1908
leap year starting on Wednesday
1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday in the Gregorian calendar.
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | 19th century – 20th century – 21st century |
| Decades: | 1870s 1880s 1890s – 1900s – 1910s 1920s 1930s |
| Years: | 1905 1906 1907 – 1908 – 1909 1910 1911 |
Events change
- January 1 – A ball signifying New Year's Day drops in New York City's Times Square for the first time.
- January 8 – A train collision occurs in the Park Avenue Tunnel in New York City killing 17, injuring 38 and leading to increased demand for electric trains.
- January 11 – Grand Canyon National Monument is created.
- January 12 – A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
- January 15 – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first Greek-letter organization by and for Black college women is established.
- January 21 – New York City passes a law, the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for aliens to smoke in public only to be vetoed by the mayor.
- January 24 – Robert Baden-Powell begins the Boy Scout movement.
- February 1 – King Carlos I of Portugal and Crown Prince Luis are shot in Lisbon.
- February 11 – Australia regain The Ashes with a 308 run cricket victory over England.
- February 18 – Japanese immigration to USA forbidden.
- Philippe's, a restaurant opens in Los Angeles.
- St. Albans City F.C. founded.
- Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, Russian biologist, and Paul Ehrlich, Germany, won the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Births change
January change
- January 9 – Simone de Beauvoir, French writer and intellectual (d. 1986)
- January 16 – Ethel Merman, American singer and actress (d. 1984)
- January 22 – Lev Landau, Soviet physicist (d. 1968)
February change
- February 6 – Amintore Fanfani, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1999)
- February 22 – Rómulo Betancourt, 47th & 54th President of Venezuela (d. 1981)
- February 23 – William McMahon, Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)
March change
- May 5 – Rex Harrison, British actor (d. 1990)
- March 7 – Anna Magnani, Italian actress (d. 1973)
- March 20 – Michael Redgrave, English stage actor (d. 1985)
- March 25 – David Lean, British movie director (d. 1991)
April change
- April 2 – Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese movie director and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- April 5 – Bette Davis, American actress (d. 1989)
- April 5 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor (d. 1989)
- April 28 – Oskar Schindler, German businessman (d. 1974)
May change
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- May 20 – James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
- May 23 – John Bardeen, American physicist (d. 1991)
- May 30 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist (d. 1995)
- May 31 – Don Ameche, American actor, (d. 1993)
June change
July change
- July 8 – Nelson Rockefeller, 41st Vice President of the United States (d. 1979)
- July 12 – Milton Berle, American actor, entertainer and comedian (d. 2002)
August change
- August 27 – Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States (d. 1973)
- August 30 – Fred MacMurray, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
September change
- September 4 – Edward Dmytryk, Canadian-American movie director (d. 1999)
October change
- October 06 – Carole Lombard, American actress (d. 1942)
- October 15 – John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian economist (d. 2006)
- October 16 – Enver Hoxha, Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1985)