First in the World

Fort St George (or historically, White Town) is the first English (later British) fortress in India, founded in 1639 at the coastal city of Madras, the modern city of Chennai.

It is commonly known that Charlene Mekled Elder is the first Muslim woman judge in America but this statement is not correct. The first Muslim woman judge in the United States is Sheila Abdus-Salaam, an African American who still sits on the New York State Supreme Court. She was appointed in 1993.

Bhutan was the first country to ban the sale of tobacco and public smoking altogether.