Asian American FIRSTS

By Asia Americana

1943- Young Oak Kim was the first Asian American to command a combat battalion; he was a highly decorated US Army combat veteran of World War II and the Korean War.

1947- Wataru Misaka, a Japanese American, was the first player of color and the first American of Asian descent and the first non-Caucasian person to play the National Basketball Association (NBA), known then as the Basketball Association of America (BAA), making him the person that broke the professional basketball color barrier the same year that baseball player Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color barrier

1948- Sammy Lee, an Olympic diver, became the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States

1951- The Gallery of Madame Liu Tsong, the first American television series starring an Asian American series lead actress (Anna May Wong), was launched on the now defunct television network DuMont. Anna May Wong was the first female Asian American movie star

1956- Dalip Singh Saund, from California, was the first Asian American to be elected as US Representative

1959- Hiram Fong, one of Hawaii’s first senators, was the first Asian American elected as US Senator

1962- Roman Gabriel, a Filipino American Professional Football player, was the first Asian American to start as a National Football League (NFL) quarterback. He was considered by many to have been one of the best players in that position during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. He played for the Los Angeles Rams (1962-1972) and the Philadelphia Eagles (1973-1977). He was the 1969 NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP).

1963- Rocky Fellers, a Filipino American boy band, was the first Asian American band to hit the Billboard 100. “Killer Joe” reached No.16 on the Billboard Hot 100, but No.1 in both New York and Los Angeles.

1965- Patsy Takemoto Mink, an Asian American from Hawaii, was the first woman of color elected as US Representative

1971- Norman Y. Mineta was the first Asian American mayor of a major US city (San Jose, CA)

1971- Herbert Choy, appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the ninth circuit, was the first Asian American Federal court judge

1974- George R. Ariyoshi was the first Asian American to be elected as governor (Hawaii)

1974- Ken Kashiwahara and Connie Chung were the first Asian American network news reporters

1976- Pat Morita was the first Asian American to star in a network sitcom, Mr. T and Tina

1978- Ellison Shoji Onizuka was the first Asian American astronaut and the first Asian American to reach space

1984- Haing Ngor, Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Killing Fields, was the first Asian American Academy winner

1989- Julia Chang Bloch, appointed ambassador to Nepal, she was the first Asian American US Ambassador

1992- Hae Jong Kim was the first Asian American elected Bishop of the United Methodist Church

1993– Connie Chung was the first Asian American nightly news anchor for a major TV network (CBS)

1994- All American Girl – with Margaret Cho, is the first Asian American sitcom on network television (ABC)

1999- General Eric Shinseki was the first Asian American US Army Chief of Staff

2000- Norman Y. Mineta, appointed by President Bill Clinton, was the first Asian American member of the US Cabinet; worked as Commerce Secretary (2000-2001) and Transportation Secretary (2001-2006)

2000- Angela Perez Baraquio was the first Asian American, first Filipino American, and first teacher ever to be crowned Miss America

2001- Elaine Chao was the first Asian American woman to serve in the US Cabinet. She was appointed by President George W. Bush as the Secretary of Labor

2003- Bishop Ignatius C. Wang was the first Asian American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the US

2009- Cung Le was the first Asian American to win a major Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) title in Strikeforce

2008- Tim Lincecum, a Filipino American starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, was the first Asian American selected as an All Star for the Major League All Star Game; also first Asian American to win the Cy Young Award as the most successful pitcher in the National League in 2008; he won the Cy Young Award again in 2009 and led the Giants to a World Series victory in 2010.

2009- Steven Chu, the co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics, was sworn in as US Secretary of Energy, thereby becoming the first person (an Asian American) appointed to the US Cabinet after having won a Nobel Prize

2009- Dr. Jim Yong Kim was appointed President of Dartmouth College, becoming the first Asian American to be president of an Ivy League School

2010- Daniel Inouye was sworn in as President Pro Tempore, making him the highest ranking Asian American Politician in American history

2010- Jean Quan, elected Mayor of Oakland, CA, is the first Asian American woman elected mayor of a major American city

2013- Mazie Hirono, from Hawaii, is the first Asian American woman elected to the US Senate, the first US Senator born in Japan,  and the country’s first Buddhist Senator

2014- Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., was nominated by President Barack Obama in November 2013 and confirmed on December 15, 2014 as the 19th United States Surgeon General. He is the first Asian American to hold that post.