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

Multiple choice general knowledge history
  1. 1980

  2. 1991

  3. 1990

  4. 1989

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.

Multiple choice general knowledge history
  1. 1886

  2. 1885

  3. 1985

  4. 1936

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.

Multiple choice general knowledge history
  1. 1991

  2. 1958

  3. 1964

  4. 1957

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.

Multiple choice general knowledge history
  1. 1887

  2. 1888

  3. 1889

  4. 1885

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.

Multiple choice general knowledge history
  1. 1993

  2. 1996

  3. 1998

  4. 1987

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.

Multiple choice general knowledge history
  1. 1912

  2. 1913

  3. 1921

  4. 1917

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.

Multiple choice general knowledge history
  1. 1991

  2. 1979

  3. 1971

  4. 1980

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.

Multiple choice general knowledge history
  1. 1765

  2. 1731

  3. 1750

  4. 1789

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.

Multiple choice general knowledge history
  1. 1820

  2. 1846

  3. 1826

  4. 1850

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.

Multiple choice general knowledge
  1. July 30, 1949

  2. July 30, 1948

  3. July 30, 1947

  4. July 30, 1945

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
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.