General Awareness · History
Historical Dates and Firsts
2,518 Questions
Historical dates and firsts questions test your memory of significant global milestones in sports, science, technology, and literature. These factual questions appear regularly in SSC, banking, and state PSC general awareness papers. Use these questions to quickly memorize important historical events and their exact years.
Inventions and launchesSports world firstsHistorical prize awardsTechnology milestones
Historical Dates and Firsts Questions
C
Correct answer
Explanation
The first web server (info.cern.ch) and website went live in 1990 at CERN, created by Tim Berners-Lee. The project aimed to facilitate information sharing among researchers. The browser WorldWideWeb was also developed in 1990.
B
Correct answer
Explanation
The first gasoline internal combustion motorcycle (the Daimler Reitwagen) was built in 1885 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Germany. Earlier steam-powered two-wheelers existed, but 1885 marks the first true motorcycle with a combustion engine.
B
Correct answer
Explanation
Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays in 1895, earning him the first Nobel Prize in Physics. The other dates are incorrect.
C
Correct answer
Explanation
Douglas Engelbart invented the computer mouse in 1964 at Stanford Research Institute. The prototype was demonstrated publicly in 1968, but the invention date is 1964.
D
Correct answer
Explanation
The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, completed in 1885, is widely recognized as the world's first skyscraper. It was the first building to use a steel skeleton for support, allowing for greater height than traditional masonry construction.
C
Correct answer
Explanation
The first commercially available MP3 player was the MPMan F10/F20, released in 1998 by SaeHan Information Systems in South Korea. It could store about 8-12 songs and predated the more famous iPod by several years.
B
Correct answer
Explanation
The first crossword puzzle was created by Arthur Wynne and published in the New York World on December 21, 1913. It was originally called a word-cross puzzle and appeared in the Sunday edition of the newspaper.
C
Correct answer
Explanation
The Intel 4004, released in 1971, was the first commercially available microprocessor. It was a 4-bit processor that revolutionized computing by putting the entire CPU on a single chip.
B
Correct answer
Explanation
The Gentleman's Magazine, first published in 1731 in London, is widely considered the first magazine in the modern sense. It used the term magazine (meaning storehouse) and covered general interest topics with a regular publication schedule.
C
Correct answer
Explanation
The first permanent photograph, View from the Window at Le Gras, was created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826 (or possibly early 1827). It required an exposure time of about 8 hours and is the oldest surviving camera photograph.
A
Correct answer
Explanation
Microsoft introduced Windows 1.0 in November 1985 as a graphical operating environment that ran on top of MS-DOS. It was initially marketed as an add-on for MS-DOS rather than a standalone operating system.
-
July 30, 1949
-
July 30, 1948
-
July 30, 1947
-
July 30, 1945
C
Correct answer
Explanation
Arnold Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947, in Thal, Austria. This date is well-documented in biographical records. The question tests basic knowledge about the famous actor and former governor of California's birth date.
-
1971 - 1976
-
1969 - 1975
-
1968 - 1974
-
1970 - 1975
B
Correct answer
Explanation
Arnold Schwarzenegger won his 7th Mr. Olympia title in 1980 after a 5-year retirement from competition. This comeback victory surprised the bodybuilding world, as he had been focusing on his acting career. His previous Olympia win was in 1975.
-
1972-1974
-
1972-1975
-
1972-1978
-
1972-1979
A
Correct answer
Explanation
The World Trade Center's North Tower became the tallest building in the world upon completion in 1972 but held this title only until 1974, when the Sears Tower in Chicago surpassed it.