Baltimore, Maryland Firsts
1772: First umbrella used in the United States manufactured in India.
1774: First Post Office system in the U.S. inaugurated by William Goddard.
1778: First Independent Corps in the Revolutionary army organized by Count Pulaski.
1784: First U.S. balloon ascension in this country by Edward Warren in vicinity of the area now occupied by the Washington Monument.
1784: First Methodist Church in America established Lovely Lane Meeting House, which is located at St. Paul and 22nd Streets, and is now called Lovely Lane Methodist Church.
1784: First Methodist Bishop in this country: Rev. Francis Asury.
1789: First church conference of United Brethren in the U.S. at Otterbein Church, Conway and Sharp Streets.
1789: First Roman Catholic Bishop in the U.S.: Father J. Carroll.
1791: First Roman Catholic seminary in the U.S.: St. Mary's.
1792: First U.S. Monument to Columbus. Presently located on Harford Road between Walther Boulevard and Argonne Drive in Herring Run Park.
1797: First station using flag semaphore in this country: Captain David Porter, Sr.
1800: First investment banking house in America founded by Alexander Brown.
1804: First stationer in the U.S.: Lucas Brothers.
1808: First U.S. Army horse artillery in the U.S. formed at Fort McHenry.
1811: First to import and package tea in America: Marin Gillet and Company.
1814: First printing of the Star Spangled Banner in the United States by Samuel Sands.
1815: First existing makers of silverware in this country: Samuel Kirk.
1815: First formal monument to George Washington in the U.S.: Mt. Vernon Place completed July 4, 1829.
1816: First U.S. manufacturer of gas: Rembrandt Peale.
1817: First gaslight company in country chartered.
1819: First agricultural publication in the U.S.: The American Farmer, John Skinner, editor.
1819: First Odd Fellows Lodge in America at Fell's Point by Thomas Wildery, father of Odd Fellowship in the U.S.
1821: First U.S. Catholic Cathedral: the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption.
1827: First public carrier railway in the U.S.: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
1828: First American umbrella factory in the U.S.
1829: First U.S. Negro religious order in America: Oblate Sisters of Providence, 5 St. Mary's Court.
1829: First ribbon from American silk in this country: National Silk Society.
1830: First railroad depot in the U.S.: Pratt and Poppleton Streets.
1831: First National Nominating Conventions for President in the U.S.
1838: First iron steamboat built in this country.
1839: First dental college in the world: Baltimore College of Dental Surgery.
1840: First steam boating in the U.S.: Baltimore Steam Packet Company (Old Bay Line).
1842: First Jewish Congregation founded on Reform principles in this country: Hai Sinai Congregation.
1844: First telegraph line in the U.S.: Samuel Morse between Washington and Baltimore.
1844: First publicly supported high schools for girls: Eastern High School and Western High School.
1845: First Order of Christian Brothers in the U.S.: Calvert Hall College.
1851: First commercial ice cream factory in America: Jacob Russell.
1854: First Jewish Community center in the U.S.
1859: First YMCA erected in America: Pierce and Schroeder Streets.
1867: First pediatrician and gynecologist in the U.S.: Dr. Wm. T. Howard, University of Maryland.
1875: First monument to Edgar Allan Poe in the U.S.
1883: Invention of the typesetting machine: Ottmor Mergenthaler.
1883: First vocational school in the country: Polytechnic.
1885: First commercial electric car line in the Western Hemisphere.
1892: First bottle cap in the U.S.: William Painter.
1983: First elevated electric railway in the U.S.
1895: First U.S. Catholic College for women: College of Notre Dame of Maryland.
1897: First practical submarine in America: “Argonaut” constructed by Simon Lake.
1897: First country day school in the U.S., now Gilman Country School.
1899: First visiting nurses for TB patients in the U.S.: two Johns Hopkins medical students.
1901: First woman professor at medical school in the U.S.: Dr. Florence Rena Sabin, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
1916: First city municipal symphony orchestra in the country.
1921: First rehabilitation school for war veterans established at Fort McHenry.
1928: First traffic-actuated traffic signal in the world: invented by Charles Adler Jr. and placed at Belvedere Avenue and Falls Road.
1931: First outdoor polo game at night: Homewood Field, July 2.
1979: First scheduled water taxi transportation system in the country.
Baltimore's World Trade Center is the world's tallest five-sided building.
Address: Baltimore Convention and Visitors Association, 100 Light Street, 12th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202;
410-659-7071; 877-Baltimore. Web: http://www.baltimore.org.
