40. Name the first woman to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
[JKSSB Sub-Inspector, 19 December 2022, Shift 1]
- (A) Elinor Ostrom
- (B) Marie Curie
- (C) Bertha von Suttner
- (D) Malala Yousafzai
Answer: (A) Elinor Ostrom
Explanation: Elinor Ostrom became the first female recipient of the economics prize in 2009, sharing it with Oliver Williamson. Her research challenged assumptions that commonly held resources must inevitably be depleted, highlighting successful community-based systems of governance.
39. Who was the first woman to become prime minister of any country?
[Odisha Police SI, 9 July 2022, Paper II]
- (A) Sirimavo Bandaranaike
- (B) Golda Meir
- (C) Isabel Perón
- (D) Indira Gandhi
Answer: (A) Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Explanation: Sirimavo Bandaranaike assumed office as Prime Minister of Ceylon in 1960. She was the first woman to hold the prime ministership of a sovereign country, preceding Indira Gandhi in India and Margaret Thatcher in Britain.
38. Identify the first self-governing country to enfranchise women in parliamentary elections and the year.
[MP Police Constable, 16 January 2022, Shift 1]
- (A) United States, 1852
- (B) France, 1892
- (C) Australia, 1863
- (D) New Zealand, 1893
Answer: (D) New Zealand, 1893
Explanation: New Zealand extended parliamentary voting rights to women in September 1893, the first self-governing country to do so on a national basis. Women could vote but could not stand for election to its Parliament until later reforms.
37. The first living creature to orbit Earth was which type of animal?
[NPCIL Stenographer and Assistant Grade I, 2022 Prelims Paper I]
- (A) Dog
- (B) Monkey
- (C) Rabbit
- (D) Human
Answer: (A) Dog
Explanation: Laika, a dog, travelled aboard the Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 in November 1957, becoming the first animal to orbit Earth. Earlier organisms had reached space on suborbital missions, and Laika did not survive the orbital flight.
36. Which pioneering online information-retrieval system was widely used internationally?
[MP SET Library and Information Science, 2022]
- (A) DuckDuckGo
- (B) Google
- (C) DIALOG
- (D) EBSCO
Answer: (C) DIALOG
Explanation: DIALOG grew from information-retrieval research initiated in the 1960s and became a major early commercial online database-search service. It enabled institutions to query remote bibliographic information well before the public World Wide Web emerged.
35. Who became the first Indian man to win a silver medal at the BWF World Championships in December 2021?
[SSC Scientific Assistant CS/IT, 16 December 2022, Shift 3]
- (A) Kidambi Srikanth
- (B) H. S. Prannoy
- (C) Ajay Jayaram
- (D) B. Sai Praneeth
Answer: (A) Kidambi Srikanth
Explanation: Kidambi Srikanth finished runner-up at the 2021 BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain, becoming the first Indian man to win a singles silver at the event. He lost the final to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew.
34. The first modern Olympic Games opened on 6 April 1896 in which city?
[SSC GD Constable, 7 December 2021, Shift 1]
- (A) Amsterdam
- (B) London
- (C) Los Angeles
- (D) Athens
Answer: (D) Athens
Explanation: Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in April 1896, reviving an ancient Greek sporting tradition. The International Olympic Committee oversaw the competition, which included disciplines such as athletics, gymnastics, swimming and wrestling.
33. Who was appointed the first chief executive officer of the WHO Foundation in December 2020?
[SSC GD Constable, 3 December 2021, Shift 1]
- (A) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
- (B) Randeep Guleria
- (C) Melinda Gates
- (D) Anil Soni
Answer: (D) Anil Soni
Explanation: Anil Soni was appointed the inaugural chief executive officer of the independent WHO Foundation and began the role in January 2021. The foundation supports the World Health Organization’s public-health mission by mobilising philanthropic resources and partnerships.
32. The first Secretary-General of the United Nations belonged to which country?
[RRB NTPC CBT-I, 5 April 2021, Shift 2]
- (A) Norway
- (B) Sweden
- (C) Finland
- (D) Portugal
Answer: (A) Norway
Explanation: Norwegian politician and diplomat Trygve Lie became the United Nations’ first Secretary-General in 1946. His tenure coincided with the institution’s foundation and the emergence of Cold War tensions, shaping early UN administrative practices.
31. Who was the first United Nations Secretary-General from Africa?
[RRB NTPC CBT-I, 7 April 2021, Shift 2]
- (A) Dag Hammarskjöld
- (B) Winston Churchill
- (C) Boutros Boutros-Ghali
- (D) Kurt Waldheim
Answer: (C) Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Explanation: Egyptian diplomat Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as UN Secretary-General from 1992 to 1996, becoming the first African and the first Arab holder of the office. He succeeded Javier Pérez de Cuéllar during a period of major peacekeeping challenges.
