Many important achievements have changed the world. This post highlights significant “firsts” from around the globe and India, celebrating those who made them possible.
.webp "First in world and India adventure, sports and discoveries")
First in World
| Achievement | Person/Country |
|---|---|
| First man to have climbed Mount Everest twice | Nawang Gombu |
| First country to host the modern Olympics | Greece |
| First woman cosmonaut of the world | Valentina Tereshkova (Russia) |
| First person to sail around the world | Ferdinand Magellan |
| First country to launch an artificial satellite | Russia (Sputnik) |
| First woman Prime Minister of England | Margaret Thatcher |
| First European to reach China | Marco Polo |
| First woman Prime Minister of a country | Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka) |
| First European to attack India | Alexander the Great |
| First U.N. Governor General | Trygve Lie (Norway) |
| First religion | Hinduism |
| First woman President of the U.N. General Assembly | Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit |
| First country to print a book | China |
| First Governor-General of Pakistan | Mohammad Ali Jinnah |
| First city on which the atom bomb was dropped | Hiroshima, Japan |
| First country to issue paper currency | China |
| First U.S. President | George Washington |
| First person to fly an airplane | Wright Brothers |
| First person to reach the South Pole | Roald Amundsen |
| First shuttle to go into space | Columbia |
| First Muslim woman Prime Minister of a country | Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan) |
| First man to fly into space | Yuri Gagarin (Russia) |
| First batsman to score three Test centuries in three successive Tests on debut | Mohammad Azharuddin |
| First woman to climb Mount Everest | Junko Tabei (Japan) |
| First U.S. President to resign from Presidency | Richard Nixon |
| First person to land on the moon | Neil Armstrong, followed by Buzz Aldrin |
| First country to start civil service exams | China |
| First to reach Mount Everest | Sherpa Tenzing, Edmund Hillary |
| First country to send a man to the moon | U.S.A. |
| First spacecraft to reach Mars | Viking-1 |
| First country to win the football World Cup | Uruguay |
| First country to host a NAM summit | Belgrade (Yugoslavia) |
| First country to prepare a constitution | U.S.A. |
First in India – Male
| Achievement | Person |
|---|---|
| First person of Indian origin to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine | Har Gobind Khorana |
| First Indian to join the I.C.S. (Indian Civil Services) | Satyendra Nath Tagore |
| First and last Indian Governor-General of free India | C. Rajagopalachari |
| First Chinese traveler to visit India | Fa-Hien |
| First person to reach Mt. Everest without oxygen | Sherpa Anga Dorjee |
| First President of the Indian Republic | Dr. Rajendra Prasad |
| First Indian Naval Chief | Vice Admiral R.D. Katari |
| First Speaker of the Lok Sabha | Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar |
| First British Governor-General of India | Lord William Bentinck |
| First Prime Minister of free India | Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru |
| First Chief of the Army Staff | Gen. Maharaj Rajendra Singhji |
| First Indian to win the Nobel Prize | Rabindranath Tagore |
| First person to receive the Stalin Prize | Saifuddin Kitchlu |
| First British Viceroy of India | Lord Canning |
| First Indian to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics | C.V. Raman |
| First person to introduce the printing press in India | James Hicky |
| First Indian to receive the Bharat Ratna award | Dr. Radhakrishnan |
| First Muslim President of the Indian National Congress | Badruddin Tyabji |
| First Education Minister of India | Abul Kalam Azad |
| First Indian Commander-in-Chief of India | General Cariappa |
| First person to receive the Jnanpith Award | Shri Shankar Kurup |
| First Muslim President of India | Dr. Zakir Hussain |
| First Prime Minister of India to resign without completing a full term | Morarji Desai |
| First Home Minister of India | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel |
| First President of India to die while in office | Dr. Zakir Hussain |
| First Indian Air Chief Marshal | S. Mukherjee |
| First person to receive the Magsaysay Award | Acharya Vinoba Bhave |
| First person to receive the Param Vir Chakra | Major Somnath Sharma |
| First Field Marshal of India | S.H.F.J. Manekshaw |
| First U.N. Governor-General from India | S.P. Sinha |
| First Governor-General of free India | Lord Mountbatten |
| First person to cross the English Channel | Mihir Sen |
| First Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council | S.P. Sinha |
| First Vice-President of India | Dr. Radhakrishnan |
| First foreigner to receive the Bharat Ratna | Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan |
| First person to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics | Amartya Sen |
| First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India | Justice Hiralal J. Kania |
First in India – Female
| Achievement | Person |
|---|---|
| First woman to cross the English Channel | Arati Saha |
| First woman Chief Minister of an Indian state | Sucheta Kripalani |
| First woman Ambassador | C.B. Muthamma |
| First woman President of the Indian National Congress | Annie Besant |
| First woman to climb Mount Everest twice | Santosh Yadav |
| First woman Governor of a state in free India | Sarojini Naidu |
| First woman IPS officer | Kiran Bedi |
| First female fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force | Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawna Kanth, and Mohana Singh |
| First woman Lieutenant General | Puneeta Arora |
| First woman chairperson of Indian Airlines | Sushma Chawla |
| First woman to receive the Nobel Prize | Mother Teresa |
| First woman judge in the Supreme Court | Justice Meera Sahib Fatima Bibi |
| First woman chairman of the Union Public Service Commission | Roze Millian Bethew |
| First woman to receive the Bharat Ratna | Indira Gandhi |
| First woman President of the United Nations General Assembly | Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit |
| First woman Chief Justice of a High Court | Leela Seth (Himachal Pradesh High Court) |
| First woman Director General of Police (DGP) | Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya |
| First woman Air Vice Marshal | P. Bandopadhyaya |
| First woman to receive the Jnanpith Award | Ashapoorna Devi |
| First woman Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi |
| First woman to climb Mount Everest | Bachendri Pal |
| First woman to receive the Ashoka Chakra | Neerja Bhanot |
| First and only Muslim woman ruler of Delhi | Razia Sultan |
| First woman pilot in the Indian Air Force | Harita Kaur Dayal |
| First lady to become “Miss World” | Rita Faria |
| First woman Managing Director of the State Bank of India | Arundhati Bhattacharya |