Boston Firsts

Famous Firsts in Boston

1634	Boston Common, America's 1st Public Park
1635	Boston Latin, America's 1st Public Secondary School
1639	Post Office, America's 1st (at Richard Fairbanks' House)
1639	UFO, America's First UFO Sighting
1644	USO, America's First USO Sighting
1653	Boston Public Library, America's 1st Public Library
1690	Paper Money, 1st (Issued When Government Was Insolvent)
1704	Boston News-Letter, America's 1st Periodic Newspaper
1716	Boston Light, America's 1st Light Station / Light House
1721	Inoculation, America's 1st (Smallpox)
1757	Human Flight, America's 1st by John Childs In Bird Suit
1770	British Concession, 1st (Withdraw Troops to Castle William)
1785	Unitarian Church, America's 1st (King's Chapel)
1790	Circumnavigate Globe, America's 1st (Columbia)
1806	African Meeting House, 1st Church Built By Free Blacks
1816	Mutual Savings Bank, America's 1st (Provident)
1831	The Liberator, 1st Radical Abolitionist Newspaper
1835	Abiel Smith School, America's 1st Public School For Blacks
1845	Sewing Machine, Invented by Elias Howe
1846	Anesthetic, 1st Demonstration Ether (Mass General Hospital)
1852	Electric Fire Alarm System (Telegraphy), 1st City To Utilize
1860	Aerial Photo, America's 1st from balloon by J. W. Black
1861	Black U.S. Federal Employee, 1st, William Nell (Post Office)
1862	Organized Football Club, America's 1st
1863	Mass 54th, 1st Civil War Free Black Regiment
1875	Christmas Card, 1st American Printing by Louis Prang
1875	Telephone, Invented by Alexander Graham Bell
1897	Tremont Street Subway, America's 1st Subway
1897	Boston Marathon, America's 1st Annual Marathon
1901	Disposable Blade, Invented by K. Gillette & W. Nickerson
1903	Baseball World Series,1st, Americans (Red Sox) vs. Pirates
1909	Off-Price Store, 1st, Filene's Basement
1924	Mutual Fund, 1st (L. Sherman Adams, Mass Investors Trust)
1954	Kidney Transplant, 1st Peter Bent Brigham Hospital)
1970	Death by Air Piracy, America's 1st, with Hijacker Subdued