1908 (original) (raw)
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
Decades: 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s - 1900s - 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
Years: 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 - 1908 - 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913
Events
- January 1 - A ball signifying New Year's Day drops in New York City's Times Square for the first time
- January 8 - A train collision occurs in the Park Avenue Tunnel in New York City killing 17, injuring 38 and leading to increased demand for electric trains.
- January 11 - Grand Canyon National Monument is created
- January 12 - A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
- January 21 - New York City passes a law, the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public only to be vetoed by the mayor.
- January 24 - Robert Baden-Powell begins the Boy Scout movement
- February 11 - Australia regain the Ashes with a 308 run cricket victory over England.
- First Ideal Home Exhibition held.
- April 27 - The 1908 Summer Olympics open in London.
- May 10 - Mother's Day is observed for the first time (Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virgina).
- May 26 - At Masjid-al-Salaman in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the United Kingdom.
- June 30 - The Tunguska impact event occurs in Siberia.
- July 6 - Robert Peary sets sail for the Arctic North Pole.
- July 22 - Albert Fisher establishes the Fisher Body Company to manufacture carriage and automobile bodies.
- July 26 - United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
- December 28 - An earthquake rocks Messina, Sicily killing over 75,000.
- De Meester's Dutch government resigns.
- November - George Howard Taft defeats William Jennings Bryan in the U.S. presidential election
- Change of Emperor of Qing Dynasty from Emperor Guangshui (1875-1908) to Pu-yi (1909-1911)
- Henry Ford produces its first Model T automobile.
- A 40,000-year-old Neanderthal boy skeleton is found at Le Moustier in southwest France.
- It was an interesting year in every aspect. The Child Labour Act of Onario is also passed.
Art, Culture & Fashion
- 1908 in film
- 1908 in literature
- 1908 in music
- 1908 in science
- 1908 in sports
- The third Summer Olympic Games are held in London, England.
- September 23 - Baseball/History: the "Merkle incident"
- December 26 - Jack Johnson becomes the first African American heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia
Births
- January 9 - Simone de Beauvoir, feminist philosopher
- January 12 - Jean Delannoy, film director
- January 14 - Rus Columbo, singer, bandleader, composer
- January 15 - Edward Teller
- January 26 - St�phane Grappelli, musician, composer (+ 1997)
- January 27 - Oran "Hot Lips" Page, jazz trumpet (+ 1954)
- February 1 - George Pal, director, producer (+ 1980)
- February 5 - Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins, actresses (+ 1969)
- February 7 - Buster Crabbe, Olympic Games swimming gold medalist, actor
- February 8 - Emil Staiger, scientist of literature (+ 1987)
- February 11 - Sutan Takdir Alishahbana, Indonesian linguistic/author/novelist.
- February 11 - Vivian Ernest Fuchs, geologist/explorer.
- February 11 - Josh White, musician
- February 15 - HAP Grieshaber, painter and graphic artist (+ 1981)
- February 17 - Red Barber, baseball announcer, sports journalist (+ 1992)
- February 22 - John Mills, actor
- February 26 - Tex Avery, cartoonist (+ 1980)
- February 26 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver (+ 1949)
- February 29 - Balthus, painter (+ 2001)
- February 29 - Dee Brown, writer, historian (+ 2002)
- March 2 - Walter Bruch, engineer (+ 1990)
- March 5 - Rex Harrison, actor (+ 1990)
- March 8 - Claire Trevor, actress
- March 7 - Anna Magnani, actress (+ 1973)
- March 13 - Walter Annenberg, publisher, philanthropist (+ 2002)
- March 17 - Brigitte Helm, actress (+ 1996)
- March 20 - Sir Michael Redgrave, actor (+ 1985)
- March 22 - Louis L'Amour, author (+ 1988)
- March 23 - Joan Crawford, actor (+ 1977)
- March 25 - Helmut K�utner, actor and film director (+ 1980)
- March 25 - David Lean, film director (+ 1991)
- March 29 - Arthur O'Connell, actor (+ 1981)
- April 1 - Abraham Maslow, psychologist
- April 2 - Buddy Ebsen, actor, dancer
- April 5 - Bette Davis, US-american actress (+ 1989)
- April 5 - Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor (+ 1989)
- April 7 - Percy Faith, composer, musician (+ 1976)
- April 15 - Eden Ahbez, hermit, musician
- April 25 - Edward R. Murrow, journalist (+ 1965)
- May 7 - Max Grundig, industrialist (+ 1989)
- May 19 - Percy Williams, Canadian athlete (+ 1982)
- May 20 - Jimmy Stewart, American actor
- May 23 - John Bardeen, physicist (+ 1991)
- May 25 - Theodore Roethke, American poet
- May 28 - Ian Fleming, author of James Bond books (+ 1964)
- May 30 - Mel Blanc, voice actor
- May 31 - Don Ameche (actor)
- August 4 - Kurt Eichhorn, conductor
- August 27 - Don Bradman, cricket player
- August 27 - Lyndon Johnson, 36th president of the United States
- August 28 - Roger Tory Peterson, naturalist, artist, and educator
- November 28 - Claude Levi-Strauss
- October 16 - Enver Hoxha, dictator of Albania
- December 6 - Pierre Graber, member of the Swiss Federal Council (+ 2003)
- December 10 - Olivier Messiaen, composer
- December 31 - Simon Wiesenthal, Nazi hunter
Deaths
- January 25 - Ouida, writer
- February 1 - King Charles of Portugal
- April 20 - Henry Chadwick, baseball writer and historian
- August 25 - Henri Becquerel, French physicist
- September 20 - Pablo de Sarasate, violinist
- November 15 1-3 pm - Empress Dowager Cixi
- November 14 5-7 pm - Emperor Guangshui