The 1910s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Chronology

1910:      Levi Strauss and Company begins making children's clothes, the first major line of casual play clothing for youngsters.

1910:      Architect Frank Lloyd Wright begins construction on Taliesin, his new studio and house in rural Wisconsin.

1910:     February 6 Chicago publisher William Dickson Boyce founds the Boy Scouts of America.

1910:     May 1 The National Negro Committee becomes known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

1910:     July The South-American style ballroom dance called the tango increases in popularity among New York City couples.

1910:     September 18–25 The National Conference of Catholic Charities holds its first meeting at the Catholic University of America. The members coordinate the nationwide efforts of lay and diocesan social work agencies.

1911:      The fabric rayon, called "artificial silk," is introduced by the American Viscose Company.

1911:     March 25 A fire at the Triangle Shirt-waist Factory on New York City's Lower East Side results in the death of 146 female workers.

1911:     May 7 Three thousand women march down Fifth Avenue in New York City, demanding the right to vote.

1912:      The dance team of Irene and Vernon Castle popularize ballroom dancing. Furthermore, Irene's lightweight, unrestricted clothing serves as a model for women to adopt more comfortable fashions.

1912:      An African American preacher of mysterious background called Father Divine, whose birth name is George Baker, begins his first preaching mission in Americus, Georgia. His followers would come to view him as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

1912:     April 15 The luxury ship Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage, killing 1,517 passengers and crew.

1912:     May 1 The elegant Beverly Hills Hotel is constructed on what once had been a California bean field.

1913:      Midway Gardens, an amusement park and concert hall designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens in Chicago.

1913:      The Jewish Anti-Defamation League is established.

1914:      "Coco" Chanel opens her first dress shop in France.

1914:     May 7 Congress passes a resolution to celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May.

1914:     November Mary Phelps Jacob, later known as Caresse Crosby, patents her design for the first brassiere (a woman's undergarment with cups to support the bust).

1915:      The Victor Talking Machine company introduces a record player called the Victrola.

1916:      Automobile and truck production in the United States passes 1 million new vehicles per year. There are more than 3.5 million cars on the road.

1916:     Summer The distinctive hoop-skirtshaped Coca-Cola bottle is first manufactured at the Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana.

1916:     October 16 The first birth control clinic for poor and immigrant women opens in Brooklyn, New York, through the efforts of Margaret Sanger.

1917:     May 18 The Selective Service Act passes, which authorizes federal conscription (required enrollment in military service) and requires U.S. male citizens aged twenty-one to thirty to register for enrollment.

1918:      For one of the few times in American history, the U.S. population decreases. The decline of fifty thousand is blamed on World War I (1914–18) casualties, postponed marriages, fewer immigrations, and a devastating epidemic of influenza (flu).

1918:      A toy company in New York City starts manufacturing Raggedy Ann dolls. Soon the production grows into a $20-million-per-year business.

1919:      Architect Julia Morgan begins to oversee the construction of San Simeon, the huge, ultra-luxurious mansion of publisher William Randolph Hearst. It is located one hundred miles north of Santa Barbara, California.

1919:     July 20 Roaming bands of soldiers, sailors, and Marines attack African Americans on the streets of Washington, D.C., claiming blacks have been attacking white women.

1919:     July and August Race riots in Chicago and Washington, D.C., as well as in several Southern and Midwestern states, result in the deaths of hundreds of people.