World Events in 1908
Ford Model T launched
Henry Ford introduced the Model T on 1 October, priced at $825. Designed to be affordable, reliable, and easy to maintain, it would transform American society by making car ownership possible for the middle class. Over 15 million were eventually produced.
London Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics were held in London after Rome withdrew due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The marathon became legendary when Italian Dorando Pietri collapsed near the finish and was helped across the line, only to be disqualified. The Games established many modern Olympic standards.
Tunguska Event
On 30 June, a massive explosion over the Tunguska region of Siberia flattened approximately 80 million trees over 2,150 square kilometres. It is believed to have been caused by an airburst of a comet or asteroid and remains the largest impact event in recorded history.
Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina
Austria-Hungary formally annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina on 6 October, provoking outrage from Serbia and Russia. The Bosnian Crisis brought Europe to the brink of war and deepened the hostilities that would eventually spark World War I.
Young Turk Revolution
A revolution by the Committee of Union and Progress forced Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the 1876 constitution and recall parliament. The revolution promised modernisation and equal rights for all Ottoman citizens.
Oil discovered in Persia
On 26 May, William Knox D'Arcy's exploration team struck oil at Masjid-i-Suleiman in Persia, the first major oil discovery in the Middle East. This led to the founding of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, later known as BP.
Music in 1908
"Oh! Oh! Antonio"
Florrie Forde
A hugely popular comic music hall song about a lovesick girl chasing an Italian ice cream seller. Florrie Forde was one of the great music hall stars of the era, famous for leading audience sing-alongs.
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
Harvey Hindermeyer & Edward Meeker (recorded)
Written by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer (neither of whom had attended a baseball game), it became the unofficial anthem of American baseball and is still sung during the seventh-inning stretch.
#1 Film of 1908
The Adventures of Dollie
Box Office: N/A
D.W. Griffith's directorial debut for the Biograph Company, a 12-minute film about a child kidnapped by gypsies. Griffith would go on to become the most influential director of the silent era.
Born in 1908
Ian Fleming
British author who created James Bond
Simone de Beauvoir
French existentialist philosopher and feminist author of The Second Sex
Bette Davis
American actress, two-time Academy Award winner
James Stewart
American actor, star of It's a Wonderful Life and Vertigo
Lyndon B. Johnson
36th President of the United States
Lost in 1908
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
British Prime Minister who granted self-government to the Boer republics
Age 71
Grover Cleveland
22nd and 24th President of the United States, the only president to serve non-consecutive terms
Age 71
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Russian composer of Scheherazade and Flight of the Bumblebee
Age 64
Joel Chandler Harris
American author of the Uncle Remus stories
Age 59
Technology in 1908
The Ford Model T went into production, eventually selling 15 million units. The Tunguska event in Siberia was the largest impact event in recorded history. The gyrocompass was invented. The first commercial oil strike in the Middle East occurred in Persia.
- ● Ford Model T goes into production
- ● Oil discovered in Persia (modern Iran) by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company
- ● Fritz Haber demonstrates the Haber process for synthesising ammonia
- ● Gyrocompass invented by Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe
Cost of Living in 1908
| Item | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Average house price | £170 | $3,150 |
| Average salary | £61 | $495 |
| Pint of milk | 1½d | 4¢ |
| Loaf of bread | 2½d | 6¢ |
| Dozen eggs | 9d | 17¢ |
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The Zeitgeist of 1908
Britain hosted the Olympic Games in London with great fanfare, and the marathon's dramatic finish became instant legend. The suffragette movement grew increasingly confrontational. In America, Henry Ford's Model T was about to democratise the automobile. Ragtime was giving way to early jazz influences, and the nickelodeon boom was transforming entertainment. Immigration to America was at historic highs.
In the News in 1908
The Tunguska event flattened 2,000 square kilometres of Siberian forest. Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina created a diplomatic crisis. The Young Turk revolution transformed the Ottoman Empire. Oil was discovered in Persia, launching the modern Middle Eastern oil industry.