CHRONOLOGY OF NEW YORK CITY'S FACTUAL "FIRST" 1524-1999
Researched and Compiled by Miriam Medina

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*Please note this is a work in progress. New researched information will be added periodically.

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1) The first taxis, imported from Paris, arrive in New York City, and make their first appearance on October 1, 1907.  * (epic).

2) Felix M. Warburg, a great financier, associated with Kuhn, Loeb & Co., was appointed one of the first two State Probation
Commissioners by Governor Hughes, in 1907.

3) Florentz Ziegfeld staged his first "Follies," on the roof of the New York Theatre, July 8,1907. *(afp.com)

4) Mary Mallon, a.k.a. Typhoid Mary, was first apprehended by New York health authorities. *(tt.net)

5) 1907 Gasoline-powered taxis replace slow battery-powered hansom cabs. * (nyct)

6) The 800-room Plaza Hotel opens at Central Park South and 58th Street . * (nyct)|

7) The organization of the Lynbrook National Bank, opened for business on November 2, with Hamilton W. Pearsall as its president.

8) The Equitable Appraisal Co., at 145 Nassau Street was incorporated in 1907. *( Blue)

9) The Japan Society at 333 E. 47th Street was founded in 1907. Its purpose was to advance a mutual understanding and appreciation between the United States and Japan and to generate a cooperative spirit between the 2 nations. * (Museums)

10) Bronx Sanitarium, 1259 Washington av. was established in 1907. Capacity, 15. Private.

11) The 23rd Police Precinct Station House, located on the south side of West 30th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, was erected in 1907-08 to the design of R. Thomas Short, who is best known as a designer of apartment buildings as a partner in the firm of Harde & Short. This station house served the legendary Tenderloin section of midtown Manhattan that was previously part of the 19th Precinct, one of the city's busiest. * (nyclc)

12) 1907 First American "thermos" bottle made in Brooklyn, New York, by The American Thermos Bottle Company.

13) Belasco Theater, at 111 W 44th Street, between 6th & 7th Avenues was completed in 1907.Architect George Keister * (jd)

14) The Colony Club is established in 1907 for society women.

15) Mary Garden, operatic soprano in the title role of Massenet's Thais she made her American debut (1907) with the Manhattan Opera Company.

16) Luther Halsey Gulick, American pioneer in physical education. He was director of physical training in the NYC public schools from 1903-1908. In 1907 he founded the child Hygiene Department of the Russell Sage Foundation.* (c.e.)

17) Olivia Slocum Sage, gave large gifts to Emma Willard School. The great single benefaction was the establishment (1907) of the Russell Sage Foundation in NYC.

18) On January 22, the first American performance of Salome, by Richard Strauss, adapted from a play by Oscar Wilde, is given at the metropolitan Opera House. The theme, including the dance of the seven veils and the display of the prophet Jokanaan's head on a platter, is shocking to the public, and further performances are canceled. * (t.a.a.)`

19) In accordance with one of the rites of the Jewish religion, requiring that damaged or defective scrolls of the law be put in the Genizah, or secret hiding place, as in the olden times, or buried, eighteen scrolls, each comprising one complete Pentateuch, which were recently damaged by fire, were buried yesterday in Washington Cemetery by several orthodox Jewish congregations on the lower east side, which owned them. It was said this was the first time this ceremony has been observed in the United States.* (New York Times, June 17, 1907)

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1) Singer Building, Height: 612 feet (187 meters) Original owners: Singer Manufacturing Company; Architect and general contractor: Ernest Flagg. Engineers: Otto F. Semsch; Boller & Hodge.. Completed May 1, 1908 . *(skyscraper.com)

2) First 'Across The World' auto race starts in New York, February 12. *(tt.net)

3) The Jewish Museum at 1109 Fifth ave. (at 92nd St.) NYC. It operates under the auspices of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. This French Renaissance landmark was built in 1908. * (Museums)

4) William Sullivan, a tea merchant in New York invented the tea bag in 1908. * (50s)

5 ) Manhattan. Audubon Sanitarium, 8 St. Nicholas pl. Established in 1908. Capacity. 41. Private. * (Polk's)

6) American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 345 E. 47th Street, in New York City was founded in 1908. * (t.a.)

7) Louis A. and Laura Stirn House, 79 Howard Avenue, Staten Island. Built 1908, Kafka & Lindenmeyr, architects. * (nyclc)

8) Helen Hayes, American actress a performer from the age of 5 she made her New York debut in 1908. * (c.e.)

9) Albion Noyes Van Vleck began his career as a structural draftsman with Milliken Bros., Inc. NYC. 1908-1910. * (Hollanders)

10) In 1908 George Robertson becomes the first American to win the Vanderbilt cup. * (c.e.)

11) Hudson Terminal Building. Built over the terminus of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad at Cortlandt street and Broadway by William McAdoo in 1908.

12) On December 24, Motion-picture censorship is inaugurated by the Society for the Prevention of Vice, which persuades the mayor of New York City to revoke the licenses of theaters until and unless they agree to remain closed on Sundays and to present no immoral films.  * (t.a.a.)

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1) The first publication of the "Amsterdam News" in New York City. It will become America's largest secular black weekly newspaper.

2) Queensboro Bridge, first of the bridges connecting Manhattan and Queens, was built by Leon S. Moisseiff, one of the world's foremost bridge designers. It was opened to the public on March 30, 1909 at a cost of $20 million and 50 lives.

3) On December 31, 1909, Manhattan Bridge at a cost of $31 million was opened,

4) The "New Theater," which opened at Central Park West and 82d Street in 1909.

5) Wilbur Wright makes the first powered airplane flight over Manhattan, flying from Governors Island in New York Harbor up the Hudson River to Grants Tomb (Riverside Drive and West 122nd Street) and back. *nyca

6) Lutheranism had its birth in Freeport in 1909 when seventeen interested persons met in a hall on Brooklyn Avenue and later in the year the church was organized.

7) Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower, opens in 1909. The tower rises above Madison Square at 23rd Street and Madison Avenue . Architect: Napoleon LeBrun and Sons. * skyscraper.com)

8) 1909 John D. Rockefeller is the world's first billionaire. * (nyct)

9 ) NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Founded in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens committed to social justice.

10) NYC Metropolitan Museum holds first large show of American art. 1909.

11) Alma Gluck, American soprano, She sang (1909-12) at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, and was one of the first singers to make phonograph records. * (Bartleby)

12) The American Federation of Arts, 41 E. 65th Street, in New York City was founded in 1909. * (t.a.)

13) In 1909 Gunther & Co. at 391 Fifth Ave was established. * (nyt)

14) The Met Life building 1909, Napoleon Le Brun.

15) John J. Wynne born in New York City, became founder and first editor of the Weekly America.

16) John McCormack, singer made his debut in NYC in "La Traviata" at the Manhattan Opera House in 1909.*(docb)

17) Evangelistic services were held in the "Little Italy" district of East Harlem, beginning in 1906. Mr. Nardi, the lay evangelist, gave great impetus to this work. Several different places were used, 338 East 106th Street; 2050 First Avenue; and in a tent; and finally in 1913 a church was built by the Church extension Committee at 340 East 106th Street, and from the very beginning it was crowded with Italians. The Church of the Ascension was organized November 7, 1909.* (presby)

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1) The Ellin Prince Speyer Hospital for Animals, named for Mrs. James Speyer, is at 350 Lafayette Street. In 1910, Mrs. Speyer founded the New York Women's League for Animals to give free care to stricken animals of poor people.* (ajtg)

2) The largest building ever erected for rail travel, Pennsylvania Station was commissioned in 1910 by Pennsylvania Railroad President Alexander Cassatt and built by architectural firm McKim, Mead and White.

3) May 28, 1910. Glenn H. Curtiss flies Hudson Flyer in record flight,135.4 miles, from Albany to New York City, in 2 hours, 32 minutes. (Aviation History)

4) New York's Pennsylvania Station opened, November 27, 1910. *(afp.com)

5) The Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City, Giulio Gatti-Casazza was the first general manager of that organization with Andreas Dippel as administrative manager. * (NYS History) Vol: V

6) In 1910 the first electric train on the Long Beach division of the Long Island Railroad arrived in Lynbrook, and the event was celebrated with a parade and elaborate ceremonies.

7) Abajian, M.M. Inc., importers of Oriental and Chinese rugs located at 2410 Broadway and 88th Street was established in 1910. *(Blue)

8) First Edition of The Crisis published in 1910. The Crisis is the official monthly publication of the NAACP. * (charter)

9) Frederick Shepherd Converse, American composer, His Pipe of Desire (Boston, 1906) was performed at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, in 1910; it was the first American opera performed there. * (Bartleby)

10) Rector's new hotel and restaurant at the southeast corner of Forty-fifth Street was opened on the twenty-seventh of December, 1910. * (Bwy)

11) 48-54 West 35th street was completed in 1910, part of the A.E. Lefcourt Projects, builder & operator. * (nyt)

12) The National Urban League, Inc. 120 Wall street in New York City was established in 1910.

13) Women's Wear Daily is founded by former peddler Edmund Fairchild.

14) Assn. of National Advertisers, 155 E. 44th St., N.Y. was established in 1910 * (W.A.)

15) Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 W 46th Street, between Broadway & 8th Avenue. The architects were:  Carrere & Hastings. It was completed in 1910. * (jd)

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1) Samuel Jesse Battle became the first African American appointed to the NYPD uniformed force on June 28, 1911, as a result of his successfully overcoming the department's initial rejection.

2) The first outpatient cardiac clinic in New York is established by NYU's Hubert V. Guile, M.D. *(NYU)

3) Sept. 23, 1911. Earle L. Ovington in Bleriot monoplane flies first officially sanctioned airmail in U.S., from Hempstead to Mineola,
LongIsland, N.Y. (Aviation History)

4) Lynbrook was incorporated in 1911 and A. D. Kelsey was elected first village president.

5) The New York Public Library was built in 1911. At the library is the first Gutenberg Bible brought to America, a copy of the N.Y. Gazette dated 1726, the first newspaper published in New York. * (Museums)

6) February 18, 1911. First Brooklyn automobile show, at Twenty-third Regiment armory.

7) South Side Hospital, Cooper and George sts. in Babylon, L.I. was established in 1911. Capacity, 25. * (Polk's)

8) Winter Garden Theater, at 1634 Broadway, between 50th & 51st Streets was completed in 1911. The architect was W. Albert Swasey.

9) Hazel Dawn is The Pink Lady in her Broadway debut. in 1911.

10) The American Psychoanalytic Association at 309 E. 49th street in New York City was founded in 1911. * (t.a.)

11) 1911 Folies Berger Theater, New York City, installs the first air-conditioning system in a theater.

12) The New York Public Library's Central Research Building, an architectural masterpiece by Carrere and Hastings, is dedicated in 1911.

13) In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire kills 146 workers, most of them women and children. (1911)

14) Carnegie Corporation of New York established in 1911 under the N.Y. State laws to administer Andrew Carnegie's remaining personal fortune for philanthropic purposes. * (c.e.)

15) Bronx House, 1637 Washington Ave., was founded in 1911 by Henry Morgenthau, Sr., as a neighborhood settlement. * (ajtg)

16) John Joseph Burke born in NYC helped found the Catholic Press Association in 1911. * (docb)

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1) The first Manhattan Automat , Horn and Hardart opened in Times Square in 1912, at 1557 Broadway and by 1932
there were 42 Automat cafeterias in New York City.

2) German immigrant Richard Hellmann introduced Hellmann's Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise at his deli, Hellmann's Delicatessen, 490 Columbus Avenue in Manhattan. (Newsday.com - C. Blair)

3) The Ambrose Channel Range Light was built in 1912. It's more commonly known as the Staten Island Lighthouse and is the largest of Staten Island's lighthouses.

4) 1912-Brooklyn Public Library Central Building opens.

5) Creedmoor State Psychiatric Center,  opened in 1912.

6) Wella (Sibert) Cather, an American novelist and editor of McClure's magazine in New York City. Her first novel was Alexander Bridge in 1912. * (Benet's)

7) Authors League of America, 330 W. 42nd street in New York City was founded in 1912. * (t.a.)

8) Fire Engine Company 289, Ladder Company 138, 97-28 43rd Avenue, Queens. Built 1912-14; Satterlee & Boyd, architects. *
(nyclc)

9) Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., 429 Fifth avenue in New York City was established in 1912.

10) Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, 50 W. 58th street in New York City was established in 1912. * (t.a.)

11) Edwin Howard Armstrong, an American engineer and radio inventor born in New York city. Armstrong received numerous awards for his contribution to the development of radio which include the invention of the regenerative circuit.(1912), the super heterodyne circuit (1918), the basic circuit of nearly all modern radio receiver and the invention of frequency modulation. 1925-33. * (c.e.)

12) David Mannes, American violinist and educator born in NYC founded the "Music School Settlement for Colored People in 1912 * (c.e.)

13) Hotel Vanderbilt built in 1912, it occupies an entire block on Park avenue from 33rd to 34th street.

14) Authors League of America 234 W. 44th St., N.Y., N.Y., was established in 1912 * (w.a.)

15) Robert Joseph Cuddihy, publisher born in NYC developed the plan for the "Standard Encyclopedia" (1912) and issued sermons and religious reference works for various faiths. * (docb)

16) James Micheal Kiernan founded the New York Academy of Public Education while at Hunter he developed the uptown campus in the Bronx. *(docb)

Continue on Page: 3 (1913-1918)