Static GK
First in India & World
'Firsts' questions test your factual recall. Learn the canonical list — President, PM, woman astronaut, Olympic gold etc. — by category.
Why this matters: 1–2 questions on average in SSC/Railway GA. Banking exams often pick the first woman/Indian-origin firsts.
Firsts — Indian Constitutional Posts
| Position | First Holder |
|---|---|
| President of India | Dr. Rajendra Prasad |
| Vice President of India | Dr. S. Radhakrishnan |
| Prime Minister of India | Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Speaker of Lok Sabha | G.V. Mavalankar |
| Chief Justice of India | Justice Harilal J. Kania |
| Chief Election Commissioner | Sukumar Sen |
| Governor-General of independent India | Lord Mountbatten |
| First Indian Governor-General | C. Rajagopalachari |
| Field Marshal of India | Sam Manekshaw |
Firsts — Indian women
| Achievement | First Woman |
|---|---|
| President of India | Pratibha Patil |
| Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi |
| Speaker of Lok Sabha | Meira Kumar |
| Chief Minister of an Indian state | Sucheta Kripalani (UP) |
| IPS officer | Kiran Bedi |
| IAS officer | Anna Rajam Malhotra |
| To climb Mt. Everest | Bachendri Pal |
| To go to space (Indian-origin) | Kalpana Chawla |
| Indian woman in space (ISRO) | Rakesh Sharma was first Indian; Indian-origin astronaut Kalpana Chawla (NASA) |
| Miss World | Reita Faria |
Firsts — World
| Achievement | First |
|---|---|
| Person on the Moon | Neil Armstrong (1969) |
| Woman in space | Valentina Tereshkova (USSR, 1963) |
| Person in space | Yuri Gagarin (USSR, 1961) |
| Country to issue paper currency | China |
| Country to print postage stamps | United Kingdom |
| Person to climb Mt. Everest | Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay (1953) |
| Woman to climb Mt. Everest | Junko Tabei (Japan, 1975) |
| Country to win football World Cup | Uruguay (1930) |
Quick Revision Facts
- Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel to space (1984, Soyuz T-11).
- Bachendri Pal was the first Indian woman to summit Everest (1984).
- Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian-origin woman in space (1997, NASA).
- Kiran Bedi was the first woman IPS officer (1972 batch).
- Indira Gandhi was the first and only woman Prime Minister of India.
- Pratibha Patil was the first woman President of India (2007–2012).
- Sucheta Kripalani was the first woman Chief Minister of an Indian state (UP, 1963).
- Meira Kumar was the first woman Speaker of Lok Sabha (2009).
Quick Quiz — Firsts in India & World
5 random questions from our bank. Refresh or retake for a new set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the first Indian in space?
Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, aboard Soyuz T-11 in 1984.
Who was the first woman President of India?
Pratibha Devisingh Patil (2007–2012).
Who was the first person to summit Mount Everest?
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953.
Which country first introduced paper currency?
China.
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