1900s Facts About The Not So Distant Past That Will Amaze You

The 1900s are basically the time period from 1900-1999, called the 20th century.

This century has seen the most revolutionary ideas and incidents in comparison to the other centuries. The decades were filled with wars, entertainment, innovation, and elevation from poverty.

The invention of the rail lines, followed by the nuclear bombs during the war, have been some of the most iconic inventions in American history. A gas-powered automobile car was upgraded into a fuel-generated car.

During the 1900s, the average life expectancy was around 48 years for white Americans, while it was just 33 years for African Americans. Although at present, the nation's life expectancy has risen to 74 years for men and 79 years for women.

Numerous inventions occurred during the 1900s, including different types of transportation, which changed the lifestyles of people. Time was being utilized wisely and the number of vacations taken by people increased during this time. People became more outgoing during this time.

Having access to electricity was the biggest boon of all time. The pipelines were being reconstructed outside the house rather than inside.

If you liked reading this article, you might want to read 18th century facts and 17th century facts.

Fun Facts About The 1900s

One of the major facts is the transformation of the US from a traditional market to a free economy market during the First World War. With inventions like the train station and the first car, the US was already paving the way as the biggest economy in the 18th century.

The legacy was kept intact in the 19th century as well.

The invention of the train in the year 1870 drew a lot of attention worldwide, and around 45000 mi (72,420 km) of tracks were created in the initial decades of the 19th century. During this time, most of the railroads were created.

This entire process was not a symbol of the creation of the first moving train, but it did provide a lot of job opportunities to the people. By the first decade of 1900, the west was won by the US.

In the 1900s, the US earned a lot of profit by upgrading its farming skills. They became the largest producers in the agricultural sector.

By this time, the country had around 193,000 mi (310,603 km) of railroads, which were distributed all around the continent. Even though the US was at the top of the world power list, the nation's life expectancy was very low.

The health conditions were so poor during the 1900s that the survival of all the kids of a mother was impossible.

A mother having four kids would face the death of a kid by the age of five. Most of the young people during this period would lose their parents in their early 20s.

In the early 1900s, the standard of living of Americans was not very high either. An average family would make around $3,000 in today's dollars.

The families had no proper housing or plumbing system. Most Americans living in poverty would work as laborers instead of attending schools or colleges.

Historical Facts About The 1900s

One of the major historical facts of 1900 has to be the massive growth in the economy that took place in the 1920s. During this time, the economy grew by up to 42%, making America a global power.

Apart from explosions and bombs, after the First World War, America emerged as a global power. There was an explosion in terms of economic growth.

The victory in the world war benefitted the US in different ways. There was an increase in the production and spread of consumer goods, reaching thousands of households as well.

Post-war, there were soldiers returning from Europe with elevated skills and energy. Their contribution to the workforce in America increased the economy by up to 42%, which is equivalent to an economic explosion.

During this time, the per capita income of the citizens increased along with their standards of living. The per capita income increased from $6,460 to $8,016.

Although there was an increase, the income was not equally distributed among the masses. With this massive economic boost, the total income increased from 13.4% to 14.5% in the year 1929.

Despite this success, there was a decrease in the farming sector, affecting the economy by reducing it from 18% to 12.4%. To maintain equilibrium in society, taxes were increased to 40% to cover up for the 21% fall in the farming sector.

Facts About Innovations In The 1900s

During the 1900s, the entire world was in awe of America and Britain regarding the innovations that came out. Countries like China are lagging behind regarding the development of the industry to such an extent.

The culture and economy of the 1900s were greatly affected by research based on genetics and computers. The human mind during this time has created marvelous instruments on which the world is still dependent.

History was created by the Wright brothers with the invention of the first powered flight or plane in the year 1903. The Wright brothers took the first flight in the airplane, making the incident immortal in American history.

Before the 1900s, automobiles like rail trains and cars were invented that were powered by gas. In the initial period of 1900, there were inventions of vacuum cleaners, radar, air conditioning, and most importantly, the radio.

Radio broadcasting was initiated in the year 1906. To reduce the workload related to the daily chores, there were the inventions of the tea maker, coffee filter, and electric washing machine.

During the First World War, there were inventions like the stenotype machine and submachine guns. In terms of aids, insulin and hearing aids were also created during this time.

Television was invented in 1925, along with fuel-filled rockets and aerosol sprays. During the Great Depression, the Ford model came into being, and the first jet engine was created as well.

In the post-Depression period, gadgets like an electric razor, telescope, lamp, as well as electric blanket, were created. Regarding transport through the air, the fuel-generated helicopter was invented in 1940.

The major motive behind this invention was to trigger clouds for rainfall. Before World War II, the first nuclear reactor was created in the year 1942.

In 1945, the nuclear bomb was created. This has been known as one of the most drastic inventions in the history of mankind.

Artificial intelligence and mobile phones were created in 1947. In the second half of this century, there were a few great inventions, like the videotape recorder, the pacemaker, satellites, and polio vaccines.

In 1961, man went to space, and biometrics was created in 1968. The Internet came into existence in 1969, while the personal computer was created in 1975.

Cultural Facts About The 1900s

The period of the 20th century has seen changes in culture in terms of social and political degradation. Countries like Great Britain and America were seen as being extremely optimistic about their materialistic lives. The materials included trains, planes, cars, and the technology involved in creating them.

The optimism of the people came from the progressive era, which invented several models to upgrade the standard of living. During the 19th century, there was an excessive increase in the materialistic industry.

Music had been an integral part of the cultural aspects of society. People would listen to music created by John Philip Sousa and Scott Joplin.

Multiple concerts were being put on which were attended by large numbers of people. Apart from the concerts, modern music became very important while doing daily chores as well. With this massive influence of music, people initiated the installments of instruments like pianos and saxophones.

Gramophones became very popular as well. For the lower-middle-class families, there were phonographs and records to give them a taste of the music.

Apart from music, movies also became very popular during this time. The movies had been comparatively shorter in length, which were popularly known as 'views'.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 1900s facts about the not so distant past that will amaze you, then why not take a look at 19th century facts or 2001 facts.