Year 1919 Fun Facts, Trivia, and History Events

This quick read presents a collection of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1919. 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 1919, Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States, and Thomas R. Marshall was the nation’s 28th vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate was 1.4%, and the nation’s inflation rate was a whopping 14.57%.
3. Adjusted for inflation, $1.00 in 1919 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $19.00 today.
4. Federal spending was $18.49 billion, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was $17.3.
5. At the grocery store, bacon was 34 cents a pound, eggs were 55 cents a dozen, and peanut butter was 33 cents for a one-pound jar. Lard was 34 cents a pound, Gold Medal flour was $1.75 for a 25-pound sack, and Sunkist oranges were 35 cents a dozen.
6. American companies and brands launched in 1919 included Ally Financial, the American International Group, the Baird Investment Bank, the Food Emporium, Foster Grant, Leopold’s Ice Cream, Organized Living, RCA, Starr Companies, the Tandy Leather Company, and Woodman’s Markets.
7. In 1919, A&W Root Beer, Bokar Coffee, Eight O’Clock Coffee, Hostess snack cakes, Red Circle Coffee, and Veet all appeared in the marketplace for the first time.
8. On January 1, Edsel Ford succeeded his father as head of the Ford Motor Company.
9. On January 6, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, died in his sleep at the age of 60.
10. On January 25, the iconic Hotel Pennsylvania opened in New York City at 401 Seventh Avenue—across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden. Built “by the Pennsylvania Railroad and operated by Ellsworth Statler, it had 2,200 rooms and was the largest hotel in the world at the time.” It closed permanently on April 1, 2020.
11. On February 26, President Wilson designated the Grand Canyon as a national park.
12. On March 15, the American Legion, an organization of U.S. war veterans, was established in Paris. It is now headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. (From November 10 to 12, 1919, the American Legion’s first national convention was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.)
13. Between April and October, deadly race riots unfolded in 25 major American cities, including Baltimore, Charleston (South Carolina), Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, Knoxville (Tennessee), Longview (Texas), New London (Connecticut), Norfolk (Virginia), Omaha, Philadelphia, Syracuse, Tulsa, Washington, DC, and Wilmington (Delaware).
14. On June 4, the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
15. On June 28, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, thus ending the war between Germany and “most of the Allied Powers.”
16. September 10 to 15: The Florida Keys Hurricane killed an estimated 600 in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and Texas.
17. From November 1919 through January 1920, the so-called “Palmer Raids” took place throughout the United States, and an estimated 10,000 “suspected communists and anarchists were arrested in 23 different U.S. cities.”
18. On December 26, the Boston Red Sox sold MLB legend Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000. It was “the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time.”
19. Throughout 1919, many labor disputes unfolded throughout the United States, including the Actors' Equity Association Strike, the Boston Police Strike, the Great Steel Strike, the Los Angeles Streetcar Strike, the New York City Garment Workers Strike, the Seattle General Strike, and the United Mine Workers Strike.
20. Oregon became the first state to impose a gasoline tax. The tax was 1% and was used for road construction.
21. The New York Daily News began publishing. In 1947, the newspaper reached its peak circulation at 2.4 million copies a day.
22. The National Restaurant Association (NRA) was founded in Kansas City, Missouri. Today, the NRA is the “leading business association” for the U.S. restaurant industry and comprises nearly one million restaurant and food service outlets.
23. Corning Glass Works in Corning, New York, received a patent for Pyrex glass.
24. Charles Strite of Stillwater, Minnesota, applied for a patent for a pop-up toaster. The Hennepin History Museum states, “Strite was working at a manufacturing plant in Stillwater, Minnesota. According to Strite, the cafeteria often served burnt toast. This inspired him to create a toaster that would toast bread automatically with minimal human intervention.”
25. Famous birthdays in 1919: Anne Buydens (movie producer), Eva Gabor (TV actress), J.D. Salinger (novelist), Jackie Robinson (MLB player), Liberace (pianist), Nat King Cole (jazz singer), and Sir Edmund Hillary (mountain climber)
26. Henry John Heinz died. He founded the H. J. Heinz Company in 1869 and came up with the company’s famous slogan of “57 Varieties.”
27. Other famous people who died in 1919 were Andrew Carnegie (entrepreneur), L. Frank Baum (children’s author), Theodore Roosevelt (U.S. president), Mary Edwards Walker (physician), Theophilus Van Kannel (inventor of the revolving door), and William Osler (doctor).
28. Best-selling books included Joseph Conrad’s The Arrow of Gold, Zane Grey’s The Desert of Wheat, and Mary Roberts Rinehart’s Dangerous Days.
29. America’s most beloved songs were After You’ve Gone (Marion Harris), I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles (Ben Selvin), and I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles (Henry Burr & Albert Campbell).
30. Popular movies for the year included A Day’s Pleasure, Ask Father, Back Stage, Blind Husbands, Broken Blossoms, Bumping Into Broadway, Just Neighbors, Male and Female, Sunnyside, The Doll, The Oyster Princess, and True Heart Susie.
31. In 1919 as well, the words "air traffic control," "antioxidant," "aptitude test," "beach towel," "bull session," "cold turkey," "file clerk," "Girl Scout," "go-getter," "horse around," "motor scooter," "overreact," "personality disorder," "phooey," "run-of-the-mill," "split personality," "sports car," and "twin bed" all appeared in print for the first time.
32. American League baseball champions: Chicago White Sox
33. Boston Marathon winner: Carl Linder
34. Indianapolis 500: Not held because of World War I
35. Kentucky Derby winner: Howard Wilcox
36. National League baseball champions: Cincinnati Reds
37. NCAA football champions: Harvard, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame
38. Stanley Cup: Cancelled due to a flu epidemic
39. Tour de France winner: Firmin Lambot
40. U.S. Open Golf winner: Walter Hagen
41. World Series champions: Cincinnati Reds

References:

1. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices/Historic-Prices-1910s/Historic-Prices-1919
2. https://www.flickchart.com/charts.aspx?year=1919
3. https://playback.fm/charts/top-100-songs/1919
4. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1916.html
5. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1919
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_in_the_United_States
7. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1919.html
8. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1919
9. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1919

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor