Year 1913 Fun Facts, Trivia, and History Events

This quick read presents a collection of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1913. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, historic firsts, entertainment news, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. In 1913, William Howard Taft (R-Ohio) was the 27th U.S. president until March 4. On March 4, Woodrow Wilson was sworn in as the 28th president of the United States, and Thomas R. Marshall was sworn in as the nation’s 28th vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.3%, and the nation’s inflation rate was 2.06%.
3. American companies and brands established in 1913 included Clorox, Kenmore, and Wilson Sporting Goods.
4. Consumer products launched during the year included Nabisco’s Mallomars cookies, peppermint Life Savers, Brillo scouring pads, and Erector construction sets.
5. In January, Vanity Fair magazine began publishing in New York City.
6. On February 2, Grand Central Terminal in New York City reopened to passengers. It had 44 platforms and 67 tracks on two levels. (Grand Central is one of the largest train stations in the world.)
7. On February 3, the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, “authorizing the federal government to impose and collect income taxes.”
8. On March 4, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Labor were created by “splitting the duties of the 10-year-old Department of Commerce and Labor.” With the new setup, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey were all part of the Department of Commerce.
9. On March 25, after four days of torrential rain, the Great Miami River flooded Dayton, Ohio, and the surrounding area, causing “the greatest natural disaster in Ohio history.”
10. On April 8, the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. It established “the direct election of United States senators in each state.”
11. On April 24, the 792-foot-tall Woolworth Building opened in New York City. It was the tallest building in the world for over a decade.
12. On July 10, the temperature in Death Valley, California, reached 134°F—the highest temperature ever recorded in the continental United States up until that time.
13. October 7 to December 1: Henry Ford and his engineers “introduced the moving assembly line at the Ford Motor Company's Highland Park plant in Michigan. This innovation revolutionized manufacturing and mass production.”
14. On December 1, the first drive-up automobile service station in the U.S. opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
15. On December 21, the New York World newspaper published the world’s first crossword puzzle.
16. On December 23, President Wilson created the Federal Reserve System.
17. In 1913, the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company introduced Camel, the first packaged cigarette. The Camel brand was also “the first nationally advertised . . . cigarette brand in the United States.”
18. The Quaker Oats Company launched Puffed Rice and Puffed Wheat breakfast cereals.
19. Cracker Jack began putting prizes into every box of the popular snack food.
20. Gideon Sundback, a Swedish-American electrical engineer, received a patent for the zipper.
21. Famous people who died in 1913 were Aaron Montgomery Ward (entrepreneur), Alfred Russel Wallace (biologist), Ambrose Bierce (novelist), Harriet Tubman (civil rights leader), J.P. Morgan (entrepreneur), and Josephine Cochrane (entrepreneur).
22. America’s best-loved songs were When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (Chauncey Olcott), Peg o’ My Heart (Charles Harrison), and The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life (Al Jolson).
23. Popular movies included A House Divided, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mabel’s Dramatic Career, Old Scrooge, On His Wedding Day, Suspense, The Bangville Police, The Last Days of Pompeii, The Mothering Heart, and The Student of Prague.
24. America’s best-loved magazines were Life, The Saturday Evening Post, McClure’s, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s, and Collier’s Weekly.
25. Here are some sports facts from the year 1913: The Philadelphia Athletics won the World Series, Fritz Carlson won the Boston Marathon, and Donerail was the winning horse in the Kentucky Derby.
26. In 1913 as well, the words "air base," "Allen wrench," "bandwidth," "big house," "cocktail table," "cost-of-living index," "Federal Reserve bank," "high chair," "luncheonette," "Murphy bed," "pep talk," "pinto bean," "screenwriter," "space heater," and "touch football" all appeared in print for the first time.

References:

1. https://popculturemadness.com/1913-history-trivia-and-fun-facts/
2. https://playback.fm/charts/top-100-songs/1913
3. https://www.flickchart.com/charts.aspx?year=1913
4. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1913
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_in_the_United_States
6. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1913
7. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1913.html
8. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1911.html
9. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices/Historic-Prices-1910s/Historic-Prices-1913
10. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1913

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor