- The first brass in America was rolled by Abel Porter & Co. They were also first to make brass by direct fusion of copper and zinc in 1802 and to commercially make gilt buttons.
- Hiram Washington Hayden in invented the first brass spinning in 1851.
- Holmes and Hotchkiss successfully manufactured the first hooks and eyes in 1836.
- Grilley Bros. made the first pewter or tin buttons in 1790.
- The first covering of cloth buttons by machinery was done by Daniel Hayden and Joseph Hayden from 1828-1870.
- The first expert in the treatment of Asiatic cholera was Dr. Henry Bronson in 1832. He was a professor at Yale Medical School.
- The first ferrotypes which made photography easier, less expensive, more stable and better for the less affluent were manufactured by William Delius in 1859.
- Ezra J. Warner patented the first can opener in 1858.
- The first Girls Club in the United States opened in 1864.
- William H. Davis, the General Secretary of the Waterbury YMCA in 1912, was a member of the first organized team to play basketball. In 1892, he played on the Springfield YMCA training school team of Dr. James Naismith, the creator of the game.
- The first Mickey Mouse watch was produced by the Waterbury Clock Co. under the Ingersoll name in 1933. The price of $1.50 did not result in the company making a big profit.
- The first golf tournament in Connecticut for women only was held in Waterbury on June 12, 1917.
- The first Unico Club was founded in Waterbury in 1922. It now has 8,000 members and 150 regional groups. The membership is composed of business and professional people of Italian lineage or those who are married to an Italian-American. The clubs sponsor educational, cultural and civic programs.
- The famous Minstrel Team of Primrose and West played in Waterbury as far back as 1878. George Primrose said the first rendition of "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" was in Waterbury.
- Sacred Heart was the first Catholic High School in Connecticut, September 6, 1922.
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