Year 1808: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1808. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, historic firsts, famous birthdays and deaths, retail prices, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. President of the United States: Thomas Jefferson (DR-Virginia)
2. Vice President: George Clinton (DR-New York)
3. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: John Marshall (Virginia)
4. Speaker of the House of Representatives: Joseph Bradley Varnum (DR-Massachusetts)
5. The 10th U.S. Congress was in session, and both chambers had an overwhelming Democratic-Republican majority.
6. Inflation rate: 8.62%
7. $100.00 in 1808 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,643.02 today. The U.S. dollar had “an average inflation rate of 1.51% per year” between 1808 and 2026, “producing a cumulative price increase of 2,543.02%.” In other words, a U.S. dollar today buys about 3.784% of what it could purchase back in 1808.
8. It’s worth noting that the U.S. dollar has lost 96% of its value since 1808.
9. $1.00 in 1808 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $26.43 today.
10. $10.00 in 1808 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $264.30 today.
11. As mentioned above, $100.00 in 1808 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,643.02 today.
12. Finally, $1,000.00 in 1808 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $26,430.16 today.
13. Consumer price index (CPI): 12.600
14. American companies established in 1808 included the American Fur Company, a New York City-based business that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States.
15. In 1808, there were 17 U.S. states. In order of admission to the Union, they were Delaware (1787), Pennsylvania (1787), New Jersey (1787), Georgia (1788), Connecticut (1788), Massachusetts (1788), Maryland (1788), South Carolina (1788), New Hampshire (1788), Virginia (1788), New York (1788), North Carolina (1789), Rhode Island (1790), Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792), Tennessee (1796), and Ohio (1803). (It’s worth noting that no new states were admitted to the Union during 1808.)
16. On March 2, 1807, Congress passed a law to “prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States . . . from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.” The law went into effect on January 1, 1808.
17. On January 5, American explorer William Clark (Lewis and Clark Expedition) married Julia Hancock in Fincastle, Virginia.
18. On February 11, Judge Jesse Fell, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, “successfully burned anthracite coal in an open grate at his home. Proving it could effectively heat rooms without the explosive sparks of wood,” Fell “unlocked a domestic use for anthracite.”
19. On March 6, six students at Harvard University established the Pierian Sodality, recognized today as “the oldest continuously active collegiate symphony orchestra in the United States.”
20. On March 25, the African Benevolent Society in Newport, Rhode Island, opened one of the nation's “earliest independent schools for Black children and adults.”
21. On April 8, Pope Pius VII promoted the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore to the rank of archdiocese.
22. On April 8, Pope Pius VII established four new “suffragan dioceses” in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Bardstown (now Louisville, Kentucky).
23. On April 30, Italian inventor Pellegrino Turri finished creating a “mechanical typing machine.”
24. On May 18, Elijah Craig, a Baptist minister from Kentucky, passed away. In 1789, he “accidentally” invented bourbon whiskey and is sometimes referred to as the “Father of Bourbon.”
25. On July 15, Sir Henry Cole, a British inventor and civil servant, was born. In 1843, he created the idea of sending greeting cards during the Christmas season.
26. On September 20, the first Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, in London—established in 1732—was destroyed by a fire along with most of the costumes, scripts, and scenery.
27. On November 10, the Osage Indian tribe agreed “to abandon their lands in Missouri and Arkansas in exchange for a reservation in Oklahoma.”
28. On December 7, James Madison was elected as the fourth U.S. president.
29. Key fiction books published in 1808 included James Norris Brewer’s Mountville Castle and Sarah Green’s Tankerville Family.
30. American publisher Jane Aitken of Philadelphia printed Charles Thomson's translation of the Bible from the Greek version.
31. English authors Ann Taylor and Jane Taylor published Hymns for Infant Minds.
32. Famous people who were born in 1808 included Andrew Johnson (U.S. president), Antonio Meucci (inventor), and Samuel Francis Smith (songwriter).
33. Famous people who died in 1808 included French painter Hubert Robert.
34. In 1808, the words “baking tray,” “barium,” “bronchitis,” “calcium,” “calling card,” “cough syrup,” “dead bolt,” “first offender,” “gaslight,” “gasometer,” “lo and behold,” “middle ear,” “missing in action,” “mustang,” “Navajo,” “outspoken,” “property tax,” “pueblo,” “resourceful,” “sodium,” “Tagalog,” and “Thai” all appeared in print for the first time.
35. 100 apple trees: About $6.67
36. 100 pounds of hay: Around 40 cents
37. One bushel of buckwheat: About 40 cents
38. One bushel of oats: Around 33 cents
39. One bushel of potatoes: About 50 cents
40. One bushel of salt: Around $2.40
41. One bushel of wheat: About $1.33
42. One pound of butter: Around 13 cents
43. One pound of tobacco: About 13 cents
44. One quart of soap: Around seven cents
45. Three and one-half pounds of cheese: About 47 cents
46. Three bushels of ashes: Around 27 cents
47. Three deerskins: About $3.47
48. Three pounds of flax: Around 40 cents
49. Two pounds of bread: About 13 cents
50. Two yards of tow cloth: Around 80 cents

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1808_in_the_United_States
2. https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1808
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_companies_established_in_1808
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1808_in_literature
5. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1808.html
6. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/deceased/1808.html
7. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1808
8. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1806-1810.html
9. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/1808
10. https://www.onthisday.com/weddings/date/1808
11. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1808

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor