"Call me Ishmael"

According to the 100 Best First Lines of Novels as chosen by the editors of American Book Review, the best first line of a novel is "Call me Ishmael" from the book "Moby-Dick". American author Herman Melville's whaling adventure dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne was first published in 1851.
More Famous Firsts

The City of Firsts

There are three cities in the United States that have adopted the motto "The City of Firsts." Based on invention, innovation, and historical firsts, government leaders in Springfield, Massachusetts, Kokomo, Indiana, and Lynn, Massachusetts have all made this moniker their city motto.
More Famous Firsts

Whiskey

The Reverend Elijah Craig distilled the first "Bourbon" whiskey in June 1789. Craig's corn-mash whiskey was shipped to market in oak barrels, thus after his whiskey made the long trip it had taken on a light caramel color from the oak. Craig coined the name Bourbon after the Kentucky county in which he distilled his sprits.
More Famous Firsts

Married in the White House

President Grover Cleveland was the first and only U.S. President to be married in the White House. He married Frances Folsom in the White House in June 1886. President Cleveland was also the only President to leave the White House and return for a second term four years later. Cleveland lost to Benjamin Harrison in 1888. He defeated incumbent Harrison in 1892.
More Famous Firsts

Country Music Hall of Fame

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1961 and has been located in Nashville, Tennessee since 1967. The first inductees into the County Music Hall were ceremoniously enshrined at the Grand Ole Opry in 1961. The first class of inductees to the Hall included: Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, and Fred Rose.
More Famous Firsts

Pulitzer Prizes

Nineteenth Century journalist and iconic newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer established in his 1904 will the provision for the Pulitzer Prizes as incentive for journalistic excellence. The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in 1917 to Herbert Bayard Swope (reporting), the New York Tribune (editorial), J.J. Jusserand (history), Laura E. Richards and Maude Howe Elliott (biography).
More Famous Firsts

First Tour de France

The first Tour de France bike race began back in 1903 with Maurice Garin winning the race among sixty riders. The race initially began as a magazine publicity stunt. Riders were expected to push themselves and ride day and night over the 2,500 km race taking place across 19 days in six stages. The bike race won instant popularity.
More Famous Firsts