We’re No. 1: Celebrating 250 years of Pennsylvania firsts in politics, pianos and pints

As the country prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary in July, it’s an apt time for a history lesson. The Keystone State’s role in our nation’s founding is heavily noted throughout our history books, but the commonwealth also has its fair share of mind-blowing – or head-scratching – off-the-radar accomplishments in its archives. 

Here’s a look at some lesser-known firsts that took place in the commonwealth, dating back to before the country’s founding:

1775: First piano made and sold in America

John Behrent, who learned piano-building in London and Portugal before coming to Philadelphia, introduced the “Piano Forte” to America in 1775. In an ad placed in the Pennsylvania Packet, Behrent described the piano as “an extraordinary fine instrument … in the manner of a harpsichord, and several changes.”

1840: First lager made in the USA - John Wagner, made in Philadelphia

Philadelphia already had a long history with beer (still does) – but John Wagner from Bavaria changed the game in 1840. Wagner took the lager – perfected by Bavarians, using special bottom-fermenting yeast strains – to Philly, where the large German population and the hot summer months helped it take off. 

1859: First commercial oil drilling begins near Titusville, known as the Drake Well

From one valuable liquid to another: Shortly after beer, oil drilling in the U.S. also débuted in the Keystone State. Thanks to technological advancements from Edwin Drake, the Drake Well – located near Titusville – showcased the viability of oil extraction, leading to the creation of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. 

1920: KDKA makes the nation’s first commercial radio broadcast

In 1920, the leading radio manufacturer, Westinghouse, approached Frank Conrad, a Pittsburgh-area ham radio operator, with the idea of offering programming to help sell more radios. On Nov. 2 of that year, a four-man staff at the KDKA station helped Conrad lead the nation’s first commercial radio broadcast – a term coined by Conrad himself. 

1940: The Pennsylvania Turnpike becomes first all-weather, limited-access superhighway in the U.S. 

Say what you want about Pennsylvania’s roadways, but the commonwealth’s turnpike set a new standard for highway design when its first section opened in 1940, connecting Carlisle to Irwin, near Pittsburgh. The now-360-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike featured an easy-to-navigate, four-lane, divided highway design that earned the title of “America’s First Superhighway.”

1954: WQED becomes the first public television station in the country to broadcast

No joke – the nation’s first community-supported television station went on air on April 1, 1954. The Pittsburgh-area station was home to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and continues to offer educational programming for children today. It also founded the region’s only 24-hour classical radio station, WQED-FM, in 1973.

1966-67: Pittsburgh Pipers win the inaugural American Basketball Association championship

Prior to the NBA's rise in the 1980s, Pittsburgh was already something of a basketball town. The ABA, which existed from 1967 to 1976, when it merged with the NBA, was home to several teams that didn’t live to see the end of the intraleague rivalry. One of them was the Pittsburgh Pipers, who took home the championship in the ABA’s first season with the help of future Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins. 

1967: The first Big Mac was invented and sold in Pennsylvania

McDonald’s world-famous burger got its start in Uniontown in Fayette County, of all places. Created by Jim Delligatti, the Big Mac was first served in Uniontown in 1967, and soon expanded to the Pittsburgh region and beyond. 

1972: HBO’s first broadcast shown to about 365 subscribers in Wilkes-Barre

If you think of television and the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton area, the American version of “The Office” might come to mind. But Northeast Philadelphia’s place in television history dates back to 1972, when a new breed of “pay-cable” channel, known as the Home Box Office, made its first broadcast. On November 8, 1972, HBO’s first showing featured an NHL hockey game – the Vancouver Canucks versus New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden – followed by a Paul Newman- and Henry Fonda-led film titled “Sometimes a Great Notion.”