The 1900s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Chronology

1900:      Some of the new automobile brands introduced to the public are Franklin, Peerless, Stearns, Packard, and Auburn.

1900:      One in twelve American marriages ends in divorce.

1900:      Cocaine is removed from the recipe for Coca-Cola.

1900:      There are more than 1.3 million telephones in the United States.

1900:     November 3-10 The nation's first auto show is held in Madison Square Garden. It is sponsored by the newly established Automobile Club of America.

1901:      The Socialist Party of America is formed.

1901:      King Camp Gillette manufactures the modern safety razor.

1901:      The Boys' Corn Club and Girls' Home Club are founded. These organizations are the forerunners of the 4-H Club.

1901:     January 22 Britain's Queen Victoria dies. Her son, Edward VII, succeeds her to the throne.

1901:     October 16 President Roosevelt sparks controversy by inviting black leader Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House.

1902:      Ragtime music sweeps the nation.

1902:     March 4 The American Automobile Association (AAA) is established.

1902:     June 15 A trip on the Central Railroad line from New York to Chicago takes twenty hours.

1903:      The Great Train Robbery, directed by pioneer filmmaker Edwin S. Porter, is screened. It is regarded by many as the first Western film.

1903:      The Ford Motor Company introduces its Model A automobile.

1903:      It is reported that 93 percent of America's 2.3 million miles of roads are little more than dirt paths, unsuitable for automobiles.

1903:     September 1 Massachusetts is the first state to issue automobile license plates.

1904:      The first automobile road maps are published.

1904:      Phonograph rolls are used for sound recording and become a popular entertainment.

1904:     April 15 Andrew Carnegie donates $5 million to establish a fund honoring those who risk their lives to save others.

1904:     June 15 More than 100,000 people, mostly immigrant women and children, are killed when a steamboat called The General Slocum burns in New York City's East River.

1904:     October 27 The first completed segment of the New York City subway system is opened to the public.

1905:      The Rotary Club is established in Chicago as a volunteer community service organization.

1905:      Novocaine, a painkilling medicine, is introduced.

1905:      The World's Fair is held in Portland, Oregon.

1905:      The first nickelodeon begins operation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1905:      The Clansman, a controversial novel that glorifies the Ku Klux Klan, is published.

1906:      Winsor McKay's popular comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland is introduced to American newspapers.

1906:     August 14 Black soldiers riot in Brownsville, Texas, and are later dishonorably discharged from the military by President Roosevelt, despite little evidence of their guilt.

1906:     December 24 The first radio broadcast of words and music is made by Reginald Aubrey Fessenden in Massachusetts. Only those on fishing and military boats are able to hear his broadcast.

1907:      Florenz Ziegfeld inaugurates his Follies on a New York stage.

1907:      The soda pop Canada Dry Ginger Ale is introduced.

1907:      Paris fashion designers spark international controversy by creating "short" skirts, which have hemlines ending just above a woman's boot.

1907:     September 12 The Lusitania, the world's largest steamship, completes its first voyage.

1908:      The first skyscraper, which stands forty-seven stories (612 feet) tall, is completed in New York City.

1908:      The electric iron and toaster are introduced by General Electric.

1908:      Winsor McKay presents the first animated cartoon, Gertie the Dinosaur.

1908:     August 12 Ford introduces the Model T automobile, which is affordably priced at $850.

1908:     September 17 Thomas Selfridge becomes the first person to die from wounds suffered in a plane crash. Orville Wright, the plane's pilot, is also seriously injured in the crash.

1909:      The Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower is completed in New York City. It remains the world's tallest building until 1913.

1909:      The Alaska-Yuko-Pacific Exposition opens in Seattle, Washington.

1909:     March 7 Arbor Day, which celebrates nature, is first established in California in honor of famed botanist Luther Burbank.

1909:     August 2 The Indian-head penny, which had been in circulation for fifty years, is replaced by the Lincoln penny.