Historic firsts you may have missed in a turbulent 2020

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This year has been regarded by many as one of the worst years in recent memory. While it is true 2020 was a year marked by a deadly pandemic and a contentious political climate, it was also a year of progress in many areas.

Many "firsts" occurred in 2020 – from politics to entertainment to sports. In what seemed like an endless stream of bad news, there were also many historic moments.

PoliticsKamala Harris will be the

first woman vice president,

the first Black vice president, the first Asian American vice president and the first Democratic vice president from the West Coast. Dr. Jill Biden plans to continue teaching when her husband, President-elect Joe Biden, assumes office, potentially becoming the only first lady to

hold a paid job

outside the White House. Ritchie Torres, a Democratic congressional candidate from New York, was elected as the

first openly gay Black man

in Congress. Mondaire Jones became the second openly gay Black member of Congress when he was elected to the U.S. House in New York's 17th Congressional District. New Mexico became the

first state to elect all women of color

to its House delegation. Democratic incumbent Representative Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo Tribe, Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez and Republican Yvette Herrell, a member of the Cherokee nation, were all elected. Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, made history by becoming the nation's

first openly transgender state senator.

Associate Justice Martin J. Jenkins, 66, was confirmed as the state's

first openly gay

Supreme Court justice. Jenkins is also the third-ever Black man to serve on California's highest court.President-elect Joe Biden became the

first person to surpass

80 million votes in a U.S. presidential election. Greece elected its

first-ever female president,

Katerina Sakellaropoulou. SportsKim Ng was named general manager of the Miami Marlins, becoming the highest-ranking woman in baseball operations in the major leagues. She is believed to be the

first female GM

for a men's team in a major professional sport in North America, the Marlins said. Katie Sowers, an offensive assistant coach with the 49ers, became the

first female and openly gay person

to coach at the Super Bowl.

Jason Wright was announced as team president of the newly-renamed Washington Football Team – the first Black person to hold that title in NFL history. At age 38, he's also the youngest.

Vanderbilt women's soccer player Sarah Fuller made history in November as the first woman to play in a Power 5 Conference college football game, according to Vanderbilt Athletics.

For the first time in the NFL, an all-Black crew officiated the November 23 game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams.

21-year-old Chris Nikic became the

first athlete with Down syndrome

to complete an Ironman triathlon.Rachel Balkovec was hired by the New York Yankees, becoming the

first female full-time hitting coach

in a major league organization.The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their

first World Series title

since 1988.Entertainment"Parasite" became the

first non-English language film

to win best picture in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards. Bong Joon Ho's masterfully devious class satire also won best director, best international film and best screenplay.Dario Calmese became the first Black photographer to

shoot a cover of Vanity Fair

in the magazine's 106-year history. Calmese shot the cover of the July/August issue featuring actress Viola Davis.Valentina Sampaio became the

first transgender model

to appear in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. Matt James was

named "the Bachelor,"

becoming the first Black male lead in the franchise's 18-year history.Actor Niles Fitch

made Disney history

with his new role in "Secret Society of Second-Born Royals," becoming Disney's first, live-action Black prince. Hallmark Channel

released its first

Christmas movie with an LGBTQ storyline.Military President-elect Joe Biden announced retired Army General Lloyd Austin as his pick for defense secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Austin will be the

first Black man to lead the Pentagon.

Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber was named the

first Black woman

to serve as U.S. Naval Academy brigade commander. Lieutenant Madeline Swegle made history as the U.S. Navy's first Black female tactical fighter pilot, receiving her Wings of Gold

in August.

ScienceEmmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna became the first two women to ever jointly

win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Charpentier, who is French, and Doudna, an American, were awarded the prize for developing the CRISPR-cas9 genetic scissors. Scientists captured the

first direct image

of another solar system that closely resembles our own. Inventor and scientist Gitanjali Rao, 15, was named Time magazine's

first-ever "Kid of the Year."

Before 2020 comes to a close, Jupiter and Saturn will be so close that they will appear to form a "double planet" for the

first time in nearly 800 years.

U.S. and WorldWilton Gregory was named by Pope Francis the archbishop of Washington, making him the

first African American to hold the position

in the Catholic church's highest governing body.Nicholas Johnson was named

Princeton's first Black valedictorian.

In April, a new statue of

women's rights champions

Susan B. Antony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth was unveiled in New York City's Central Park —the first statue of real-life women ever erected in the park, and the park's first new monument since 1965. Jonny Kim, who served overseas as a Navy SEAL and graduated from Harvard Medical School,

became NASA's

first Korean-American astronaut at just 35 years old. Apple Inc. became the first publicly traded U.S. company in history to be

worth $2 trillion.

A ban on same-sex marriage was lifted in Costa Rica in May, nearly two years after the country's Supreme Court said banning gay marriage is unconstitutional. Two women in the country were married on national television, marking the

first legal same-sex marriage in Central America.

March 2020 was apparently the first March in nearly two decades

without a school shooting

in the U.S.Pope Francis

endorsed same-sex civil unions

for the first time as pontiff while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary "Francesco," which premiered at the Rome Film Festival in October. Margaret Keenan became the first person to

receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

The grandmother who was 90 when she got the shot, received it at University Hospital Coventry in the U.K. on December 8.