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1875 ….. U.K .....Captain Paul Boyton became the FIRST man to swim across the English Channel, four months before Captain Matthew Webb. But because Boyton was assisted by a small sail attached to his foot and a paddle which he used as a rudder, Capt Webb received the credit. He was also wearing an inflatable life-saving suit. He set off from Boulogne, floated on his back and propelled himself across with his hands. Halfway across, he met journalists on a steamer and they gave him sandwiches and tea. He reached England after 24 hours
1929 ..... U.S.A ..... Popeye made his FIRST appearance as a supporting character in a cartoon strip in Hearst’s New York newspapers
1930 ..... U.K ..... the Daily Express became the FIRST paper to publish television programmes
1945 ..... GERMANY ..... the German concentration camp at Buchenwald was the FIRST to be liberated by the Allies in the last month of WW2
1959 ..... U.K ..... Billy Wright , the England football captain became the FIRST player in the world to play for his country in a hundred matches. England beat Scotland 1-0
1961 ..... U.S.A ..... Bob Dylan made his FIRST public appearance at Greenwich Village in New York
1987 ..... U.K ..... the FIRST heart transplant operation at Manchester’s Wythenshawe Hospital was carried out
1997...... the FIRST World Parkinson’s Day was held on the birthday of James Parkinson who described a particular disease in 1817 which caused tremor and involuntary movements. His observations were so detailed and complete that they laid the foundation for all subsequent research
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