First perfect 10 awared in Olympic gymnastics
The first award of a score of perfect 10 at an Olympics Games gymnastic event was to Nadia Comaneci (Romania) for her uneven bars routine in the team competition in Montreal, Canada, on 18 July 1976.
First permanent European settlement in the New World
The first permanent settlement in the New World was Isabella on the island of Hispaniola (in present-day Dominican Republic). This first bit of real estate was built in 1493 by Columbus’s crew on his second voyage. Disease and hunger decimated this first settlement and in 1496, Columbus had his men build another town which became Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic capital today. The first permanent English settlement was Jamestown, Virginia in April, 1607. John Smith and George Percy were the most notable chroniclers of the Continue reading →
First permanent theatre
The outdoor Theatre of Dionysius was the world’s oldest theatre, having been built in Ancient Athens in approximately 500 BC. With an estimated capacity of up to 17,000 people, the theatre was “in the round”, with stone rows built up a slope overlooking the stage. As well as putting on tragedies and comedies, the theatre was also used to host drama competitions in which the audience could vote on their favourite play – an ancient forerunner of today’s American Idol and Dancing With The Stars!
First person to break the sound barrier (female)
The first woman to fly faster than Mach 1 was a famous, female aviator named Jacqueline Cochran (USA). Better known as Jackie, Cochran was born in 1906 and became one of the pioneering women of aeronautics. She was a friend of Chuck Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier. He helped her to make the transition to jet-powered aircraft, and she then soon achieved a number of new aviation records. On 18 May 1953, she flew an F-86 Sabre past Mach 1 becoming Continue reading →
First person killed by a car
The first person killed by an automobile was Bridget Driscoll (UK), who received fatal injuries when she walked into the path of a car moving at 4 mph (6.4 km/h), as it was giving demonstration rides in the grounds of Crystal Palace, London, UK on 17 August 1896. Bridget Driscoll was about 44 years old, and the car belonged to the Anglo-French Motor Car Company. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_Driscoll http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Bridget-Driscoll
First person to climb all 8,000-m peaks
Reinhold Messner (Italy) became the first person to climb the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 m (26,246 ft) when he summited Lhotse (8,501 m; 27,890 ft) on the Nepal/Tibet border, on 16 October 1986. His quest had started in June 1970, and the difficulty of this feat is illustrated by the fact that by the second half of 2005, only 12 people had achieved it. In mountaineering circles the ‘8,000ers’ are regarded as the ultimate challenge and seen as more prestigious than the ‘seven summits’. Continue reading →
First person to complete the Three Poles Challenge
The first person to reach the North pole, the South pole and the peak of Mount Everest – known as the Three Poles Challenge – was Erling Kagge (Norway), who completed the trio on 8 May 1994. On 8 May 1990, Kagge reached the North Pole with Børge Ousland (Norway). On 7 January 1993, he reached the South Polo solo. On 8 May 1994, he summited Mount Everest, again solo. The first and only person to complete the challenge without the use of oxygen on Continue reading →
First person to complete the explorers’ grand slam
Young-Seok Park (South Korea) reached the North Pole on foot on 30 April 2005, thereby becoming the first person to achieving the explorers’ grand slam. This involves climbing the highest peaks on all seven continents (the ‘seven summits’), the 14 peaks over 8,000 m (26,246 ft), and reaching the North and South poles on foot. His quest began when he summited Mt Everest on 16 May 1993.
First person to return an opening kickoff for a touchdown in the Super Bowl
Devin Hester (USA) playing for the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl XLI, became the first player in Super Bowl history to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, on 5 February 2007.
First person to refuse an Oscar award
The earliest refusal of an Oscar was made by Dudley Nichols (USA), screenwriter of The Informer (USA 1935) at the 1935 Academy Awards held at Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, USA, on 5 March 1936. The reason was because of a union boycott of the awards that year.