Famous American 20th Century Firsts Quiz

Answer: Neil Armstrong

In July 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 Mission, astronaut Neil Armstrong took the first step on the moon. Armstrong proclaimed as he took that historic first step, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Moments later, Armstrong was followed by astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, who became the second man to set foot on the moon.

These events were monitored by astronaut Michael Collins, as he orbited the moon in the mission's command space vehicle.

Answer: 1960

Hawaii was admitted to the union on August 21, 1959, bringing the star count on the American flag to 50. Earlier that same year, Alaska had been admitted as the 49th state in the union.
The Flag Act of 1818, signed by President Monroe, provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state to be added on July 4 following the admission of each new state.

Answer: William McKinley

McKinley was shot on September 6, 1901, as he attended the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo New York, by Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz shot McKinley at point blank range with a concealed handgun, as he approached the President to shake his hand in a receiving line.

It was believed that the actual gunshot was not life threatening, but attempts by doctors to probe the wound and remove the bullet resulted to an infection that took the life of the president eight days later on September 14, 1901. Presidents Lincoln and Garfield were assassinated in the 19th century. President Kennedy was assassinated later in the 20th century (November 22, 1963).

Answer: Edward Brooke

Brooke, a Republican from Massachusetts, served two terms in the United States Senate from 1967 until 1979. Carol Moseley Braun became the second black person to be elected to the U.S. Senate, serving one term from 1993 until 1999, as a Democrat from Illinois.

Answer: Oklahoma

Oklahoma, the 46th state, was admitted to the union on November 11, 1907. Statehood had become a sure thing, in part due to the discovery which made Oklahome the "place to strike it rich" -- oil.
People from all over the world came to Oklahoma to seek their fortunes in the rich Oklahoma oil fields. Cities like Tulsa, Ponca City, Bartles City, and Oklahoma City flourished.

Answer: Orville Wright

Aviation pioneer Orville Wright crashed his two seat airplane during a military test at Fort Meyer in Virginia on September 17, 1908. Wright's co-pilot, Lt. Thomas Selfrige gained the 'distinction' (if one may call it such) of becoming the first person to die in an airplane crash.

After losing a propeller during the flight, the airplane nose dived about fifty feet into the ground. Wright suffered a broken left leg, several broken ribs, cuts to his head, and numerous bruises. Selfridge suffered a fractured skull, and died in hospital, without regaining consciousness.

Answer: The Jazz Singer

The film was released on October 6, 1927. The first spoken words came in the middle of the film when during a nightclub scene, Al Jolson suddenly said, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet." Jolson, a very popular singer of the time was then known as "The world's greatest entertainer." (Note the very early "talking" movies didn't have sound throughout.

They were initially more like silent movies with short sections of speech).

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt

The first Presidential aircraft was a Boeing 314 "flying boat".
Roosevelt used the airplane to fly to the 1943 Conference (with Winston Churchill) in Casablanca on the progress of World War II. It was believed that the air travel was safer than transporting the President by sea due to the constant threat of German U-Boats and submarines.
Any Air Force plane that transports the President would carry the flight designation and call sign of "Air Force One". HMX-1 (Marine Helicopter Squadron One) provides all helicopter transportation for the President of the United States both overseas and within the continental United States. When the President is aboard a helicopter, that craft carries the designation and call sign of "Marine One".

Answer: Delano, California

The first SWAT team was created in the 1960s in response to uprisings by farm workers. The unit was a department wide team which received specialized crowd control, sniper/counter-sniper training. Police in Los Angeles saw a news broadcast on this special crime suppressing unit, and sent several officers to attend their training.
LAPD refined and expanded the concept, creating LAPD SWAT, considered to be the one of the most respected police division in the world.

Answer: Sir Barton

The first triple crown winner was in 1919. Sir Barton won The Preakness Stakes (Pimlico Race Course in Maryland), The Belmont Stakes (in Elmont, New York), and the Kentucky Derby (in Louisville, Kentucky). The races are run two weeks apart. During the century, there were eleven horses that won the three races.

Answer: Theodore Roosevelt

Following the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901,
Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States. At age 42, Roosevelt became the youngest man to hold the office in the history of the nation. He served from 1901 until 1909.

Answer: Nautilus

USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was first comissioned into the US Navy on December 30, 1954. She started her first voyage under nuclear power on January 17, 1955. Nuclear power enabled Nautilus to remain submerged for weeks at a time, as there was no need to surface and recharge batteries. Diesel boats were required to surface every couple of days. On August 3, 1958, Nautilus became the first submarine to navigate under the North Pole. Nautilus was decommissioned on March 30, 1980 after logging over 300,000 miles. Nautilus was declared a National Historical Landmark on May 20, 1982.

After work was completed to prepare her for public access, she was towed to Groton, Connecticut, arriving on July 7, 1985 and is in the care of the Submarine Force Library and Museum.

Answer: 1999

John Carpenter became the first million dollar television game show winner on November 19, 1999. Carpenter who was then a 31 year old IRS revenue collector from Hamden, Ct., correctly answered 15 questions on the game show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"
Carpenter was the only million dollar TV game show winner in the 20th Century.

Answer: 1922

The Jupiter, a decommissioned naval vessel was converted into the first US aircraft carrier at the Navy Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia.
The ship's name was changed to Langley on April 11, 1920, reclassified CVI and recommissioned on March 20, 1922. On October 17, 1922, Lt. Virgil C. Griffin piloted the first plane launched from the deck of the Langley.
On February 17, 1942, two months after the outbreak of World War II, Langley was attacked by 9 twin engine enemy bombers. Langley took five hits and was severely damaged. After the 'abandon ship' alarm was sounded, Langley was sunk.

Answer: Apollo

On January 27, 1967, a flash fire in the capsule of the Apollo 1 space craft took the lives of three astronauts. Astronauts Virgil I "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee perished on the flight pad during a ground test of their vehicle. Ninteen years later, almost to the date (January 28, 1986) of the Apollo tragedy, seven U.S Astronauts perished in the STS-51L
Challenger disaster. The Challenger space vehicle broke apart shortly after what appeared to be a perfect launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida.