The phrase "and the first distinguished" is not complete and lacks context, making it difficult to assess its correctness in written English.
It could be used in a context where you are referring to a specific group or category that includes distinguished individuals or entities, but more information is needed for clarity.
Example: "He was honored as the first distinguished scholar in the program, setting a precedent for future recipients."
Alternatives: "and the initial notable" or "and the primary esteemed".
Ovassapian received many awards, including the Outstanding New Citizen Award from the Citizenship Council of Metropolitan Chicago; the William O. McQuiston, MD, Award from the Illinois Society of Anesthesiologists; and the first Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Airway Management.
He is the recipient of many international prizes, including the first Lannan Prize for Cultural Freedom, the Casa de las Américas Prize, and the First Distinguished Citizen of the region by the countries of Mercosur.
Why? Can this be changed?" Managing editor Moses Kilolo, in an introduction to the issue, said that Ngũgĩ was "uniquely placed to be the first distinguished author and intellectual featured in our periodical Translations Issue" as he "has, for many years, been the most vocal proponent in publishing in African languages".
Film director Martin Ritt has been named the first distinguished director in residence at UCLA's College of Fine Arts, according to George Schaefer, chairman of the department of theater, film and television.
Nevelson is the third distinguished figure from the art world (Frida Kahlo and Peggy Guggenheim are the others) that Ms. Ruehl has played in the last three years, and "Occupant" is her third Albee play.
In March 2016, Johnson was the third distinguished visiting fellow at the Central Bank of Barbados.
Ewha, the world's largest women's university, designated Faust only the second distinguished honorary Ewha fellow during a ceremony Friday that included remarks from Ewha President Kim Sun-Uk, a performance of traditional Korean music, and a roundtable for Faust and Kim with 20 young women studying at Ewha.
This is the third distinguished group action.
They were the first married couple to be tenured in the humanities and the first to hold distinguished chairs in the same department.
Seven albums in – five years since their last – and that ardour that first distinguished them from the rest of the indie landfill is more or less absent.
The Paulson Institute has appointed Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister of Australia and a veteran China expert, as the institute's first distinguished fellow.
