Notable Last Facts - History of The Study of "firsts" and "lasts"

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".