A Mixed Collection of Firsts by Women Quiz

Answer: Kathrine Switzer

Switzer accomplished this first in 1967 by registering using her initials - K.V. Switzer. She was issued a race number (261) and began the race. In a famous incident, a race official tried to pull her out of the race, but Switzer's football player boyfriend knocked him aside and she continued.

It definitely caused a stir, but five years later women were finally allowed to enter the Boston Marathon.

Answer: Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton was the 2016 presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in the United States. Although winning the majority of the popular vote, she lost the election in the Electoral College, which is where the winner of a U.S. presidential election is determined. Sarah Palin and Geraldine Ferraro were vice-presidential nominees for the Republican and the Democratic parties in previous years. Jill Stein was a presidential nominee in 2016 but for the Green Party, a minor U.S. party.

Answer: Becca Longo

It took until 2017. In early 2017 Becca Longo was offered a scholarship to play football at Adams State University in Colorado. She is a place kicker, expert in kicking field goals and extra points. Although several women have played football at the collegiate level, none are known to have been on scholarship from a school at the NCAA Division II level or higher. Division II is a mid level division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States.

Answer: Regina Jonas

After being refused ordination by multiple rabbis in her native Germany, Rabbi Jonas was finally ordained in 1935. Because of the persecution of Jews in Germany at that time she could not hold services in a synagogue. In 1942 she was arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Two years later she was moved to Auschwitz, where she soon died. Her accomplishment was forgotten until 1991, when a historian discovered her papers and published a biography.

Answer: Hattie Wyatt Caraway

Following the death of her husband, Thaddeus Caraway, a sitting Senator, Hattie Caraway was appointed in November 1931 to serve the remainder of his term. She ran for election in the 1932 special election for the seat and won, thus becoming the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Later that fall she ran in the regular election and won a full term to the Senate.

She served until January 1945, having won another election in 1938. The first woman to serve in the Senate was Rebecca Felton, who was appointed as a replacement for a Senator who died while in office.

She served for 24 hours, one full day, in November of 1922.

Answer: Jacqueline Cochran

Jacqueline (Jackie) Cochran of the United States was one of the early women in the field of flight. She exceeded the mach 1 barrier (a bit over 767 mph) in May of 1953 in an F-86 Sabre jet. She was also the first woman to fly a bomber across the Atlantic Ocean. She was a major figure in women in aviation for decades. Interestingly, she was a close friend of Chuck Yeager.

Answer: Caroline Herschel

As you may have guessed, Caroline was the sister of William Herschel. She was a German scientist, whose contributions include discovery of several comets. She moved to England to join her brother after the death of their father. She was originally best known for her singing, developing an impressive reputation in church music.

As her brother increasingly turned to astronomy, so did Caroline. She became William's assistant, polishing lenses, cataloging his discoveries, and the like. In early 1783 she discovered a previously unknown nebula. Later that year, in August, Caroline discovered the first of an eventual eight comets.

In 1787 she was granted a salary of 50 pounds by George III, making her the first woman paid as an astronomer and the first woman given a position by the English government. Note that the question says she is "credited" as the first woman to discover a comet because some people believe that Maria Kirch was actually the first, although her early 1700s discovery was credited to her husband.

Answer: Janet Guthrie

Guthrie graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in physics in 1960 and worked in the aviation field. As a hobby she purchased a sports car, and began competing in races. By 1972 racing had become her full time occupation. In 1977 she became the first woman to race in the Indianapolis 500, a top tier auto race in the United States. That same year she also became the first woman to qualify for and race in the Daytona 500, another prime race in the U.S.

She was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Answer: Mary Lou Retton

United States gymnast Mary Lou Retton appeared on the Wheaties box in 1984. The Wheaties tagline is "the breakfast of champions," and thus they feature prominent athletes on the box. Mary Lou was honored by such placement because of her achievements in gymnastics. Most notably, she won the gold medal in the individual all-around women's gymnastic competition at the 1984 Olympics, becoming the first American woman to do so. She also won two silver and two bronze medals at that same Olympics.

Answer: Bertha von Suttner

Bertha von Suttner was a writer and pacifist, born in 1843 in Prague, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. She had a disrupted childhood, moving frequently and often short of funds. In the 1870s she briefly worked for Alfred Nobel. She became an intermittent writer, with her first significant piece coming out in 1883.

It was on disarmament and world peace, an emerging theme for her. In 1889 with the publication of "Lay Down Your Arms!", she became a leader of the peace movement in Austria and beyond.

It is assumed that she was one of the influences on Alfred Nobel's decision to include a Peace Prize as one of the prizes he established in his will. In 1905 she became a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and in fact was the first woman to receive one.