1638: New Haven (arguably) becomes the first-planned city in America.
1776: Yale Student David Bushnell invents the first American submarine.
1787: John Fitch builds the first steam boat.
1793: Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin.
1836: Samuel Colt invents the automatic revolver in Whitney's factory
1839: Charles Goodyear of New Haven discovers the process of vulcanizing rubber.
1860: Philios P. Blake patents the first corkscrew.
1877: New Haven hosted the first Bell PSTN (telephone) switch office.
1878-1880: The District Telephone Company of New Haven created the world's first telephone exchange, the first telephone directory and installed the first public phone. The company expanded and became the Connecticut Telephone Company, then the Southern New England Telephone Company (now part of AT&T).
1882: the Knights of Columbus was founded in New Haven. The city still serves as the world headquarters of the organization, which maintains a museum downtown.
1892: Local confectioner George C. Smith of the Bradley Smith Candy Co. invented the first lollipops.
Late 19th century-early 20th century: The first public tree planting program takes place in New Haven, at the urging of native James Hillhouse.
1900: Louis Lassen, owner of Louis' Lunch, is credited with inventing the hamburger, as well as the steak sandwich.
1911: The Erector Set, the popular and culturally important construction toy, was invented in New Haven by A.C. Gilbert, and was manufactured by the A. C. Gilbert Company at the Erector Square, from 1913 until the company's bankruptcy in 1967.
1920: In competition with competing explanations, the Frisbee is said to have originated on the Yale campus, based on the tin pans of the Frisbie Pie Company which were tossed around by students on the New Haven Green.
1977: The first memorial to victims of the Holocaust on public land in America stands in New Haven's Edgewood Park at the corner of Whalley and West Park Avenues; it was built with funds collected from the community and is maintained by Greater New Haven Holocaust Memory, Inc. The ashes of victims killed and cremated at Auschwitz are buried under the memorial.
The Greater New Haven Convention and Visitors Bureau has a more extensive list of New Haven firsts which can be found here.
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