Not only in politics, but in art, science, the drama and most fields of
progress Philadelphia took the lead in America for more than a century
and a half after its founding. Here was established the first public
school in 1689; the first paper mill in 1690; the first botanical garden
in 1728; the first Masonic Lodge in 1730; the first subscription library
in 1731; the first volunteer fire company in 1736; the first magazine
published by Franklin in 1741; the first American philosophical society
in 1743; the first religious magazine in 1746; the first medical school
in 1751; the first fire insurance company in 1752; the first theater in
1759; the first school of anatomy in 1762; the first American dispensary
in 1786; the first water works in 1799; the first zoological museum in
1802; the first American art school in 1805; the first academy of
natural sciences in 1812; the first school for training teachers in
1818; the first American building and loan association in 1831; the
first American numismatic society in 1858. From the Germantown Friends'
Meeting, headed by Francis Daniel Pastorius, came in 1688 the first
protest against slavery in this country. In Philadelphia was published
the first American medical book in 1740; here was given the first
Shakespearean performance in this country in 1749; the first lightning
rod was erected here in 1752; from Philadelphia the first American
Arctic expedition set forth in 1755; on the Schuylkill River in 1773
were made the first steamboat experiments; the earliest abolition
society in the world was organized here in 1774; the first American
piano was built here in 1775; here in 1789 the Protestant Episcopal
Church was formally established in the United States; the first carriage
in the world propelled by steam was built here in 1804; the oldest
American playhouse now in existence was built here in 1808; the first
American locomotive, "Ironsides", was built here in 1827; and the first
daguerreotype of the human face was made here in 1839. The Bible and
Testament, Shakespeare, Milton and Blackstone were printed for the first
time in America in Philadelphia, and Thackeray's first book originally
appeared here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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