* Sarah

..... the FIRST woman in the Bible to extend hospitality to guests who turned out to be divine messengers who had come to tell Abraham that Sarah would give birth to a son and the FIRST woman distinctly portrayed in the dramatic history of man's spiritual development. She was the wife of Abraham, founder of the House of Israel

* Sarah Armitage

..... from Stockport, Manchester, she became one of the world's FIRST sky nannies when her employers Gulf air became the FIRST airline in the world to introduce sky nannies to look after the under-12s - 2004

* Sarah Hertha Ayrton

neé Phoebe Sarah Marks

born 1854 died 1923

..... FIRST woman elected to the Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1898 and was their only woman member and in 1906 was the FIRST woman ever to be awarded a medal by the Royal Society when she received the Hughes Medal. She was known for her scientific work on the electric arc and the movement of waves and the formation of sand ripples.  She also invented the sphymograph. From 1905 to 1910 she worked for the War Office and during WW1 invented the Ayrton Fan which dispelled poisonous gases. She was also a suffragette and sheltered those who suffered under the 'Cat and Mouse Act'

* Sarah Bagley

born 1806 died 1848

..... FIRST woman telegrapher in the United States of America when appointed superintendent of the Lowell Telegraph Office - February 1846

* Sarah Baldock

..... FIRST organist in residence at Tonbridge School where she acted as tutor to the organ scholars and played at half of the school's Sunday and weekday services in 1996

* Sarah Bernhardt

neé Henriette Rosine Bernard

born 1844 died 1923

..... stage actress said to be the FIRST woman to wear trousers as an article of feminine apparel in 1876 when she wore a trouser suit at her Paris studio. She was the most adulated stage actress of all time  and made her debut at the age of 18 in Iphigenie.  In 1870, when the Franco-Prussian war broke out she set up a hospital in the Odeon Theatre and obtained medical supplies, clothing, food and wine. Her hospital work earned her a gold medal and when, later in life she was made a Chevalier de la legion d'Honneur, her war work took precedence in the citation over her services to the theatre.  At the age of 76 and after having had a leg amputated in 1914 she was still performing at the Princes Theatre in a play specially written for her and on her death was buried in a pink quilted coffin which had been the subject of much publicity many years before

* Sarah Booth

..... on 24th May 1635 she became the FIRST child to be baptised in Trinity Church, the FIRST church in Salford, England. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Richard Hollingworth, the FIRST rector of the Church. She was the daughter of Humphrey Booth, well known throughout Salford, England, for his charity work. His father was one of the founders of Trinity Church

* Sarah Bradyll

..... FIRST patient in Britain to receive a new form of kidney transplant when she benefited from new guidelines adopted by surgeons at the Manchester Royal Infirmary (UK) which permitted them to take the kidney and pancreas from a donor whose heart has stopped beating - 2004.

* Sarah Breedlove

Madame C J Walker

born December 23rd 1867 died 1919

..... FIRST black female self-made millionaire in America who made her fortune with her hair-care products, the best known ones being the pressing comb and a conditioner for straightening hair. In 1910 she established a factory in Indianapolis where she employed 5,000 black women and she also helped to establish the Mary McCleod Bethune School in Daytona, Florida

* Sarah Brown

..... FIRST national organiser of cookery courses for the Vegetarian Society, and began the FIRST wholefood restaurant in Scarborough

* Sarah Caldwell

born 1924

..... FIRST woman conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1976

* Sarah Caudwell

neé Sarah Caudwell Cockburn

born May 27th 1939 died 2000

..... barrister who became a writer of crime novels and was one of the FIRST female students to make a speech in the debating chamber of the Oxford Union. Although she only wrote four novels she won a wide following, especially in America. Her first novel was published in 1981 and the fourth was to be published in July of the year she died

* Sarah Deal

..... FIRST female U.S Marine Corp aviator

* Sarah E Dickson

..... in 1930 she was the FIRST female Presbyterian elder in America when ordained by the Presbyterian Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

* Sarah "Fanny" Durack

..... won the FIRST gold medal at an Olympic Games to an Australian woman - Stockholm - July 15th 1912. She set a new world record in one of the heats for the 100 metre final

* Sarah Margaret Ferguson

..... FIRST woman member of the British Royal family to gain a private pilot's licence and a private helicopter licence. In 1989 she became the FIRST woman spectator to enter the male-only preserve of Lancashire County Cricket Club's pavilion.  On 9th December 1996 she was the FIRST member of the British Royal family to be named ' Turkey of the Year' by the British Turkey Federation which she was given for trusting her intimate secrets to Madame Vassu, the "psychic guru"

* Sarah Margaret Fuller

born 1810 died 1850

..... writer of Woman in the 19th Century, the FIRST mature consideration of feminism by an American and it touched on every aspect of the subject She was educated by her father and developed friendships with the Transcendentalists. She had a strong influence on the most cultivated circle of Boston society and held a series of conversational classes from 1839 to 1844 at the home of Elizabeth Peabody. In 1846 she visited Europe and wrote letters which appeared on the front page of the Tribune. She had intended to publish a book on the Roman revolution but on a voyage from Italy to America the ship was wrecked and the manuscript lost. The only body found was that of her child

* Sarah Gibson

..... FIRST woman toolmaker employed at the eyelet firm of Clifford Whatmough in 1992

* Sarah Moore (1792-1873)and Angelina Emily Grimke (1805-1879)

..... FIRST women lecturers for the American Anti-Slavery Society. They were the daughters of a judge and slave owner and were educated at home but later on their careers became inextricably intertwined. When Angelina married in 1838 Sarah went to live with her at Fort Lee and then at a communal settlement at Rariton Bay Union in New Jersey where they campaigned, wrote and taught together until their retirement in 1867. Their works include "Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women (1838) and "Appeal to the Christian Women of the South (1836)

* Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

born October 24th 1788 died 1879

..... the words of her poem 'Mary had a little lamb' were the FIRST words to be recorded in sound, when Thomas Alva Edison recited them into a phonograph of his own design on December 6th 1877. Besides being a writer she was also a journalist, worked on behalf of child welfare, feminine education and other humanitarian movements and edited the Boston Ladies Magazine from 1828 to 1837. She was a conservative feminist who campaigned for women's education in the belief that this would make them better wives and mothers and not as a step towards equality with men. In 1837 her journal was bought by Louis Godey and she became editor of Godey's Lady's Book which took a cautious feminine line but stopped short of supporting the suffrage movement. In 1851 she was one of the organisers of the Ladies Medical Missionary Society. Among her publications is the Women's Record of Sketches of all Distinguished Women from the Creation to AD 1654 (1855) which contains over 1000 biographies

* Sarah Heycock

..... FIRST woman to captain an RAF maritime patrol aircraft in 1996, when she took command of her crew as a "back seat driver on 206 Squadron's Nimrod MR2. Because the captain of a Nimrod does not have to be the pilot, she had been promoted to take charge of the £70 million aircraft with its crew of 11 men and 1 other woman. Her appointment marked another milestone on the road to a less male- dominated RAF after the policy of opening doors to female aircrew in 1989

* Sarah Hobson

..... FIRST policewoman to win the coveted top national bravery award which she received for catching two ruthless crooks while foiling an armed robbery at a nightclub. She was presented with the prestigious overall national title amid much cheering at the 11th annual Police Bravery Awards at London's Dorchester Hotel in July 2006

* Sarah James

..... at the age of thirteen she made history when she became the FIRST swimmer from the Penarth Swimming Club to be selected to swim for Wales in 1989

* Sarah Orne Jewett

born 1849 died 1909

..... FIRST President of Vasser College - 1862/64

* Sarah Kellett

..... FIRST woman corporate financial director at Nat West Market when it was called County Nat West and later had various assignments for Nat West Securities. In 1995 she was made a partner of the head-hunter GKR where she specialised in financial services 

* Sarah Lancashire

..... FIRST female to be taken on exclusively by ITV when given a "golden handcuff's" deal in which she did 20 hours of television for them over two years

* Sarah Moon

..... in 1972 she was the FIRST woman photographer for the Pirelli calendar

* Sarah Miriam Peale (born 1800 died 1885)and Anna Claypoole Peale (born1791 died 1878) ..... FIRST women members of the Pennsylvania Academy. Sarah was the FIRST woman in America to support herself throughout her career by her work as an artist and like many European women artists she came from a family of painters. Her father was the portrait painter and miniaturist James Peale and her uncle Charles Willson Peale was also an artist. He was also a supporter of the education of women (naming all his daughters after women painters of the past). In 1824, with her sister Anna, Sarah became a member of the Pennsylvania Academy and for nearly 50 years received commissions to paint the portraits of many famous people, including Daniel Webster and General Lafayette

* Sarah Phillips

..... FIRST woman to win the National Handicap road race on the Isle of Man (cycling) - 1988- when she beat a strong team including ~Commonwealth champion Paul Curran. With Zoe Thomas she raced 10 of the 11 laps near Castletown and had a further four minutes allowance on the top men as they took the top two places from a field of 225

* Sarah Ann Ridgeway

..... FIRST Baha'i in the north of England . She lived in Pendleton, Salford, at the time. The Baha's religion was founded in the 19th century from a Muslim splinter group Babism by the Persian Baha'ullah

* Sarah Sandon

neé Sarah Nichola Hobhouse Payne

born April 27th 1954 died 1995

..... musician and teacher who, in 1989, became the FIRST musical director of Bruern Abbey, a newly established boys prep school

* Sarah Schnirer

..... in 1918 she opened the FIRST library and school for Jewish girls in Krakow, Poland

* Sarah Telser

..... FIRST woman sapper to get a plant operator's licence. She was with the Territorial Army squadron based at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire and during the week worked in the family florists in Marple. She had to fight to win a chance to operate the giant machinery used by Army engineers to repair bomb-damaged airfields but her persistence paid off and she finally qualified in 1994

* Sarah Tyacke

..... FIRST woman director of the British Library in London

* Sarah Williams

..... along with Linda Morpurgo were the FIRST female teachers appointed to the staff at Christ's Hospital, Horsham, after it was decided to merge the girls school at Hertford with the boys school at Horsham - 1981. However there were female teachers previously in the boys school - in 1932 Dilys Parry-Jones joined the school and during WW2 a good number of women were appointed, one of whom, Rona Hurst, remained until 1960. In the 50s and 60s Nell Todd was head of art and during the 70s there were other female teachers (correction thanks to an e-mail from a former pupil at the boys school - Rex Sweeny)

* Sarah Wilson

..... FIRST ever female to qualify as an assistant with the Midlands Professional  Golfers Association

* Sarah Wilson - Lady

..... FIRST British war correspondent - Daily Mail

* Sarah Winnemucca

..... FIRST Native American woman to secure a copyright and publish in the English language

* Sarah D Woodman & Miss King

..... FIRST two students to enrol at the newly opened Queens college, London - May 1st 1848

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