Asian-Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peoples ...

are an

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

in the United States, denoting Americans of Asian descent. The phrase Asian-American was coined by

Yuji Ichioka Yuji Ichioka (June 23, 1936 – September 1, 2002) was an American historian and civil rights activist best known for his work in ethnic studies, particularly Asian American Studies and for being a leader in the Asian American movement. An a ...

and

Emma Gee Emma Gee is an American activist and writer, who coined the term "Asian American" with Yuji Ichioka. Biography In 1968, Chinese American Gee and her Japanese American partner and future husband Yuji Ichioka, both graduate students at University ...

in 1968 during the founding of the

Asian American Political Alliance The Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) was a political organization started at University of California, Berkeley in 1968 that aimed to unite all Asian Americans under one identity to push for political and social action. The two main chapte ...

, and started to be used by the U.S. census in 1980. Firsts by Asian-Americans in various fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for them is "breaking the color barrier". One commonly cited example is that of

Wataru Misaka Wataru Misaka (December 21, 1923 – November 20, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. A point guard of Japanese descent, he broke a color barrier in professional basketball by being the first non-white player and the first p ...

, who became the first person of color, and the first Asian-American, to be a

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

player (in 1947.)

Arts and entertainment

Academy Awards

* 1955:

James Wong Howe Wong Tung Jim, A.S.C. (; August 28, 1899 – July 12, 1976), known professionally as James Wong Howe (Houghto), was a Chinese-born American cinematographer who worked on over 130 films. During the 1930s and 1940s, he was one of the most soug ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, the

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) ...

for ''

The Rose Tattoo ''The Rose Tattoo'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1949 and 1950; after its Chicago premiere on December 29, 1950, he made further revisions to the play for its Broadway premiere on February 2, 1951, and its publication by ...

''. * 1957:

Miyoshi Umeki was a Japanese-American singer and actress.Bernstein, Adam ''The Washington Post''. 5 September 2007. Umeki was a Tony Award- and Golden Globe-nominated actress and the first East Asian-American woman to win an Academy Award for acting. Life Bo ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for ''

Sayonara ''Sayonara'' is a 1957 American Technicolor drama film starring Marlon Brando in Technirama. It tells the story of an American Air Force fighter pilot during the Korean War who falls in love with a famous Japanese dancer. The picture won four Ac ...

''. * 1984: Haing Somnang Ngor becomes the first Asian-American to win the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...

, for ''

The Killing Fields A killing field is a concept in military science. Killing field may also refer to: * Killing Fields, a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than a million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of ...

''. * 1990:

Steven Okazaki Steven Toll Okazaki (born March 12, 1952) is an American documentary filmmaker known for his raw, cinéma vérité-style documentaries that frequently show ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances. He has received a Peabody Awar ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win the

Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) This is a list of films by year that have received an Academy Award together with the other nominations for best documentary short film. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are annou ...

, for '' Days of Waiting: The Life & Art Of Estelle Ishigo''. * 1997:

Chris Tashima Christopher Inadomi Tashima (born March 24, 1960) is a Japanese American actor and director. He is co-founder of the entertainment company Cedar Grove Productions and Artistic Director of its Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. T ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win the

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under various names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, "Best Short Subject, One- ...

, for ''

Visas and Virtue ''Visas and Virtue'' is a 1997 narrative short film directed by Chris Tashima and starring Chris Tashima, Susan Fukuda, Diana Georger and Lawrence Craig. It was inspired by the true story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara, who is known ...

''. * 2019:

Kazu Hiro Kazu Hiro (born Kazuhiro Tsuji, ja, 辻一弘 ; born May 26, 1969) is a Japanese-born American special make-up effects artist and visual artist. He won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for the biographical films '' Darkest H ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win the

Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling The Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is the Academy Award given to the best achievement in makeup and hairstyling for film. Traditionally, three films have been nominated each year with exceptions in the early 1980s and 2002 when the ...

, for '' Bombshell''. This was his first win following his naturalization. * 2021:

Steven Yeun Yeun Sang-yeop ( ko, 연상엽; born December 21, 1983), known professionally as Steven Yeun (), is a South Korean-born American actor. Yeun initially rose to prominence for his roles as Glenn Rhee in the television series '' The Walking Dead ...

becomes the first Asian-American to be nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...

for '' Minari''. * 2022:

Janet Yang Janet Yang (born July 13, 1956) is a Hollywood producer and current President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Yang's award-winning film and TV credits include '' The Joy Luck Club'', ''The People vs. Larry Flynt'', ''Dark M ...

is elected as the first Asian-American President of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

Fashion

* 2012: Alexander Wang becomes the first Asian-American creative director and head of a French

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

house (

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( ) is a luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by the Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Balenciaga produces ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to C ...

Film (aside from the Academy Awards)

* 1919-1961:

Anna May Wong Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain intern ...

is considered to be the first major Asian-American film star in the world. * 2005:

Dayyan Eng Dayyan Eng, known as Wu Shixian in China (), born in Taiwan in 1975, is a Chinese-American filmmaker of Chinese, English, and Persian ancestry, who grew up in three continents. He studied film arts at the University of Washington and transferred t ...

becomes the first Asian-American director to have a film nominated for Best Picture at the Chinese academy awards (for ''

Waiting Alone ''Waiting Alone'' () is a 2004 Chinese romantic comedy film written & directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Dayyan Eng (), depicting the lives of a group of hip, affluent, twenty-something Beijing residents. The film features Chinese movie stars X ...

''). *2018:

John Cho John Cho (born Cho Yo-Han; June 16, 1972) is an American actor known for his roles as Harold Lee in the ''Harold & Kumar'' films, and Hikaru Sulu in the ''Star Trek'' rebooted film series. Early in his career, Cho also starred in the Asian Ame ...

becomes the first Asian-American actor to headline a mainstream Hollywood thriller, ''

Searching Searching or search may refer to: Computing technology * Search algorithm, including keyword search ** :Search algorithms * Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence * Search engine technology, software for findi ...

''. * 2020:

Awkwafina Nora Lum (born June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress, rapper, and comedian who rose to prominence in 2012 when her rap song "My Vag" became popular on YouTube. She then released her debut album, ''Yellow Ran ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win the Golden Globe Award for best actress in the musical or comedy category, for '' The Farewell''.

Literature (aside from the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes)

* 1928:

Dhan Gopal Mukerji Dhan Gopal Mukerji ( bn, ধন গোপাল মুখোপাধ্যায়; ''Dhan Gōpāl Mukhōpādhyāy'') (6 July 1890 – 14 July 1936) was the first successful Indian man of letters in the United States and won a Newbery Med ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win a

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

, for ''

Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon ''Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon'' is a 1927 children's novel by Dhan Gopal Mukerji that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1928. It deals with the life of Gay-Neck, a prized Indian pigeon. Mukerji wrote th ...

.''

Music

* 2010:

Far East Movement Far East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and as of August 2018 consists of Kev Nish (Kevin Nishimura), Prohgress (James Roh), DJ Virman (Vi ...

becomes the first Asian-American music group to earn a No. 1 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, for ''

Like a G6 "Like a G6" is a song by American music group Far East Movement featuring fellow American musicians Dev and The Cataracs, released as the lead single from Far East Movement's third studio album ''Free Wired''. The track reached number one on the ...

''.

Pulitzer Prizes

* 1937:

Gobind Behari Lal Gobind Behari Lal was an Indian-American journalist and independence activist. A relative and close associate of Lala Har Dayal, he joined the Ghadar Party and participated in the Indian independence movement. He arrived the United States on a sc ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win a Pulitzer Prize in Reporting. * 1990:

Sheryl WuDunn Sheryl WuDunn (born November 16, 1959) is an American business executive, writer, lecturer, and Pulitzer Prize winner. A senior banker focusing on growth companies in technology, new media and the emerging markets, WuDunn also works with doubl ...

becomes the first Asian-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in Reporting.

Television

* 1951:

becomes the first Asian-American to lead a U.S. television show, with her work on ''

The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong ''The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong'' is an American television series which aired on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. It starred Chinese American silent film and talkie star Anna May Wong (birth name Wong Liu-tsong) who played a detectiv ...

.'' * 2018:

Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series ''Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series ''Master ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win a Golden Globe for acting in television; specifically, he won the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy is a Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performa ...

for ''

Master of None ''Master of None'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in con ...

.'' * 2019:

Bowen Yang Bowen Yang ( zh, link=no, 楊伯文; born November 6, 1990) is an Australian-born American actor, comedian, podcaster, and writer based in New York City. He co-hosts a comedy pop-culture podcast, '' Las Culturistas,'' with Matt Rogers. Since Sep ...

becomes the first cast member on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' of full Asian descent.

Theater

* 1972:

Frank Chin Frank Chin (born February 25, 1940) is an American author and playwright. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Asian-American theatre. Life and career Frank Chin was born in Berkeley, California on February 25, 1940; until the age of s ...

becomes the first Asian-American to have a play produced on a major New York stage (the play is ''

The Chickencoop Chinaman ''The Chickencoop Chinaman'' is a 1972 play by Frank Chin. It was the first play written by an Asian American to have a major New York production. Story Tam Lum, a Chinese American filmmaker working on a documentary about a black boxer named Ov ...

''.)

Other

* 2000: Angela Perez Baraquio Grey becomes the first Asian-American to win the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

(2001) pageant.

Business and commerce

* 1986:

Gerald Tsai Gerald Tsai Jr. (; March 10, 1929 – July 9, 2008) was a billionaire investor and philanthropist who helped build Fidelity Investments into a mutual fund powerhouse. After starting Fidelity Investments' first publicly sold aggressive growth fund ...

becomes the first Asian-American CEO of a

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

company (The

American Can The American Can Company was a manufacturer of tin cans. It was a member of the Tin Can Trust, that controlled a "large percentage of business in the United States in tin cans, containers, and packages of tin." American Can Company ranked 97th amon ...

Company; #140 on the 1986 list). * 2013:

Kevin Tsujihara Kevin Ken Tsujihara (born October 25, 1964) is an American businessman, and former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros Entertainment. He succeeded Barry Meyer as CEO in March 2013, and as chairman in December 2013, having previously served as preside ...

becomes the first Asian-American CEO of a major Hollywood studio ( Warner Bros Entertainment). * 2022: Rose Lee, current CEO of Cornerstone Building Brands, was elected by Honeywell International to be the newest member of their board of directors, becoming the first Korean American woman to sit on the board of a Fortune 100 company.

Dentistry

* 2002: Dr. Eugene Sekiguchi is elected as the first Asian-American president of the

American Dental Association The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 161,000 members. Based in the American Dental Association Building in the Near North Side of Chicago, the ADA is the world's ...

Diplomacy

* 1989:

Julia Chang Bloch Julia Chang Bloch (; born 1942) is a Chinese American businessperson and diplomat, who was the first U.S. ambassador of Asian descent. She is the founder and president of the US-China Education Trust. Life and political career Bloch was born ...

becomes the first Asian-American

U.S. ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as Ambassador-at-large, ...

, as

US Ambassador to Nepal The United States Ambassador to Nepal is the official representative of the government of the United States to the government of Nepal. Dean R. Thompson is the current Ambassador to Nepal, and presented his credentials to the Nepali president B ...

Education

* 1974: Fujio Matsuda becomes the first Asian-American president of a major American university, as president of the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

. * 1990:

Chang-Lin Tien Chang-lin Tien (; July 24, 1935 – October 29, 2002) was a Chinese-American professor of mechanical engineering and university administrator. He was the seventh chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley (1990–1997), and in that ...

becomes the first Asian-American to lead a major American research university, as Chancellor of

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

. * 2009:

Jim Yong Kim Jim Yong Kim (; born December 8, 1959), also known as Kim Yong (/金墉), is an American physician and anthropologist who served as the 12th president of the World Bank from 2012 to 2019. A global health leader, Kim was formerly the chair of ...

becomes the first Asian-American

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of an

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

institution, as president of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

Journalism

* 1937: Ella Kam Oon Chun becomes the first Asian-American woman reporter on ''The Honolulu Advertiser.'' * 1943:

Ah Jook Ku Ah Jook Ku (April 24, 1910 – August 6, 2007) was an American journalist, writer, media advocate and public relations practitioner. She was the first Asian American reporter for the Associated Press, and the first Asian American female reporter fo ...

becomes the first Asian-American reporter for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

. * 1970: Al Young becomes the first Asian American U.S. mainland sportswriter at a metro daily newspaper The Bridgeport (CT) Post-Telegram. * 1993:

Connie Chung Constance Yu-Hwa Chung (born August 20, 1946) is an American journalist. She has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow ...

becomes the first Asian-American to anchor one of America's major network newscasts (CBS Evening News).

Judiciary and politics

Kamala Harris Vice Presidential Portrait

* 1927:

Kinjiro Matsudaira was an American inventor and politician who served as the mayor of Edmonston, Maryland in 1927 and 1943. Biography Matsudaira was born in Pennsylvania on September 13, 1885, as the son of a Japanese father, Tadaatsu, and an American mother, ...

becomes the first Asian-American mayor of a city (Edmonston, MD) in the United States. * 1946:

Wing F. Ong Wing Foon Ong (February 4, 1904 – December 19, 1977) was the first Chinese-American not born in the United States to be elected to a state House of Representatives when in 1946 he ran for the Arizona House of Representatives and won. In 1966, ...

becomes the first Asian-American to be elected to a state legislative body in the United States, in the Arizona House of Representatives.Cumulative notes for the Zōon Politikon
/ref> * 1957:

Dalip Singh Saund Dalip Singh Saund (September 20, 1899 – April 22, 1973) was an Indian-American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from California's 29th congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party. He was the fi ...

becomes the first Asian-American elected to the United States Congress, as a Representative for California's 29th district. * 1964:

Hiram Fong Hiram Leong Fong (born Yau Leong Fong; October 15, 1906 – August 18, 2004) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician from Hawaii. Born to a sugar plantation Cantonese immigrant worker, Fong became the first Chinese-American and first ...

becomes the first Asian-American U.S. Senator. * 1964:

becomes the first Asian-American candidate for U.S. president. * 1965:

Patsy Mink Patsy Matsu Mink (née Takemoto; December 6, 1927 – September 28, 2002) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii. Mink was a third-generation Japanese American, having been born and raised on the island of Maui. ...

becomes the first Asian American woman elected to the U.S. Congress. * 1971:

Norman Mineta Norman Yoshio Mineta ( ja, 峯田良雄, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the United States Cabinet for Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. Bush, a ...

becomes the first Asian-American mayor of a major city (San Jose, CA) in the United States. * 1971:

Herbert Choy Herbert Young Cho Choy (January 6, 1916 – March 10, 2004) was the first Asian American to serve as a United States federal judge and the first person of Korean ancestry to be admitted to the bar in the United States. He served as a United State ...

becomes the first Asian-American U.S. federal court judge, appointed to the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit. * 1972:

becomes the first Asian-American Democratic candidate for U.S. president. * 1974:

George Ariyoshi George Ryoichi Ariyoshi ( ja, 有吉良一, born March 12, 1926) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the third governor of Hawaii from 1974 to 1986. A Democrat, he is Hawaii's longest-serving governor and the first American of ...

becomes the first Asian-American governor of a U.S. state. * 1984:

Joy Cherian Dr. Joy Cherian is the first Asian American and first Indian American Commissioner at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Joy Cherian was appointed as the Commissioner at the United States Equal Employment Opportun ...

becomes the first Asian-American Commissioner of the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

. * 1996:

Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat serving as the interim president of Bellevue College, the largest of the institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system. Locke serv ...

is elected Governor of Washington, becoming first Asian American to be elected Governor of a mainland U.S. state. * 1998:

Susan Oki Mollway Susan Oki Mollway (born November 6, 1950) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and the first East Asian woman ever appointed to a life-time position on the federal bench. Early l ...

became the first East Asian woman ever appointed to a life-time position on the federal bench. * 2000:

becomes the first Asian American to hold a presidential cabinet post when he is appointed as the

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

. * 2002:

Kenneth P. Moritsugu Kenneth P. Moritsugu (born March 5, 1945) is an American physician and public health administrator who was the first Asian American Surgeon General of the United States, US Surgeon General. Mortisugu was a rear admiral in the Public Health Servic ...

becomes the first Asian-American Surgeon General. * 2010:

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative f ...

becomes the first Asian-American

President pro tempore of the United States Senate The president pro tempore of the United States Senate (often shortened to president pro tem) is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate, after the Vice President of the United States, vice president. According to Articl ...

, making him the highest-ranking Asian-American politician in American history. * 2015:

Yumi Hogan Yumi Hogan (Korean: 유미 호건, ; born December 25, 1959) is a Korean–American artist. She was the first lady of Maryland as the wife of governor Larry Hogan from 2015 to 2023, and was the first Korean American first lady of a U.S. state and ...

becomes the first Asian-American

First Lady of Maryland The spouse of the governor of Maryland is given an honorary position, styled as First Lady or First Gentleman of the State of Maryland. To date there have been no female governors of the State of Maryland, and all first spouses have been first lad ...

. * 2020:

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

becomes the first Asian-American (and first African-American) major party candidate for vice president. * 2021:

becomes the first Asian-American (and first African-American)

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

. * 2021:

becomes the first Asian-American

President of the United States Senate The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...

. * 2021:

becomes the first Asian-American Acting President of the United States.

Military

* 1944: Kurt Lee becomes the first Asian-American officer in the Marine Corps. * 1959:

Gordon Chung-Hoon Gordon Paiea Chung-Hoon (July 25, 1910 – July 24, 1979) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who served during World War II and was the first Asian American flag officer. He received the Navy Cross and Silver Star for conspicuous gall ...

becomes the first Asian-American

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countr ...

in the United States Navy. * 1999:

Eric Shinseki Eric Ken Shinseki (; born November 28, 1942) is a retired United States Army general who served as the seventh United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2009–2014). His final United States Army post was as the 34th Chief of Staff of the Arm ...

becomes the first Asian American four-star general and

Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...

. * 2009:

becomes the first Asian American

United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs The United States secretary of veterans affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans' benefits, health care, and national veterans' memorials and cemeteries. The secretary is a me ...

. * 2015:

Harry Harris Jr. Harry Binkley Harris Jr. (born August 4, 1956) is a retired American diplomat and retired U.S. Navy officer. He was the first American of Japanese descent to lead US Pacific Command in the U.S. Navy and was the highest-ranking American of Japanes ...

becomes the first Asian-American to command the U.S. Pacific Command (

USPACOM United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region. Formerly known as United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since its inception in 1947, t ...

). * 2020:

JoAnne S. Bass JoAnne S. Bass () is a senior noncommissioned officer in the United States Air Force and the nineteenth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. She became the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and the first female to hold the highest senior ...

becomes the first Asian-American to hold the senior enlisted position in the U.S. Air Force, as the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the U.S. Air Force.

Religion

Cantor Angela Warnick Buchdahl (8575188810) (cropped)

* 1999:

Angela Warnick Buchdahl Angela Warnick Buchdahl ( ko, 앤절라 워닉 북달; born July 8, 1972) is an American rabbi. She was the first Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi, and the first Asian-American to be ordained as a ''hazzan'' (cantor). In 2011 she was name ...

becomes the first Asian-American to be ordained as a cantor upon being ordained by HUC-JIR, an American seminary for Reform Judaism. * 2001:

becomes the first Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi upon being ordained by HUC-JIR, an American seminary for Reform Judaism. * 2002: Ignatius Wang becomes the first Asian-American bishop of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Church.

Science and technology

Aerospace and aviation

* 1985:

Ellison Onizuka was an American astronaut, engineer, and USAF test pilot from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', on which he wa ...

becomes the first Asian-American in space, as an astronaut on the space shuttle Discovery.

Mathematics

* 1982:

Shing-Tung Yau Shing-Tung Yau (; ; born April 4, 1949) is a Chinese-American mathematician and the William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University. In April 2022, Yau announced retirement from Harvard to become Chair Professor of mathem ...

becomes the first Asian-American to be awarded the

Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place every four years. The name of the award ho ...

Physics

* 1975:

Chien-Shiung Wu ) , spouse = , residence = , nationality = ChineseAmerican , field = Physics , work_institutions = Institute of Physics, Academia SinicaUniversity of California at BerkeleySmith CollegePrinceton UniversityColumbia UniversityZhejiang Unive ...

becomes the first woman (not just Asian American) president of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

. * 1978:

becomes the first person (not just Asian American) to win the

Wolf Prize in Physics The Wolf Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine and Arts. The ...

Nobel Prizes

* 1957:

Chen-Ning Yang Yang Chen-Ning or Chen-Ning Yang (; born 1 October 1922), also known as C. N. Yang or by the English name Frank Yang, is a Chinese Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to statistical mechanics, integrab ...

and

Tsung-dao Lee Tsung-Dao Lee (; born November 24, 1926) is a Chinese-American physicist, known for his work on parity violation, the Lee–Yang theorem, particle physics, relativistic heavy ion (RHIC) physics, nontopological solitons, and soliton star ...

won the Nobel Prize in Physics. They would later become US citizens in 1964 and 1962 respectively. * 1976:

Samuel C. C. Ting Samuel Chao Chung Ting (, born January 27, 1936) is a Chinese-American physicist who, with Burton Richter, received the Nobel Prize in 1976 for discovering the subatomic J/ψ particle. More recently he has been the principal investigator in res ...

becomes the first U.S. born Asian American to win the

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

Sports

Baseball

* 1956:

Bobby Balcena Robert Rudolph Balcena (August 1, 1925 – January 5, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs during the season. Listed at 5' 7", 160 lb., Balcena batted ...

becomes the first Asian-American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB), playing two games for the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. * 2008:

Don Wakamatsu Wilbur Donald Wakamatsu (born February 22, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player, scout, coach, and manager. Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He played as ...

hired as the first Asian-American

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

manager. * 2020: Dave Roberts becomes the first Asian-American baseball manager to win the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

. * 2020:

Kim Ng Kimberly J. Ng (; born November 17, 1968) is an American executive in Major League Baseball. She is currently the general manager of the Miami Marlins and the highest-ranking female baseball executive. She is the first woman to serve as general ...

is hired by the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

as the first Asian-American to serve as general manager of an

team.

Basketball

* 1947:

breaks the color barrier of the National Basketball Association (NBA), becoming the first Asian-American to play in the league. * 2008:

Erik Spoelstra Erik Jon Spoelstra ( ; born November 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has won two NBA championships as the head coach of the Heat. A Fi ...

becomes the first Asian-American

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(for the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

). He is the first Asian-American head coach in any of the four major North American sports leagues. * 2010:

Rich Cho Richard Cho (born August 10, 1965) is an American basketball executive who currently serves as the Vice President of Basketball Strategy of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. Prior to the Grizzlies, Cho was the general m ...

becomes the first Asian-American general manager of an

team, the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. * 2019:

Jeremy Lin Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the Ne ...

becomes the first Asian-American

NBA Champion The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Con ...

. * 2020: Mike Magpayo is hired as men's head coach at

UC Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, becoming the first Asian American to hold this position in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

men's basketball.

Figure skating

* 1985:

Tiffany Chin Audrey Tiffany Chin (born October 3, 1967) is an American figure skating coach and former competitor. She is a two-time World bronze medalist (1985–1986), a two-time Skate America champion (1983, 1986), and the 1985 U.S. national champion. P ...

becomes the first Asian-American

U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee "USOPC" under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act an ...

national champion.

Football (Gridiron football)

* 1927:

Walter Achiu Walter Tin Kit "Sneeze" Achiu (Chinese: 徐天杰) (August 3, 1902March 21, 1989) was an American football player of Chinese descent. He was a graduate of The Kamehameha Schools and Saint Louis College (now Saint Louis School) in Honolulu, Hawaii ...

becomes the first Asian American to play in the

National Football League (NFL) The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

when he plays for the now defunct

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangl ...

. * 1962:

Roman Gabriel Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr. (born August 5, 1940) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was the second overall pick in the 1962 NFL Draft and played for the Los Angeles Rams for eleven seaso ...

becomes the first Asian-American

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. * 2020:

Younghoe Koo Younghoe Koo (; pronounced ; born August 3, 1994) is a South Korean player of American football who is a placekicker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2020. Koo played college ...

becomes the first Asian-American to lead the

in scoring in a season. He also led the league in field goals made. * 2020: Koo becomes the first Asian-American named to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

Golf

* 1994:

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

becomes the first Asian-American to win the United States Amateur Championship. (Woods' mixed ancestry – ¼ Chinese, ¼ Thai, ¼ African-American, ⅛ white, and ⅛ Native American – also made him the first African-American to achieve this feat. He was also the first of only five golfers of primarily non-European descent to win a men's major, with the others being

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three major championships: one Masters title (2000) and two ...

(an Indian Fijian),

Michael Campbell Michael Shane Campbell (born 23 February 1969) is a New Zealand professional golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and, at the time, the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the s ...

(a Māori from New Zealand), Y.E. Yang (South Korean), and

Collin Morikawa Collin Morikawa (born February 6, 1997) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and European Tour. He began his PGA Tour career with 22 consecutive made cuts, second only to Tiger Woods' 25-cut streak. Morikawa has five PGA ...

(Japanese American).)

Olympics

* 1948:

Victoria Manalo Draves Victoria Manalo Draves (' Manalo; December 31, 1924 – April 11, 2010) was a Filipino American competitive diver who won gold medals in both platform and springboard diving at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Draves became the first woman t ...

wins gold in platform and springboard diving in the 1948 Olympics, becoming the first Asian-American to win a gold medal in the Summer Olympics.

Tennis

* 1989:

Michael Chang Michael Te-pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. He is the youngest man in history to win a singles major, winning the 1989 French Open at 17 years and 109 days old. Chang won a total o ...

becomes the first Asian-American winner of a

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

tennis tournament in men's singles, winning the French Open. To this day, he remains the only male player of Asian descent, regardless of nationality, to win a men's singles Grand Slam event.

Hockey

* 1947:

Larry Kwong Lawrence Kwong (born Eng Kai Geong; ; June 17, 1923 – March 15, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who was the first non-White and Asian descent player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He broke the NHL's colour barrier when ...

is the first Asian descent and non-white player in the

National Hockey League (NHL) The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

and played for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

Asian-American culture Asian-American art Asian-American cinema Lists of American people of Asian descent

Arts and entertainment

Academy Awards

Fashion

Film (aside from the Academy Awards)

Literature (aside from the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes)

Music

Pulitzer Prizes

Television

Theater

Other

Business and commerce

Dentistry

Diplomacy

Education

Journalism

Judiciary and politics

Military

Religion

Science and technology

Aerospace and aviation

Mathematics

Physics

Nobel Prizes

Sports

Baseball

Basketball

Figure skating

Football (Gridiron football)

Golf

Olympics

Tennis

Hockey

See also

References