The First Time News Was Fit To Print.

Jason at mental_floss has taken advantage of The New York Times archives to determine when they first mentioned certain subjects. Some of the entries seem strange from the vantage point of many years later, like the first mention of Microsoft in 1981:

Instead of having to type detailed instructions on a keyboard, using a special language, in a few years users will be able to communicate with computers more like they do with fellow human beings. Computers might develop the ability to understand the particular nuances and style of their owners. “They will have as much stored knowledge of what you know, what you’ve said, what you’ve done than any friend would have the patience to learn,” predicts William H. Gates, president of Microsoft, a Bellevue, Wash., company that has designed software for many personal computer manufacturers, including I.B.M.

Other “first mentions” include The Simpsons and Barack Obama. Link