Firsts Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Introduction

  Acknowledgements

  A

  B

  C

  D

  E

  F

  G

  H

  I

  J

  K

  L

  M

  N

  O

  P

  Q

  R

  S

  T

  U

  V

  W

  X

  Y

  Z

  Index of Topics

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  Copyright © 2009 by Wilson Casey

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  Introduction

  History is complicated—everyone is his or her own historian, and it’s often difficult to convince people something other than what they believe is, indeed, true. In real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. You could say that with “firsts,” it’s all about definition, definition, definition.

  As a professional researcher, I was amazed at the varied stories I found around firsts. It seems that for every first I could think of—and I thought of more than 500 firsts for this book—there were numerous possible answers as to what came first. If I went to one source I thought highly reliable and then went to another I thought just as reliable, I found two entirely different scenarios. Who was first? Who was really first? That source said what? The other one said that? Is that source biased? At times, trying to find the true first was a tough call. Was Jerrie Cobb the first female astronaut? I say yes, because she successfully passed all three phases of the Mercury program tests. Others adamantly say no because she didn’t actually fly in space.

  Does this book provide the absolute definitive answers regarding firsts? Absolutely not, but every effort was made to do so. I found many myths, errors, and half-truths I had to decipher. At times, I found blatant lies from sources trying to push their hidden agendas. (Maybe next I’ll write a book debunking many historical “facts.”) The only plausible method to arrive at the true facts would be to hop in a time machine with a staff of qualified and objective bystander-experts armed with camcorders to document the historical events as they happened. As with any research, the information-gathering sources I used may contain errors that I’ve passed on, but the vast majorities of the contents of this book were derived from reliable, historical information pools and expert historians. While some of the entries do represent reasonable deductions, it’s very possible that further research into unpublished accounts of events may disclose additional data.

  Another difficulty in determining a true first is due to terminology. An airplane is an aircraft, for example, but so is a balloon; similarly, automobiles used to be called motorcycles, and motorcycles used to be called automobiles. Among other problems was the simultaneity of several variations of the same invention; the difference between the actual invention and its refinement or development, manufacture, and promotion, leading to conflicts in claims; the inaccuracy or dishonesty of some claims; and the inadequacy of many of the records accepted as documentation for the claims.

  While assembling the firsts, I quickly came to realize that often a lot of people appeared responsible for the same invention, and that nobody knew for sure who did it first. For instance, more than 100,000 patents by many different people and companies were necessary before the first automobile as we know it hit the road. Inventions that took hold of society were rarely the result of a spontaneous flash of genius by one single person. More often, they were built on previous ideas and trials, of which no exact date or individual can always be attributed.

  Most often it was either luck, curiosity, or necessity to improve something that led the inventors, trail-blazers, and other first-makers to earn a spot in this book. Of course, some were driven by sheer competition to be the first. Take for instance, Mr. Martin Cooper of Motorola. In 1973, he made the first public telephone call placed on a portable cellular phone. Who did he call? His rival, Mr. Joel Engel, at AT&T’s Bell Labs.

  Napoleon Bonaparte said, “History is nothing but a lie agreed upon.” Let me expand on Napoleon’s thoughts: “History is nothing but lies agreed upon by the people in charge at the time.” History, to me, is both truth and illusion. The same realm of thought holds true for determining a first. The credit often went to the inventor with the best publicity agent, the first to process a patent, or the first to tell his local newspaper. Many times the real first was too engrossed in his or her work to market or advertise their developments. Sadly, in many cases those passionate folks got lost in the shuffle of history, without their due credit.

  A crackpot is a person to be first with a new idea or invention—until it succeeds and then he or she is a creative genius. This book is sincerely dedicated to the real “first” innovators who did not get listed in history textbooks.

  Wilson Casey

  “Trivia” Guinness World Record Holder

  Sp
artanburg, South Carolina

  Acknowledgments

  Many people helped make this book a reality, including but not limited to: the reference librarians of the Spartanburg County Public Library, Spartanburg, SC, and especially Mr. Derrick Lawson; the response team at the organization and website of www.GotQuestions.org; the U.S. Secret Service, research department, Washington, D.C.; Mr. Loren R. Anderson, president, Snowmobile Hall of Fame, St. Germain, WI; Mr. Tony Brooks, inspirational motivator, Oak Island, NC; Mr. Deane Brown, retired teacher, Spartanburg, SC; Ms. Nikki Busch, grants and reference librarian, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI; my mother, the late Helen L. Casey, possessor of great literary talent and so much more, Woodruff, SC; Mr. Marc A. Catone, writer, www.groups.google.com/group/1960s, Ithaca, NY; Mr. Andy Clark, director of Flea Circus Research Library, London, England; Mr. Paul Dinas and Ms. Christy Wagner, editors at Alpha Books, New York City and Indianapolis; Mr. Peter Doyle, MENSA member, Widnes, Lancashire, England; Mr. Peter Elliott, senior keeper, Royal Air Force Museum, London, England; Mr. Dave Evans, Director Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), Bethesda, MD; Mr. Tom Genova, owner, www.tvhistory.tv, Dearborn, MI; Ms. Jane Holeman of www.kitefestival.com and Ms. Kay Buesing of www.worldkitemuseum.com, Long Beach, WA; Ms. Connie Hollar and Ms. Colleen Casey, special research assistants, Spartanburg, SC; Mr. Jean Jergensen, executive director, and Mr. Paul Peinado, communications coordinator, World Lottery Association, Basel, Switzerland; the late Mr. Glenn Kennington, sports researcher, Spartanburg, SC; Mrs. Karen Lawrence, vice president, Cat Fanciers’ Association Foundation, Inc., Manasquan, NJ; Mr. Jona Lendering, researcher, www.Livius.org, Amsterdam, Holland; Mr. Morten Lund, founding editor, Skiing Heritage, Accord, NY; Mr. Mike Mangus, historical editor, www.ohiohistorycentral.org, Columbus, OH; Mr. Robert Marvy, William Marvy company, Inc., St. Paul, MN; Ms. Lynne Olver, editor the Food Timeline, www.foodtimeline.org, Randolph, NJ; Ms. Christina Ratliff, Potter’s Wax Museum, St. Augustine, FL; Mr. Bruton Redding, researcher assistant, Spartanburg, SC; Ms. Rita Rosenkranz, literary agent, New York City; Ms. Meredith Semones, librarian, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL; Ms. Janice Stillman, editor of the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Dublin, NH; Mr. Larry Thompson, chief of communication, and Dr. Thierry Vilboux, Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD; Dr. Deno Trakas and Dr. Vivian Fisher (retired) of the English Department, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC; Ms. Alejandra Vergara, project coordinator, World Lottery Association, Montreal, Canada; and Ms. Amanda Forchilli, Office of New York State Professions, Albany, New York.

  Finally, I wish to add a special thanks to all those not listed who gave so unselfishly of themselves. I shall always value their friendship, wise counsel, and generosity.

  #

  3-D Movie

  On September 27, 1922, the earliest confirmed three-dimensional (3-D) film, The Power of Love, premiered at the Ambassador Hotel Theater in Los Angeles. The approximately 1-hour film starred Eliot Sparling, Barbara Bedford, Noah Beery, Aileen Manning, Albert Prisco, and John Herdman. The invited audience of “200 scientists, photographers, motion-picture experts, and newspaper men,” according to Popular Mechanics magazine, wore anaglyph (3-D) glasses and continually applauded throughout the film, although a glare marred the experience for many viewers.

  24-Hour Store

  Few seem to agree on the first 24-hour store, except to say that a store by definition offers services and/or goods in a retail environment. In the summer of 1876, Al Swearingen opened the Gem Saloon and Dance Hall in Deadwood, South Dakota. To accommodate the onslaught of treasure-seekers rushing into the area hoping to strike and find gold, Swearingen’s all-in-one bar, saloon, shop, gambling parlor, eatery, and house of ill repute regularly stayed open 24 hours, never closing to paying patrons or “store” customers. The following spring 1877, he expanded operations to the Gem Theatre and offered all-night stage shows.

  911 System

  The first 911 call was placed on February 16, 1968, in Haleyville, Alabama. It was made as a successful test call by the Alabama Speaker of the House, Rankin Fite, and answered by Congressman Tom Bevill. The ability to dial a single number to report emergencies was now a reality. This new emergency number had to be three numbers that were not in use as the first three numbers of any phone number or area code in the United States or Canada. The Federal Trade Commission along with AT&T originally announced plans to build the first 911 system in Huntington, Indiana. Bob Gallagher, president of Alabama Telephone, was annoyed that the independent phone industry had not been consulted first. Gallagher decided to beat AT&T to the punch and have the first 911 emergency service built in Alabama.

  1,000-Game-Winning Division I Basketball Coach

  On February 5, 2009, in Knoxville, Tennessee, Pat Summit of the University of Tennessee became the first Division I basketball coach, men’s or women’s, to win 1,000 career games. She coached her Lady Volunteers (or Vols) to a 73-43 victory over the University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs for her 1,000th career win. Coach Summit began coaching in 1974 and reached the victory milestone with all 1,000 wins at the same school. She has also coached her teams to 8 national championships, and may accomplish more.

  A

  Adhesive Tape

  The world’s first adhesive tape (now known as masking tape) was invented in 1925 by Richard G. Drew and his researchers at the 3M Company in Minnesota. This first adhesive tape was easily removed and, therefore, perfect to help autoworkers paint straight lines and make clean dividing lines on two-color paint jobs. The tape was sticky only around the sides, not in the middle. It was a 2-inch-wide tan paper strip backed with a light, pressure-sensitive adhesive.

  Advertising Agency

  The world’s first advertising agency, the William Tayler Agency, was founded by British businessman William Tayler in London, England, in 1785 or 1786. Tayler kept lists, files, and records of newspapers in his area, and not only acted as a newspaper agent but also an agent to the country printers and booksellers by taking in advertisements, including full-page-size, for city businesses. Tayler guided the ad placements in various print mediums and London directories. When he conducted business for a negotiable but minimal handling fee, the first advertising agency’s commission was accepted.

  Advertising Jingle

  Product advertisements with a musical tilt can be traced back to the 1920s, around the same time commercial radio came to the public. General Mills aired the world’s first singing commercial jingle, “Have You Tried Wheaties?” as a radio spot on Christmas Eve 1926 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, area. It featured four male singers, contained several lines of copy, and ended with, “So just try Wheaties, the best breakfast food in the land!” The jingle was an absolute sensation, and the singers were christened as “The Wheaties Quartet.” General Mills went on to purchase nationwide commercial time for the catchy advertisement, and that first advertising jingle saved an otherwise failing brand of cereal.

  Advice Column

  “Dear Beatrice Fairfax” premiered on July 20, 1898, in the New York Evening Journal as the first “advice to the lovelorn” column. It was spearheaded by Marie Manning, who worked with two other women in what was known as the publication’s “Hen Coop.” The three had created the women’s page, and one day in 1898, editor Arthur Brisbane brought them three letters from readers seeking advice about personal problems. Manning suggested a new column exclusively devoted to dispensing personal advice. Both she and Brisbane agreed that a pen name was in order. Marie Manning suggested “Beatrice Fairfax,” after Dante’s Beatrice and the Manning family’s country place in Fairfax County, Virginia. That first advice column served as the staging ground for the later nationally syndicated sister act of Esther and Pauline Friedman, better known as “Ann Landers” and “Dear Abby” for a significant part of their long and successful careers.

  Aerosol Spray

  In 1926, Norwegian inventor Eric Rotheim discovered that a liquid could be housed in and sprayed from
an aluminum can injected with a pressure-building gas or liquid. Rotheim’s pressurized container had a valve with a lever that, when pressed, released the liquid contents. But it was Julian Seth Kahn of New York City who received a patent for the first reusable spray can on August 22, 1939, for an “apparatus for mixing a liquid with gas.” Kahn’s spray can of 1939 was equipped with an inexpensive reusable valve mechanism that, under controlled pressure, could dispense such items as insecticides, paints, and even whip cream through a constricted opening. It was the predecessor of the modern aerosol spray can.

  African American Political Party National Chairman

  On January 30, 2009, Michael Steele, a former Maryland lieutenant governor, was chosen as national chairman of the Republican Party to serve a 2-year term. He clinched the inner-party election with 91 votes (a majority of 85 committee members was needed). The Republicans chose Steele over four other candidates, and Steele replaced former chairman Mike Duncan. Previously, Steele had been the first African American elected to statewide office in Maryland in 2002. He is an attorney by trade.

  African American President of the United States

  On January 20, 2009, Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States at the 56th Presidential Inaugural in Washington, D.C. Obama was born August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya, and his Caucasian mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Obama’s parents separated when he was 2 years old and later divorced. The Democrat senator from Chicago, Illinois, was elected president on November 4, 2008. Obama and his wife, the former Michelle Robinson, have two daughters, Malia and Natasha (Sasha).