Boston firsts : 40 feats of innovation and invention that happened first in Boston and helped make America great / Lynda Morgenroth.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Morgenroth, Lynda.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Inventions--Massachusetts--Boston--History--Miscellanea.

Inventions.

Boston (Mass.)--History--Miscellanea.

Boston (Mass.).

United States--Civilization--Miscellanea.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (276 p.)

Place of Publication:

Boston : Beacon Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Boston Firsts is about everything (well, almost!) that happened first in Boston and changed life elsewhere: from the first lighthouse and public library to the first madam and ready-made suit. Boston-based journalist and essayist Lynda Morgenroth has written forty original essays on the city's long history of innovation, from the colonial era to the recent past. These lively takes on Boston's innovative history range from the first use of ether in publicly performed painless surgery to the first school desegregation court case to the one-and only-automatic bargain basement. Consider this: Ice cut from Boston ponds and shipped to hot climates became a worldwide industry. A controversial kidney transplant between twin brothers marked the start of organ transplantation. Attempts to breed a belligerent fighting dog created the sweet-natured Boston terrier, the first dog breed developed in the U.S. The glorious Massachusetts 54th Regiment, led by a Boston Brahmin, was the first black army regiment in U.S history. First newspaper, novel, subway, telephone, gay marriage- the beat goes on. Ranging from advances in science and engineering-like the smallpox inoculation and the Boston Harbor cleanup-to innovations in culture and society- Fannie Farmer's cookbook, the YMCA, and Boston cream pie-the collection investigates, celebrates, and integrates America's workshop of ideas.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

COMMERCE &amp

INDUSTRY

BAKER'S CHOCOLATE, 1765

READY-MADE SUIT, 1826

BANANA SHIPMENT, 1871

GILLETTE SAFETY RAZOR, 1903

FILENE'S AUTOMATIC BARGAIN BASEMENT, 1909

MOLASSES FLOOD, 1919

COMMUNICATION

NEWSPAPER , 1690

NOVEL, 1789

THOMAS ALVA EDISON AND THE ELECTRIC VOTE RECORDER, 1868

TELEPHONE, 1876

TV FOR THE DEAF, 1972 AND THE BLIND, 1990

SCIENCE &amp

ENGINEERING

SMALLPOX INOCULATION, 1712

ETHER, 1846

SUBWAY, 1897

KIDNEY TRANSPLANT, 1954

ART&amp

ARCHITECTURE

BOSTON LIGHT, 1716

TONTINE CRESCENT, 1794

USS CONSTITUTION, 1797

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1854, 1858, 1895

ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER AND FENWAY COURT, 1903

RECREATION &amp

CELEBRATION

MADAM ALICE, 1672

HOTEL, 1829

YMCA, 1851

WORLD SERIES, 1903

FIRST NIGHT, 1976

INNOVATION &amp

ADAPTATION

ICE, 1806

BOSTON CREAM PIE, 1856

BOSTON TERRIER, 1860s-1870s

FANNIE FARMER'S BOSTON COOKING-SCHOOL COOKBOOK, 1896

DUDLEY STREET NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVE, 1988

GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, &amp

LAW

CHRISTMAS BAN, 1659

MASSACHUSETTS STATE CONSTITUTION, 1780

GERRYMANDER, 1812

SCHOOL INTEGRATION, 1849, 1855, 1954

MASSACHUSETTS FIFTY-FOURTH REGIMENT, 1863

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, 2003

NATURE &amp

THE ENVIRONMENT

BOSTON COMMON, 1634

THE PUBLIC GARDEN, 1856

METASEQUOIA GLYPTOSTROBOIDES, DAWN REDWOOD, 1948

BOSTON HARBOR CLEANUP, 1990-2000.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

ISBN:

0-8070-7131-5

OCLC:

182530771