First in line...

Meet the first placers

Hilary Rodham Clinton
 2000 --- elected to the US. Senate, becoming the 1st First Lady ever elected to national office.

Colin Powell
 2000 --- 1st African American secretary of state.

Condoleezza Rice
 2001 --- 1st woman to serve as US national security adviser.

Halle Berry
 2002 --- 1st African American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress.

Vonetta Flowers
 2002 --- 1st African American female US athlete to win a gold medal in a Winter Olympics. She wins in the women's bobsleigh event on February 19th.

Steve Fossett
 2002 --- 1st balloonist to fly solo around the world when he landed in Australia on 4th July 2002.

Tom Ridge
 2003 --- 1st US Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Gene Robinson
 2003 --- 1st openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church in US.

Condoleezza Rice
 2005 --- 1st African American woman to serve as US secretary of state.

Anousheh Ansari
 2006 --- 1st female "space tourist," on September 18, 2006, she paid $20 million to ride on the Russian Soyuz TMA-9 capsule.
also: 1st Iranian in space and 1st Muslim woman in space.

Effa Manley
 2006 --- co-owner of the Negro Leagues team Newark Eagles, becomes the 1st woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tony Dungy
 2007 --- 1st African-American coach to win a Super Bowl.

Keith Ellison
 2007 --- 1st Muslim member of US Congress (He took the ceremonial oath with a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson.)

Drew Gilpin Faust
 2007 --- 1st woman president in Harvard University's 371-year history.

Nancy Pelosi
 2007 --- 1st female Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Hillary Rodham Clinton
 2008 --- 1st woman to be a Presidential Candidate in every primary and caucus.

Ann Dunwoody
 2008 --- 1st female four-star general in the United States military.

Fahmida Mirza
 2008 --- 1st female National Assembly speaker in Pakistan’s 60-year history.

Sarah Palin
 2008 --- Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska - 1st Republican woman in US history to be nominated for vice president.

Danica Patrick
 2008 --- 1st woman to win an Indy Car Race - the Indy Japan 300.

Barack Hussein Obama Jr.
 2009 --- 1st African-American US President.

Michelle Obama
 2009 --- 1st African-American US First Lady.