1777..... U.K ..... the FIRST volume of the Encyclopaedia Britannica was published in its second edition

1854 ..... U.K ..... the FIRST recipient of the Victoria Cross was Charles Lucas who was awarded it during the Crimean War for conspicuous bravery. He picked up an unexploded Russian bomb from the deck of HMS Hecla and threw it overboard. He was promoted to lieutenant, eventually married the daughter of his captain and rose to become an admiral

1913 ..... Georgina ‘Tiny’ Broadwick became the FIRST woman to parachute from an aircraft when she jumped from Glenn Martin's home-built biplane over Griffith Park in Los Angeles

1924 ..... U.S.A ..... the FIRST feature length colour Western film - Wanderer of the Wasteland - was shown in Los Angeles. It starred Noah Beery, Jack Holt and Billie Dove

1929 ..... U.K ..... the FIRST feature-length talkie in Britain and the FIRST film to be dubbed was Blackmail by Alfred Hitchcock and was premiered at the Regal, Marble Arch. It starred Anny Ondra and John Longden. The voice of Anny Ondra was dubbed by Joan Barry

1937..... U.K ..... lawn tennis was FIRST televised at Wimbledon

1941 ..... U.K ..... Old Mother Riley Takes The Air FIRST began on radio with Arthur Lucan as Mother Riley and Kitty McShane as his daughter

1948 ..... U.K ..... the FIRST computer programme in the world was run in Manchester. Nicknamed ‘Baby’ by the scientists at Manchester University it was 22ft long, 7ft high, 2ft deep and contained 500 valves. The team of scientists, led by Freddie Willams and Tom Kilburn, began the second industrial revolution in the city that started the first , more than 100 years before

1970 ….. U.S.A ..... Tony Jacklin became the FIRST British golfer to win the U.S Open for 50 years

1976 ….. U.K ..... Britain's FIRST gorilla arrived at Liverpool Docks

2004 ….. SPACE ..... the FIRST privately-funded manned mission into space took place when Mike Melvill travelled in SpaceShipOne above an altitude of 62.5 miles and so became the FIRST civilian to fly a spacecraft into space. He was also the FIRST private pilot to earn astronaut's wings

 

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