What Happened in 1908?

Henry, Horace, John, and others sold their first car under the Ford Motor Company in 1903 - the Model "A". Then, they progressed through improvements, failures, and design changes while continuing to climb the alphabet. It wasn't until late 1908 when they finally arrived at a vehicle Henry was happy with. It just happened to be the letter "T". Thus, the historic "Model T" was born. October 1, 1908 was the date it was introduced. Production continued all the way to 1927 after producing 15 million Model Ts.

1st time the ball signifying the new year dropped at Times Square.

A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.

In a remote part of Russia, a fireball was seen streaking across the daytime sky. Within moments, something exploded in the atmosphere above Siberia’s Podkamennaya Tunguska River. This event – now widely known as the Tunguska event – is believed to have been caused by an incoming asteroid (or comet), which never actually struck Earth but instead exploded in the atmosphere, causing what is known as an air burst, three to six miles (5–10 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.

The summer olympics were held in London.

The Hoover Company of Canton, Ohio acquires manufacturing rights to the upright portable vacuum cleaner just invented by James M. Spangler.

United Sates presidential election: Republican candidate William Howard Taft defeats William Jennings Bryan, 321 electoral votes to 162.

Western bandits Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are supposedly killed in Bolivia, after being surrounded by a large group of soldiers. There are many rumors to the contrary however, and their grave sites are unmarked.

Albert Einstein presents his quantum theory of light.

Earthquake strikes Messina, Italy, killing nearly 80,000.

Prime Rib - $0.14/lb

Butter - $0.27/lb

Coffee - $0.12/lb

Eggs - $0.19 /dozen

Lard - $0.09 /lb

Daily Newspaper - $0.01

Men's Overalls - $0.45 /pair

Hammock - $1.06

Women's Leather Shoes - $1.98 /pair

Tent - $3.50