January
January 24: Boy Scout movement.
January 1 – Nimrod Expedition: Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the Nimrod for Antarctica.
January 12 – A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
January 13 – A fire at the Rhoads Opera House in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., kills 170.
January 24 – Start of publication of Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys in London. The book will over time sell over 100 million copies and effectively begin the worldwide Boy Scout movement.
February
February 1 – Lisbon Regicide: King Carlos I of Portugal and Infante Luis Filipe are shot dead in Lisbon.
February 12 – The first around-the-world car race, the 1908 New York to Paris Race, begins.
February 18 – Japanese emigration to the United States is forbidden under terms of the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907.
March
March – The Children's Encyclopædia begins publication in London.
March 4 – The Collinwood school fire, near Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., kills 174.
March 21 – French aviator Léon Delagrange pilots the first passenger flight with Henri Farman on board.[1]
March 23 – American diplomat Durham Stevens, an employee of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is assassinated in San Francisco by two Korean immigrants unhappy with his recent support for the increasing Japanese presence in Korea.
March 27 – The first Scout Troop outside the U.K. is formed in Gibraltar.
April
April 20 – Sunshine train disaster: A rear-end collision of two trains in Melbourne, Australia, kills 44 people and injures more than 400.[2]
April 21 – Frederick Cook claims to have reached the North Pole on this date.
April 27–October 31 – The 1908 Summer Olympics are held in London.[3]
May
May 26 – At Masjid-al-Salaman in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil discovery in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the United Kingdom.
June
Evidence of the Tunguska event (June 30). Photo taken 19 years later.
June 30 (June 17 OS) – Tunguska event or "Russian explosion" near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia, Russian Empire, an explosion believed to have been caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet fragment at an altitude of 5–10 kilometres (3–6 mi) above the Earth's surface.
July
July 3 – Young Turk Revolution in the Ottoman Empire: Major Ahmed Niyazi, with 200 followers (Ottoman troops and civilians), begins an open revolution by defecting from the 3rd Army Corps in Macedonia, decamping into the hill country.
July 6 – Robert Peary sets sail for the North Pole.
July 11–12 – The steamship Amalthea, housing 80 British strikebreakers in Malmö harbour, Sweden, is bombed by Anton Nilson; 1 is killed, 20 injured.
July 23 – Young Turk Revolution: The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) issues a formal ultimatum to Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the constitution of 1876 within the Ottoman Empire. It is restored the following day.
July 24 – Dorando Pietri wins the Olympic marathon in London in one of the most dramatic arrivals of the Olympic history, only to be disqualified soon afterwards for receiving assistance.
July 27-28 - The 1908 Hong Kong Typhoon sinks the passenger steamer Ying King, losing 421 lives.
August
August 8 – Wilbur Wright flies in France for the first time demonstrating true controlled powered flight in Europe.
August 8 – The Hoover Company of Canton, Ohio, acquires manufacturing rights to the upright portable vacuum cleaner just invented by James M. Spangler.
August 17 – Émile Cohl makes the first fully animated film, Fantasmagorie.
August 24 – After an intense power struggle, Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco is deposed, and is succeeded by his brother Abd al-Hafid.
September
September 17 – At Fort Myer, Virginia, U.S.A., Thomas Selfridge becomes the first person to die in an airplane crash. The pilot, Orville Wright, is severely injured in the crash but recovers.
September 27 – Henry Ford produces his first Model T automobile.
October
October 1 – Penny Post established between the United Kingdom and United States. October 5 – Bulgaria declares its independence from the Ottoman Empire; Ferdinand I of Bulgaria becomes Tsar.
October 6 – The Bosnian crisis begins after the Austro-Hungarian Empire annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina.
November
November 6 – 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.
November 15 – King Leopold II of Belgium formally relinquishes his personal control of the Congo Free State to Belgium (becoming Belgian Congo) following evidence collected by Roger Casement of maladministration.
November 25 – The Christian Science Monitor newspaper is first published, in the United States.
December
December 2 – Child Emperor Pu Yi ascends the Chinese throne at age 2.
December 16 – Construction begins on the RMS Olympic at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
December 28 – Messina earthquake: An earthquake of 7.1 Mw and tsunami hit Sicily and Calabria, destroying Messina and killing over 70,000 people.
January 24: Boy Scout movement.
January 1 – Nimrod Expedition: Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the Nimrod for Antarctica.
January 12 – A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
January 13 – A fire at the Rhoads Opera House in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., kills 170.
January 24 – Start of publication of Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys in London. The book will over time sell over 100 million copies and effectively begin the worldwide Boy Scout movement.
February
February 1 – Lisbon Regicide: King Carlos I of Portugal and Infante Luis Filipe are shot dead in Lisbon.
February 12 – The first around-the-world car race, the 1908 New York to Paris Race, begins.
February 18 – Japanese emigration to the United States is forbidden under terms of the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907.
March
March – The Children's Encyclopædia begins publication in London.
March 4 – The Collinwood school fire, near Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., kills 174.
March 21 – French aviator Léon Delagrange pilots the first passenger flight with Henri Farman on board.[1]
March 23 – American diplomat Durham Stevens, an employee of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is assassinated in San Francisco by two Korean immigrants unhappy with his recent support for the increasing Japanese presence in Korea.
March 27 – The first Scout Troop outside the U.K. is formed in Gibraltar.
April
April 20 – Sunshine train disaster: A rear-end collision of two trains in Melbourne, Australia, kills 44 people and injures more than 400.[2]
April 21 – Frederick Cook claims to have reached the North Pole on this date.
April 27–October 31 – The 1908 Summer Olympics are held in London.[3]
May
May 26 – At Masjid-al-Salaman in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil discovery in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the United Kingdom.
June
Evidence of the Tunguska event (June 30). Photo taken 19 years later.
June 30 (June 17 OS) – Tunguska event or "Russian explosion" near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia, Russian Empire, an explosion believed to have been caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet fragment at an altitude of 5–10 kilometres (3–6 mi) above the Earth's surface.
July
July 3 – Young Turk Revolution in the Ottoman Empire: Major Ahmed Niyazi, with 200 followers (Ottoman troops and civilians), begins an open revolution by defecting from the 3rd Army Corps in Macedonia, decamping into the hill country.
July 6 – Robert Peary sets sail for the North Pole.
July 11–12 – The steamship Amalthea, housing 80 British strikebreakers in Malmö harbour, Sweden, is bombed by Anton Nilson; 1 is killed, 20 injured.
July 23 – Young Turk Revolution: The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) issues a formal ultimatum to Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the constitution of 1876 within the Ottoman Empire. It is restored the following day.
July 24 – Dorando Pietri wins the Olympic marathon in London in one of the most dramatic arrivals of the Olympic history, only to be disqualified soon afterwards for receiving assistance.
July 27-28 - The 1908 Hong Kong Typhoon sinks the passenger steamer Ying King, losing 421 lives.
August
August 8 – Wilbur Wright flies in France for the first time demonstrating true controlled powered flight in Europe.
August 8 – The Hoover Company of Canton, Ohio, acquires manufacturing rights to the upright portable vacuum cleaner just invented by James M. Spangler.
August 17 – Émile Cohl makes the first fully animated film, Fantasmagorie.
August 24 – After an intense power struggle, Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco is deposed, and is succeeded by his brother Abd al-Hafid.
September
September 17 – At Fort Myer, Virginia, U.S.A., Thomas Selfridge becomes the first person to die in an airplane crash. The pilot, Orville Wright, is severely injured in the crash but recovers.
September 27 – Henry Ford produces his first Model T automobile.
October
October 1 – Penny Post established between the United Kingdom and United States. October 5 – Bulgaria declares its independence from the Ottoman Empire; Ferdinand I of Bulgaria becomes Tsar.
October 6 – The Bosnian crisis begins after the Austro-Hungarian Empire annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina.
November
November 6 – 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.
November 15 – King Leopold II of Belgium formally relinquishes his personal control of the Congo Free State to Belgium (becoming Belgian Congo) following evidence collected by Roger Casement of maladministration.
November 25 – The Christian Science Monitor newspaper is first published, in the United States.
December
December 2 – Child Emperor Pu Yi ascends the Chinese throne at age 2.
December 16 – Construction begins on the RMS Olympic at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
December 28 – Messina earthquake: An earthquake of 7.1 Mw and tsunami hit Sicily and Calabria, destroying Messina and killing over 70,000 people.