The University of Hong Kong — Firsts and Superlatives

Module: 00 Overview · Sub-file: Firsts and superlatives This section gathers HKU's verifiable "firsts" and "superlatives", each with its source attached. A note on framing: statements of "the most/best/first" are sensitive to timeframes and comparability; wherever "the only in Hong Kong / the earliest in Hong Kong" is claimed, the source and the qualifying scope are stated, to avoid overstatement. Ranking-based superlatives are dated by the year of their official release.

# 1. Historical firsts

# 2. "Only"/"first" in disciplines and institutional structure

# 3. "Firsts" among people

# 4. Ranking superlatives (2026 edition)

For broader cross-university comparison and year-on-year trends, see ../03-rankings/; this section only captures the "superlative" positions.

# 5. Size "superlatives" (scope-dependent)

# Not found / not applicable

• Nobel laureates "on staff" superlative: HKU has in recent years employed Nobel laureates as distinguished professors (see ../04-research/ and ../06-people/), but the counting basis for "affiliated Nobel laureates" (alumni / faculty / visitors) varies, so this page makes no "superlative" claim; details live in the research and people modules.
• Narrower "firsts", such as "the first research institute in Hong Kong" or "the first [discipline] department in Hong Kong": some require verification against individual faculty histories; this page only includes claims clearly supported by official or academic sources; anything not yet verified is flagged as "to be checked against faculty histories".