as fast as a jet airplane. At that pace they can cross the entire expanse of the Pacific Ocean in less than a day.

Can you detect a tsunami in the open ocean?
(a) Yes
(b) No
Answer: (b)
No. In the open ocean, the wave length of a tsunami is hundreds of miles long and only a few feet high. Boaters are safer out at sea during a tsunami than close to shore or tied up at port.

Where was the largest tsunami in history recorded?
(a) India
(b) Philippines
(c) Chile
(d) Japan
Answer: (d)
In 1971 a wall of water 278 feet (84.7 meters) high surged past Ishigaki Island, Japan. It moved a 750-block of coral 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) closer to shore but did little other damage.

What is frequently a warning sign of an impending tsunami?
(a) Winds suddenly change direction
(b) The sky suddenly clears
(c) Seawater suddenly retreats from the shore
(d) All of the above
Answer: (c)
If the tsunami’s trough reaches shore first, it sucks the water seaward, exposing the seafloor suddenly. The wave’s crest usually hits shore about five minutes later. Recognizing this phenomenon—and getting to higher ground immediately—can save lives.

Which one of the following is an example of non-renewable resources?
(a) Wind
(b) Water
(c) Vegetation
(d) Coal and minerals
Answer: (d)

Which of the following is a renewable resource?
(a) Soil
(b) Water
(c) Flora and fauna
(d) All the above
Answer: (d)

_____ of stratosphere provides protection to our life.
(a) Nitrogen
(b) Hydrogen
(c) Ozone
(d) Argon
Answer: 3

The life supporting gases such as O2, CO2 and N2 are chiefly concentrated in the_______.
(a) Troposphere
(b) Exosphere
(c) Homosphere
(d) Stratosphere
Answer: (a)

Which of the following soil is the best for plant growth?
(a) Sandy soil
(b) Clay
(c) Gravel
(d) Loamy soil
Answer: (d)

Both power and manure are provided by _______.
(a) Thermal plants
(b) Nuclear plants
(c) Biogas plants
(d) Hydroelectric plants
Answer: (c)

In the atmosphere, the layer above the troposphere is _____.
(a) Stratosphere
(b) Exosphere
(c) Mesosphere
(d) Thermosphere
Answer: (a)

______ is the major raw material for biogas.
(a) Plant leaves
(b) Cow dung
(c) Mud
(d) Grass
Answer: (b)

A biosphere reserve conserves and preserves_______.
(a) Wild animals
(b) Wild land
(c) Natural vegetation
(d) All the above
Answer: (d)

Atomic energy is obtained by using ores of_______.
(a) Copper
(b) Uranium
Answer: (b)

Sanctuaries are established to_______.
(a) Rear animals for milk
(b) Entrap animals
(c) Protect animals
(d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death. At present there are 99 Wildlife Sanctuaries in Pakistan

The death of the last individual of a species is called_______.
(a) Extinction
(b) Clad
(c) Neither (a) nor (b)
(d) Species diversity
Answer: (a)
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms (taxon), normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point.

Which one of the following is not a fossil fuel?
(a) Natural gas
(b) Petrol
(c) Coal
(d) Uranium
Answer: (d)
Fossil fuels are sources of energy that have developed within the earth over millions of years. Because fossil fuels – oil, natural gas, and coal – take so long to form, they are considered nonrenewable

Biogas generation is mainly based on the principle of_______.
(a) Fermentation
(b) Degradation
(c) Putrification
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer: (a)
The biogas plant operating on the principle of a wet anaerobic fermentation process was selected for the determination of the composition of in-put raw material which is determinative for the final biogas quality. The biogas plant is designed as an accumulation through-flow device. The biogas production takes place during the wet fermentation process in the mesophile operation (average temperature 40°C). The produced biogas is used in a cogeneration unit. The biogas plant operates in automatic mode.

Floods can be prevented by_______.
(a) Afforestation
(b) Cutting the forests
(c) Tilling the land
(d) Removing the top soil
Answer: (a)
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally (by natural seeding, coppice, or root suckers) or artificially (by direct seeding or planting).
Afforestation Trees are planted near to the river. This means greater interception of rainwater and lower river discharge. This is a relatively low cost option, which enhances the environmental quality of the drainage basin.

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General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A

General Science & Ability | Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-III)

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A /

Click HERE for Q.No.1-50
Click HERE for Q.No.51-100

101) Which type of star is maintained by the pressure of an electron gas?
(a) Main Sequence Star
(b) White Dwarf
(c) Neutron Star
(d) Black Hole
Answer: (b)
White dwarfs are stars supported by pressure of degenerate electron gas. i.e. in their interiors thermal energy kT is much smaller then Fermi energy Ep. We shall derive the equations of structure of white dwarfs, sometimes called degenerate dwarfs, in the limiting case when their thermal pressure may be neglected, but the degenerate electron gas may be either non-relativistic. somewhat relativistic. or ultra-relativistic.

102) Which of the following first hypothesized that the Earth orbited the sun?
(a) Alexander the Great
(b) Copernicus
(c) Socrates
(d) Tycho Brahe
Answer: (b)
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe.

103) The LAST manned moon flight was made in what year?
(a) 1971 (b) 1972
(c) 1973 (d) 1974
Answer: (b)
The last manned landing Apollo 17 on the Moon to date, which took place on December 11, 1972, was made by Commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt who was also the first scientist on the Moon.

104) A planet is said to be at aphelion when it is:
(a) closest to the sun
(b) farthest from the sun
(c) at it’s highest point above the ecliptic
(d) at it’s lowest point below the ecliptic
Answer: (b)

105) The word Albedo refers to which of the following?
(a) The wobbling motion of a planet
(b) The amount of light a planet reflects
(c) The phase changes of a planet
(d) The brightness of a star
Answer: (b)
Albedo is a measure of the reflectivity of a surface. The albedo effect when applied to the Earth is a measure of how much of the Sun’s energy is reflected back into space. Overall, the Earth’s albedo has a cooling effect. (The term ‘albedo’ is derived from the Latin for ‘whiteness’).

106) A pulsar is actually a:
(a) black hole
(b) white dwarf
(c) red giant
(d) neutron star
Answer: (d)

107) Astronomers use Cepheid’s principally as measures of what? Is it:
(a) size
(b) speed
(c) chemical composition
(d) distance
Answer: (d)

108) Where are most asteroids located? Is it between:
(a) Jupiter and Saturn
(b) Mars and Venus
(c) Earth and Mars
(d) Mars and Jupiter
Answer: (d)

109) The precession of the Earth refers to the:
(a) change from night to day.
(b) Earth’s motion around the sun.
(c) change in orientation of the Earth’s axis.
(d) effect of the moon on the Earth’s orbit.
Answer: (c)
Precession is the change in orientation of the Earth’s rotational axis. The precession cycle takes about 19,000 – 23,000 years. Precession is caused by two factors: a wobble of the Earth’s axis and a turning around of the elliptical orbit of the Earth itself (Thomas, 2002). Obliquity affected the tilt of the Earth’s axis, precession affects the direction of the Earth’s axis. The change in the axis location changes the dates of perihelion (closest distance from sun) and aphelion (farthest distance from sun), and this increases the seasonal contrast in one hemisphere while decreasing it in the other hemisphere ( Kaufman, 2002). currently, the Earth is closest to the sun in the northern hemisphere winter, which makes the winters there less severe (Thomas, 2002). Another consequence of precession is a shift in the celestial poles. 5000 years ago the North Star was Thuban in the constellation Draco. Currently the North Star is Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor.

110) The Magellanic cloud is a:
(a) nebula
(b) galaxy
(c) super nova remnant
(d) star cluster
Answer: (b)

111) The comet known as Halley’s Comet has an average period of:
(a) 56 years
(b) 66 years
(c) 76 years
(d) 86 years
Answer: (c)
Halley’s Comet orbits the Sun every 76.0 years and has an orbital eccentricity of 0.97. Comet Halley was visible in 1910 and again in 1986. Its next perihelion passage will be in early 2062.

112) Which one of the following planets has no moons?
(a) Mars
(b) Neptune
(c) Venus
(d) Jupiter
Answer: (c)

113) The rocks that enter the earth’s atmosphere and blaze a trail all the way to the ground and do not burn up completely are known as:
(a) meteorites
(b) meteors
(c) asteroids
(d) none of these
Answer: (a)
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and impact with the Earth’s surface

114) 95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of what substance?
(a) Carbon dioxide
(b) Nitrogen
(c) Argon
(d) Carbon monoxide
Answer: (a)
The atmosphere of Mars is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s, and it is 95 percent carbon dioxide.

115) What is the motion called when a planet seems to be moving westward in the sky?
(a) Retrograde
(b) Parallax
(c) Opcentric
(d) Reverse parallax
Answer: (a)
Retrograde motion, in astronomy, describes the orbit of a celestial body that runs counter to the direction of the spin of that body which it orbits. Apparent retrograde motion, in astronomy, is the apparent motion of planets as observed from a particular vantage point.

116) In what year did Galileo first use an optical telescope to study the moon?
(a) 1492 (b) 1611
(c) 1212 (d) 1743
Answer: (b)

117) Geocentric means around:
(a) Jupiter (b) the Earth
(c) the Moon (d) the Sun
Answer: (b)

118) The Pythagoreans appear to have been the first to have taught that the Earth is:
(a) at the center of the Universe.
(b) spherical in shape.
(c) orbits around the sun.
(d) flat with sharp edges.
Answer: (b)

119) A device which would not work on the Moon is:
(a) thermometer
(b) siphon
(c) spectrometer
(d) spring balance
Answer: (b)
Siphons will not work in the International Space Station where there is air but no gravity, but neither will they work on the Moon where there is gravity but no air

120) Of the following colors, which is bent least in passing through aprism?
(a) orange (b) violet
(c) green (d) red
Answer: (d)

121) In a reflecting telescope where in the tube is the objective mirror placed?
(a) the top to the tube
(b) the middle of the tube
(c) the bottom of the tube
(d) the side of the tube
Answer: (c)

122) What does it mean when someone says that comets have eccentric orbits? Does it mean
(a) they have open orbits
(b) they have nearly circular orbits
(c) their orbits are unpredictable
(d) the sun is far from the foci of their orbits
Answer: (d)

123) What causes the gas tail of a comet to always point away from the sun?
(a) solar wind
(b) air pressure
(c) centrifugal force
(d) gravity
Answer: (a)

124) What are Saturn’s rings composed of?
(a) completely connected solid masses
(b) billions of tiny solid particles
(c) mixtures of gases
(d) highly reflective cosmic clouds
Answer: (b)

125) Of the following, which is the only planet which CANNOT be seen with the unaided eye?
(a) Jupiter
(b) Mars
(c) Neptune
(d) Saturn
Answer: (c)
The ice giant Neptune was the first planet located through mathematical predictions rather than through regular observations of the sky. Nearly 4.5 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles) from the Sun, Neptune orbits the Sun once every 165 years. It is invisible to the naked eye because of its extreme distance from Earth. In 2011 Neptune completed its first orbit since its discovery in 1846.

126) Accretion is:
(a) the gradual accumulation of matter in one location usually due to gravity.
(b) the process of moon formation for planets.
(c) the process of matter accumulation due to centripetal force.
(d) the disintegration of matter.
Answer: (b)

127) A blue shift means a Doppler shift of light from a(an)
(a) receding star.
(b) blue star.
(c) approaching star.
(d) fixed star.
Answer: (c)
In the Doppler effect for visible light, the frequency is shifted toward the blue end of the spectrum when the light source (such as a star) is approaching.

128) The first and largest asteroid discovered was:
(a) Pallas.
(b) Juno.
(c) Ceres.
(d) Trojan.
Answer: (c)

129) The Crab Nebula consists of the remnants of a supernova which was observed by:
(a) Brahe in 1572.
(b) Kepler and Galileo in 1604.
(c) the Chinese in 1054 A.D.
(d) several ancient civilizations in 236 B.C.
Answer: (c)
The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova noted by Earth-bound chroniclers in 1054 A.D., is filled with mysterious filaments that are are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and a higher speed than expected from a free explosion. The Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years. In the nebula’s very center lies a pulsar: a neutron star as massive as the Sun but with only the size of a small town. The Crab Pulsar rotates about 30 times each second.

130) The atmosphere of Venus contains mostly
(a) oxygen
(b) carbon dioxide
(c) nitrogen
(d) water
Answer: (b)
The atmosphere of Venus is composed of about 96% carbon dioxide, with most … various other corrosive compounds, and the atmosphere contains little water.

131) On the celestial sphere, the annual path of the Sun is called
(a) the eclipse path.
(b) ecliptic.
(c) diurnal.
(d) solstice.
Answer: (b)
The ecliptic is an imaginary line on the sky that marks the annual path of the sun. It is the projection of Earth’s orbit onto the celestial sphere.

132) The angular distance between a planet and the Sun, as viewed from the Earth, is called
(a) angle of inclination.
(b) elongation.
(c) latitude.
(d) opposition.
Answer: (b)
Elongation is the angular distance between the sun, and another object such a moon or a planet as seen from earth. There are several special names for these angular distances. The different names of these angles depend on the status, inferior or superior, of the planet. The planets closer to the sun than the earth are called inferior planets. The planets farther away from the sun than earth are called superior planets.
Elongation is measured from earth as the angle between the sun and the planet. Sometimes the apparent relative position of a planet in relation to the sun is called the aspect, or configuration, of a planet.

133) Which of the following has the highest density?
(a) Earth
(b) Venus
(c) Mars
(d) Jupiter
Answer: (a)
Earth has the highest density of any planet in the Solar System, at 5.514 g/cm3. This is considered the standard by which other planet’s densities are measured. In addition, the combination of Earth’s size, mass and density also results in a surface gravity of 9.8 m/s². This is also used as a the standard (one g) when measuring the surface gravity of other planets.

134) Which of the following planets is NOT a terrestrial planet?
(a) Earth
(b) Jupiter
(c) Mars
(d) Mercury
Answer: (b)
The term terrestrial planet is derived from the Latin “Terra” (i.e. Earth). Terrestrial planets are therefore those that are “Earth-like”, meaning they are similar in structure and composition to planet Earth. All those planets found within the Inner Solar System – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – are examples of terrestrial planets. Each are composed primarily of silicate rock and metal, which is differentiated between a dense, metallic core and a silicate mantle.

135) Why do we see lunar eclipses much more often than solar eclipses?
(a) Lunar eclipses occur more often than solar eclipses.
(b) Lunar eclipses last longer than solar eclipses.
(c) The lunar eclipse is visible to much more of the Earth than a solar eclipse.
(d) The moon is closer to the Earth than the sun.
Answer: (c)
Lunar and solar eclipses occur with about equal frequency. Lunar eclipses are more widely visible because Earth casts a much larger shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse than the Moon casts on Earth during a solar eclipse. As a result, we are more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse.

136) A star like object with a very large red shift is a
(a) Neutron star.
(b) Nova.
(c) Quasar.
(d) Supernova.
Answer: (c)
Quasars: In the 1930’s, Edwin Hubble discovered that all galaxies have a positive redshift. In other words, all galaxies were receding from the Milky Way.

137) The apparent magnitude of an object in the sky describes its
(a) Size
(b) Magnification
(c) Brightness
(d) Distance
Answer: (c)

138) The Van Allen belts are:
(a) caused by the refraction of sunlight like rainbows.
(b) charged particles trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field.
(c) caused by the reflection of polar snow.
(d) caused by precession.
Answer: (b)
The Van Allen belts are a collection of charged particles, gathered in place by Earth’s magnetic field. They can wax and wane in response to incoming energy from the sun, sometimes swelling up enough to expose satellites in low-Earth orbit to damaging radiation.

139) A coordinate system based on the ecliptic system is especially useful for the studies of
(a) Planets
(b) Stars
(c) The Milky Way
(d) Galaxies
Answer: (a)

140) The mean distance of the earth from the sun in astronomical units is:
(a) 3.7 (b) 10
(c) 1 (d) 101
Answer: (c)
In astronomy, an astronomical unit is defined as the average distance from the Sun to the Earth, or about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles). You can abbreviate astronomical unit as AU.
Since the distances in astronomy are so vast, astronomers use this measurement to bring the size of numbers down.
For example, Earth is 1 au from the Sun, and Mars is 1.523 AU. That’s much easier than saying that Mars is 227,939,000 km away from the Sun.

141) What process produces a star’s energy?
(a) hydrogen and oxygen combustion
(b) nuclear fusion
(c) neutron beta decay
(d) nuclear fission
Answer: (b)
The enormous luminous energy of the stars comes from nuclear fusion processes in their centers. Depending upon the age and mass of a star, the energy may come from proton-proton fusion, helium fusion, or the carbon cycle.

142) What is the most distant object in the sky that the human eye can see without optical instruments?
(a) The Horsehead Nebula
(b) The Andromeda Galaxy
(c) The Sagittarius Constellation
(d) The Aurora Borealis
Answer: (b)
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way and is one of a few galaxies that can be seen unaided from the Earth. In approximately 4.5 billion years the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are expected to collide and the result will be a giant elliptical galaxy. Andromeda is accompanied by 14 dwarf galaxies, including M32, M110, and possibly M33 (The Triangulum Galaxy).

143) Which civilization developed and implemented the first solar calendar?
(a) Babylonian
(b) Greek
(c) Egyptian
(d) Aztec
Answer: (c)
A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun and is based on the seasonal year of approximately 365 1/4 days, the time it takes the Earth to revolve once around the Sun. The Egyptians appear to have been the first to develop a solar calendar, using as a fixed point the annual sunrise reappearance of the Dog Star — Sirius, or Sothis — in the eastern sky, which coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile River. They constructed a calendar of 365 days, consisting of 12 months of 30 days each, with 5 days added at the year’s end. The Egyptians’ failure to account for the extra fraction of a day, however, caused their calendar to drift gradually into error.

144) What is the HOTTEST region of the sun?
(a) The core
(b) The photosphere
(c) The chromospheres
(d) The corona
Answer: (d)
The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun, starting at about 1300 miles (2100 km) above the solar surface (the photosphere) The temperature in the corona is 500,000 K (900,000 degrees F, 500,000 degrees C) or more, up to a few million K. The corona cannot be seen with the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse, or with the use of a coronagraph. The corona does not have an upper limit.
A study published in 2012 in Nature Communications by researchers at Northumbria University found a possible mechanism that causes some stars to have a corona that is almost 200 times hotter than their photosphere (the star’s surface).

145) The same side of the moon always faces the Earth because:
(a) the moon is not rotating about its axis.
(b) the moon’s motion was fixed at its creation by the laws of inertia.
(c) tidal forces keep the moon’s rotation and orbiting motion in sync with each other.
(d) the moon’s magnetic poles keep aligned with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Answer: (b)

146) The resolving power of a telescope depends on the:
(a) focal ratio
(b) diameter of the objective
(c) magnification
(d) focal length
Answer: (b)
The resolving power of a telescope depends on the diameter of the telescope’s light-gathering apparatus, or objective. In a refracting telescope, the objective lens is the first lens the light passes through. In a reflecting telescope, the objective is the telescope’s primary mirror. In a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, the objective is also the primary mirror. As the diameter of the telescope’s objective increases, the resolving power increases.

147) On a clear, dark, moonless night, approximately how many stars can be seen with the naked eye?
(a) 300 (b) 1,000
(c) 3,000 (d) 10,000
Answer: (c)
On any clear dark moonless night a person can see about 3000 stars of our galaxy without the aid of a telescope

148) The study of the origin and evolution of the universe is known as:
(a) Tomography
(b) cystoscopy
(c) cryology
(d) cosmology
Answer: (d)
Cosmology is the branch of astronomy involving the origin and evolution of the universe, from the Big Bang to today and on into the future. According to NASA, the definition of cosmology is “the scientific study of the large scale properties of the universe as a whole.”

149) According to Kepler’s Laws, all orbits of the planets are:
(a) ellipses
(b) parabolas
(c) hyperbolas
(d) square
Answer: (a)
Johannes Kepler, working with data painstakingly collected by Tycho Brahe without the aid of a telescope, developed three laws which described the motion of the planets across the sky.
1. The Law of Orbits: All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus.
2. The Law of Areas: A line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
3. The Law of Periods: The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit.
Kepler’s laws were derived for orbits around the sun, but they apply to satellite orbits as well.

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General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A

Kurt Waldheim Quiz

MCQs / Q&A, Personalities, Political Science /

Kurt Waldheim Quiz Questions

1. When was Kurt Waldheim secretary general of United Nations?
a) 1972-1981
b) 1945-1949
c) 1951-1960
d) 1961-1970

2. When was Kurt Waldheim born?
a) 12 January 1919
b) 7 April 1914
c) 17 July 1918
d) 21 December 1918

3. Where was Kurt Waldheim born?
a) Linz
b) Graz
c) Sankt Andra-Worden
d) Weiz

4. When did Kurt Waldheim lead Austria’s first delegation to United Nations?
a) 1953
b) 1957
c) 1955
d) 1954

5. Where did Kurt Waldheim represent Austria as minister plenipotentiary?
a) Canada
b) India
c) Pakistan
d) Australia

6. What was Kurt Waldheim’s post in 1968-1970?
a) Attorney General
b) Prime Minister
c) Foreign Minister
d) Home Secretary

7. When was Kurt Waldheim ambassador to United Nations?
a) 1952-1954
b) 1956-1958, 1961-1962
c) 1964-1968, 1970-1971
d) 1988-1992

8. When was Kurt Waldheim President of Austria?
a) 1982-1984
b) 1986-1992
c) 1948-1952
d) 1994-1996

9. When did Kurt Waldheim die?
a) 12 February 2000
b) 14 June 2007
c) 18 September 2009
d) 28 November 1995

10. Where did Kurt Waldheim die?
a) Wolfsberg
b) Vienna
c) Hallein
d) Bruck

Kurt Waldheim Quiz Questions with Answers

1. When was Kurt Waldheim secretary general of United Nations?
a) 1972-1981

2. When was Kurt Waldheim born?
d) 21 December 1918

3. Where was Kurt Waldheim born?
c) Sankt Andra-Worden

4. When did Kurt Waldheim lead Austria’s first delegation to United Nations?
c) 1955

5. Where did Kurt Waldheim represent Austria as minister plenipotentiary?
a) Canada

6. What was Kurt Waldheim’s post in 1968-1970?
c) Foreign Minister

7. When was Kurt Waldheim ambassador to United Nations?
c) 1964-1968, 1970-1971

8. When was Kurt Waldheim President of Austria?
b) 1986-1992

9. When did Kurt Waldheim die?
b) 14 June 2007

10. Where did Kurt Waldheim die?
b) Vienna

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MCQs / Q&A, Personalities, Political Science

100 Questions & Answers About Asia

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A, World /

100 Questions & Answers About Asia

1. Highest mountain of world ‘Mount Everest’ is located in continent – Asia

2. Out of seven continents, continent Asia shares its East border with – Ural Mountains

3. Longest river in Asia Continent is – Yangtze of China

4. Country in Asia continent which is known as ‘Land of golden fiber’ is – Bangladesh

5. Out of seven continents, continent Asia shares its West border with – Pacific Ocean

6. What is the capital of the Republic of the Philippines? – Manila

7. Where can you find Mayon Volcano? – Albay

8. What is the main religion in Malaysia? – Islam

9. What is the national sport in Thailand? – Thai Boxing

10. What country is in south of Malaysia? – Singapore

11. In a country of over 1,900 islands, but with a land area of only one percent of its total
territory, which of these is one of the Maldives’ most important industries? – Tourism

12. The wildlife of Iran used to include an animal which is now extinct. Which of these used to
roam the northern regions of Iran? – Caspian tiger

13. The city of Rajshahi is an important center in the production of a natural fiber that comes
from a certain worm. What is the nickname of the city that comes from this association? – Silk City

14. India is bound on the north by a range of snow-capped mountains, which boast some of the
world’s highest peaks. What is the name of this mountain range, also considered to be the
world’s youngest? – The Himalayas

15. Which of these cities is in Vietnam? Pyonggang, Nam Dinh, Battambang or Alor Setar? – Nam Dinh

16. Which Asian city was awarded the honour of holding the 2014 winter Olympic games? – Sochi, Russia

17. Which of these IS an Asian city? Dushanbe, Moscow, Bucharest or Cairo? – Dushanbe

18. Which of these cities is in Sri Lanka? Thimpu, Islambad, Kabul or Colombo? – Colombo

19. Which city is just across the Bering Strait from Alaska, U.S.A.? – Uelen

20. Which Asian city is in a country that is in both Europe and Asia? – Novosibirsk

21. Mary (Mur-ree) is a city in – Turkmenistan

22. Which is the only city that is also a country in Asia? –

23. ________ city is the largest city (and former capital) of Kazakhstan – Almaty

24. Which city is capital of West Java province in Indonesia? – Bandung

25. _____________ city is principal port of Bangladesh, and is the country´s second largest city – Chittagong

26. Which city is the capital of Syria? – Damascus

27. Which city was capital of Persia 1598-1722? – Esfahan

28. ___________ city was known before 1980 as Lyallpur – Faisalabad

29. The city which is capital of Guangdong province, China – Guangzhou

30. Whart is the capital of Vietnam? – Hanoi

31. ________________is third largest city of Turkey and was formerly known as Smyrna – Izmir

32. What is the capital of Indonesia? – Jakarta

33. What is the capital of Afghanistan? – Kabul

34. Which city is capital of Punjab province in Pakistan? – Lahore

35. This city is capital of Khorasan province, Iran – Mashhad

36. Russian city which was formerly known as Novonikolaevsk – Novosibirsk

37. This Japanese city was formerly known as Naniwa. It is the center the Hanshin area, which is the most important industrial area in Japan – Osaka

38. _______ city is capital of North Korea – Pyongyang

39. The former name of Bishkek – Frunze

40. The former name of Gyumri – Leninakan

41. The city which is part of Kiaochow territory occupied by Germany in 1897 and leased to Germany for 99 years in 1898 – Qingdao

42. The capital of Saudi Arabia is – Riyadh

43. _____________city is capital of East Java province, Indonesia – Surabaya

44. What is the capital of Uzbekistan – Tashkent

45. Which city is also known as Benares? – Varanasi

46. Which Chinese city was formed in 1950 by the consolidation of Hankow, Hanyang and Wuchang – Wuhan

47. ___________ is the capital of Shaanxi province, China – Xian

48. The city which contains Japan´s major port and the country´s second largest is – Yokohama

49. What is the capital of Henan province, China – Zhengzhou

50. The people in this capital city in South Asia live in houses made of coral. The city is
located on an island – Male

51. The former name of the city Yangon is – Rangoon

52. Which Indian city is the capital of two Indian states but it itself is under the rule of the
Central Government – Chandigarh

53. What city was the capital of Pakistan from 1947 to 1959? – Karachi

54. In what city were 1000 British troops and their families killed by freedom fighters during the Indian revolt of 1857? – Kanpur

55. The former name of Banda Aceh – Kutaraja

56. The former name of Yekaterinburg – Sverdlovsk

57. Which was the second largest city in Sri Lanka? – Kotte

58. The name of the city which is also means ‘Canopy of Wood’ – Kathmandu

59. The headquarters of the fifth largest army in the world is in which of these cities? New
Delhi, Bangalore or Rawalpindi? – Rawalpindi

60. What is the only City in South-Asia which has French as an official language – Pondicherry

61. When King Charles II of Great Britain married a Portuguese princess, she brought this city
with her as dowry – Mumbai (Bombay)

62. The former name of the city Dalian is – Dairen

63. The former name of Xiamen – Amoy

64. The former name of Makassar – Ujung Pandang

65. The largest island in Iran? – Qeshm

66. The largest island in Oman? – Masirah

67. The former name of Jayapura – Hollandia

68. The former name of Kota Kinabalu – Jesselton

69. The former name of Jakarta – Batavia

70. The former name of Bandar Seri Begawan – Brunei Town

71. Which is the name of a city in both India and Pakistan? – Hyderabad

72. The former name of Astana – Tselinograd

73. Name the biggest island in Japan? – Honshu

74. The biggest island in India? – Middle Andaman

75. The former name of Bandar Khomeyni is – Bandar Shahpur

76. The former name of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is – Toyohara

77. What is the name of the former principality that was located between Nepal and Bhutan? – Sikkim

78. The mouth of the Ganges river can be found within what country? – Bangladesh

79. What is the largest island in Asia? – Borneo

80. How many of the top ten most populated countries of the world are located, at least partly,
in Asia? – 7

81. Which country shares the longest continuous border with China? – Mongolia

82. Which central Asian country, with the cities of Tashkent and Namangan, is one of the two
doubly landlocked countries in the world? – Uzbekistan

83. Which eastern/central Asian country, bordering China, is one of the least densely populated
countries in the world? – Mongolia

84. Which country, spanning two continents, has identified the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or
PKK, as a terrorist group? – Turkey

85. Which country, which has the city of Surabaya, also has land on the 2nd largest island on
the planet? – Indonesia

86. The former name of Shenyang is – Mukden

87. The former name of Guangzhou – Canton

88. What island country, south of Taiwan, has a major religion of Roman Catholicism, and is
prone to typhoons because of its location? – Philippines

89. What teardrop shaped island country has maritime borders with the Maldives, and another
country to its north? – Sri Lanka

90. What southeast Asian country is home to the Tonle Sap lake, a lake which floods to over
five times its size during the monsoon season? – Cambodia

91. Which extremely populated country has constituted a one-child policy in order to control
its population? – China
92. The former name of Vladikavkaz – Ordzhonikidze

93. The former name of Ganca, or Gandzha is – Kirovabad

94. Which very densely populated country separated from Pakistan in 1971? – Bangladesh

95. Which industrialized country has the largest metropolitan area in the world, and has more
than 6,000 islands? – Japan

96. Biggest island in China? (excluding Taiwan which is claimed by China) – Hainan

97. What is the largest island in South Korea? – Cheju

98. Which is the largest island in Philippines? – Luzon

99. The former name of Khudzhand – Leninabad

100. Name the largest island in Thailand – Phuket

100 Questions & Answers About Asia Read More »

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A, World

Andrew Huxley Quiz

MCQs / Q&A, Personalities /

Andrew Huxley Quiz Questions

Image of Andrew Huxley 2005, Trinity College C...

Image of Andrew Huxley 2005, Trinity College Cambridge. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. When did Andrew Huxley get Nobel Prize for Medicine?
a) 1958
b) 1949
c) 1963
d) 1975

2. When was Andrew Huxley born?
a) 5 January 1912
b) 22 June 1916
c) 27 September 1921
d) 22 November 1917

3. Where was Andrew Huxley born?
a) Dover
b) London
c) Bristol
d) Plymouth

4. Who of the following was Andrew Huxley’s grandfather?
a) Thomas Henry Huxley
b) Leonard Huxley
c) Julian Huxley
d) Aldous Huxley

5. Which college did Andrew Huxley attend?
a) Christ’s College
b) St. Patrick’s College
c) Trinity College
d) Winchester College

6. When was Andrew Huxley elected Fellow of the Royal Society?
a) 17 March 1955
b) 3 April 1974
c) 21 July 1952
d) 12 December 1962

7. For what did Andrew Huxley win Nobel Prize?
a) Swine flu research
b) Discoveries about nerve cell membrane
c) Work on malaria
d) Work on thyroid gland

8. When was Andrew Huxley president of the Royal Society?
a) 1980-1985
b) 1955-1960
c) 1964-1969
d) 1971-1976

9. When did Andrew Huxley die?
a) 14 February 1995
b) 30 May 2012
c) 4 August 2002
d) 6 October 1998

10. Where did Andrew Huxley die?
a) Los Angeles
b) Oxford
c) Manchester
d) Grantchester

Andrew Huxley Quiz Questions and Answers

1. When did Andrew Huxley get Nobel Prize for Medicine?
c) 1963

2. When was Andrew Huxley born?
d) 22 November 1917

3. Where was Andrew Huxley born?
b) London

4. Who of the following was Andrew Huxley’s grandfather?
a) Thomas Henry Huxley

5. Which college did Andrew Huxley attend?
c) Trinity College

6. When was Andrew Huxley elected Fellow of the Royal Society?
a) 17 March 1955

7. For what did Andrew Huxley win Nobel Prize?
b) Discoveries about nerve cell membrane

8. When was Andrew Huxley president of the Royal Society?
a) 1980-1985

9. When did Andrew Huxley die?
b) 30 May 2012

10. Where did Andrew Huxley die?
d) Grantchester

Andrew Huxley Quiz Read More »

MCQs / Q&A, Personalities