Who discovered the first asteroid and when?

The discovery of the first asteroid is attributed to Guiseppe Piazi, who identified it in 1801. Piazi discovered the asteroid Ceres, which was classified as a planet at the time. This significant finding marked the beginning of the study of asteroids in our solar system. The naming of Ceres followed the tradition of naming celestial bodies after Roman or Greek deities, as Ceres is named after the Roman goddess of agriculture.

The context around this time is crucial as well; following Piazi's discovery, many more asteroids were subsequently identified, leading to a new understanding of the solar system's structure. This also paved the way for further astronomical discoveries and classifications.

In contrast, the other individuals listed were influential in various fields or had notable achievements, but they are not associated with the discovery of asteroids. Sir Edmund Halley's contributions were primarily in the field of comet studies, while Einstein is well-known for his theories of relativity but did not discover asteroids. Theodore von Kármán made significant contributions to aeronautics and astronautics, but not to the field of asteroid discovery.