Historical Firsts
He broke the MLB color barrier in 1947, becoming the first Black player in modern Major League Baseball.
Who is Jackie Robinson?
This Michael Jackson music video gets replayed more than any other at Halloween time.
What is 'Thriller"?
Similar to the King Cake, this Greek New Year's cake, called Vasilopita, has this hidden inside for good fortune.
What is a coin?
This Peruvian microbiologist discovered the bacterium that causes Carrion's Disease.
Who is Daniels Alcides Carrion?
She survived an assassination attempt and became the youngest Nobel laureate for advocating girls' right to education.
Who is Malala Yousafzai?
She was the first Black woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968.
Who is Shirley Chisholm?
In Chinese culture, children are given red envelopes containing this, believed to bring good luck.
What is money?
To ring in the New Year, people in this South American country traditionally wear all white to bring peace and good luck.
What is Brazil?
This physicist provided the mathematical foundation for GPS technology through her work on relativity.
Who is Dr. Gladys West?
Though her contributions are often overlooked, this British scientist and X-ray crystallographer's work paved the way for Watson and Crick's discovery of the DNA double helix, revolutionizing biology and medicine.
Who is Rosalind Franklin?
She became the first Black woman to travel to space in 1992.
Who is Dr. Mae Jemison?
This musical genre emerged from three heavily populated black isolated areas: The Mississippi Delta, The Piedmont, and East Texas.
What is the Blues?
In the Southern United States, eating this dish of black-eyed peas and rice is said to bring luck and prosperity.
What is Hoppin' John?
Although often overshadowed, this inventor is often cited for contributions to, or improvement of, the light bulb filament.
Who is Lewis Latimer?
The first person and only woman to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields (Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911), she is best known for her pioneering research on radioactivity.
Who is Marie Curie?
Combining Cherokee principles of lifelong learning with cutting-edge mathematics, making her a legend in modern STEM, this Native American was one of the first female working in aerospace engineering.
Who is Mary Golda Ross?
This Scandinavian tradition marks midwinter with candlelit processions honoring a saint associated with light.
What is St. Lucia's Day?
To scare away evil spirits, residents of this European country smash dishes on their friends' and neighbors' doorsteps.
What is Denmark?
This inventor created the first modern blood bank during World War II.
Who is Dr. Charles Drew?
Recognized as the youngest painter in the world, this painter labeled as "Mini Monet", her solo exhibition in 2011 sold out in seven days. She was 4 years old.
Who is Aelita Andre?
This West African emperor commissioned the University of Timbuktu, one of the oldest centers of learning in the world.
Who was Mansa Musa?
Winning the New York State Chess championship in 2019 at the age 8 after having played the game for only a year, this Nigerian-American chess player currently holds the title of International Master (IM).
Who is Tanitoluwa Adewumi?
In Spain, it is tradition to eat 12 of these fruits, one at each chime of the clock at midnight.
What are grapes?
This ancient Egyptian engineer is considered the first architect in history, credited with designing the Step Pyramid.
Breaking both racial and gender barriers during her 33-year career, this mathematician named the "human computer" played a critical role in the success of early U.S. manned spaceflights as one of the first African American women scientist at NASA.
Who is Katherine Johnson?