Who was the first Asian person to be awarded a Nobel Prize?

Introduction / Context:
The Nobel Prizes are internationally recognised awards for outstanding work in fields such as peace, literature, physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and economic sciences. Questions about the first Nobel Prize winner from a particular region are frequent in competitive exams. Here, the focus is on the first Nobel laureate from Asia.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The award is the Nobel Prize.
• The region of interest is Asia.
• Options include Mother Teresa, Rabindranath Tagore, C.V. Raman, and a None of these option.

Concept / Approach:
Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet, philosopher and writer, became the first Asian to receive a Nobel Prize when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his work Gitanjali and related writings. Mother Teresa and C.V. Raman are also Nobel laureates connected to India, but both received their awards later, and Tagore came before them chronologically.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the question asks specifically for the first Asian Nobel Prize winner, not the first Indian in a particular category. Step 2: Recall that Tagore received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Step 3: Remember that Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize in the late twentieth century and C.V. Raman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. Step 4: Since 1913 is earlier than the other dates, select Rabindranath Tagore as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can cross check in your memory that Asia did not have any Nobel laureate before 1913. Tagore is widely celebrated across exam material as the first Asian Nobel laureate, reinforcing the correctness of this choice.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Mother Teresa: She did win a Nobel Prize for Peace, but much later, and therefore cannot be the first Asian laureate.
• C.V. Raman: An Indian physicist and Nobel Prize winner, but his award came in 1930, after Tagore.
• None of these: Incorrect because one of the listed personalities, Rabindranath Tagore, is indeed the correct first Asian Nobel laureate.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes mix up categories and years, or recall Mother Teresa more easily due to modern media coverage and humanitarian work, then mistakenly pick her as the first. Always associate the first Asian Nobel Prize with Rabindranath Tagore, literature and the year 1913.

Final Answer:
The first Asian to receive a Nobel Prize was Rabindranath Tagore.