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1912 Fun Facts, Trivia and History |
Top Ten Baby Names of 1912Mary, Helen, Dorothy, Margaret, Ruth, John, William, James, Robert, Joseph |
US Life Expectancy(1912) Males: 51.5 years, Females: 55.9 years |
Firsts, Inventions, and WondersParamount Pictures (the Famous Players Film Company) was founded in 1912, 23 days after the sinking of the Titanic. The first film was about the Titanic. Sunshine made Hydrox Cookies in 1908, and Oreo copied them in 1912. Juliette Gordon Low founded Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA). Mrs. Luther Halsey Gulick officially founded the Camp Fire Girls organization. It was informally started in 1910. Arthur Rose Eldred, a 17-year-old member of Troop 1 of Rockville Centre, Long Island, became the first Eagle Scout. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs was published. Fenway Park opened in Boston. The Beverly Hills Hotel opened. Wilbur Scoville created the Scoville Organoleptic Test which has become standardized today as the Scoville Scale, which we use to measure the spiciness in chili peppers. Roald Amundsen announced his discovery of the South Pole. Memphis Blues, by W.C. Handy, was published. It is usually recognized as one of the first blues songs. The Helen Hayes Theater opened at 240 West 44th Street, New York, NY. Frederick Rodman Law was paid to Jump off the Brooklyn Bridge for A Leap of Love, starring Ethel Wright, becoming the first movie stuntman in 1912. The 1912 Olympics was the last time that gold medals were solid gold. Since then, they’ve been silver with gold plating. ‘Discovered’ by Charles Dawson in 1912, The Piltdown Man became the most famous paleoanthropological hoax ever. |
The Most Popular Singers and Artists of 1912 includeThe American Quartet, Elsie Baker, Henry Burr, Albert Campbell, Enrico Caruso, Arthur Collins, The Columbia Stellar Quartet, Dolly Connolly, Alma Gluck, Byron G. Harlon, The Heidelberg Quartet, Louise Homer, Al Jolson, Ada Jones, Harry Lauder, Christie MacDonald, Harry Macdonough, Lucy Isabelle Marsh, John McCormack, Reed Miller, Billy Murray, Will Oakland, The Peerless Quartet, Prince’s Orchestra, Bob Roberts, William H. Thompson, Alan Turner, Walter Van Brunt, Victor Light Opera Company |
Pop Culture Facts & HistoryJ.P. Morgan of JPMorgan Chase Co. Banking and Milton Hershey of Hershey’s Chocolate were both in Europe and planned to travel back to the US on Titanic’s Maiden Voyage but made other plans. The empire with the most extended longevity in history was the Chinese Empire. It began in 221 BC and ended in 1912 AD, 2133 years of existence over nine major family dynasties. |
Violet Jessop (October 2, 1887 – May 5, 1971) was a stewardess/nurse aboard the Oceanliner Olympic when it collided with a warship in 1911. She was aboard Titanic (1912) and the Britannic (1916) when they sank. She survived all three events. The North Korean calendar is based on Kim Il-Sung’s birth year, 1912. Alaska (Seward’s Folly) was bought from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. It became the organized Territory of Alaska in 1912. Before that, it was the District of Alaska. It became the 49th state in 1959. In 1912’s Broadway play, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, they were Blick, Flick, Glick, Plick, Quee, Snick, and Whick. The empire with the longest longevity in history was the Chinese Empire, beginning in 221 BC and ending in 1912 AD, 2133 years of existence. #9dynasties Created in 1894, the Michelin Man’s real name is Bibendum, and the reason he’s white is because he was created before carbon was added as a preservative and a strengthener to the basic rubber material. Before 1912, tires were a gray-white or light and translucent-beige color. The US Postal Service regularly delivered mail on Sundays until 1912. A criminologist named Arthur MacDonald suggested making it a misdemeanor to call assassins publicly, stating, “This would lessen the hope for glory, renown or notoriety, which is a great incentive to such crimes.” A 400+ pound meteor exploded over Holbrook, Arizona. Under the provisions of the 1912 Scottish Protection of Animals Act, the Loch Ness monster is a protected species. Franz Reichelt tried to demonstrate his parachute design by jumping off the first level (about 187 feet) of the Eiffel Tower. Police and friends tried to convince him to use a dummy instead, but he insisted on testing it himself. His prototype failed, and he fell to his death. How would you do with an Eighth-Grade 1912 Kentucky School test? The Pink Cherry Blossoms in Washington, DC, were a gift from Japan. In 1912, Japan sent more than 3,000 seeds to be planted near the Potomac River as a symbol of friendship between the two nations. In the US Election of 1912, there were four candidates for President: William Taft (Republican), Theodore Roosevelt (Bull Moose Party), Eugene V. Debs (Socialist), and Woodrow Wilson (Democrat). Wilson won with 41.8% of the vote. The first dramatic film of the Titanic sinking was released 29 days after the event in 1912. It was written by and stars Dorothy Gibson, an actual survivor. |
1912 Olympics NewsToday’s Olympic Gold Medals are made of Silver. The last time the Olympic medals were made of solid gold was the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden. Today’s gold medals are 92.5% silver. Shizo Kanaguri, an Olympic marathon runner, quit, went home to Japan without telling officials, and was considered a missing person in Sweden for 50 years. In 1966, he was invited to complete the marathon. His net time: 54 years, eight months, six days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.379 seconds. The oldest Olympic gold medallist, Oscar Swahn, was 64 and 258 days old when he won gold for Shooting in 1912. When Native American athlete Jim Thorpe was awarded his two Olympic Gold Medals in 1912, the King of Sweden said, “You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world,” to which Thorpe replied, “Thanks, King”. Jim was stripped of the medals won in the 1912 Olympics for receiving money for playing semi-pro baseball two years earlier. They were reinstated in 1983, 30 years after his death. |
Nobel Prize WinnersPhysics – Nils Gustaf Dalén |
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1912Fiction Bestsellers1. The Harvester by Gene Stratton Porter |
Nonfiction Bestsellers1. The Promised Land by Mary Antin |
Other Books of NoteThe New History by James Harvey Robinson |
Sports |
More 1912 Facts & History Resources:Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com) |
