15 Firsts By Women Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marie Curie

Marie Sklodowska Curie won the Prize in 1903, only two years after the Nobel Foundation was established. Later on in 1911, she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Irene Curie (Daughter of Marie Curie) won the Nobel Prize for her work in Chemistry in the year 1935. Maria Mayer was the second woman to win Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963.

Answer: Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton's novel "The Age of Innocence" (1920) won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1921.

Answer: Margaret Gorman

Margaret Gorman (Washington, D.C.) won the very first Miss America Pageant in 1921. Jean Bartel, Marilyn Buford, Lee Meriwether won the crown in the years 1943, 1946 and 1955 respectively.

Answer: Hattie McDaniel

She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Mammy in "Gone With The Wind" (1939). Halle Berry was the first African-American to win the award for the Best Actress for her role in Monster's Ball in 2001.

Answer: Mary Katherine Goddard

In 1775, Goddard became the first postmistress in the country. She was the first to print a copy of the Declaration of Independence with the names of those signed it included. In 1789, Goddard opened a bookstore in Baltimore being the first woman to do so.

Answer: Elizabeth Ann Oliver

On June 16th, 1998, Elizabeth Ann Oliver gave birth to her fourth child, Sean at the Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando. This Four and a Half hour event was broadcast live on the website of America's Health Network and got over ten million hits.

Answer: Junko Tabei

Born in Japan, she achieved this feat on May 16th, 1975 via the South-East Ridge route. The other three women have also summited Mt. Everest. Bachendri Pal (India) was the fifth woman to do so in 1984. Sharon Wood (Canada) did it in 1986. Lene Gammelgaard (Scandinavia) was the 35th woman to do so in 1996.

Answer: Gertrude Ederle

She did this in 14 hours and 39 minutes on August 3rd, 1926 and broke the existing men's record at that time.

Answer: Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, was the first woman to be elected Head of State in 1960. Indira Gandhi was the first female Prime Minister of India. Jenny Shipley was the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

Answer: Sushmita Sen

Sushmita Sen was crowned Miss Universe in 1994 after winning the Miss India title. Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World in 1994 as she was the first runner-up for the Miss India title. Lara Dutta was crowned Miss Universe in 2000.

Answer: Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller was elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in 1985. Her original Cherokee family name is Asgaya-dihi, which translated to English means "mankiller". I made the other three names up.

Answer: Libby Riddles

Libby Riddles won the Iditarod, Alaska's 1,135 mile Anchorage-to-Nome sled dog race, in 1985 and completed the course in 18 days, 20 minutes and 17 seconds. Susan Butcher was the second woman to win the race. I made the other two names up.

Answer: Annie Edison Taylor

Annie Edison Taylor, a schoolteacher from Michigan, was the first person to do this on 24th October, 1901, at the age of 64. She survived with some major bruises and expected fame and fortune but died in poverty in 1921.

Answer: Lydia Litvyak

Lydia Litvyak, Soviet Lieutenant, flying a Yak-1 fighter of the women's 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, shot down two German planes over Stalingrad on 13th September, 1942.

Answer: Ruth Eisemann Schier

Ruth Eisemann Schier was born in Honduras. She was wanted for kidnapping, extortion and other crimes in 1968. She and her boyfriend Gary Steven devised a plan to kidnap land heiress Barbara Jane Mackle. She was sentenced to seven years in prison. Aileen Wuornos was the first woman serial killer. Yup, sorry for the sad ending but this isn't a movie. :)