AntiqueCar.com on Twitter    AntiqueCar.com on FaceBook    AntiqueCar.com on LinkedIn    Google+

American History and the Automobile Industry From 1890 to 1919

The following is a timeline of the history of the American automobile industry's people and vehicles, along with a sample of noteworthy events to put it into perspective. We used a wide variety of resources that were often in conflict so the results are approximations and should not be relied upon!

1890            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • The Sherman Antitrust was adopted to prevent monopolies in the U.S.
  • The McKinley Tariff created a tax on imports to protect U.S. manufacturing
  • Idaho became the 43rd stateWyoming became 44th state
1891            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Dr. James Naismith invented the sport of basketball
  • Andrew Carnegie financed the building of Carnegie Hall in New York City
1892            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Arthur Conan Doyle wrote Sherlock Holmes
  • The boil weevil infested U.S. cotton crops
  • The Ellis Island Immigration Station was opened in New York
  • Oil was discovered in Texas
1893            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Thomas Edison invented the kinetoscope, leading to moving pictures
  • Lizzie Borden was found innocent of killing her parents in New Bedford, MA
  • W.L. Judson invented the zipper
1894            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • The first bottle of Coca-Cola was sold
  • Rudyard Kipling published The Jungle Book
1895            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Duryea Motor Wagon - (1895-1897)
  • The first gasoline powered car race between Chicago, IL, and Evanston, IL
  • The Duryea Motor Wagon Company was the first U.S. company to build a gasoline automobile
  • The first slot machine was built
  • Guglielmo Marconi invented the radio
1896            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Ransom E. Olds built his first gasoline engine
  • Ford Quadricycle - (1896-1901)
  • Reeves Motocycle - (1896-1899)
  • Gold was discovered in the Yukon's Klondike region
  • Utah became the 45th state
  • The first Summer Olympics were held in Athens, Greece
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average was published for the first time
1897            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Ransom E. Olds founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company
  • Ransom E. Olds created the first assembly line
  • Winton - (1897-1924)
  • William McKinley became the 25th President
  • The Boston subway was completed
  • Bram Stoker published Dracula
  • The first Boston Marathon race
  • The Spanish-American War with Cuba began and ended
1898            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Waltham - (1898-1908)
  • Land speed record set in France - electric car - 65.79 mph
  • The USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor
  • The five boroughs of New York city were first defined
  • The first escalator was installed
1899            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Samuel L. Smith bought the Olds Motor Works, Olds stayed as Vice President & General Manager
  • The "Great Blizzard", -47 degrees in Nebraska
  • The Open Door Policy was announced
  • Aspirin was first produced
1900            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • The United States population exceeded seventy-five million
  • Major hurricane in Galveston, TX
  • Work began on the New York subway system
  • A hurricane on Galveston Island killed over 6,000 people
  • 20% of all cars sold had electric motors
  • Smallpox epidemic in Kansas
  • The II Summer Olympics were held in Paris, France
1901            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • William McKinley was assassinated
  • Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 26th Cadillac of the United States
  • U.S. Steel was founded by J. P. Morgan
  • Marconi sent the first wireless transmission from England to Canada
  • Queen Victoria Died
  • The first Nobel Prices were awarded in Stockholm, Sweden
  • King C. Gillette produced the first safety razor
  • Hubert Booth made the first vacuum cleaner
1902            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Cadillac Runabout - (1902-1903)
  • Cadillac Tonneau - (1902-1903)
  • Rapid - (1902-1909)
  • Land speed record set in France - steam engine - 75.06
  • Land speed record set in the U.S. - internal combustion engine - 76.08 mph
  • The first Rose Bowl game was played
  • The American Automobile Association (AAA) was founded
1903            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Ransom E. Olds started the RE Olds (REO) Motor Car Company
  • D.D. Buick founded the Buick Motor Company
  • Cadillac Model A - (1903-1904)
  • Ford Model A - (1903-1904)
  • Welch - (1903-1911)
  • The Great Train Robbery movie opened
  • The Ford Motor Company was formed
  • The first World Series baseball game was played
  • The Wright brothers made their first powered flight
  • The first Crayola Crayons were produced
  • The first baseball World Series was won by the Boston Americans in eight games
1904            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • American Mercedes - (1904-1907)
  • Model B Buick - (1904 - ??)
  • Cadillac Model B - (1904-1905)
  • Elmore - (1904-1912)
  • Ford Model AC - (1904)
  • Ford Model B - (1904-1906)
  • Ford Model C - (1904-1905)
  • Land speed record set in the U.S. - internal combustion engine - 91.37 mph
  • The Panama Canal Zone was acquired
  • The III Summer Olympics were held in Lt. Louis, MO
  • Times Square in New York City was established
1905            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Adams-Farwell - (1905-1912)
  • Cadillac Model C, D, E, F - (1905)
  • Cartercar - (1905-1915)
  • Ford Model F - (1905-1906)
  • Rainier - (1905-1911)
  • The first nickelodeon opened, showing The GreatTrain Robbery
  • Baseball World Series was won by the New York Giants
1906            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Cadillac Model H, M - (1906-1908)
  • Cadillac Model K - (1906-1907)
  • Cadillac Model L - (1906)
  • Ford Model K, N - (1906-1908)
  • The Morse Code signal for an "SOS" was adopted
  • Land speed record set in the U.S. - steam engine - 127.66 mph
  • The San Francisco 7.8 earthquake occurred
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Chicago White Sox
1907            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • General Motors bought REO to produce Oldsmobiles
  • Cadillac Model G - (1907-1908)
  • Ford Model R - (1907)
  • Ford Model S - (1907-1909)
  • McLaughlin - (1907-1942)
  • Oakland - (1907-1931)
  • Oldsmobile - (1907-2002)
  • Oklahoma became a state
  • A coal mine exploded in West Virginia, killing hundreds
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Chicago Cubs
1908            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • The Ford Model T was introduced
  • The IV Summer Olympics were held in London, England
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Chicago Cubs
1909            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • The penny was changed to the Abraham Lincoln design
  • Land speed record set in England - internal combustion engine - 115.93 mph
  • William Howard Taft became the 27th President
  • Robert Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole
  • The NAACP was founded
  • The first fingerprint evidence was used in a murder case
  • The first hearse automobile was used in a funeral
  • The first men reached the North Pole
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Pittsburgh Pirates
1910            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Welch-Detroit - (1910-1911)
  • The Boy Scouts of America was founded in the U.S.
  • The "Big Burn", the largest U.S. forest fire, over 3 million acres in three states
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Philadelphia Athletics
1911            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Chevrolet Series C Classic Six - (1911-1913)
  • Indianapolis 500 winner: Ray Harroun - Average speed: 74.6 mph
  • The Supreme Court broke up Standard Oil
  • Cadillac came out with the first electric starter
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Philadelphia Athletics
1912            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Cadillac Model 1912 - (1912)
  • Marquette - (1912)
  • Peninsular - (1912)
  • Indianapolis 500 winner: Joe Dawson - Average speed: 74.602 mph
  • The RMS Titanic sank
  • New Mexico and Arizona became states
  • Girl Scouts of America was founded
  • The V Summer Olympics were held in Stockholm, Sweden
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Boston Red Sox in eight games
1913            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Cadillac Model 1913 - (1913)
  • Scripps-Booth - (1913-1923)
  • Indianapolis 500 winner: Jules Goux - Average speed: 78.719 mph
  • Woodrow Wilson became the 28the President
  • The Sixteenth Amendment, establishing an income tax, was passed
  • The Seventeenth Amendment, establishing direct election of Senators, was passed
  • Henry Ford developed the modern assembly line
  • The first cross word puzzle was published
  • Henry Ford introduced the assembly line
  • Stainless steel was discovered
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Philadelphia Athletics
1914            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Cadillac Model 1914 - (1914)
  • Chevrolet Baby Grand - (1914-1922)
  • Chevrolet Light Six Series L - (1914-1915)
  • Chevrolet Series H - (1914-1916)
  • Monroe - (1914-1923)
  • Shamrock the Second - (1914)
  • Land speed record set in England - internal combustion - 124.09 mph
  • Indianapolis 500 winner: Rene Thomas - Average speed: 82.474 mph
  • World War I began in Europe
  • Mother's Day became a national holiday
  • Congress passed the Revenue Act, the beginning of income tax
  • Henry Ford raised the minimum wage from $2.34 to $5.00 to ward off the United Auto Workers union
  • The Panama Canal opened
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Boston Braves
1915            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Indianapolis 500 winner: Ralph DePalma - Average speed: 89.84 mph
  • The Birth of a Nation movie opened
  • The RMS Lusitania was sunk
  • The U.S. Coast Guard was established
  • The Lusitania was sunk, killing 1,200
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Boston Red Sox
1916            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Indianapolis 500 winner: Dario Resta - Average speed: 84.001 mph
  • The United States acquired the Virgin Islands
  • Pancho Villa attacked New Mexico
  • The Thompson submachine gun was invented
  • The VI Summer Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Boston Red Sox
1917            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Ben Hur - (1917-1918)
  • Cadillac Type 55 - (1917)
  • Chevrolet Series D - (1917-1918)
  • Chevrolet Series F - (1917)
  • Indianapolis 500 winner: No race due to WW I
  • The United States entered World War I, declared war on Germany
  • The beginning of the Russian Revolution
  • Boys Town was founded
  • The first Pulitzer Prizes were given
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Chicago White Sox
1918            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Indianapolis 500 winner: No race due to WW I
  • Influenza epidemic in Kansas
  • U.S. airmail began
  • The American Legion was started
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Boston Red Sox
1919            The People                                            The Vehicles                                              Historical Events
  • Indianapolis 500 winner: Howdy Wilcox - Average speed: 88.050 mph
  • The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I
  • The Eighteenth Amendment, prohibiting alcohol, was passed
  • The Nineteenth Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was passed
  • The rotary dial telephone was invented
  • Daylight savings time was established
  • The pop-up toaster was invented
  • Baseball World Series was won by the Cincinnati Reds in eight games
Search for Anything
Make or Keyword

Model

Year Range
to

State/Province

Advanced search functions

Related