While almost all cities lay claim to their share of "firsts", no U.S. city can claim as many as Philadelphia.
One of the oldest cities in the United States, Philadelphia was founded by William
Penn in 1682 and laid out in a simple grid pattern that included wide streets
and five public squares. In that respect, Philadelphia was the first "planned
city" in North America.
While it would be impossible to list all of Philadelphia's "firsts" in a single article,
it's well worth while to look at a sample of some of the most interesting ones.
• Philadelphia is home to the nation's first public grammar
school, now known as the William Penn Charter School, founded in 1689.
• America's first life insurance company, The Presbyterian Minister's Fund, was opened in Philadelphia in 1717.
• America's first botanical garden, Bartram's Gardens, opened in 1728.
• Philadelphia is home to the nation's first public library -
the Free Library of Philadelphia - founded by Benjamin Franklin in
1731.
• The first volunteer fire department, the Union Fire Company, was founded in Philadelphia in 1736 by Benjamin Franklin.
• The Pennsylvania Hospital, founded by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond, opened its doors
in 1751 - the first hospital in America.
In addition, Philadelphia is home to the
nation's first medical school, first children's hospital, first cancer hospital,
first eye hospital, first nursing school and first dental school!
• The concept of lightning being electricity was discovered by
Benjamin Franklin in 1752 when he was able to draw lightning from the
clouds by means of a kite.
• The first flag of the United States was sewn in Philadelphia in 1777 by Betsy Ross.
• The first university in America, the University of
Pennsylvania, founded in 1779, traces its roots to a tuition-free
school founded in 1740.
• The Pennsylvania Bank, the first American public bank,
opened in 1780. It was later renamed the Bank of North America, the
first incorporated bank chartered by the Continental
Congress.
• Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States from 1790 - 1800.
• The first stock exchange in the United States was the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, which organized in 1790.
• The first mint in the United States opened in Philadelphia in 1792. For the
first time standardized coins were issued for the new nation.
• The first municipal water system in the country, the Philadelphia Water Works,
began operation in 1799.
• The first art school and art museum in America, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts, was founded in Philadelphia in 1805.
• The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, organized in 1827, is
the oldest continually operating horticultural society in the United
States. The Philadelphia Flower Show, first held in 1829 and sponsored
by the Society, was the first large flower show in the country.
• In 1874 the Philadelphia Zoo became the first zoo to open in the United States.
• The first World's Fair held in the new world was held in Philadelphia in 1876 to
mark the centennial of the United States.
• The PSFS Building in downtown Philadelphia became the nation's first modern
skyscraper (notably fully air-conditioned) when it opened its doors in 1932.
• The world's first computer, ENIAC, was built at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946
First Mother's Day Celebration - Through the efforts
of Anna Jarvis and Julia War Howe (who wrote "The Battle
Hymn of the Republic"), Philadelphia was the first city
to honor Mother's Day as a holiday, and in 1914, President
Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother's Day a national Holiday
First Thanksgiving Day Parade - The First Thanksgiving
parade, sponsored by Gimbel Brothers Department Store, was
held in 1920.
First Girl Scout Cookies - Girl Scout Cookies first
made their debut in 1932 in Philadelphia. One of the initial
fund raising efforts that the Girl Scouts did was to demonstrate
their baking skills in the window of the Philadelphia Gas
and Electric Company, and then they started selling their
products right there which led to the creation of Girl Scout
Cookie Week in 1934.
We've only just sampled a few of the many "firsts" which have occurred in
Philadelphia.
Some Notable Snowstorms
February and March 1717: "The Great Snow of 1717" blanketed New
England in a series of four storms, leaving nearly four feet on the
ground and drifts up to 25 feet high.
January 1772: "The Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm" is so named
because it trapped both men at their homes with snow up to three feet
deep throughout Maryland and Virginia.
December 1778: Named after the Revolutionary War troops stationed in
Rhode Island, drifts were reported to be 15 feet high after this storm.
November 1798: "The Long Storm" went down in history as the snowiest
on record for that month. Stretching from Maryland to Maine, up to a
foot-and-a-half of snow coated the region.
December 1811: A powerful storm buffeted New York City, Long Island,
and southern New England, accompanied by gale-force winds and
destructive tides that severely damaged many ships and harbors.
January 1857: "The Cold Storm" produced severe blizzard conditions
along much of the eastern seaboard. Temperatures fell below 9 below
zero Fahrenheit, and snowfalls were between one and two feet deep.
March 1888: The "Blizzard of '88" produced temperatures plummeting
well below zero degrees Fahrenheit, ravaging gusts of wind and deep
snow drifts that stranded several cities, leaving them without
transportation or communication. New York City suffered the most
damage, particularly to its harbor areas.
November 1898: The "Portland Storm" was named after the ship that
sank off the coast of Cape Cod, the S.S. Portland. High winds and
moderately heavy snows accompanied the storm.
January 1922: The "Knickerbocker Storm" dumped over two feet of
heavy snow on Washington D.C. causing the roof of the Knickerbocker
Theatre to collapse, killing nearly 100 people.
December 1947: A post-Christmas storm caught New York residents by surprise, dropping two feet of snow in 24 hours.
January 1967: A series of record-breaking storms battered the west
coast of Lake Michigan, hitting Chicago the hardest, shutting nearly
everything down. Looting of the unattended stores became rampant, and
it took the city over two weeks to clear the major highways and roads.
February 1969: New York City became trapped under a foot-and-a-half
of snow. Commuters became stranded in their cars, schools closed, and
travelers were stuck at airports, which were also forced to close. To
make matters worse, many of the snow plows had become buried by snow in
their storage lots and had to be dug out before they could be used. The
city and outlying suburbs were forced to hire 10,000 shovelers and
workers to clear the streets.
February 1977: Ontario, Canada and western New York state were
slammed by a storm that killed 28 people and shut down the city of
Buffalo for over a week. Highways were clogged with thousands of
stranded vehicles, and people became trapped at schools, stores and
offices, where they were forced to spend the night because they could
not make it home through the blizzard.
March 1993: The "Blizzard of the Century" ravaged the southern
mid-Atlantic states from Alabama to Massachusetts, accompanied in other
states by severe weather disturbances such as tornadoes, thunderstorms,
and floods. Snow fell at rates between an inch and two inches an hour
in some areas, and many locations experienced record-breaking snowfalls
and record snow depths.
January 1996: The Blizzard of 1996
was responsible for over 100 deaths and brought much of the eastern
United States to a complete halt. Schools, offices and airports were
closed for several days in some areas as roads were impassable.
Compounding problems, two subsequent storms blasted the same areas
within the following week-and-a-half.
