Hard rock climbs - First routes of each grade

bold = first route of that grade or higher. Other well-known routes (or hardest in the US or Yosemite) are listed for reference.

6a- (5.9, DDR VIIb)	1906	Teufelsturm	Elbsandstein	Oliver Perry-Smith, W. Huenig, Rudolf Fehrmann Note: another grade VIIb was done a few days earlier, but this is the more famous route.
6a+ (5.10a, DDR VIIc)	9/1910	Kreutzturm, Suedriss	Elbsandstein	Max Matthaeus
4A or 4B (5.8/5.9)	1914	Prestat	Fontainbleau	Jacque de Lepiney highball boulder problem
5c? (5.8)	1937	Mechanic's Route	Tahquitz	Dick Jones, Glen Dawson
6b (5.10b/c/d)	1938	?	Fontainbleau	Pierre Allain
6b (5.10c)	1949	Goodro's Crack	Wasatch (UT)	Harold Goodro
6a- (5.9)	1952	Open Book	Tahquitz	Royal Robbins, Don Wilson
7C (5.13d?, V9)	1959	Red Cross Overhang (original dynamic style)	Jenny Lake, Tetons	John Gill maybe too short to be considered (3-4 moves).
6b (5.10)	1959	Bastille Direct Start	Eldorado	Ray Northcutt
6b (5.10)	1960	The Blank	Tahquitz	Tom Frost, Bob Kamps
6b (5.10)	1960	Rixon's East Chimney	Yosemite	Royal Robbins, Dave Rearick
6b (5.10)	1961	Crack of Doom	Yosemite	Chuck Pratt, Mort Hempel
7A (5.12c, V5)	1961	Thimble, North Face	Needles (SD)	John Gill 30' high.
6c+ (5.11)	1964	bouldering?	Shawangunks (NY)	Larsen, Williams
6c+ (5.11)	1965	Son of Great Chimney	Devil's Lake (WI)	Pete Cleveland
6c/7a (5.11d R)	1967	Superpin	Needles	Pete Cleveland
7c (5.12d, toprope)	1969	Bagatelle	Devil's Lake	Pete Cleveland
7a (5.11d)	1970	Foops	Shawangunks	John Stannard
7b (5.12b)	1972	Kansas City	Shawangunks	John Bragg
7b (5.12)	1973	Paisano Overhang	Suicide Rock	John Long
6c+ (5.11c)	1973	Butterballs	Yosemite	Henry Barber
7b+ (5.12c)	1974	Supercrack	Shawangunks	Steve Wunsch
7a (5.11d)	1974	Overhang Overpass	Yosemite	Jim Donini
8B (5.13d+?, V13)	1975	Trice (AHR)	Flagstaff Mtn. (CO)	Jim Holloway maybe too short to be considered.
7a+ (5.12a)	1975	Hot Line	Yosemite	Ron Kauk, John Bachar
7b (5.12b)	1975	Fish Crack	Yosemite	Henry Barber
7c+ (5.13a)	1977	The Phoenix	Yosemite	Ray Jardine
7c+/8a (5.13a/b)	1977	Phlogiston	Devil's Lake	Pete Cleveland
8a/8a+ (5.13b/c)	1979	Grand Illusion	Sugarloaf (CA)	Tony Yaniro
8a (5.13b)	1980	Cosmic Debris	Yosemite	Bill Price
8b (5.13d)	1984	Kanal im Rucken	Altmuehltal	Wolfgang Gullich
8b+/8c (5.14a/b)	1985	Punks in the Gym	Mt. Arapiles	Wolfgang Gullich
8b+ (5.14a)	1986	Ghetto Blaster	Frankenjura	Wolfgang Gullich
8b+ (5.14a)	1986	La Rage de Vivre	Buoux	Antoine Le Menestral
8c (5.14b)	1987	Wallstreet	Frankenjura	Wolfgang Gullich
8c+ (5.14c)	1990	Hubble	Raven Tor	Ben Moon
9a (5.14d)	1991	Action Directe	Frankenjura	Wolfgang Gullich
9b (5.15b?) rating unverified	1995	Akira	Charente	Fred Rouhling
9a+ (5.15a?) rating unverified	1998	Orujo	Malaga	Bernabe Fernandes
9a+ (5.15a?) rating unverified	2001	Realization	Ceuse	Chris Sharma

Sources

Fabio Palma's list
James ____'s list (in French)
8a.nu
ratings conversion table
Ament, Pat A History of Free Climbing in America: Wizards of the Rock, 2002
Godfrey, Bob and Chelton, Dudley, Climb!, 1977, p.90
List of first 5.10s in Colorado, Tahquitz, and Yosemite.
Hasse, Dietrich, Wiege des Freikletterns, 2000 (cited by klk on supertopo.com)
Meyers, George, and Reid, Don, Yosemite Climbs, 1987
Sherman, John, "Hot Flashes" Climbing 128, 1991, p.40
Info on Jim Holloway's climbs, no doubt also included in his Stone Crusade book.
Thorington, J. Monroe, "Oliver Perry-Smith: Portrait of a Mountaineer," AAJ, 1964
Werntz, Brad, "Pete Cleveland: The Alchemist," Climbing 128, 1991
Zak, Heinz and Gullich, Wolfgang, High Life: Sportklettern Weltweit, 1988
Ratings table, dates for Gullich's climbs

rev. 5/2009, orig. 2/2003, Clint Cummins clint@stanford.edu