Random Firsts

The first vacuum flask was made by Sir James Dewar in 1892

The first drinking straw was designed by Marvin Chester Stone in 1886

The first Microwave oven was developed by Percy Spencer in 1945

The first use of Ether as an anaesthetic was in 1842 by Crawford Williamson Long

The first use of Chloroform as an anaesthetic was in 1847 by James Simpson

And in 1884 Josef Brettauer was the first to use Cocaine as a local anaesthetic, while performing an eye operation.

1890 – William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed using the electric chair.

1787 – British convicts are transported to Australia for the first time.

1611 – Mary Frith, a.k.a. Moll Cutpurse, becomes the first woman to be arrested for wearing men’s clothes.

1875 – Matthew Webb became the first person to swim the English Channel

1926 – Gertrude Ederle became the first female to swim the English Channel

1961 – Antonio Albertondo became the first person to swim a non stop double crossing of the English Channel

1981 – Jon Erikson became the first person to swim a non stop triple crossing of the English Channel

1558 – The first recorded doll’s house is made for Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria

1902 – Morris Michtom markets the first stuffed toy bear with moveable limbs.

1959 – Mattel launches Barbie, the first children’s doll to have an adult physiology.

1964 – Hasbro launches GI Joe, the first doll to have a target market of boys (Action Man in the UK)

1564 – Gabriele Falloppius provides the first written reference to a (linen!!) condom.

1881 – The first birth control clinic opens in Holland. They advocate the use of the diaphragm, hence Dutch Cap.

1928 – Ernst Grafenburg develops the first contraceptive coil

1957 – Durex introduce the first lubricated condom

1960 – Envoid 10 becomes the first approved commercially available contraceptive pill.

1714 – Henry Mill is granted the first patent for a typewriter

1871 – The QWERTY keyboard is introduced.

1883 – Lewis E Waterman introduced the first fountain pen.

1938 – Laszlo Biro patents the first ballpoint pen

1978 – Gillette invents the first erasable ballpoint pen, known as the eraser mate.

1859 Charles Blondin makes first crossing of Niagara Falls on a tightrope

1901 Annie Edson Taylor becomes first person to go over the Niagara Falls and survive

1989 Peter de Bernardi and Jeffrey Petkovitch become first people to go over the Niagara Falls together.

1872 – First FA Cup final. Wanderers beat Royal Engineers 1-0

1872 – First ever international match. England Drew 0-0 with Scotland

1908 – First Charity Shield. Manchester United beat QPR 4-0 after a 1-1 draw.

1930 – First World Cup Final. Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2.

1956 – First European Cup Final. Real Madrid beat Reims 4-3.

1960 – First European Championships Final. USSR beat Yugoslavia 2-1.

1961 – First League Cup Final. Aston Villa beat Rotherham 3-2 on Aggregate.

1797 – First Top Hat produced

1848 – First Bowler Hat produced

1850 – First Jeans Produced

1852 – First Cardigan made

1865 – First Wellington Boots put on the market

1886 – First Dinner Jacket made

1942 – T-Shirts introduced by the US Navy

1946 – First Bikini made.

1824 – First Gas Grill Developed

1889 – First Electric oven produced

1945 – First Microwave Oven introduces

1901 The first Nobel prize awarded.

1902 Sir Ronald Ross becomes the first Briton to win a Nobel prize

1903 Marie Curie becomes the first female to win a Nobel prize

1911 Marie Curie becomes the first person to win two Nobel prizes

1962 Linus Pauling becomes the first person to win Nobel prizes in two different categories.

c6400 BC King Gyges of Lydia (Turkey) issues the first stamped coins

c650 BC Emperor Yung hue (china) issues first paper money.

1661 The Riksbank of Stockholm issues the world's first banknotes.

1772 Robert Herries issues the first Traveller's Cheques.

1967 Barclays Bank installs the first cash dispenser in its Enfield branch.

1950 Frank McNamara launches the Diners Club card, the world's first charge card.

1958 The Bank of America in California launches the BankAmericard, the world's first credit card (Later known as Visa)

1966 Barclays Bank launches Barclaycard, Britain's first credit card.

1590 Hans & Zacharias Janssen build the first microscope

1608 Hans Lippershey makes the first official telescope

1668 Sir Isaac Newton builds the first reflecting telescope

1931 Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll develop the first electron microscope.

1937 Grota Reber builds the first radio telescope

1848 WH Smith & Son became the world's first chain store.

1855 The first plastic was patented by Alexander Parkes.

1926 Erik Rotheim patented the aerosol as a means of dispensing.

1974 The first ever item to be sold with a bar code on was a packet of Wrigley's chewing gum.

1849 The Safety pin was patented by Walter Hunt

1913 The brillo pad was patented by Brady & Ludwig

1916 False eyelashes were used for the first time by Seena Owen in the film Intolerance

1948 The first disposable nappy was sold.

1597 The first opera, Dafne was composed and performed

1772 The first circus was developed by Philip Astley in London

1884 The first rollercoaster was built at Coney Island by LA Thompson

1893 The first Ferris wheel was designed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr in Chicago

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