The Year 1908 in Review: Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historic events from the year 1908. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, grocery prices, entertainment trivia, and much more.

1. In 1908, Theodore Roosevelt (R-New York) was the 26th president of the United States, and Charles W. Fairbanks (R-Indiana) was the nation’s vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.0%, and the nation’s inflation rate was 3.07%.
3. According to Smithsonian magazine, “The year 1908 began at midnight when a 700-pound ‘electric ball’ fell from the flagpole atop the New York Times building—the first-ever ball drop in Times Square.”
4. American companies and brands established in 1908 included the CIT Group, General Motors, the Hoover Company, Krasdale Foods, the Motion Picture Patents Company, Speed Queen, and Stein Mart.
5. In 1908, President Roosevelt formed the Country Life Commission “to improve the living conditions of America's rural residents.”
6. On February 18, the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907, an “informal agreement” between Japan and the United States, went into effect. The understanding “effectively stopped the immigration of Japanese laborers to the United States.”
7. On February 27, Oklahoma became the 46th U.S. state.
8. On March 4, the Lake View School fire near Cleveland, Ohio, killed 172 students, two teachers, and one rescuer. It was one of the deadliest school fires in U.S. history.
9. On May 10, the first Mother's Day in the United States was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia. Anna Maria Jarvis, a social activist from Grafton, West Virginia, founded Mother's Day to honor her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, who died in 1905.
10. On May 26, North Carolina became the first southern state to enact a statewide prohibition of alcoholic beverages.
11. On August 8, the Hoover Company of Akron, Ohio, acquired the manufacturing rights to the upright portable vacuum cleaner. (American inventor James M. Spangler received a patent for the upright vacuum cleaner on June 22, 1908.)
12. On September 17, U.S. Army Lt. Thomas Selfridge became the first person to die in an airplane crash. According to the Air Force Historical Support Division, he was a passenger on a Wright Brothers demonstration flight when it crashed in Fort Meyer, Virginia. “The crash was caused by a broken propeller that struck a bracing wire, causing the aircraft to dive. Selfridge suffered a fatal skull fracture, while Wright survived with serious injuries.”
13. On October 1, Henry Ford's first Model T, nicknamed the "Tin Lizzie," rolled off the assembly line in Detroit, Michigan. It seated two and sold for $825.
14. On October 14, the Chicago Cubs won the 1908 World Series by defeating the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 1. The Cubs did not win another World Series until November 2, 2016, which was “the longest baseball championship drought” in sports history.
15. On November 3, in the 1908 United States presidential election, Republican William Howard Taft defeated William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate.
16. On November 24, the first credit union in the U.S. opened in Manchester, New Hampshire.
17. On December 31, prohibition began in Mississippi. (In 1966, Mississippi lifted its statewide ban on alcohol, making it the last state to do so.)
18. In 1908, there were around 75,000 soda fountains across the U.S.
19. General Electric began selling the first “commercially successful” electric toaster. It cost $1.45.
20. The German entrepreneur Melitta Bentz created the first coffee filter.
21. Hydrox, a cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie, debuted in the United States.
22. Famous people born in 1908 included Bette Davis (movie actress), Lyndon B. Johnson (U.S. president), and Richard Wright (novelist).
23. Famous and infamous people who died in 1908 were Butch Cassidy (criminal), Grover Cleveland (former U.S. president), and Henry Lomb (entrepreneur).
24. America’s favorite songs were Take Me Out to the Ballgame (Billy Murray and the Hadyn Quartet), No News, Or What Killed the Dog (Nat Wills), and Take Me Out to the Ballgame (Edward Meeker).
25. Popular movies for the year included After Many Years, Antony and Cleopatra, Cupid’s Prank, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Adventures of Dollie.
26. In 1908 as well, the words “allergy,” “bagel,” “Boy Scout,” “bucket seat,” “buffer zone,” “carsick,” “chili powder,” “electronics,” “Father’s Day,” “graveyard shift,” “physical therapist,” “saturated fat,” “school bus,” “Social Security,” “stir-crazy,” “stratosphere,” “Texas longhorn,” “theme song,” “tooth fairy,” “trailblazer,” “turkey trot,” “twilight zone,” and “wing tip” all appeared in print for the first time.
27. Ammonia: 15 cents for a half gallon
28. Baking powder: 45 cents a pound
29. Butter: 27 cents a pound
30. Clothes pins: 100 for 12 cents
31. Coffee: 12 cents a pound
32. Coffee cake: 10 cents apiece
33. Cream cheese: 15 cents a pound
34. Eggs: 19 cents a dozen
35. Heinz mustard: Nine cents a bottle
36. Jell-O: Eight cents a package
37. Lard: Nine cents a pound
38. Lemons: 15 cents per dozen
39. Mixed nuts: Two pounds for 25 cents
40. Nabisco ginger snaps: Three packages for 10 cents
41. Nabisco Uneeda crackers: Five cents a package
42. Olives: Three bottles for 25 cents
43. Prime rib: 14 cents a pound
44. Root beer extract: 10 cents a bottle
45. Salad dressing: Nine cents a bottle
46. Shrimp: 12 cents a pound
47. Tapioca: Seven cents a box
48. Tomatoes: Three No. 1 cans for 25 cents
49. Van Camp’s pork & beans: Nine cents a can
50. Vanilla extract: 24 cents for a four-ounce bottle

References:

1. https://popculturemadness.com/1908-history-trivia-and-fun-facts/
2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1908
3. https://playback.fm/charts/top-100-songs/1908
4. https://www.imdb.com/list/ls063885421/
5. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1906.html
6. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices/Historic-Prices-1900s/Historic-Prices-1908
7. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1908
8. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1908
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908_in_the_United_States
10. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1908.html

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor