Some Pennsylvania Firsts

1753: Pass & Stowe cast the first bell made in the U.S. for use in the State House located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1753: On March 4, 1753, Captain Charles Swaine took off in the schooner Argo in the first North American expedition for Arctic exploration.

1762: Dr. William Shippen opened the first North American school of anatomy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 26, 1762.


1765: On May 30, 1765, Dr. John Morgan opened the first medical school in the U.S. at the College of Philadelphia.

Address: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2002 Penn Tower, 399 S. 34th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4385; 215-662-4000. Web: http://www.med.upenn.edu.

1766: The first permanent theater house in America was built in Southwark, Pennsylvania.

1773: The American Medical Society was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1774: The first Anti-Slavery Society in the U.S. was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1775: Johann Behrent built the first piano in the U.S. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He named it Piano Forte.

1776: The U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


1777: Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.