Baltimore, Maryland Firsts: 1840 to 1895

1840: First steam boating in the U.S.: Baltimore Steam Packet Company (Old Bay Line).

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: Jacob Russell.

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

1859: First YMCA erected in America: Pierce and Schroeder Streets.

1867: First pediatrician and gynecologist in the U.S.: Dr. Wm. T. Howard, University of Maryland.

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

1883: Invention of the typesetting machine: Ottmor Mergenthaler.

1883: First vocational school in the country: Polytechnic.

1885: First commercial electric car line in the Western Hemisphere.

1892: First bottle cap in the U.S.: William Painter.

1893: First elevated electric railway in the U.S.

1895: First U.S. Catholic College for women: College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

Address: Baltimore Convention and Visitors Association, 100 Light Street, 12th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202;
410-659-7071; 877-Baltimore. Web: http://www.baltimore.org.