Year 1897 Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historical Events

This quick read presents a collection of fun facts and historical events from the year 1897. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, notable inventions, historic firsts, sports facts, erratic weather patterns, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. Grover Cleveland (D-New York) was the president of the United States until March 4. On that day, William McKinley (R-Ohio) was sworn in as the 25th U.S. president. Adlai Stevenson (D-Illinois) was the vice president of the United States until March 4. On that day, Garret Hobart (D-New Jersey) became the 24th U.S. vice president.
2. In 1897, the United States was still recovering from the Panic of 1893, a significant economic depression that began in February 1893 and lasted until 1897. The economic downturn was marked by bank failures, business closures, falling gold reserves, high unemployment, and political unrest.
3. The U.S. unemployment rate was around 18% in manufacturing, mining, transportation, and building trades. The nation's inflation rate was 2.89%.
4. American companies and brands launched in 1897 included Becton Dickinson, the J.M. Smucker Company, Riverside Memorial Chapel, and Roman Bronze Works.
5. On February 1, the Travelers Insurance Company issued the first automobile insurance policy.
6. On February 10, the New York Times began using the slogan "All the News That's Fit to Print."
7. On March 7, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, a physician and health reformer, served corn flakes to his patients for the first time at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan. Kellogg's Corn Flakes® cereal, however, was not sold commercially until 1906.
8. On April 19, the first Boston Marathon was held with 15 men competing. John J. McDermott of New York won the race with a time of 2:55:10, “marking the beginning of what is now the world's oldest annual marathon.”
9. On June 1, American miners began a strike that ultimately established the United Mine Workers Union, which brought about the 8-hour workday and better working conditions for miners.
10. On June 2, American author Mark Twain, responding to rumors that he had passed away, was quoted in the New York Journal morning newspaper as saying, "The report of my death was an exaggeration."
11. On July 17, the Klondike Gold Rush began when the first of 100,000 potential prospectors arrived in Seattle.
12. On July 27, 14.75" of rain fell in Jewell, Maryland, setting a state record.
13. On August 21, Ransom E. Olds created the Oldsmobile automobile brand in Lansing, Michigan.
14. On August 31, American inventor Thomas Edison received a U.S. patent for a kinetoscope, a precursor to the movie projector.
15. On September 1, the Boston subway opened and became the first “underground metro” in the United States.
16. On September 2, McCall’s Magazine, later shortened to McCall’s, began publishing. (In 1873, McCall’s began as a “small-format magazine” called The Queen.)
17. In 1893, William Waldorf Astor opened the 13-story Waldorf Hotel at Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street in New York City. On November 1, 1897, John Jacob Astor IV, William Waldorf Astor’s cousin, opened the 17-story Astoria Hotel on a neighboring site at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. Ultimately, the two hotels merged and became the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. They “were connected by a corridor known as ‘Peacock Alley,’ a fashionable thoroughfare for well-dressed people.”
18. On December 6, London became the first city to have licensed taxicabs.
19. On December 28, Henry J. Heinz of Pittsburgh registered the “Heinz” trademark for products like tomato ketchup, pickles, and vinegar.
20. In 1897, Dr. Felix Hoffmann, a German chemist, synthesized acetylsalicylic acid—the chemical compound that later became known as aspirin.
21. Alfred L. Cralle of Pittsburgh received a U.S. patent for an ice cream scoop.
22. Pearle Bixby Wait, a carpenter and cough syrup manufacturer from Leroy, New York, received a patent for Jell-O, a “fruit-flavored gelatin dessert.”
23. Dr. John T. Dorrance, a chemist with the Campbell Soup Company, invented condensed soup. The process “allowed for smaller packaging and lower prices,” and it revolutionized the soup industry and made Campbell's a household name throughout America.
24. African American inventor John Lee Love of Fall River, Massachusetts, received a U.S. patent for a portable pencil sharpener.
25. Famous people born in 1897 included Amelia Earhart (pilot), Frank Capra (movie director), and William Faulkner (novelist). Famous people who died in 1897 were Johannes Brahms (composer), John B. Curtis (entrepreneur), and Ernest Giles (explorer).
26. Popular music artists and groups were Albert Campbell, Arthur Collins, Arthur Pryor, Billy Golden, Dan Quinn, George Gaskin, George W. Johnson, the Haydn Quartet, John Philip Sousa’s Band, Harry MacDonough, Len Spencer, and Vess Ossman.
27. America’s most beloved songs included Stars and Stripes Forever (John Philip Sousa’s Band), The Laughing Song (George W. Johnson), and Blue Bells of Scotland (Arthur Pryor).
28. Popular movies were The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (documentary), Peeping Tom (comedy), and The Haunted Castle (comedy).
29. Here are some sports facts from 1897: Typhoon II was the winning horse in the Kentucky Derby, Pennsylvania and Yale were the NCAA football champions, and Scottish Chieftain was the Belmont Stakes winner.
30. In 1897 as well, the words "amino acid," "backpack," "bake sale," "bellhop," "button-down," "cinematographer," "cufflink," "doorman," "dry cleaner," "handy-dandy," "hit-and-miss," "matinee idol," "Nobel Prize," "Salisbury steak," "scrub brush," "term insurance," "Triple Crown," and "turtleneck" all appeared in print for the first time.

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1897_in_the_United_States
2. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1895.html
3. https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?year=1897
4. https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/single/1897/?__cf_chl_tk=kWEvs9oXRsvHmaShpIU6Rl5TaT5YrQX2nCmtIukqffc-1743895268-1.0.1.1-ADbfBS10xk5RKCKxl5IeipOCeroKxBiWNG_b2M7Xsng
5. https://www.alphadictionary.com/slang/?term=&beginEra=1890&endEra=1890&clean=false&submitsend=Search
6. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1897.html
7. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/deceased/1897.html
8. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1897
9. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1897
10. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/1897

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor