Question: How did Dr. McCoy know that the figure next to Kirk and Spock was Surak? The Enterprise was not watching when they were introduced.
Question: Surak is a Vulcan with better hearing than humans and greater strength than humans. How was he able to be killed so easy?
Answer: Maybe not so easily, Klingons are known for their strength and fierce fighting styles, plus he went up against four of them.
Answer: Everyone knows who George Washington is, also Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and countless others. When you join Starfleet, you have to know other planets, their people and their histories.