Who was the first ever chess World champion?

The first ever officially recognized world champion in chess was the Austrian chess master named Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900).

Born in Prague to moderate Jewish parents, Steinitz later moved to Vienna, Austria. He intended to be just a good a math teacher, but instead became a great chess player. Steinitz took the world title for the first time in 1886 by beating Johannes Zukertort. Later Steinitz defended his world title three times until the lost it to Emanuel Lasker in 1894. Steinitz died in New York city in 1900 leaving a prominent chess legacy.