From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of firsts achieved in
Province of Pennsylvania during the
colonial era and, following the
American Revolution , the U.S. state of
Pennsylvania .
Firsts
17th century
18th century
1731 — First subscription library in the United States,
Library Company of Philadelphia , founded by
Benjamin Franklin
[2]
1732 — First social club in the English-speaking world, the
Schuylkill Fishing Company of the State in Schuylkill, Philadelphia
[3]
1743 — First institution devoted to science, the
American Philosophical Society , Philadelphia
[4]
1748 — First dancing organization in America, the
Dancing Assemblies of Philadelphia
1748 — First
Lutheran church body in North America, the
Pennsylvania Ministerium
[5]
1751 — First hospital in America, the
Pennsylvania Hospital
[6]
1754 — First (and only)[
failed verification ] surrender by
George Washington ,
Fort Necessity
[7]
1762 — First lectures on
anatomy in North America, Dr.
William Shippen , Philadelphia
[8]
1765 — First medical school,
University of Pennsylvania Medical School , which made Penn the first educational institution to become a university in the United States, Philadelphia
[9]
1766 — First organized hunting club in America, the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club near Philadelphia
1774 — First continuously serving unit in the United States military, the
First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
1775 — Continental Marines founded,
Tun Tavern , Philadelphia; now known as
U.S. Marine Corps
[10]
1777 — First United States Capital,
Philadelphia . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the first capital under the First Continental Congress from September 5, 1774 to October 24, 1774. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the first capital under the Articles of Confederation from March 1, 1781 to June 21, 1783
[11]
[12]
1780 — First abolition law, while the state capital was in Philadelphia
[13]
1784 — First successful daily newspaper,
The Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser , Philadelphia
[14]
1786 — First vessel ever moved by steam,
Delaware River at Philadelphia, by
John Fitch
[15]
1790 — First stock exchange in America, Philadelphia
[16]
1792 — First
United States Mint , Philadelphia
[17]
1794 — First African Methodist Episcopal church,
Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church , Philadelphia
[18]
1795 — First
turnpike in the United States,
Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike
[14]
1796 — First
suspension bridge ,
Uniontown by
James Finley
[19]
19th century
1805 — First art institution in the United States, the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts ,
Philadelphia
[20]
1805 — First covered bridge in the U.S., the
Market Street Bridge (a.k.a. "the Permanent Bridge"), Philadelphia
1809 — First theater in the U.S.,
Walnut Street Theatre , Philadelphia
1816 — First wire cable suspension bridge, near Philadelphia, by
Josiah White and
Erskine Hazard
[19]
1821 — First pharmacy school,
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (now part of the
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia )
[21]
1845 — First T-rail rolled in the U.S.,
Danville
1848 — First and only visual arts college for women in the United States,
Moore College of Art & Design , Philadelphia
[22]
1856 — First national convention for the
Republican Party ,
Musical Fund Hall , Philadelphia
1859 — First grand opera house in the United States still used for its original purpose, the Academy of Music, Philadelphia
1859 — First successful oil well,
Titusville (
Edwin L. Drake )
[23]
1861 — First pretzel factory,
Julius Sturgis ,
Lititz
[24]
1863 — First
Civil War battle north of the
Mason–Dixon line ,
Hanover ,
J.E.B. Stuart vs.
George Armstrong Custer
1866 — First mill in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to the process of making
steel ,
Steelton Plant , near
Harrisburg
[25]
1873 — First Roller Coaster,
Jim Thorpe
[26]
1874 — First
zoo , Philadelphia (chartered in 1859)
[27]
1876 — First World's Fair in the United States, the
Centennial Exposition , Philadelphia
1877 — First department store opened,
Wanamaker's , Philadelphia
1879 — First non-reservation school for
Native Americans ,
Carlisle ,
Carlisle Indian School
1881 — First community illuminated by electricity,
Philipsburg
1881 — First
business school in the United States,
Wharton School
[28]
1883 — First successful three-wire electric lighting system,
Sunbury
1884 — First taxi service, Philadelphia; First Ukrainian Greek Catholic church in the Western Hemisphere, Shenandoah.
20th century
1901 — First
escalator in the U.S., Philadelphia
1903 — First
World Series , Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh Pirates vs
Boston Red Sox
1913 — First coast-to-coast highway,
Lincoln Highway
1919 — First
Thanksgiving Day Parade, Philadelphia
1920 — First commercial radio station,
KDKA (AM) (Pittsburgh)
[14]
1922 — First municipal airport,
Clarion , Parker D. Cramer airfield
1922 — First women (eight, including
Martha Gibbons Thomas ) elected to serve in the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
1924 — First woman to serve as Speaker of a State House of Representatives,
Alice M. Bentley
1932 — First totally air conditioned building, Philadelphia,
PSFS Building
1933 — First American-born
bishop of the
Eastern Orthodox Church , September 10, 1933, consecration of
Benjamin (Basalyga) of
Olyphant
1933 — First baseball stadium built for a Black team, Pittsburgh,
Greenlee Stadium
1933 — First African-American woman to be elected a State Legislator,
Crystal Bird Fauset
1939 — First
Little League Baseball game, June 6,
Williamsport .
1946 — First large-scale, electronic, digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems,
ENIAC , at
The University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia
1947 — First
Little League World Series , Williamsport.
1948 — First
cable television system,
Mahanoy City
1952 — First indoor zoo -
National Aviary , Pittsburgh
1957 — First American commercial nuclear generator,
Shippingport Atomic Power Station
1970 — First African American female Secretary of State,
Dr. C. DeLores Tucker , appointed under Gov.
Milton Shapp
1974 — First successful
conjoined twin separation, Philadelphia,
Clara and Altagracia Rodriguez , at
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
1976 — First automotive bridge to be named for a woman,
Betsy Ross Bridge , Philadelphia
1976 — First museum for young children, The "
Please Touch Museum for Children" in Philadelphia
1977 — First African-American to serve as speaker of a state House of Representatives,
K. Leroy Irvis of Pittsburgh
1999 — First
license plate with a
web site address
[29]
21st century
2003 — First Secretary of the
Department of Homeland Security , January 24, 2003,
Tom Ridge
2003 — First Puerto Rican Secretary of State in the United States, outside of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, April 2, 2003,
Pedro A. Cortés
2003 — First confirmed Latino Cabinet member, April 2, 2003,
Pedro A. Cortés
2021 — First openly transgender four-star officer in the nation's
eight uniformed services ,
Rachel Levine .
[30]
References
^
"Christianity and Slavery" . Religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 2013-12-02 .
^ Wolf, Edwin (1976).
At the Instance of Benjamin Franklin: A Brief History of the Library Company of Philadelphia (PDF) . Philadelphia: The Library Company of Philadelphia.
ISBN
0-914076-73-6 .
^ [ Displaying Abstract ] (2012-06-10).
"The New York Times : "Oldest Dining Club in the World" (January 15, 1905)" . New York Times . Retrieved 2013-12-02 .
^
"American Philosophical Society" . Amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2013-12-02 .
^
Eric W. Gritsch , A History of Lutheranism, (Minneapolis:Fortress Press, 2002) p.175.
^
"About Penn Medicine: History" . Penn Medicine. Retrieved December 5, 2017 .
^
"George Washington biography" . Mountvernon.org. Archived from
the original on 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2013-12-02 .
^
"William Shippen, Jr. (1736-1808)" . Archived from
the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2016 .
^
"John Morgan (1735-1789)" . Archived from
the original on July 3, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2015 .
^
"USMC Heritage" . Usmcpress.com. Retrieved 2013-12-02 .
^
"CITY OF PHILADELPHIA" (PDF) . Med.upenn.edu. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2015-02-25 .
^ Cecil Adams (2004-12-10).
"York, Pennsylvania: First capital of the United States?" . The Straight Dope. Retrieved 2013-12-02 .
^
"An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery.(1)" . Archived from
the original on September 23, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2016 .
^
a
b
c
[1]
Archived September 11, 2006, at the
Wayback Machine
^
"Life of John Fitch : the inventor of the steam-boat" . Archived from
the original on September 13, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2016 .
^
"Page Not Available" . Phlx.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015 .
^
"U.S. Mint" . Ushistory.org. Retrieved 2013-12-02 .
^
[2]
Archived January 4, 2006, at the
Wayback Machine
^
a
b
"Context for World Heritage Bridges" . Archived from
the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2016 .
^
"Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts" . Archived from
the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2016 .
^
"About USP" . Usip.edu. 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2013-12-02 .
^
"Moore College of Art & Design – Mission & History" . moore.edu .
^
"Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1896" .
World Digital Library . 1896. Retrieved 2013-07-16 .
^
"Sturgis Pretzel House" . Albright.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-02 .
^
[3]
Archived February 19, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
^
"Early Years in America | Roller Coaster History" . Ultimaterollercoaster.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29 .
^
"About the Philadelphia Zoo" . Philadelphia Zoo. Retrieved April 30, 2015 .
^
"About Wharton" . The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved April 30, 2015 .
^
[4] [
dead link ]
^ Diamond, Dan (2021-10-19).
"Rachel Levine, openly transgender health official, to be sworn in as four-star admiral in Public Health Service" . Washington Post .
ISSN
0190-8286 . Retrieved 2021-10-19 .