Pittsburgh Firsts
- First newspaper west of the Alleghenies (1789) - The Pittsburgh Gazette
- First Ferris Wheel (1893)
- World's First Commercial Radio Station (1920) - KDKA
- First Ice Capades (1940)
- First All-Aluminum Building (1953) - Regional Enterprise Tower (formerly Alcoa)
- First Polio Vaccine (1954) - Dr. Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh
- First U.S. Public Television Station (1954) - WQED
- First Retractable Dome (1961) - Mellon Arena
- First Mass Transit Busway System (1964) - Allegheny County Port Authority
- First Nighttime World Series Game (1971)
- First Robotics Center (1979)- Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute
- First Internet emoticon, the smiley :-) (1982) - CMU’s Scott Fahlman
Famous Pittsburghers
- Dancers/choreographers: Martha Graham, Gene Kelly
- Musicians/Vocalists: Stephen Foster, Henry Mancini, Billy Strayhorn, Billy Eckstine, George Benson, The Vogues, The Skyliners, The Lettermen, Stanley Turrentine, Rusted Root, Christina Aguilera, Bobby Vinton, Roy Eldridge, Ray Brown, Lena Horne, Perry Como
- Pulitzer Prize writers: August Wilson, David McCullough, Annie Dillard
- Environmentalist: Silent Spring author Rachel Carson
- Industrialists: Andrew Carnegie, Richard Mellon, Henry & Elsie Hillman, Howard Heinz
- Actors/Directors: Michael Keaton, Jeff Goldblum, Dennis Miller, Shirley Jones, Sharon Stone, Jimmy Stewart, Fred Rogers, George Romero
- Athlete superstars: Arnold Palmer, Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Honus Wagner, Gus Frerotte
- Artists/Playwriters/Lyrists: Andy Warhol, August Wilson, Stephen Foster
Pittsburgh's Famous Food
- The Big Mac, the world's most famous hamburger, was 'invented' near Pittsburgh by McDonald's franchise owner Jim Delligatti in 1967 and distributed nationally in 1968.
- Heinz Ketchup, invented in Pittsburgh by H.J. Heinz.
- Pierogies, found at restaurants throughout Pittsburgh, reflect Pittsburgh's Polish heritage. Cooked in butter, these delicious dumplings are stuffed with potato and other flavorings depending on the creativity and tradition of the cook.
- Chipped Ham is one of Pittsburgh's most famous foods. This spicy lunch meat made its debut in 1933 at Isaly's, a locally based family chain of dairy stores. Former Pittsburghers are known to have it trucked or flown across the country when they get a hankering for this hometown favorite.
- The Klondike Bar, another Isaly's original, is a vanilla ice-cream bar dipped in pure chocolate and packaged in a familiar silver wrapper. They cost a nickel when Sam Isaly invented them in 1929.
- Wedding Soup, that delectable Italian broth with tiny meatballs and rich egg pastina, is served throughout the region
- Fried Zucchini Strips - thin, crispy and savory, are a hometown original and popular as an appetizer.
- 'Pittsburgh Salad' - salads topped with french fries.
- Primanti Bros. Sandwich - A sandwich topped with fries and coleslaw. Invented during the Depression so that day laborers could hold their entire lunch in one hand.