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"Baltimore – A City of Firsts" (from the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association)
One of Baltimore's many nicknames is "City of Firsts," for its nearly one hundred instances of first events in the US

1743: First professional sports organization in the United States - Maryland Jockey Club


1772: First umbrella used in the United States manufactured in India (see 1828 for first umbrella manufactured in Baltimore)

1774: First Post Office system in the U.S. inaugurated by William Goddard

1778: First Independent Corps in the Revolutionary War 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: Methodist Church in America established Lovely Lane Meeting House.

1789: First Roman Catholic Bishop in the U.S.: Father J. Carroll and

1791: First Roman Catholic seminary in the U.S.

1792: First U.S. Monument to Columbus.

1797: First station using flag semaphore in this country: Captain David Porter, Sr.

1797: First US war ship to capture an enemy vessel - Constellation

1800: First investment banking house in America founded by Alexander Brown.

1804: First stationer in the U.S.: Lucas Brothers, Inc.

1808: First U.S. Army horse artillery in the U.S formed at Fort McHenry.

1811: First to import and package tea in America.

1814: Birthplace and first printing of the Star Spangled Banner in the United States

1815: First existing makers of silverware in this country.

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 (hydrogen) &

1817: First gaslight company in country chartered

1819: First agricultural publication in the U.S.: The American Farmer

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 &

1830: First railroad depot in the U.S.

1828: First American umbrella factory in the U.S.

1829: First U.S. African-American religious order in America: Oblate Sisters of Providence

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 (part of University of Maryland Baltimore)

 

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

1854: First Jewish Community Center in the U.S.

1856: First elevator to use electric power.

1859: First YMCA erected in America

1867: First pediatrician and gynecologist in the U.S.: University of Maryland Medicine

1875: First monument to Edgar Allan Poe in the U.S.

1878: First animal welfare association - American Humane Society

1879: First synthetic sweetening agent - Saccharine, developed at Johns Hopkins University

1883: Invention of the typesetting machine

1883: First vocational school in the country

1885: First Commercial electric car line in the Western Hemisphere

1891: First commercial stomach antacid seltzer - Bromo-Seltzer

1892: First bottle cap in the U.S.

1893: 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 our country: "Argonaut" constructed by Simon Lake

1901: First woman professor at medical school in the U.S. - Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

1916: First city municipal symphony orchestra in the country - Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

1921: First rehabilitation school for war veterans established at Fort McHenry

1928: First traffic-actuated traffic signal in the world: Charles Adler Jr., placed at Belvedere Avenue and Falls Road

1931: First outdoor polo game at night: Homewood Field, July 2.

1946: First photograph of earth from space - produced at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

1966: First baseball player to be named MVP in both leagues - Frank Robinson

1967: First African-American to serve on the US supreme Court - Baltimorean Thurgood Marshall

1979: First scheduled water taxi transportation system in the country.

1995: First American city to win championship in the Canadian Football League - Baltimore Stallions