Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Famous Firsts

For no particular reason, my post today is about famous firsts. (Okay, so there is a particular reason, but you'll have to read to the end to find out.)


Famous First Lines:
  • It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. ~ Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. ~ 1984 by George Orwell
  • It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. ~ The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
  • It was a pleasure to burn. ~ Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. ~ Little Women by Louisa May Alcott


Television Firsts:
  • First couple to share a bed? Mary Kay and John Stearns on the 1940s sitcom, Mary Kay and Johnny.
  • First openly gay character? Peter Panama on 1972's The Corner Bar.
  • First interracial kiss? Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura on a 1968 episode of Star Trek.
  • First commercial? Bulova Watch Company in 1941.
  • First televised tour of the White House? Jackie Kennedy in 1962.


American Firsts:
  • Anne Bradstreet — first published American woman writer (1650)
  • George Washington — first President of the United States (1789)
  • Elizabeth Blackwell — first American woman to receive a medical degree (1849)
  • Hiram Revels — first African-American senator (ironically, he took over the term of Jefferson Davis, who had resigned to become president of the Confederacy)
  • Victoria Woodhall — first woman to run for President of the United States (1872)
  • Annie Moore — first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island (1892)
  • Teddy Roosevelt — first American to win the Nobel peace prize (1906)
  • Alan Shepard — first American in space (1961)
  • Thurgood Marshall — first African-America supreme court justice (1967)


And now for the timely event that has me posting about firsts today ...

first African-American president of the United States



BARACK OBAMA

What a momentous day.

Hugs,
TLC

OH. MY. GODS. (available now!)
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (coming June 2009)
teralynnchilds.com

11 comments:

Kwana said...

What a day. I'm beyond thrilled. I'm overjoyed. Love you firsts!

TJ Brown said...

A totally wonderful post.
Teri

Jessica Burkhart said...

Fantastic post for an amazing day!! :)

TinaFerraro said...

Ditto all!

stephhale said...

You are so creative, TLC! Happy Inauguration Day, Everyone!

sarah said...

James Earl Jones as the first African American actor to play a president...

http://www.slate.com/id/2202810/

But I preferred Morgan Freeman.

Thao said...

Thanks for sharing, I had fun reading these!

acai Berry said...

I liked this post.

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Lung Cancer said...

Its nice to have a list like this at a single place.

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interesting firsts. I remember my first haircut :)