New Sixth Edition of FAMOUS FIRST
FACTS
A Thousand New Entries, Substantial Updates, Plus Images
for the Long-Time Reference Standard
New York, New York, January 4, 2007
A new Sixth Edition of the reference classic
Famous First Facts is now
available, H.W. Wilson today announced. Some 1,000 new entries join
updated entries, new sidebars highlighting information of particular
interest, and — for the first time — images, in the lively new
version of the reference staple in libraries since 1933.
A record of first happenings, discoveries, and
inventions in American history, Famous First Facts, 6th Edition
features more than 7,500 entries in total, covering firsts from
10,000 B.C. (earliest human artifacts found in America) through
2006. Entries are organized into 16 sections on subjects throughout
the social, cultural, and scientific realms: technology, arts,
sports, history, religion, literature, and much more.
An improved format also makes finding facts
easier. Chapter headings are now displayed at the top of right hand
pages, making it easier to browse for firsts. A main subject index,
plus geographical, name, year, and month and day indexes, offer
searchers quick access to any fact.
More than 7,500 firsts in total, including the
first...
E-mail — sent in 1971 by computer engineer
Ray Tomlinson of the technology firm Bolt Beranek and Newman,
Cambridge, MA, across the ARPANET, the U.S. Army-built precursor to
the Internet. The message was sent by Tomlinson to himself as a test
of the ARPANET's messaging capabilities and contained no memorable
content.
Space tourist — millionaire businessman
Dennis A. Tito, a former aeronautics engineer and founder of
Wilshire Associates Incorporated, an investment analysis firm in
Santa Monica, CA. Tito paid $20 million to the Russian space program
to fly aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station.
The eight-day trip took place from April 29 to May 7, 2001.
Year in which hurricane forecasters ran out of
names on the annual alphabetical list — 2005, when 26 tropical
storms and hurricanes occurred. Hurricane Wilma, the 21st storm of
the year, was followed by tropical storms Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta,
and Epsilon, as meteorologists switched to using the names of the
letters of the Greek alphabet. (The letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are
usually not used in the annual list of names.)
The Famous First Facts series also includes
Famous First Facts, International Edition, covering firsts from
around the world, Famous Firsts Facts About the Environment,
Famous First Facts About American Politics, and Famous First
Facts About Sports. A database version of Famous First Facts
(reflecting the fifth edition in print) is available on WilsonWeb.
Review copies of Famous First Facts, Sixth
Edition are available for members of the press.
Famous First
Facts, Sixth Edition
1,300 pages ● January 2007
● Illustrated ●
(ISBN 10) 0-8242-1065-4 ● (ISBN 13)
978-0-8242-1065-6
$185 ($195 outside U.S. & Canada)
Contact:
Roseward Sky
Phone (800) 367-6770, x2272
Email:
rsky@hwwilson.com
Frank Daly
Phone: (800) 367-6770, x2312
Email: fdaly@hwwilson.com
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