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Tag: 1900s

  • Early 1900s: The 100 Most Popular Songs

    Early 1900s: The 100 Most Popular Songs

    The 1900s: 1900-1919 Pop Song Hits

    1. I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy – 1904 (by George M Cohen)
    2. America the Beautiful – 1910
    3. Danny Boy – 1913
    4. Take Me Out To The Ball Game – 1908 (by Jack Norworth & Albert Von Tilzer )
    5. Pomp and Circumstance – 1902 (by Elgar)
    6. The Grand Old Rag (aka “You’re a Grand Old Flag”) – 1906 (by George M. Cohan)
    7. When Irish Eyes Are Smiling – 1912 (by Chauncey Olcott & George Graff Jr, . Ernest R. Ball)
    8. Daddy’s Little Girl – 1905 (by Edward Madden & Theodore F. Morse)
    9. The Bells Of St Mary’s – 1917 (by Douglas Furber & A. Emmett Adams)
    10. Give My Regards to Broadway – 1904 (by George M. Cohan )
    11. Swanee – 1919
    12. Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s An Irish Lullaby) – 1913 (by James R. Shannon )
    13. I Ain’t Got Nobody – 1916 (by Roger Graham, Dave Peyton & Spencer Williams)
    14. I Want To Be In Dixie (I’m Going Back To Dixie) – 1911 (by Irving Berlin & Ted Snyder)
    15. The Entertainer – 1902 (by Scott Joplin)
    16. Strike Up the Band (Here Comes a Sailor) – 1900
    17. Anchors Aweigh – 1906 (by Alfred Hart Miles & R. Lovell and Charles A. Zimmerman)
    18. The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous – 1903 (by Dan McAvoy)
    19. Colonel Bogey March – 1914 (by Kenneth J. Alford)
    20. Melody Of Love – 1903 (by Tom Glazer & H. Engelmann)
    21. Flight of the Bumble Bee – 1900 – (by N. Rimsky-Korsakov)
    22. Rite of Spring – 1913 (by Stravinsky)
    23. Over There – 1917 (by George M. Cohan)
    24. Yale Boola! (March and Two-Step) – 1901
    25. Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo – 1919 (by Edward Rowland)
    26. March of the Toys – 1903 (by Victor Herbert, heard in Babes In Toyland)
    27. Frankie and Johnny – 1912
    28. Dardanella – 1919 (by Fred Fisher & Felix Bernard, Johnny S. Black)
    29. You Belong To Me – 1916 (by Harry B. Smith & Victor Herbert)
    30. Alexander’s Ragtime Band – 1911(?)
    31. Hail! Hail! The Gang’s All Here – 1917 (by D. A. Esrom, Theodore F. Morse & Arthur Sullivan)
    32. Fascination – 1915 (by Harold Atteridge & Sigmund Romberg)
    33. McNamara’s Band – 1917 (by John J. Stamford & Shamus O’Connor)
    34. Peg O’ My Heart – 1913 (by Alfred Bryan & Fred Fisher)
    35. Saint Louis Blues – 1914 (by W. C. Handy)
    36. The Glow-Worm – 1902 (by Lilla Cayley Robinson, Heinz Bolten-Backers, Paul Lincke)
    37. Scott Joplin’s New Rag – 1912 (by Scott Joplin)
    38. Hail Hail the Gang’s All Here – 1917
    39. Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet – 1909 (by Stanley Murphy & Percy Wenrich)
    40. Bye, Bye My Honey – Billy Golden (1911)
    41. Joe Turner Blues – 1915 (by Walter Hirsch & W. C. Handy)
    42. It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary – 1912
    43. Ragtime Cowboy Joe – 1912 (by Grant Clarke, Lewis F. Muir & Maurice Abrahams)
    44. Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning – 1918 (by Irving Berlin)
    45. The Whiffenpoof Song – 1909 (by Meade Minnigerode & George S. Pomeroy, Tod B. Galloway)
    46. Alabama Jubilee – 1915 (by Jack Yellen & George L. Cobb)
    47. The Darktown Strutters’ Ball – 1916 (by Shelton Brooks)
    48. Harrigan – 1907 (by George M. Cohan)
    49. Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home – 1902
    50. Let Me Call You Sweetheart – 1910
    51. Keep On The Sunny Side – 1906 (by Jack Drislane & Theodore F. Morse)
    52. Because – 1902
    53. Hiawatha (His Song to Minnehaha) – 1903
    54. Ida! Sweet as Apple Cider – 1903 (by Eddie Leonard & Eddie Munson)
    55. The Aba Daba Honeymoon – 1914 (by Arthur Fields & Walter Donovan)
    56. Play a Simple Melody – 1914 (by Irving Berlin)
    57. Ah! Sweet Mystery Of Life – 1910 (by Rida Johnson Young & Victor Herbert)
    58. Ballin’ The Jack – 1913 (by James Henry Burris & Chris Smith)
    59. The Memphis Blues – 1912
    60. American Patrol – 1901(?)
    61. On a Sunday Afternoon – 1902
    62. The Saint Louis Blues – 1914
    63. The Rose Of Tralee – 1912 (by C. Mordaunt Spencer m. Charles W. Glover)
    64. K-K-K-Katy – 1918 (by Geoffrey O’Hara)
    65. There’s A Broken Heart For Every Light On Broadway – 1915 (by Howard Johnson & Fred Fisher)
    66. Syncopated Walk – 1914 (by Irving Berlin)
    67. My Melancholy Baby – 1912 (by George A. Norton & Ernie Burnett)
    68. Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis – 1904
    69. Give Us Just Another Lincoln – 1900
    70. I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now – 1909 (by Will M. Hough & Frank R. Adams, Joseph E. Howard & Harold Orlob)
    71. In the Good Old Summer Time – 1902
    72. Twelfth Street Rag – 1914 (by Euday L. Bowman)
    73. A Little Bit of Heaven – 1915
    74. Casey Jones – 1909 (by T. Lawrence Seibert & Eddie Newton)
    75. Blame It on the Blues – 1914
    76. By the Light of the Silvery Moon – 1909 (by Edward Madden & Gus Edwards)
    77. Waltz Around Again Willie – 1906 (‘Round, ‘Round, ‘Round)
    78. Alcoholic Blues – 1919 (by Edward Laska & Albert Von Tilzer)
    79. I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier – 1915 (by Alfred Bryan & Al Piantadosi )
    80. Shine On Harvest Moon – 1907 (by Nora Bayes & Jack Norworth)
    81. I Can’t Tell Why I Love You But I Do – 1900
    82. Hungarian Rag – 1913 (by Julius Lenzberg)
    83. In My Merry Oldsmobile -1905 (by Vincent P. Bryan & Gus Edwards)
    84. And Then – 1913 (by Alfred Bryan & Herman Paley)
    85. Good Morning, Mr. Zip-Zip-Zip! – 1918
    86. Goodbye, Good Luck, God Bless You – 1916 (by J. Keirn Brennan & Ernest R. Ball)
    87. Mary’s a Grand Old Name – 1905 (from the musical play Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway)
    88. Un Bel Di Madame Butterfly – 1904 (by Puccini)
    89. My Gal Sal – 1905
    90. Concerto for Piano #2 – 1901 (by Rachmaninoff)
    91. Topsy Song – 1910
    92. I’m Always Chasing Rainbows – 1918 (from the Musical Comedy Oh Look!)
    93. On The Road To Mandalay – 1907 (by Rudyard Kipling & Oley Speaks)
    94. Missouri Waltz (Hush-a-Bye, Ma Baby) – 1914
    95. In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree – 1905
    96. Beans! Beans!! Beans!!! – 1912 (by Elmer Bowman & Chris Smith)
    97. Tell Me Pretty Maiden (English Girls and Clerks) – 1900 (featured in Florodora)
    98. A Good Man Is Hard To Find – 1919(?)
    99. The Caissons Go Rolling Along – 1906 (by Edmund L. Gruber)
    100. Uncle Josh in Society – 1909
  • 1910 Trivia, History and Fun Facts

    1910 Trivia, History and Fun Facts

    1910 History, Fun Facts and Trivia

    • World-Changing Events: The Albanian Revolt of 1910 and The Mexican Revolution
    • The Popular Songs Included: By The Light of the Silvery Moon, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, and I’m Henery the Eighth, I Am.
    • The Republic of China officially abolished slavery.
    • The first film versions of The Wizard of Oz and Frankenstein were released.
    • President Taft began the tradition of throwing out balls on MLB’s opening day.
    • On April 20, Comet Halley was visible from Earth. On May 18, The Earth passed through the tail of Halley’s Comet.
    • Washington State became the 5th US State in which women could vote.
    • American domestic tourism began with the establishment of Glacier National Park in Montana.
    • In the first “Fight of the Century”, African-American boxer Jack Johnson defeated white-American boxer, James J. Jeffries.
    • The Conversation: It was about Halley’s Comet.

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1910

    Mary, Helen, Margaret, Dorothy, Ruth, Anna, Elizabeth, Mildred, Marie, Alice
    John, James, William, Robert, George, Joseph, Charles, Frank, Edward, Henry

    US Life Expectancy

     (1910) Males: 48.4 years, Females: 51.8 years
    Federal spending: $690 million
    Unemployment: 5.9%
    Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.02

    Firsts, Inventions, and Wonders

    Principia Mathematica, a three-volume work on the foundations of Mathematics, was released. This hefty work aimed to create a set of axioms that could, in theory, prove all mathematical truths. This included proving that 1+1=2.

    Thomas Edison’s Frankenstein (1910) is the earliest known film version of Mary Shelley’s novel.

    The word “Moron” was first coined in 1910 by psychologist Henry H. Goddard from the Ancient Greek word ‘moros,’ meaning “dull.”

    William D. Boyce founded the Boy Scouts of America.

    The first mid-air collision. On October 3, Frenchman René Thomas, flying the Antoinette IV monoplane, collided with British Army Captain Bertram Dickson in his Farman III biplane. No one was killed.

    The first public radio broadcast was live performances of the Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci operas from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

    The first airship with passengers set afloat-Zeppelin on June 22, on The Deutschland.

    Georges Claude invented Neon Lights, first publicly displayed at the Paris Motor (Auto) Show.

    The Tango dance, a cultural blend of Cuban, Argentinian, and African rhythms, became famous worldwide.

    President William Howard Taft began the tradition of throwing out balls on MLB’s opening day.

    “ALFA” (later Alfa Romeo) was an acronym for “Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili,” founded in 1910.

    Yellow Cab was founded

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1910 include

    The American Quartet, Harry Anthony, Norah Bayes, Henry Burr, Arthur Clough, Arthur Collins, Ada Jones, Byron G. Harlan, The Hayden Quartet, Harry Lauder, Harry Macdonough, Lucy Isabelle Marsh, John McCormack, Eddie Morton, Billy Murray, Jack Norworth, Will Oakland, The Peerless Quartet, Arthur Pryor’s Band, Bob Roberts, Frank Stanley, Elise Stevenson, Sophie Tucker, Walter Van Brunt, Elizabeth Wheeler, Bert Williams

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    When Earth passed through the tail of Halley’s Comet during its 1910 approach, there was public fear that a gas discovered in the tail, cyanogen, would destroy all life on the planet, leading to people buying gas masks and “Anti-Comet Pills,” which were $1 each.

    The Great January Comet of 1910, often called the Daylight Comet, appeared in January. It was brighter than Halley’s and unexpected.

    Typhoid Mary (Mary Mallon) was released from her first periods of forced isolation and went on to cause several further outbreaks of typhoid in the New York area.

    “Lakeview Gusher” was the name given to an out-of-control oil eruption from a drilled well in Kern County, California. It created the largest accidental oil spill in history, spewing for 544 consecutive days, and releasing 9 million barrels of crude oil.

    During three days of shooting in December 1910, Adolf Toepperwein shot 72,491 out of 75,000 tossed wooden blocks.

    In one hour, 10,000 people in Iowa constructed a 380-mile road in 1910.

    The first movie ever shot in Hollywood was “In Old California” by DW Griffith in 1910. It was a historical melodrama about southern California in the 1800s when it was a part of Mexico.

    The first film version of The Wizard of Oz was released in 1910

    Alice Stebbins Wells was sworn in as the first policewoman in the United States by the Los Angeles Police Department.

    The world record holder for the world’s oldest dog was Bluey, who lived from 1910 to 1939 and died at 29 years and five months.

    In France, Raymonde de Laroche was awarded Pilot’s License #36 by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, becoming the first woman authorized to fly an airplane.

    Rayon, a man-made fabric blended from cotton, wood pulp, and other natural or synthetic fibers, was first commercially produced in America in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.

    While attending the first American Air Meet, William Boeing asked every aviator for a ride, but no one obliged. William then went back to Seattle and founded Boeing Aircraft.

    The Tragedies

    One hundred eighteen people died when three passenger trains were buried at Steven’s Pass, Washington, in the Cascade Range by the worst snow slide in US history.

    On March 27, a Fire during a barn dance in Hungary killed 312 people.

    In England, near Bolton, an explosion killed 360 coal miners: The Pretoria Pit Disaster.

    A fire at a building in Newark, New Jersey, housing several factories, killed 24 women and girls employed by the Wolf Muslin Undergarment Company.

    The Great Fire of 1910 (aka Idaho Big Burn or The Big Blowup) in the western US was the size of the state of Connecticut. It spanned from eastern Washington to western Montana, and 3 million acres were burned. Eighty-seven people were killed.

    In England, an explosion at the Wellington Coal Mine near Manchester killed 137 people.

    Interesting…

    Valentine Tapley promised never to shave again if Abraham Lincoln was elected president. He died in 1910 with a 12-foot 6-inch long beard.

    The Great Illusion by Norman Angell, a best-selling British book published in 1910, claimed future major wars were unlikely because they would unprofitably disrupt commerce and credit between nations.

    The Population of Manhattan peaked in 1910, at 2,331,542. It is lower today.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Chemistry – Otto Wallach
    Literature – Paul Heyse
    Medicine – Albrecht Kossel
    Peace – Permanent International Peace Bureau
    Physics – Johannes Diderik van der Waals

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1910

    Fiction Bestsellers: 

    1. The Rosary by Florence Barclay
    2. A Modern Chronicle by Winston Churchill,
    3. The Wild Olive by Basil King
    4. Max by Katherine Cecil Thurston
    5. The Kingdom of Slender Swords by Hallie Erminie Rives
    6. Simon the Jester by William J. Locke
    7. Lord Loveland Discovers America by C.N. and A.M. Williamson
    8. The Window at the White Cat by Mary Roberts Rinehart
    9. Molly Make-Believe by Eleanor Abbott
    10. When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart

    Other Books of Note:

    Twenty Years at Hull-House by Jane Addams
    Origins and Development of Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
    Howards End by E.M. Forster
    How We Think by John Dewey

    1910 United States Census

    Total US Population: 92,228,496
    1. New York, New York – 4,766,883
    2. Chicago, Illinois – 2,185,283
    3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – 1,549,008
    4. St. Louis, Missouri – 687,029
    5. Boston, Massachusetts – 670,585
    6. Cleveland, Ohio – 560,663
    7. Baltimore, Maryland – 558,485
    8. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – 533,905
    9. Detroit, Michigan – 465,766
    10. Buffalo, New York – 423,715

    Sports

    World Series Champions: Philadelphia Athletics
    Challenge Cup Champs: Ottawa Hockey Club/Montreal Wanderers
    U.S. Open Golf: Alex Smith
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): William Larned/Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Anthony Wilding/Dorothea Lambert Chambers
    NCAA Football Champions: Harvard & Pitt
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Donau
    Boston Marathon Winner: Fred Cameron Time: 2:28:52

    More 1910 Facts & History Resources:

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that Opened in 1910
    1910 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    1910US Census Fast Facts
    Fact Monster 
    1910 in Movies (according to IMDB) 
    Wikipedia 1910

  • 1909 History, Facts and Trivia

    1909 History, Facts and Trivia

    1909 History, Facts and Trivia

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1909

    Mary, Helen, Margaret, Ruth, Dorothy, John, William, James, George, Robert

    US Life Expectancy

    Men: 50.5 years Women:53.8 years  

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders

    Condé Montrose Nast founded Condé Nast Inc..

    Maksymilian Faktorowicz founded Max Factor.

    The first pig to fly was on November 4, 1909. Pioneering English aviator John Moore-Brabazon (The 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara) passed overhead with the pig in a basket, attached to his plane.

    The “customer is always right” slogan was created by Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge’s department store in London, in 1909 to provide better customer service.

    Carlisle Trust Bank opened the first Christmas Club, saving money for Christmas gifts.

    The Oval Office was constructed in 1909.

    Philadelphia’s Shibe Park (later Connie Mack Stadium) opened.

    The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed.

    The Hudson Motor Car Company (1909 – 1954) was founded.

    New York was first mentioned as “The Big Apple” in the 1909 book The Wayfarer in New York by Edward S. Martin.

    Soren Sorensen created the pH scale in 1909 while working for Carlsberg Beer. The development was used to control the beer’s acidity and minimize fermentation problems.

    Abercrombie & Fitch published their first catalog.

    The superstition that said “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit” when waking on the first day of the month to bring good luck originated in 1909.

    The first president to drive an electric car was William Howard Taft.

    364,545 Pianos were sold in the United States, a record.

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1909 include

    Henry Burr, Arthur Collins, Byron G. Harlan, The Hayden Quartet, Ralph Herz, Harold Jarvis, Ada Jones, Harry Lauder, Harry Macdonugh, Billy Murray, Will Oakland, The Peerless Quartet, Prince’s Orchestra, Arthur Pryor’s Band, Blanche Ring, Manuel Romain, John Philip Sousa’s Band, Frank Stanley, Elise Stevenson, Harry Tally, Nat Wills, Walter Van Brunt

    US Politics

    March 4, 1909 (Thursday) Inauguration of William Howard Taft

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    The Eiffel Tower was initially planned to be demolished in 1909 but was saved because it was re-purposed as a giant radio antenna. In 1913, the tower transmitted a signal to Washington DC.

    Alice Ramsey was the first woman to drive across the United States, in 1909. It took her 59 days.

    Harry Houdini wrote a book in 1909 called “Handcuff Secrets,” in which he revealed many of the tricks behind his famous escapes.

    Henry Ford offered his Model T automobile a few options. “Any customer can have a car painted any color they like, as long as it’s black.”

    Joan of Arc receives beatification by the Roman Catholic Church. She was canonized as a saint on May 16, 1920.

    The Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909, and the Indianapolis 500 started in 1911.

    Ty Cobb lead the American League in home runs, without hitting a single one over the fence.

    Warren Remedy (1905-1912), a Smooth Fox Terrier owned by Winthrop Rutherfurd, was awarded Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club for the third straight year in a row (1907, 1908, 1909), the only dog to do so.

    The 1909 T206 Honus Wagner baseball card is the highest-valued card ever, last auctioned off at over $2.1 million in 2012. He ended the production of his card because a tobacco company distributed them, and he didn’t want to be associated with smoking.

    The first International Women’s Day was a socialist political event in New York City in 1909.

    The world’s oldest operating airport, College Park, Maryland, was established when Wilbur Wright arrived to train two US Army officers.

    Founded in 1902, Cadillac joined General Motors.

    The Eton Wall Game is played on a narrow strip 110 meters long up against a wall. Moving the ball along the wall with your feet and scoring a goal at the far end is the idea. Goals are scarce; the last one scored was at the annual St Andrew’s Day match in 1909. Other matches end up with a goal every ten years or so.

    Construction of the US Navy base began at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

    Interesting…

    Mark Twain (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910) predicted his death in 1909: “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.” He died in 1910, a day after the comet returned.

    There is a conspiracy theory that Egyptian treasures and tunnels were found in the Grand Canyon in 1909 and subsequently covered up by the Smithsonian. The area in question has numerous Egyptian landmark names and is currently off-limits to all hikers.

    In 1909, the presidential salary was $75,000. Adjusting for inflation, that’s about $1.7 million, or more than four times the current presidential pay of $400,000.

    The US government had a “Conscience Fund” where people could send money if they felt guilty. The most considerable sum ever received was from 1909 when someone mailed in $18,669.

    The Tragedy

    The 1909 Cherry Mine Disaster in Illinois killed 259 men and boys.

    The Legacy

    Milton Hershey’s inability to have children founded the Milton Hershey School for Orphans in 1909. He donated 30% of all future Hershey profits. It now has 7 billion in assets and continues to serve orphans in financial need. Milton also prohibited its use in any advertising.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Physics – Guglielmo Marconi and Karl Ferdinand Braun
    Chemistry – Wilhelm Ostwald
    Medicine – Emil Theodor Kocher
    Literature – Selma Lagerlöf
    Peace – Auguste Marie François Beernaert and Paul-Henri-Benjamin d’Estournelles de Constant

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1909

    Fiction Bestsellers

    1. The Inner Shrine by Basil King
    2. Katrine by Elinor Macartney Lane
    3. The Silver Horde by Rex Beach
    4. The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart
    5. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine by John Fox Jr
    6. Truxton King by George Barr McCutcheon
    7. 54-40 or Fight by Emerson Hough
    8. The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath
    9. Peter by F. Hopkinson Smith
    10. Septimus by William J. Locke

    Other Books of Note

    The Promise of American Life by Herbert Croly
    A Pluralistic Universe by William James
    American Prose Masters by W.C. Brownell

    Sports

    World Series Champions: Pittsburgh Pirates
    Challenge Cup Champs: Ottawa Hockey Club
    U.S. Open Golf: George Sargent
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): William Larned/Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Arthur Gore/Dora Boothby
    NCAA Football Champions: Yale
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Wintergreen
    Boston Marathon Winner: Henri Renaud Time: 2:53:36

    More 1909 History Resources

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that Opened in 1909
    1909 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    1909 in Movies (according to IMDB) 
    Wikipedia 1909

     

  • 1908 History, Facts and Trivia

    1908 History, Facts and Trivia

    1908 History, Facts and Trivia

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1908

    Mary, Helen, Margaret, Ruth, Anna, John, William, James, George, Robert

    US Life Expectancy

    (1908) Males: 49.5 years, Females: 52.8 years

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders

    Adolph Spreckels, of the Spreckels Sugar Company, was the first Sugar Daddy, nicknamed by his 24-years-younger wife, Alma de Bretteville.

    The word “empathy” did not enter the English language until 1908.

    I Got the Blues, published by New Orleans musician Antonio Maggio, and it is probably the first published “Blues” song.

    Gideon Bibles started appearing in Hotel rooms.

    The first ‘spork’ (cutting spoon) was patented (#904553A) 1908.

    Around 400 BC, the Greek philosopher Democritus codified four basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter). No one challenged this until Auguste Escoffier, who claimed another, un-named taste, until a Japanese chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, ‘discovered’ the fifth flavor (umami) in L-glutamate.

    Sunshine made Hydrox Cookies in 1908, and Oreo copied it in 1912.

    Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf came up with the name Rolex when, as he said, “I tried combining the letters of the alphabet in every possible way. This gave me some hundred names, but none felt right. One morning, a genie whispered’ Rolex’ in my ear while riding on the upper deck of a horse-drawn omnibus along Cheapside in the City of London.”

    Tea Bags became popular.

    The American term “Melting Pot” was first used in Israel Zangwill’s play of the same name.

    The recipe for Tootsie Rolls calls for the previous day’s batch to be mixed with the new batch each day. Theoretically, this means there could be a bit of the first, starting in 1908, Tootsie Rolls in every new roll made today.

    Until 1908, Philadelphia City Hall was the tallest building in the world.

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1908 include

    John Beiling, Henry Burr, Albert Campbell, Enrico Caruso, Arthur Collins, Emilio DeGogorza, Geraldine Farrar, Byron G. Harlon, The Hayden Quartet, Harvey Hindermyer, Ada Jones, Harry Macdonough, Isabelle Marsh, Eddie Morton, Billy Murray, The Peerless Quartet, Arthur Pryor’s Band, Antonio Scotti, Frank Stanley, Cal Stewart, Elise Stevenson, Alan Turner, The Victor Orchestra, Reinald Werrenrath

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    London was the first city to have ever hosted the Olympics three times. 1908, 1948, and 2012.

    The Tunguska Event, an explosion in Siberia in 1908, was 1,000 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima, wiped out 80 million trees, and some say it was from a Nikola Tesla experiment. #itwasnt #probablyameteor

    “SOS” (· · · – – – · · ·) distress signal officially became the worldwide standard for help.

    Six thousand two hundred ten fans showed up to see the Cubs win the 1908 World Series, the smallest crowd for a World Series game. Chicago Cubs playoff games are scheduled at 7:08 pm or 19:08 in military time, and this is because 1908 was the last year the Cubs won the World Series. Merkle’s Boner was an incident in which rookie baseball player Fred Merkle of the New York Giants failed to advance to second base on what should have been a game-winning hit. This would lead to the Giants losing the National League pennant to the Chicago Cubs.

    Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer, which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball.

    HIV made the jump from chimps to humans around 1908.

    Ford’s Model T went on sale, at $825.00.

    Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis of West Virginia in 1908. It soon became so commercial that Jarvis spent the rest of her life trying to remove it from the calendar.

    Sears sold mail-order homes, 75,000 between 1908 and 1940, as part of their Modern Homes program. They arrived as a kit and included many modern conveniences, such as indoor plumbing.

    In 1908 in England, William “Bigfoot” Anakin, a local champion, was taken to court by a defense lawyer to help demonstrate that darts were not gambling but a game of skill. He threw three darts in the center; no other court official could do the same. The judge ruled that darts were a game of skill.

    The Phaistos Disc was discovered in 1908 by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier

    1908 Olympics

    The United States is the only country that does not ‘dip’ its flag to the host country at the Olympics opening ceremonies. When the US flag-holder, Ralph Rose, was asked to do so for King Edward VII at the 1908 London games, he supposedly responded, “This flag dips to no earthly king.”

    Pistol dueling was a sport in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Contestants used wax bullets and metal masks for safety.

    The United Kingdom won 146 medals in their 1908 London Olympic Games – 56 were gold medals, more than every other country in that year.

    The 1908 Olympics were moved from Rome to London due to the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

    A marathon is 40.195 km (26.2 miles) because the British Queen Alexandra wanted the Olympic marathon in the 1908 Olympics in London to finish on the grass field. This changed the then-current distance of a marathon, but it was later formalized as the official distance and never changed back.

    Finland and Sweden are the only countries that have earned a medal at every Olympic game since 1908.

    When introduced to the Olympics in 1908, figure skating was part of the Summer Games. It remained so until 1924.

    OOPS!

    The Russian Olympic team arrived at the Olympics in London 12 days late because it was still using the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar.

    English newspaper The Daily Telegraph printed an interview with Germany’s Emperor Wilhelm II, who characterized himself as ‘personally friendly’ to Britain but suggested the German people are hostile. It did not go well in either country, which is why, even today, it refers separately between governments and citizens of nations.

    Interesting…

    In his 1908 South Pole expedition, Ernest Shackleton included in his supplies cigars, 42 cases of alcohol, a car, and cocaine.

    Tragedies

    One hundred seventy-two students died in the Collinwood School Fire. One hundred seventy-one people died in a fire at the Rhoads Opera House. The crush of the crowds toward the exit made it impossible to open the inward-swinging doors. This is why doors now open outward in the United States.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Physics – Gabriel Lippmann
    Chemistry – Ernest Rutherford
    Medicine – Élie Metchnikoff, Paul Ehrlich
    Literature – Rudolf Christoph Eucken
    Peace – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Fredrik Bajer

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1908

    Fiction Bestsellers

    1. Mr. Crewe’s Career by Winston Churchill
    2. The Barrier by Rex Beach
    3. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine by John Fox Jr
    4. The Lure of the Mask by Harold MacGrath
    5. The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett
    6. Peter by F. Hopkinson Smith
    7. Lewis Rand by Mary Johnston
    8. The Black Bag by Louis J. Vance
    9. The Man from Brodney’s by George Barr McCutcheon,
    10. The Weavers Critically Acclaimed and Historically Significant by Gilbert Parker

    Other Books of Note

    The Wind and The Willows by Kenneth Grahame
    Process of Government by Arthur Bentley
    Materialism and Empirio-Criticism by Vladimir Lenin
    Human Nature and Politics by Graham Wallas
    A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
    The Old Wives’ Tale by Arnold Bennett
    Hind Swaraj by Mohandas Gandhi
    The Melting Pot by Israel Zangwill

    Sports

    World Series Champions: Chicago Cubs
    Challenge Cup Champs: Montreal Wanderers
    U.S. Open Golf: Fred McLeod
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): William Larned/Maud Barger-Wallach
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Arthur Gore/Charlotte Sterry
    NCAA Football Champions: Pennsylvania & LSU
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Stone Street
    Boston Marathon Winner: Thomas Morrissey Time: 2:25:43

    More 1908 History Resources

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that Opened in 1908
    1908 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com
    Fact Monster 
    1908 in Movies (according to IMDB) 
    Wikipedia 1908

  • 1907 History, Facts and Trivia

    1907 History, Facts and Trivia

    1907 History, Facts and Trivia

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1907

    Mary, Helen, Margaret, Anna, Ruth, John, William, James, George, Robert

    US Life Expectancy

    (1907) Males: 45.6 years, Females: 49.9 years

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders

    Morris Michtom, the inventor of the Teddy Bear in 1902, opened the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

    The Plaza Hotel opened in New York City (5th Ave& 59th St). The Price for one night was $2.50.

    Before 1907, a carat, the unit of measurement for gemstones and pearls, could be anywhere between 187 milligrams to 215.99 milligrams, depending on what part of the world you were in. An agreement in Paris put it at 200 mg, and the United States started using that number in 1913.

    UPS was initially called American Messenger Company and was started in 1907 by two teenagers, Claude Ryan and Jim Casey, in Seattle.

    The First AA Battery was invented.

    The Bank of Italy (later Bank of America) opened at 3433 Mission Street, San Francisco.

    E.W. Scripps founded United Press (International).

    The first Ziegfeld Follies was produced in 1907 at Jardin de Paris’s roof theatre.

    The word “blurb” was invented in 1907 by humorist Gelett Burgess.

    Scott introduced paper towels in 1907 for public bathroom use and kitchen use in 1931.

    The world’s first fully synthetic plastic was Bakelite, invented in New York in 1907 by Leo Baekeland, who coined the term ‘plastics’.

    The first trial to be called the “trial of the century” was in 1907, when Harry K. Thaw was tried for the murder of Stanford White.

    The Hero

    A Mexican railroad brakeman named Jesus Garcia saved the entire town of Nacozari, Sonora, by single-handedly driving a damaged and burning train containing dynamite six kilometers away from the town before it exploded, killing him

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1907 include

    Henry Burr, Albert Campbell, Enrico Caruso, Arthur Collins, Byron G. Harlan, The Hayden Quartet, Ada Jones, Harry Lauder, Harry Macdonough, Corinne Morgan, Billy Murray, The Peerless Quartet, Prince’s Orchestra, Frank Stanley, Elise Stevenson, Cal Stewart, Harry Tally, Helen Trix, The United States Marine Band, The Victor Orchestra, Bert Williams

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    Until 1907, marrying your dead wife’s sister was illegal in England.

    Father’s Day was inspired, in part, by the 1907 Monongah Mining Disaster in West Virginia that killed 361 men, 250 of them fathers, leaving around a thousand fatherless children.

    Joseph Stalin said at the funeral of his first wife: “This creature softened my heart of stone. She died, and with her died my last warm feelings for humanity.”

    Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and Maxim Litvinov were all involved in a 1907 armed robbery that resulted in the deaths of 40 people and injured 50 others, stealing $3.4 in 2017 million dollars.

    Ringling Brothers Greatest Show on Earth bought Barnum & Bailey Circus.

    “Gentleman’s Agreement” refers to an informal agreement between the US and Japan in 1907.

    Kellogg’s promoted their cornflakes with something called the Wink Day campaign. Women were encouraged to “wink at your grocer and see what you get”; they got a free cereal box.

    Ben-Hur (2016) was a remake of Ben-Hur (1959), a remake of a 1925 silent film and a 1907 silent film.

    The ball atop One Times Square started on December 31, 1907, as 100 incandescent light bulbs on a wood and iron structure hoisted with a rope. The ball drop tradition has been observed yearly since, except in 1942 and 1943, in observance of wartime blackouts.

    The Huia bird went extinct in 1907, but its song exists today because an elderly Maori man recorded them 1949 from childhood memories.

    The Irish Crown Jewels were stolen in 1907, and the crime has never been solved.

    Australian swimmer Anette Kellerman was the first woman to wear a one-piece bathing suit and was arrested for indecency in 1907. She was also one of the first women to attempt to swim the English Channel.

    During the Panic of 1907, John D. Rockefeller, the wealthiest man in America, pledged half of his wealth to maintain America’s credit and got other bankers to help. The Panic of 1907 led to the formation of The Federal Reserve Bank.

    Polio has existed throughout written human history, but there was never a significant epidemic until 1907, when 2,700 contracted polio in Vermont; by 1952, there were over 50,000 cases in just the United States.

    John “Babbacombe” Lee (1864 – March 19, 1945) survived three attempts to arrest him for murder in 1885 when the gallows malfunctioned and were released in 1907.

    Interesting…

    Dropping a bomb from a balloon is, to this day, a violation of the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, although there is no such prohibition for dropping a bomb from an aircraft.

    Harvard’s Widener Library is named after a 1907 alum, Harry Elkins Widener, who died on the Titanic.

    Researcher George Soper published the results of his investigation into recent typhoid outbreaks in the New York area. He said that Mary Mallon (Typhoid Mary) was the likely source of the outbreak.

    “Uncle Fed” Messer lived in North Carolina, US, from August 21, 1791, until February 8, 1907.

    In Nigeria, a local tribe worshiped the god of smallpox, Sopona. The priests secretly infected people they didn’t like. Based on this information, the British colonial rulers banned the worship of Sopona in 1907.

    The phrase “the whole 9 yards” is unrelated to football or sports. No one knows the origins; it is “the most prominent etymological riddle of our time.” It is based on an earlier “whole 6 yards” phase traced to circa 1907.

    From 1907 to 1922, U.S. citizen women lost citizenship if they married foreigners.

    The Handshaking Record

    On January 1, 1907, Theodore Roosevelt shook the hands of 8,510 people, setting a world record he held for over 70 years.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Physics – Albert Abraham Michelson
    Chemistry – Eduard Buchner
    Medicine – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran
    Literature – Rudyard Kipling
    Peace – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Louis Renault

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1907

    Fiction Bestsellers

    1. The Lady of the Decoration by Frances Little
    2. The Weavers by Gilbert Parker
    3. The Port of Missing Men by Meredith Nicholson
    4. The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett
    5. The Brass Bowl by Louis J. Vance
    6. Satan Sanderson by Hallie Erminie Rives
    7. The Daughter of Anderson Crow by George Barr McCutcheon
    8. The Younger Set by Robert W. Chambers
    9. The Doctor by Ralph Connor
    10. Half a Rogue by Harold MacGrath

    Other Books of Note

    Pragmatism by William James
    Christianity and the Social Crisis by Walter Rauschenbusch
    The American Scene by Henry James
    New Basis for Civilization by Simon Patten
    Creative Evolution by Henri Bergson

    Sports

    World Series Champions: Chicago Cubs
    Challenge Cup Champs: Kenora Thistles/Montreal Wanderers
    U.S. Open Golf: Alec Ross
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): William Larned/Evelyn Sears
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Norman Brookes/May Sutton
    NCAA Football Champions: Yale
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Pink Star
    Boston Marathon Winner: Thomas Longboat Time: 2:24:24

    More 1907 History Resources

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that Opened in 1907
    1907 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    Fact Monster 
    1907 in Movies (according to IMDB) 
    Wikipedia 1907

     

  • 1906 History, Facts and Trivia

    1906 History, Facts and Trivia

    1906 History, Facts and Trivia

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1906

    Mary, Helen, Margaret, Anna, Ruth, John, William, James, George, Robert

    US Life Expectancy

     (1906) Males: 46.9 years, Females: 50.8 years

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders

    The first Victor Victrola phonographic record player was manufactured.

    Willis Carrier received his US patent (#808,897) for the world’s first air conditioner (“apparatus for treating air,”).

    The first animated cartoon, Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, was copyrighted.

    Filed three years earlier, the US Patent (#821,393) was granted on May 22, 1906, to Wilbur and Orville Wright for “new and useful improvement in Flying Machines.”

    Finland was the first country in the world to give women the right to vote and run for office. One year later, the world’s first female MPs were elected.

    Federated Boys’ Club (Boys’ Club of America) was organized among 53 independent organizations.

    Alpha Phi Alpha, 1st Black Greek Letter Fraternity, was formed at Cornell. Initial members were Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy.

    The Devil’s Tower in Crook County, Wyoming, was the first declared United States National Monument, established on September 24, 1906.

    The first French Grand Prix occurred on a 64-mile circuit at Le Mans.

    Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act adopted by the US Congress.

    The Story of the Kelly Gang was released.

    Will Keith Kellogg and Charles D. Bolin founded the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, now known as Kellogg’s.

    On January 12, 1, the Dow Jones closed above 100 (100.26) for the first time.

    The British Labour Party organized.

    Sweden adopted their (yellow cross on a blue background) flag.

    After two years of digging the Hudson River Tunnel (now one of the North River Tunnels), workers for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company connected Manhattan’s West Side with Weehawken, NJ. They met in the middle of the Hudson, completing the tunnel, and the two ends were only off by 1/16 of an inch.

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1906 include

    Henry Burr, Albert Campbell, Enrico Caruso, Arthur Collins, Byron G. Harlan, The Hayden Quartet, DeWolf Hopper, Ada Jones, Richard Jose, Harry Macdonough, James McCool, Corrine Morgan, Billy Murray, Voss Ossman, Arthur Pryor’s Band, Antonio Scotty, John Philip Sousa’s Band, Len Spencer, Frank Stanley, Harry Tally, Bert Williams

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    When Dr. Alois Alzheimer presented his groundbreaking research on the disease, later known as Alzheimer’s Disease, the audience asked zero questions. It made zero comments because they wanted to hear the following lecture (about compulsive pleasure seeking). Auguste Deter was the first person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.

    Jack London’s novel White Fang began serialization in the magazine Outing.

    Written by journalist Upton Sinclair, The Jungle was published.

    Mary Astor planned the release of 10,000 imported Brazilian butterflies at her Debutante Ball, housed in nets lining the ceiling. They didn’t consider the lights’ heat, and her party ended with 10,000 dead insects showering her guests.

    An underground fire sparked a massive explosion that spread through a series of mines, killing over 1,000 men in Courrieres, France.

    Umpires were placed in charge of all Baseball Games.

    1906 World Series: Chicago White Sox (A.L.) won 4-2 over across-town rivals Chicago Cubs (N.L.)

    Rolls-Royce rolled out the Silver Ghost. It is considered the most valuable car in the world.

    The Ford Model N was released, replacing Models A, C, and F.

    Mount Vesuvius Erupted: Vesuvius erupted from April 4th through the 21st, devastating Naples and killing over 100 people.

    The scattered population of black squirrels on the East Coast are all thought to have descended from 8 Canadian squirrels acquired through a great squirrel exchange between Canada’s Rondeau Provincial Park and the National Zoo in Washington, DC. They were subsequently released from the zoo in 1906.

    The “Census of the British Empire” showed England ruled 1/5 of the world in 1906.

    SOS (. . . ___ ___ ___ . . .) became the international distress signal, announced by The International Radiotelegraph Conference in Berlin.

    The San Francisco Earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, shook the town of San Francisco, California, and thirty thousand homes were either partially or wholly destroyed. An estimated 3,000 people were reported killed. In response to the rioting and looting that followed the San Francisco 1906 earthquake, Mayor Eugene Schmitz authorized federal troops and local officers to “kill any persons found engaging in Looting or the Commission of Any Other Crime.”

    Roald Amundsen discovered the Magnetic South Pole.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Physics – J.J. Thomson
    Chemistry – Henri Moissan
    Medicine – Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal
    Literature – Giosuè Carducci
    Peace – Theodore Roosevelt

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1906

    Fiction Bestsellers

    1. Coniston by Winston Churchill
    2. Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister
    3. The Fighting Chance by Robert W. Chambers
    4. The House of a Thousand Candles by Meredith Nicholson
    5. Jane Cable by George Barr McCutcheon
    6. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
    7. The Awakening of Helena Ritchie by Margaret Deland
    8. The Spoilers by Rex Beach
    9. The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
    10. The Wheel of Life by Ellen Glasgow

    Sports

    World Series Champions: Chicago White Sox
    Challenge Cup Champs: Ottawa Hockey Club/Montreal Wanderers
    U.S. Open Golf: Alex Smith
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): William Clothier/Helen Homans
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Laurence Doherty/Dorothea Douglass
    NCAA Football Champions: Princeton
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Sir Huon
    Boston Marathon Winner: Tim Ford Time: 2:45:45

    More 1906 History Resources

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that opened in 1906
    1906 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    1900 US Census Fast Facts
    Fact Monster 
    1906 in Movies (according to IMDB) 
    Wikipedia 1906

  • 1905 History, Facts and Trivia

    1905 History, Facts and Trivia

    1905 History, Facts and Trivia

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1905

    Mary, Helen, Margaret, Anna, Ruth, John, William, James, George, Charles

    US Life Expectancy

    (1905) Males: 47.3 years, Females: 50.2 years

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders

    The Welsh rugby union team started the tradition of national anthems before sporting events, who sang “Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau” in response to New Zealand’s haka before the inaugural 1905 match between the two teams.

    Rotary International opened in Chicago.

    The United States Forest Service (USFS) was formed.

    Variety Magazine began publishing in New York City.

    The National Audubon Society (Audubon) was founded.

    Popsicle ice pops were initially known as Epsicles, invented in 1905 by 11-year-old Frank Epperson. Epperson shared the frozen treat with his kids many years later, at which point they became known as “Pop’s Sickles,” leading up to a patent on the frozen treat in 1923.

    America’s first theater devoted exclusively to moving pictures appeared in Pittsburgh in 1905. Its founders called the place Nickelodeon, from the price of admission (a nickel) and “Odeon,” the ancient Greek word for theatre.

    First running of the Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb, in Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire, England.

    Alfred Einhorn patented novocaine (procaine) in Germany.

    The Niagara Movement was founded and later became The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

    The Trans-Siberian Railway officially opened after its completion on July 21, 1904.

    America’s first pizzeria opened in 1905 and is still open today. Lombardi’s is a pizzeria located at 32 Spring Street on the corner of Mott Street in the Nolita neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City.

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1905 include

    Harry Anthony, Albert Campbell, Enrico Caruso, Arthur Collins, Lew Dockstader, S.H. Dudley, Byron G. Harlan, James F. Harrison, The Hayden Quartet, Ada Jones, Richard Jose, Harry Macdonough, Corinne Morgan, Billy Murray, Vess Ossman, The Peerless Quartet, Arthur Pryor’s Band, Bob Roberts, John Philip Sousa’s Band, Len Spencer, Frank Stanley, Cal Stewart

    US Politics

    March 4, 1905 (Saturday): Second inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    The illiteracy in the US was 106.6 per 1,000 people.

    Montenegro and Japan were at war from 1904 to 2006. Montenegro assisted Russia in the Russo-Japanese War but was not present at the peace treaty signing in 1905. Both countries signed the treaty in 2006 when Montenegro became independent.

    After moving to Paris in 1903, Mata Hari became an exotic dancer in 1905.

    The Ford Model F car was produced.

    When Prince Carl of Denmark was offered the throne of newly independent Norway in 1905, he refused to take it unless the Norwegian people agreed that they wanted a monarchy rather than a republic. He won the referendum with 79% and became King Haakon VII.

    Las Vegas was founded.

    The Cullinan Diamond, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, weighing 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g), was discovered at the Premier No. 2 mine in Cullinan, modern-day South Africa.

    The New York Hippodrome (1905-1939) opened.

    The Grover Shoe Factory disaster was a boiler explosion, building collapse, and fire that killed 58 people and injured 150 when it leveled the R.B. Grover shoe factory in Brockton, Massachusetts.

    Teddy Roosevelt helped save American Football by urging rules changes to make the game safer, by allowing the Forward pass, after over a dozen players died during the 1905 season.

    In 1905, at age 26, Einstein authored four papers dubbed the “Annus Mirabilis (extraordinary year) Papers,” which included his Special Theory of Relativity. They were about the Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion, Special Relativity, and Mass-Energy Equivalence. These papers are considered the foundation of modern physics.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Physics – Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard
    Chemistry – Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer
    Medicine – Robert Koch
    Literature – Henryk Sienkiewicz
    Peace – Bertha von Suttner

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1905

    Fiction Bestsellers

    1. The Marriage of William Ashe by Mary Augusta Ward
    2. Sandy by Alice Hegan Rice
    3. The Garden of Allah by Robert Hichens
    4. The Clansman by Thomas Dixon Jr
    5. Nedra by George Barr McCutcheon
    6. The Gambler by Katherine Cecil Thurston
    7. The Masquerader by Katherine Cecil Thurston
    8. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
    9. The Princess Passes by C.N. and A.M. Williamson
    10. Rose o’ the River Critically Acclaimed and Historically Significant by Kate Douglas Wiggin

    Other Books of Note

    Shame of the Cities by Lincoln Steffens
    The Clansman by Thomas Dixon, Jr
    The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
    Diary from Dixie by Mary Chesnut

    Sports

    World Series Champions: New York Giants
    Challenge Cup Champs: Ottawa Hockey Club
    U.S. Open Golf: Willie Anderson
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): Beals Wright/Elisabeth Moore
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Laurence Doherty/May Sutton
    NCAA Football Champions: Chicago
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Agile
    Boston Marathon Winner: Frederick Lorz Time: 2:38:25

    More 1905 Facts & History Resources:

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that Opened in 1905
    1905 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    Fact Monster 
    1905 in Movies (according to IMDB) 
    Wikipedia 1905

  • 1904 History, Facts and Trivia

    1904 History, Facts and Trivia

    1904 History, Facts and Trivia

    1904 History Roundup:

    • January 7 – CQD Distress Signal Established: The maritime distress signal “CQD” was introduced, serving as a precursor to the “SOS” signal adopted in 1906.
    • January 8 – Blackstone Library Dedicated: The Blackstone Library was dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
    • February 7 – Great Baltimore Fire: A devastating fire in Baltimore, Maryland, destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours, causing significant economic impact.
    • February 8 – Russo-Japanese War Begins: The Battle of Port Arthur commenced as Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the Russian naval base in Manchuria, marking the start of the Russo-Japanese War.
    • February 23 – U.S. Acquires Panama Canal Zone: The United States gained control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million, facilitating the construction of the Panama Canal.
    • April 30 – Louisiana Purchase Exposition Opens: The World’s Fair, also known as the St. Louis World’s Fair, opened in St. Louis, Missouri, showcasing cultural exhibits and technological innovations.
    • May 4 – Construction of Panama Canal Begins: The United States commenced construction on the Panama Canal, aiming to create a crucial maritime shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.=
    • June 15 – SS General Slocum Disaster: A fire aboard the steamboat SS General Slocum in New York City’s East River resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 passengers, predominantly women and children.
    • July 1 – Third Modern Olympic Games Open: The 1904 Summer Olympics began in St. Louis, Missouri, marking the first time the Games were held outside Europe.
    • July 21 – Trans-Siberian Railway Completed: After 13 years of construction, the 4,607-mile Trans-Siberian Railway was completed, connecting Moscow to Vladivostok and facilitating travel and trade across Russia.
    • August 12-13 – Anthropology Days at the Olympics: As part of the 1904 World’s Fair, “Anthropology Days” featured indigenous people competing in various athletic events, reflecting the era’s ethnocentric attitudes.
    • September 26 – Winston Churchill’s Political Debut: Future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made his first political speech in Oldham, England, marking the beginning of his parliamentary career.
    • October 27 – New York City Subway Opens: The first section of the New York City Subway opened, running from Lower Manhattan to Broadway Harlem, revolutionizing urban transportation.
    • November 8 – Theodore Roosevelt Elected President: Theodore Roosevelt won the U.S. presidential election, securing his first full term after initially ascending to the presidency following William McKinley’s assassination.
    • November 15 – King C. Gillette Patents Safety Razor: King Camp Gillette patented the safety razor, introducing a safer and more convenient shaving method that would become widely popular.
    • December 10 – First Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Awarded: The inaugural Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Ivan Pavlov for his work on the physiology of digestion.
    • Entente Cordiale Signed: Britain and France settled their international differences by signing the Entente Cordiale, marking a significant improvement in Anglo-French relations.
    • First New Year’s Eve Celebration in Times Square: The inaugural New Year’s Eve celebration was held in Times Square, New York City, beginning a tradition that continues to this day.
    • Completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway: The Trans-Siberian Railway, spanning 4,607 miles, was completed, connecting Moscow to Vladivostok and facilitating travel and trade across Russia.
    • Formation of FIFA: The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was established in Paris, France, to oversee international competition among national football associations.

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1904

    Mary, Helen, Anna, Margaret, Ruth, John, William, James, George, Robert

    US Life Expectancy

    (1904) Males: 46.2 years, Females: 49.1 years

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders

    The term Banana Republic was created by author O. Henry while visiting Honduras. It describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon exporting a limited-resource product like bananas.

    Thomas Sullivan invented Tea Bags by accident. He wanted the small bags to be samples of the tea. People dunked them instead.

    Peter Pan (or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up) by J.M. Barrie premiered at the Duke of York Theatre in London.

    Order of Owls was founded in South Bend, Indiana.

    King C. Gillette patented (#775,134) his Gillette razor blade.

    On December 31, the first New Year’s Eve celebration was held in Times Square (then Longacre Square), New York City.

    National Ski Association was formed in Ishpeming, Michigan.

    Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity was founded at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.

    The National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis (now the American Lung Association) was founded.

    Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly premiered in Milan.

    Several people in the US and UK began selling Ice cream in edible cones, each claiming to be the inventor. We know it was presented during the St Louis World Fair, by Charles E. Menches.

    The Bank of Italy (now Bank of America) opened in San Francisco.

    The term “hangover” came into the vernacular. Before that, people felt “crapulous.”

    British newspaper The Daily Mirror began publishing.

    The T-shirt was invented in 1904 by the Cooper Underwear Company and marketed to bachelors who couldn’t sew or replace buttons.

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1904 include

    Henry Burr, Enrico Caruso, Arthur Collins, S.H. Dudley, George J. Gaskin, Byron G. Harlan, The Hayden Quartet, Mina Hickman, Richard Jose, Harry Macdonough, Corrine Morgan, Billy Murray, J.W. Meyers, Vess Ossman, The Peerless Quartet, Arthur Pryor’s Band, Bob Roberts, Frank Stanley, Cal Stewart

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    Panama Canal construction began.

    Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World Fair) from April 30 to December 1, 1904. 19 million people from 63 countries attended

    The third modern Olympic Games opened in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first Olympic Games held outside Europe. The US won 239 of the 280 medals available. #hometeamadvantage

    Dream of the Rarebit Fiend was a strange newspaper comic strip by Winsor McCay, begun September 10, 1904, and ran through 1925.

    George Eyser, an American gymnast with a wooden leg, won six medals, including three gold, in a single day at the 1904 Olympics.

    Lane Bryant should have been named Lena Bryant after its founder, but a bank officer misspelled her name when she opened an account in 1904.

    The Horrible

    Ota Benga, a Mbuti pygmy, was kidnapped from Congo and taken to the US, where he was exhibited with monkeys. He was freed by 1906, and his planned return to Africa was canceled due to WWI. He killed himself on March 20, 1916.

    The Great Baltimore Fire raged in Baltimore, between February 7 and February 8, 1904. One thousand five hundred buildings in central Baltimore were destroyed, yet no one was killed.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Physics – The Lord Rayleigh
    Chemistry – Sir William Ramsay
    Physiology or Medicine – Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
    Literature – Frédéric Mistral and José Echegaray
    Peace – Institut de Droit International

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1904

    Fiction Bestsellers: 
    1. The Crossing by Winston Churchill
    2. The Deliverance by Ellen Glasgow
    3. The Masquerader by Anonymous (Katherine Cecil Thurston)
    4. In the Bishop’s Carriage by Miriam Michelson
    5. Sir Mortimer by Mary Johnston
    6. Beverly of Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon
    7. The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come by John Fox Jr
    8. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
    9. My Friend Prospero by Henry Harland
    10. The Silent Places by Stewart Edward White

    Other Books of Note

    The Golden Bowl by Henry James
    Mt.-St. Michel and Chartres by Henry Adams
    Theory of Business Enterprise by Thorstein Veblen
    The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber
    Nostromo by Joseph Conrad

    Sports

    American League Baseball Champions: Boston Americans
    National League Baseball Champions: Pittsburg Pirates
    World Series Champions: Boston Americans
    Challenge Cup Champs: Ottawa Hockey Club
    U.S. Open Golf: Willie Anderson
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): Holcombe Ward/May Sutton
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Laurence Doherty/Dorothea Douglass
    NCAA Football Champions: Pennsylvania & Michigan
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Elwood
    Boston Marathon Winner: Michael Spring Time: 2:38:04

    More 1904 Facts & History Resources:

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that Opened in 1904
    1904 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    Fact Monster
    Wikipedia 1904

     

  • 1903 History, Facts and Trivia

    1903 History, Facts and Trivia

    1903 History, Facts and Trivia

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1903

    Mary, Helen, Anna, Margaret, Ruth, John, William, James, George, Charles

    US Life Expectancy

    (1903) Males: 49.1 years, Females: 52.0 years

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders

    The Great Train Robbery is considered the first American Action/Western film. The first stuntman was ex-US cavalryman, Frank Hanaway,  in this Edwin S. Porter film, for his ability to fall off a horse without injuring himself.

    Mary Anderson from Alabama patented (#743,801) windshield wipers in 1903.

    Joseph Pulitzer donated $1 million to Columbia University, founding the Pulitzer Prize.

    The Tour de France bicycle race was organized.

    Victor Herbert’s Babes in Toyland premiered in the Chicago Grand Opera, and later in New York. You have probably heard March of the Toys at Christmastime.

    On April 22, the American Power Boat Association was formed.

    The first box of Crayola crayons sold for 5 cents. It contained eight colors: brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and black.

    The Ford Motor Company, under Henry Ford, was incorporated.

    Enrico Caruso, the operatic tenor voice of his era, made his US debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, NY, in Rigoletto.

    New York’s original Lyric Theater opened at 213 W 42nd St., with Richard Mansfield’s production of Old Heidelberg.

    Lyceum Theater (New Lyceum) at 149 W 45th St, NYC, and New Amsterdam Theater at 214 W 42nd St, NYC, also opened.

    “Baked by Electricity” Triscuit Crackers were introduced.

    The Oxnard strike of 1903 was the first time in US history that a labor union was formed from members of different racial groups (Japanese and Mexican workers).

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1903 include

    George Alexander, Joe Belmont, John Bieling, Henry Burr, Arthur Collins, The Columbia Orchestra, Byron G. Harlan, The Hayden Quartet, Mina Hickman, J. Aldrich Libbey, Harry Macdonough, J.W. Meyers, Billy Murray, Dan Quinn, Bob Roberts, John Philip Sousa’s Band, Len Spencer, Cal Stewart, William H. Thompson

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    President Teddy Roosevelt and wilderness advocate John Muir visited Yosemite Valley in 1903, inspiring the US National Park System.

    Topsy, her owners electrocuted the elephant at Luna Park, Coney Island, and filmed by Edison Manufacturing movie company in Edison’s effort to show the safety of Direct Current vs Alternating Current.

    Monopoly was created to expose the unfairness of a social system where a small minority takes advantage of the majority of tenants,  in The Landlord’s Game.

    John Pemberton included coca leaves as an ingredient in his 1886 soft drink, Coca-Cola, but removed the cocaine from the soft drink in 1903.

    1903’s Alice in Wonderland was an early film adaptation of the book.

    The Wizard of Oz, the first musical version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book, was produced by L. Frank Baum and W.W. Denslow (music by Paul Tietjens) in Chicago in 1902 and moved to New York in 1903.

    Guantanamo Bay is leased by the US against Cuba’s wishes, based on the Cuban-American Treaty, signed in 1903. A $4,085 is sent annually to a position that has not existed since 1959 and was only cashed once in 1959 by mistake. The treaty allows Guantanamo Bay to be leased to the United States “in perpetuity.”

    Horatio Nelson Jackson, with driving partner Sewall K. Crocker, were the first to drive cross country (San Francisco to New York City) in an automobile.

    The New York Times predicted that building a flying machine would be possible in 1-10 Million years.

    Traian Vuia, a Romanian Engineer, presented his flying machine plan to the Académie des Sciences in Paris, but was rejected with the comment: “The problem of flight with a machine which weighs more than air can not be solved, and it is only a dream.”

    The first flight of the Wright Flyer I took place on December 17, 1903. Orville Wright piloted, and Wilbur ran (safety) at the wingtip.

    A barge, The Harold, tipped somewhere off the coast of Staten Island, sending most of its 7,700 silver-and-lead bars to the bottom. Most bars were recovered immediately, but about 1,400 bars were never recovered.

    The Horrible

    Wreck of the Old 97- involved the Southern Railway Fast Mail train en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, on September 27, 1903. Eleven people were killed and seven injured. It is also the basis for one of the first Dirge Pop Songs. You probably know the melody.

    The Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago killed over 600 people.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Physics – Antoine Henri Becquerel, Pierre Curie, and Marie Curie
    Chemistry – Svante August Arrhenius
    Medicine – Niels Ryberg Finsen
    Literature – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
    Peace – William Randal Cremer

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1903

    Fiction Bestsellers

    1. Lady Rose’s Daughter by Mary Augusta Ward
    2. Gordon Keith by Thomas Nelson Page
    3. The Pit by Frank Norris
    4. Lovey Mary by Alice Hegan Rice
    5. The Virginian by Owen Wister
    6. Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch by Alice Hegan Rice
    7. The Mettle of the Pasture by James Lane Allen
    8. Letters of a Self-Made Merchant to His Son by George Horace Lorimer
    9. The One Woman by Thomas Dixon Jr
    10. The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come by John Fox Jr

    Other Books of Note

    The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
    Studies in Logical Theory by John Dewey
    Call of the Wild by Jack London
    Mental Traits of Sex by Helen Thompson Wooley
    Principles of Mathematics by Bertrand Russell
    Principia Ethica by G.E. Moore
    The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler
    The Ambassadors by Henry James
    The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

    Sports

    American League Baseball Champions: Boston Americans
    National League Baseball Champions: Pittsburg Pirates
    Challenge Cup Champs: Montreal/Ottawa Hockey Clubs
    U.S. Open Golf: Willie Anderson
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): Laurence Doherty/Elisabeth Moore
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Laurence Doherty/Dorothea Douglass
    NCAA Football Champions: Princeton & Michigan
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Judge Himes
    Boston Marathon Winner: John Lorden Time: 2:41:2

    More 1903 Facts & History Resources:

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that opened in 1903
    1903 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    Fact Monster 
    1903 in Movies (according to IMDB) 
    Wikipedia 1903

     

  • 1902 Trivia, History and Fun Facts

    1902 Trivia, History and Fun Facts

    1902 Trivia, History, and Fun Facts

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1902

    Mary, Helen, Anna, Margaret, Ruth, John, William, James, George, Charles

    US Life Expectancy

    (1902) Males: 49.8 years, Females: 53.4 years

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders

    The Fuller Building (now called the Flatiron Building) at 175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, was completed.

    The Texas Oil Company (Texaco) was formed.

    (oops!) – The Greek symbol Caduceus (two snakes on a winged pole) was mistakenly used as the emblem for the US Medical Corps instead of the Rod of Asclepius (one snake climbing a pole), the true Greek symbol for medicine. We still use the wrong one.

    J C Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

    The American Automobile Association (AAA) was founded in Chicago.

    Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) first invented the term ‘Middle East’ in the September 1902 issue of London’s monthly National Review.

    Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS) was founded in Washington, DC, with a $10 Million grant from Andrew Carnegie.

    Denmark became the first country to adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals.

    The Electric Theatre, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opened in Los Angeles, California.

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1902 include

    Arthur Collins, Charles D’ Almaine, Joe Belmont, S.H. Dudley, Edward M. Favor, Byron G. Harlon, The Hayden Quartet, Mina Hickman, Silas Leachman, Jules Levy, Aldrich Libbey, Harry Macdonough, Jere Mahoney, The Metropolitan Orchestra, J.W. Meyers, Dan Quinn, William Redmond, John Philip Sousa’s Band, Len Spencer, Frank Stanley, Cal Stewart, Fred Van Epps, Bert Williams

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage Dans la Lune), directed by Georges Méliès, is recognized as the first Science Fiction film.

    The Cecil Rhodes Scholarship fund was established.

    Brooklyn, NY, toymaker Morris Michtom named his Teddy Bear doll after US President Teddy Roosevelt.

    Paleontologist Barnum Brown discovered remains of a Tyrannosaurus Rex near the town of Jordan, Montana.

    Michigan beat Stanford 49-0 in the Tournament East-West Football Game, which would later be known as the Rose Bowl Game

    1902 was about the time Trains were used more than Horses for transportation.

    Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium chloride.

    Grawlix, or obscenicons (like #@$%&!) as swear words in comics, were first seen in The Katzenjammer Kids in 1902.

    The Horrible

    The volcanic eruption of Mt. Pelée on the French-Caribbean island of Martinique on May 8, 1902, killed between 30 and 40 thousand people.

    The Yacolt Burn is the collective name for dozens of September fires in Washington and Oregon, killing ~70 people.

    A Mystery

    Albert Einstein and his wife Mileva Maric had a daughter in 1902 named Lieserl before they were married. Her existence was only discovered in 1986. Einstein is believed to have never met her, and what happened to her is a mystery.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Physics – Hendrik Antoon Lorentz and Pieter Zeeman
    Chemistry – Hermann Emil Fischer
    Medicine – Ronald Ross
    Literature – Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen
    Peace – Élie Ducommun and Charles Albert Gobat

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1902

    Fiction Bestsellers: 
    1. The Virginian by Owen Wister
    2. Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch by Alice Caldwell Hegan
    3. Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall by Charles Major
    4. The Mississippi Bubble by Emerson Hough
    5. Audrey by Mary Johnston
    6. The Right of Way by Gilbert Parker
    7. The Hound of the Baskervilles by A. Conan Doyle
    8. The Two Vanrevels by Booth Tarkington
    9. The Blue Flower by Henry van Dyke
    10. Sir Richard Calmady by Lucas Malet

    Other Books of Note

    The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
    Democracy and Social Ethics by Jane Addams
    Varieties of Religious Experience by William James
    Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
    Human Nature and Social Order by C. H. Cooley
    The Virginian by Owen Wister
    The Immoralist by André Gide
    What is to be Done? by Vladimir Lenin
    The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
    Garden Cities of To-morrow by Ebenezer Howard

    Sports

    American League Baseball Champions: Philadelphia Athletics
    National League Baseball Champions: Pittsburg Pirates
    Challenge Cup Champs: Winnipeg Victorias/Montreal Hockey Club
    U.S. Open Golf: Laurie Auchterlonie
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): William Larned/Marion Jones
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Laurence Doherty/Muriel Robb
    NCAA Football Champions: Michigan
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Alan-a-Dale
    Boston Marathon Winner: Sammy Mellor Time: 2:43:12

    More 1902 History Resources

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that opened in 1902
    1902 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    Fact Monster 
    Wikipedia 1902

  • 1901 History, Facts and Trivia

    1901 History, Facts and Trivia

    1901 History, Facts and Trivia

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1901

    Mary, Helen, Anna, Margaret, Ruth, John, William, James, George, Charles

    US Life Expectancy

    (1901) Males: 47.6 years, Females: 50.6 years

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders:

    The United States Army Nurse Corps was established as a permanent part of the U.S. Army’s Medical Department, allowing women to join the US Army.

    The Cadillac Motor Company was founded.

    Founded in 1865, the US Secret Service was initially formed to combat (rampant) counterfeit currency. It wasn’t until 1901, after the assassination of President William McKinley, that their responsibilities broadened to presidential protection.

    John Nordstrom opened his first retail store in 1901.

    Aviation pioneer Gustave Whitehead flew a motor-powered aircraft in Connecticut. Many consider this the first manned, powered, controlled flight.

    The College Board introduced its first standardized test, later becoming the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT).

    Nikola Tesla’s “Apparatus for the Utilization of Radiant Energy” was patented (#685,957).

    The First Nobel Peace Prizes were awarded to Red Cross founder Jean Henri Dunant and peace activist Frederic Passy.

    US Politics

    March 4, 1901 (Monday): Second inauguration of William McKinley
    September 14, 1901 (Saturday): First inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1901 include

    Joe Belmont, Arthur Collins, Emilio DeGogorza, Will Denny, S.H. Dudley, George J. Gaskin, The Georgia Minstrel Company, The Gilmore’s Band, Billy Golden, Byran G. Harlan, Mina Hickman, Silas Leachman, Harry Macdonough, J.W. Meyers, Vess Ossman, Dan Quinn, John Philip Sousa’s Band, Len Spencer, Cal Stewart

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    The world’s longest burning light bulb was turned on in 1901, at Fire Station No. 6 in Livermore, CA, and has been working, last we heard.

    Sixty-nine coal miners at the Wellington Colliery Company, near Cumberland, British Columbia, were killed in an explosion.

    Since Abraham Lincoln’s first burial in 1865, his coffin has been moved 17 times and opened six times. On the last time the coffin was opened (1901), reports say his face was still recognizable.

    The last Passenger Pigeon in the wild was shot in 1901. The previous in captivity, Martha, died in the Cincinnati Zoo on September 1, 1914.

    Things you taste are spread throughout your whole mouth, and the idea that you taste sweet or sour on different areas of the tongue is based on a misinterpretation of one experiment in 1901, Zur Psychophysik des Geschmackssinnes, by German scientist David P Hänig.

    Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain claimed to have traveled back in time while in the Palace of Versailles, seeing 18th-century gardens and Marie Antoinette.

    The first known person ever to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive was Annie Taylor on October 24, 1901.

    Teddy Roosevelt presented his “Controlling the Trusts” speech to Congress on December 3, 1901. In the speech, he asked Congress to curb the corporation’s power to “within reasonable limits.”

    The Year 2038 Problem is that because of the way that many computer systems (32-bit) track time, they cannot go past January 19, 2038, and will instead go back to 1901.

    The Horrible

    Blanche Monnier (1849–1913) was held captive by her mother for over 24 years before she was rescued by police in 1901. Her mother disapproved of the man she wanted to marry in 1874.

    The assassination of President William McKinley on September 6, 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY.

    The Quote

    “The role of a newspaper, however, is not limited solely to the dissemination of ideas, to political education, and to the enlistment of political allies. A newspaper is not only a collective propagandist and a collective agitator, it is also a collective organizer.”
    – Vladimir Lenin

    Predictions for America in 2001

    There will be no “C,” “B,” or “Q” in our alphabet.
    There will be no more flies or mosquitoes.
    Strawberries will be as large as Apples.
    University Education will be free for everybody.
    Trains will go 150 miles per hour.
    Rats and Mice will be exterminated, and Horses will be nearly extinct.
    Ready-cooked meals will be available by walk-in or car.

    Nobel Prize Winners

    Physics – Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
    Chemistry – Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff
    Medicine – Emil Adolf von Behring
    Literature – Sully Prudhomme
    Peace – Jean Henri Dunant and Frédéric Passy

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1901

    Fiction Bestsellers

    1. The Crisis by Winston Churchill
    2. Alice of Old Vincennes by Maurice Thompson
    3. The Helmet of Navarre by Bertha Runkle
    4. The Right of Way by Gilbert Parker
    5. Eben Holden by Irving Bacheller
    6. The Visits of Elizabeth by Elinor Glyn
    7. The Puppet Crown by Harold MacGrath
    8. Richard Yea-and-Nay by Maurice Hewlett
    9. Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon
    10. D’ri and I by Irving Bacheller

    Other Books of Note

    The Octopus by Frank Norris
    Social Control by E. A. Ross
    Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
    Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw
    New Epoch for Faith by George A. Gordon
    Kim by Rudyard Kipling

    Sports

    American League Baseball Champions: Chicago White Sox
    National League Baseball Champions: Pittsburg Pirates
    Challenge Cup Champs: Montreal Shamrocks
    U.S. Open Golf: Willie Anderson
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): William Larned/Elisabeth Moore
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Arthur Gore/Charlotte Sterry
    NCAA Football Champions: Michigan
    Kentucky Derby Winner: His Eminence
    Boston Marathon Winner: John “Jack” Caffery Time: 2:29:23

    More 1901 History Resources

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that opened in 1901
    1901 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    Fact Monster 
    Wikipedia 1901

  • 1900 History, Facts and Trivia

    1900 History, Facts and Trivia

    1900 History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

    1900 History Roundup:

    • January 1 – Commonwealth of Australia Formed: Australia officially became a federation, uniting six colonies under one constitution.
    • February 5 – United States and Britain Sign Hay-Pauncefote Treaty: This agreement laid the groundwork for U.S. control over the construction of the Panama Canal.
    • February 27 – Labour Party Founded in the UK: The Labour Representation Committee (later the Labour Party) was established to represent working-class interests.
    • March 6 – German Empire Adopts Naval Expansion: The Second Naval Law passed, significantly increasing Germany’s naval fleet under Kaiser Wilhelm II.
    • May 18 – Second Boer War Intensifies: British troops lifted the siege of Mafeking in South Africa, marking a turning point in the war.
    • June 2 – Zeppelin LZ1 Makes Its Maiden Flight: The first successful flight of Count Zeppelin’s airship took place in Germany, revolutionizing aviation.
    • June 20 – Boxer Rebellion Peaks in China: The Siege of the International Legations in Beijing began, as anti-foreigner sentiment culminated in violent uprisings.
    • July 29 – King Umberto I of Italy Assassinated: Anarchist Gaetano Bresci killed the king in Monza, sparking political unrest in Italy.
    • August 14 – Allied Forces Capture Beijing: Eight-Nation Alliance troops entered Beijing, ending the Boxer Rebellion.
    • September 8 – Galveston Hurricane Strikes: The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history devastated Galveston, Texas, killing an estimated 6,000-12,000 people.
    • September 17 – Commonwealth of Australia’s First Governor-General Appointed: Lord Hopetoun was sworn in, formalizing Australia’s new government.
    • October 19 – Max Planck Presents Quantum Theory: The German physicist introduced his groundbreaking work on quantum mechanics, changing the field of physics.
    • November 6 – William McKinley Re-Elected U.S. President: McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan in a landslide victory.
    • November 30 – Oscar Wilde Dies: The famous Irish writer and playwright passed away in Paris at the age of 46.
    • December 14 – First Mercedes Automobile Produced: Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft unveiled the first Mercedes car, a milestone in automotive history.
    • December 25 – Hurricane in Western Australia: A tropical cyclone caused massive destruction in the town of Onslow, leaving hundreds homeless.
    • Kodak Brownie Camera Released: The affordable camera popularized amateur photography and brought it into the mainstream.
    • Discovery of Radium: Marie and Pierre Curie isolated radium, paving the way for advances in science and medicine.
    • Paris Exposition Universelle: This world’s fair showcased technological innovation, including the debut of escalators and talking films.
    • Rise of American Imperialism: Following the Spanish-American War, the U.S. annexed territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, signaling its growing global influence.

    Top Ten Baby Names of 1900

    Mary, Helen, Anna, Margaret, Ruth, John, William, James, George, Charles

    US Life Expectancy

    Males: 46.3 years, Females: 48.3 years

    Firsts, Inventions and Wonders

    On January 18, author L. Frank Baum and illustrator W. W. Denslow joint copyrighted their new book- The Land of Oz. It was released as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on May 12.

    Veterans of Foreign Wars was founded on September 29, 1899

    King Oscar II of Sweden approved the creation of the Nobel Foundation, funded by the 1895 Will of Alfred Nobel. The first Nobel Prize awards were made by the foundation in 1901.

    The Eastman Kodak Company introduced the Brownie camera, priced at $1.00.

    The founding brothers of Michelin Tires started the Michelin Guide in 1900 when they decided that a rating guide (Michelin Stars) for hotels and restaurants would compel the limited number of drivers to use up and buy more of their tires.

    Nipper, the RCA Victor dog, was registered as a trademark and became one of the advertising icons of the 20th century. The dog belonged to Francis Barraud, whose painting His Master’s Voice showed the animal listening to a gramophone.

    The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) was founded in New York.

    Harvey Firestone established the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company as an automobile tire supply store in Akron, Ohio. He started making tires about three years later.

    The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1900

    Albert Cambell, Arthur Collins, Edward M. Favor, George J. Gaskin, The Hayden Quartet, Harry Macdonough, Jere Mahoney, J.W. Meyers, Voss Ossman, Steve Porter, Dan Quinn, Len Spencer

    Pop Culture Facts & History

    Dwight F. Davis, President of the United States Lawn Tennis Association, announced the creation of a silver cup for whoever won the international tennis championship. It is now known as The Davis Cup.

    Guglielmo Marconi was awarded a British patent (#7,777) for his wireless radio.

    Robert Leroy Parker (aka Butch Cassidy), Harry Longabaugh (aka The Sundance Kid), and other members of “The Wild Bunch” staged their third train robbery, taking control of Union Pacific train No. 3 at Tipton, Wyoming, robbing the express car of $45,000 and successfully escaping.

    The Paris World Exhibition (Exposition Universelle of 1900) World’s Fair occurred between April 14 and November 12.

    The American League’s eight teams for the inaugural 1900 season were the Buffalo Bisons, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Blues, Detroit Tigers, Indianapolis Indians, Kansas City Blues, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Minneapolis Millers.

    The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the controlling body for bicycling events around the world, was founded in Aigle, Switzerland.

    Nikola Tesla received a patent (#645,576) for ‘wireless transmission of electrical power’ – the first in a series of patents for sending “industrially significant amounts of power” from one station to another without electrical wires.

    The first book of stamps in the United States was placed on sale in American post offices in packs of 12,24 and 48 2-cent stamps.

    Willis L. Moore, Chief of the US Weather Bureau, issued the first workplace smoking ban. “The smoking of cigarettes in the offices of the Weather Bureau is hereby prohibited. Officials in charge of stations will rigidly enforce this order, and will also include in their semiannual confidential reports information about those of their assistants who smoke cigarettes outside of office hours.”

    The 1900 Census counted 76,295,220 people living in the United States and Territories.

    John Luther “Casey” Jones was driving a passenger train from Memphis to Canton, Mississippi, when he encountered two stalled freight trains on the main track at Vaughn, Mississippi, ahead of his. Unable to avoid a collision, Casey Jones slowed the train enough that he was the only fatality in the accident.

    The Patent (#646,375) was granted to William Abner Eddy for the ‘Eddy kite’ – the standard basic kite design we use today.

    The Associated Press (AP) was incorporated as a New York corporation.

    The vaudeville team of Joe and Myra Keaton was appearing at a matinee show at the Wonderland Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, and their 5-year-old son, Buster, joined the act. He later became one of the first silent film stars.

    The largest banquet in history was held at the Tuileries Gardens when French President Émile Loubet treated the 22,695 mayors of all French cities.

    A hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, causing the worst natural disaster in American history, with 8-12,000 people killed.

    Popular and Best-selling Books From 1900

    Fiction Bestsellers

    1. To Have and To Hold by Mary Johnston
    2. Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondeley
    3. Unleavened Bread by Robert Grant
    4. The Reign of Law by James Lane Allen
    5. Eben Holden by Irving Bacheller
    6. Janice Meredith by Paul Leicester Ford
    7. The Redemption of David Corson by Charles Frederic Goss
    8. Richard Carvel by Winston Churchill
    9. When Knighthood Was in Flower by Charles Majo
    10. Alice of Old Vincennes by Maurice Thompson

    Other Books of Note

    The World and the Individual by Josiah Royce
    An American Anthology by Clarence Stedman
    Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
    The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
    Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
    The School and Society by John Dewey

    1900 United States Census

    Total US Population: 76,212,168
    1. New York, New York – 3,437,202
    2. Chicago, Illinois – 1,698,575
    3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – 1,293,697
    4. St. Louis, Missouri – 575,238
    5. Boston, Massachusetts – 560,892
    6. Baltimore, Maryland – 508,957
    7. Cleveland, Ohio – 391,768
    8. Buffalo, New York 352,387
    9. San Francisco, California – 342,782
    10. Cincinnati, Ohio – 325,902

    Sports

    National League Baseball Champions: Brooklyn Superbas
    Challenge Cup Champs: Montreal Shamrocks
    U.S. Open Golf: Harry Varden
    U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): Malcolm Whitman/Myrtle McAteer
    Wimbledon (Men/Women): Reginald Doherty/Blanche Hillyard
    NCAA Football Champions: Yale
    Kentucky Derby Winner: Lieutenant Gibson
    Boston Marathon Winner: 1900 John “Jack” Caffery Time: 2:39:44
    Tug of War was an Olympic event between 1900 and 1920.

    More 1900 Facts & History Resources:

    Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
    Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us) 
    Broadway Shows that opened in 1900
    1900 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com 
    1900 Census
    Fact Monster 
    Wikipedia 1900

  • 1800-1899: The 100 Most Popular Songs

    1800-1899: The 100 Most Popular Songs

    1800s Pop Song Hits

    1. Good Morning to All (Happy Birthday To You) – 1893
    2. Amazing Grace – 1800
    3. Jingle Bells – 1857 (by James Pierpont)
    4. Old MacDonald Had A Farm – 1859
    5. Camptown Races* – 1850 (Stephen Foster)
    *actual title is Gwine to Run All Night
    6. Mary Had a Little Lamb – (1830 Lyrics)
    7. Rock-a-bye Baby – 1884 (by Effie I. Canning)
    8. Alphabet Song – 1834 (copyrighted by C. Bradlee, it’s probably older)
    9. Wedding March – 1844 (by Felix Mendelssohn, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
    10. William Tell Overture – 1829
    11. Semper Fidelis – 1886 (by John Philip Sousa)
    12. (Oh Dem) Golden Slippers – 1879
    13. Stars and Stripes Forever – 1897 (by John Philip Sousa)
    14. When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again – 1863 (by Louis Lambert & Patrick Gilmore)
    15. Chopsticks – 1877
    16. The Battle Hymn of the Republic – 1862 (by Julia Ward Howe)
    17. While Strolling Through The Park One Day – 1884 (by Ed Haley)
    18. Can Can – 1858 (by Offenbach)
    19. When The Saints Go Marching In – 1896 (by Katherine E. Purvis & James M. Black)
    20. Row Row Row Your Boat – 1881
    21. Funeral March (Pray For The Dead and the Dead Will Pray For You…) – 1840
    22. Fur Elise – 1810 (by Beethoven)
    23. I’ve Been Working on the Railroad – 1894
    24. She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain – 1899
    25. Oh! Susanna – 1848 (by Stephen Foster)
    26. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! – 1861
    27. America (God Shed His Grace On Thee) words – 1832
    28. I’ve Been Working On The Railroad – 1894 (copyright is probably older)
    29. Dixie’s Land (aka Dixie) – 1860
    30. Home, Sweet Home – 1823 (by John Howard Payne)
    31. Joy to the World – 1839 (by Handel)
    32. A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight – 1896
    33. Alouette -1879
    34. O Where O Where Has My Little Dog Gone – 1864 (by James Bland)
    35. Turkey In De Straw – 1834
    36. Funiculi Funicula – 1880
    37. Polly Wolly Doodle (All The Day) – 1883 (copyright, is probably older)
    38. Reveille – 1890
    39. Gloria – 1890 (by Mozart)
    40. (Oh My Darling) Clementine – 1863 (by Percy Montrose & H S. Thompson)
    41. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – 1872
    42. Onward, Christian Soldiers – 1871 (by Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould & Sir Arthur Sullivan)
    43. The Yellow Rose of Texas – 1858
    44. O Little Town of Bethlehem – 1868
    45. Buffalo Gals – 1844 (heard in the film It’s a Wonderful Life. Malcolm McClaren did it in the 1980s too)
    46. My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean – 1881
    47. Blue Danube Waltz – 1867 (by J.S. Strauss)
    48. Shoo-Fly Don’t Bother Me – 1869
    49. Rock of Ages – 1832 (by Hastings)
    50. Au Clair de la Lune – 1811
    51. Morning – 1890 (by Luse)
    52. Home on the Range – 1873 (by Daniel Kelly & Brewster M. Higley)
    53. King Cotton March – 1895
    54. (I Dream Of) Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair – 1854 (by Stephen Foster)
    55. (Gimme That) Old Time Religion – 1865
    56. Song Of India – 1897 (by Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov)
    57. The Man on the Flying Trapeze – 1868
    58. Hail to the Chief – 1820 (by Sir Walter Scott & James Sanderson)
    59. Barber of Seville – 1813
    60. Old Folks at Home (Way Down Upon the Swanee River) – 1851 (by Stephen Foster)
    61. The Thunderer – 1889 (by John Philip Sousa)
    62. Skip To My Lou – 1844
    63. The Merry, Merry Month of May – 1862 (by Stephen Foster)
    64. Frankie and Johnny – 1869
    65. Grandfather’s Clock – 1876 (by Henry Clay Work)
    66. Beautiful Dreamer – 1864 (by Stephen Foster )
    67. Away In a Manger – 1887
    68. Flying Dutchman Overture – 1844 (by Wagner)
    69. The Washington Post – 1889 (by John Philip Sousa)
    70. A Night on Bald Mountain – 1887 (by Mussorgsky)
    71. Hello! Ma Baby – 1899
    72. Git Along Little Dogies – 1893
    73. Pictures at an Exhibition – 1887 (by Mussorgsky)
    74. I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen – 1876
    75. Hark the Herald Angels Sing – 1855
    76. Sleeping Beauty Waltz – 1890
    77. Peer Gynt Suite – 1888
    78. Mazel Tov – 1894
    79. Baa Baa Black Sheep – 1865
    80. Liberty Bell March – 1893 (by John Philip Sousa)
    81. Red River Valley – 1896
    82. Maple Leaf Rag – 1899 (by Scott Joplin)
    83. Goodnight Ladies – 1853
    84. King Cotton March – 1895 (by John Philip Sousa)
    85. Home on the Range – 1873
    86. Coronation March – 1849 (by Meyerbeer)
    87. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny – 1878
    88. At A Georgia Camp Meeting – 1897 (by Kerry Mills)
    89. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon – 1838
    90. Good Night – 1899 (by Mendelssohn)
    91. Dance of the Hours – 1876 (by Ponchielli)
    92. Gypsy Love Song – 1898 (by Harry B. Smith & Victor Herbert (From the musical The Fortune Teller)
    93. Prelude in C# Minor – 1893 (by Rachmaninoff)
    94. Hush-a-bye Baby – 1884
    95. El Capitan – 1896 (by John Philip Sousa)
    96. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear – 1850
    97. Romeo and Juliet – 1871 (by Tchaikovsky)
    98. Three Little Kittens – 1885
    99. Good King Wenceslas – 1860ish (words)
    100. I Gave My Love a Cherry – 1850 (heard in 1979 film, Animal House)