Timeline

1885–1919 ∼ Simple Pleasures

Safety bicycle invented (1885) / Edison invents the motion picture (1889) / Proliferation of electric trolleys in cities (1890s) / Steeplechase Park built at Coney Island (1897) / Intercollegiate Athlete Association is formed and football rules are reformulated (1905) / Ford Model T built (1908) / Vaudeville peak of popularity (1910)

MILESTONES: Olympics staged at the World Exhibition in Paris (1900) • Significant segment of the American population consider gambling a sin (1900) • Physician William Osler argues that men should retire from work at the age of 60 (1905) • Alice Ramsey becomes the first woman to drive a car across the U.S., capturing Americans’ imagination and interest in automobiles (summer 1909) • 17,000 weeklies, semi-weeklies, and tri-weeklies are published (1915)

1920–1929 ∼ Fun in the Jazz Age

Formation of the Negro National League in baseball (1920) / “Flappers” frequent speakeasies, smoke cigarettes and engage in promiscuous sexual activity (1920s) / Harlem Renaissance produces renowned African American writers, artists, and...