| 1914 Fun Facts, Trivia and History |
| Top Ten Baby Names of 1914: Mary, Helen, Dorothy, Margaret, Ruth, John, William, James, Robert, Joseph |
| US Life Expectancy: (1914) Males: 52.0 years, Females: 56.8 years |
Firsts, Inventions, and Wonders: The first Commercial Airline was the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line, the first commercial flight was on January 1, 1914. The American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) formed in New York, NY The Perils of Pauline, a movie serial, debuted. The Foxtrot was introduced at the New Amsterdam Roof Garden, in NYC, by Harry Fox. The Panama Canal opened. The term “Cup of Joe” was invented to mock US Secretary of Navy Josephus Daniels, who banned the consumption of alcohol in 1914, replacing it with coffee. On May 8, 1914, the US Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. It is still celebrated today. H.G. Wells coined the term “Atomic Bomb” in his book The World Set Free. |
| The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1914 include: The American Quartet, Nora Bayes, Henry Burr, Albert Campbell, Helen Clark, Arthur Collins, Marguerite Dunlap, Byron G. Harlan, Charles Harrison, Joe Hayman, The Heidleberg Quartet, Irving Kaufman, Grace Kerns, George MacFarlane, John McCormack, Billy Murray, Will Oakland, The Peerless Quartet, Prince’s Orchestra, Manual Romain, Maggie Teyte, Walter Van Brunt, The Victor Military Band |
| Pop Culture News: Gertie the Dinosaur by Winsor was one of the earliest animated films and the first to use keyframes, animation loops, tracing paper, and feature a dinosaur. The 12-minute film consists of over 10,000 individually traced frames and took several years to complete. |
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The Ford Model T wasn’t just available in black. From 1908-1913 it was available in gray, green, blue, and red. Only in 1914 was the “any color as long as it’s black” policy introduced. Ford Motor Co wages went from $2.40/9-hr day to $5.00/8-hr day. When Thomas Edison’s factory burned to the ground, destroying one-of-a-kind prototypes and causing millions in damage, he said: “Thank goodness all our mistakes were burned up. Now we can start fresh again.” Charlie Chaplin’s first appearance as The Tramp was in Kid Auto Races at Venice |
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The RMS Empress of Ireland had a cat named Emmy. She never missed a voyage until May 28, 1914, when she refused to go aboard. The ship left without her and sunk the next day. Seattle’s Smith Tower was the tallest building on the Westcoast 1914 until the Space Needle opened in 1962 Speedo swimwear originated in 1914 under the brand name ‘Fortitude’. It didn’t become known by its current brand name until 1928. The actor credited for performing in the most movies for a long time was Oliver Hardy, of Laurel and Hardy fame, with a record 417 movies between 1914 and 1951. Recently, others have gotten more screen credits than he, including Frank Welker, Eric Roberts, and many voice actors. Passenger Pigeons were once the most abundant bird in the world. John James Audubon once saw a flock that took three days to pass. Alexander Wilson reckoned that a flock he saw contained 2,230,272,000 individuals. On September 1, 1914, Martha, the world’s last passenger pigeon, died alone in 1914 at the Cincinnati, Ohio Zoo. The Coca-Cola Company was flooded with look-alike competitors. The bottlers requested design proposals for their product: a “bottle so distinct that you would recognize if by feel in the dark or lying broken on the ground” and the initial Classic Coke green bottle was released in 1916. The greatest high school football team of all time was in Massachusetts. The 1914 Everett Crimson Tide, went 13-0, won the national title and they outscored their opponents 600-0 throughout the season. The famous “Uncle Sam Wants You” and Smokey Bear’s “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires” posters are both imitations of a British Army recruitment poster from 1914 – “Lord Kitchener Wants You” |
| WWI in History: Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Sarajevo by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. British WWI soldier Thomas Hughes tossed a beer bottle with a letter to his wife into the English Channel. He was killed two days later. In 1999, a fisherman dredged up the bottle in the River Thames. Although Hughes’ wife had died in 1979, it was delivered to his 86-year old daughter. |
| The Christmas Truce: On Christmas in 1914 German and Allied Troops had a truce and sang songs together, gave presents to each other, and even played soccer. The Germans won 3-2. |
| The Horrible: The Influenza Pandemic of 1913-1914, also known as ‘Spanish Flu’, killed more people than WWI. Casualties were around 30 million. (not to be confused with the Pandemic of 1918-1920, which killed over 50,000,000 people. |
| The Ludlow Massacre: On April 20, 1914, the Colorado National Guard fired on a camp of striking miners and their families killing at least 19 including 11 children. |
| The Extinction: The final Passenger Pigeon in the wild was shot in 1901. The last, Martha, died on September 1, 1914, in the Cincinnati Zoo. |
| Nobel Prize Winners: Physics – Max von Laue Chemistry – Theodore William Richards Medicine – Róbert Bárány Literature – not awarded Peace – not awarded The Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded for WWI (1914-1916) and WWII (1939-1943). The first winner after each war was the International Committee of the Red Cross. |
Popular and Notable Books From 1914:
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| Fiction Bestsellers: 1. The Eyes of the World by Harold Bell Wright 2. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter 3. The Inside of the Cup by Winston Churchill 4. The Salamander by Owen Johnson 5. The Fortunate Youth by William J. Locke 6. T. Tembarom by Frances Hodgson Burnett 7. Penrod by Booth Tarkington 8. Diane of the Green Van by Leona Dalrymple 9. The Devil’s Garden by W.B. Maxwell 10. The Prince of Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon |
| Other Books of Note: Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein Other People’s Money by Louis Brandeis Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw Drift and Mastery by Walter Lippmann Behaviorism by John D. Watson |
| Sports: World Series Champions: Boston Braves Stanley Cup Champs: Toronto Hockey Club U.S. Open Golf: Walter Hagen U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): Richard Norris Williams/Mary Browne Wimbledon (Men/Women): Norman Brookes/Dorothea Lambert Chambers NCAA Football Champions: Army Kentucky Derby Winner: Old Rosebud Boston Marathon Winner: James Duffy Time: 2:25:14 |
