History of The Study of "firsts" and "lasts"
"Lasts" only became an area of study once the area of "firsts" (generally referred to as "Famous Firsts") was well established for decades. Today there are dozens of books that have been published about specific areas using the now established term, "famous first..." "Famous Firsts" are often heralded as news stories and may be documented with patents and even with celebrations. "Firsts" have been recorded for a long time and are a widely documented area of study, most particularly in the core library reference work Famous First Facts by Joseph Nathan Kane, first published by H. W. Wilson Company in 1933. Kane was the first to provide a comprehensive collation of "famous firsts." To this day, with each subsequent edition released (now in its 5th edition), "Kane's" remains H.W. Wilson's largest-selling single volume reference work. Many of Kane's entries are actually rather obscure, so the term "famous first" can be misleading; they are more accurately termed "notable;" hence the term "notable last" was chosen for the study of lasts, rather than "famous lasts." The term "famous last" could have not only a similarly misleading connotation, but also be potentially confused with the cautionary words of advice, "famous last words", often uttered sarcastically when an undertaking or prediction is made. Recognition of "firsts" has received more attention given the importance our society places on innovation, ingenuity and discovery. Thus, "firsts" are easier to research and authenticate. A "last", on the other hand, frequently is difficult to track down, as there is not an analogous historical record. A few small trivia books have compiled a limited number of "lasts" (particularly two small British works by Christopher Slee and a generalized work by trivia compiler Charles Panati). These are works that include general "lasts," not only "notable lasts" as defined in the first substantial work on "notable lasts" called Notable Last Facts published by Reference Desk Press, Inc. by William B. Brahms in 2005. Brahms' work was recognized by the American Library Association publication Booklist as 2005's "best addition to the trivia shelf".
Read more about this topic: Notable Last Facts
Famous quotes containing the words history of the, history of, history, study and/or lasts:
“The history of medicine is the history of the unusual.”
—Robert M. Fresco, and Jack Arnold. Prof. Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll)
“Systematic philosophical and practical anti-intellectualism such as we are witnessing appears to be something truly novel in the history of human culture.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)
“Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are rather of the nature of universals, whereas those of history are singulars.”
—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
“If we wish to know the force of human genius, we should read Shakespeare. If we wish to see the insignificance of human learning, we may study his commentators.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)
“We saw the machinery where murderers are now executed. Seven have been executed. The plan is better than the old one. It is quietly done. Only a few, at the most about thirty or forty, can witness [an execution]. It excites nobody outside of the list permitted to attend. I think the time for capital punishment has passed. I would abolish it. But while it lasts this is the best mode.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)