Top News Stories from 1917

World Events

World Statistics

Population: 4.378 billion
population by decade
Nobel Peace Prize: International Red Cross
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U.S. Events

U.S. Statistics

President: Woodrow Wilson
Vice President: Thomas R. Marshall
Population: 103,268,000
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  • U.S. declares war with Germany (Apr. 6). Background: World War I
  • "I Want You." James Montgomery Flagg's poster, featuring Uncle Sam and based on a 1914 British poster, attracts thousands of U.S. recruits to WWI duty.
  • Between ten thousand and fifteen thousand blacks silently walk down New York City's Fifth Avenue to protest racial discrimination and violence (July 28). Background: civil rights

Economics

Federal spending: $1.95 billion
Consumer Price Index: $12.8
Unemployment: 4.6%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.02 ($0.03 as of 11/3/17)

Sports

World Series
Chicago White Sox d. NY Giants (4-2)
Stanley Cup
Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Omar Khayyam
NCAA Football Champions
Georgia Tech (9-0-0)

Entertainment

Entertainment Awards

Nobel Prize for Literature: Karl Gjellerup (Denmark) and Henrik Pontoppidan (Denmark)
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Events

  • The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded for editorial writing, reporting, history of the United States, and biography or autobiography.
  • The first op-ed page appears in the New York Times.

Science

Nobel Prizes in Science

Chemistry: None awarded
Physics: Charles G. Barkla (UK), for discovery of Roentgen radiation of the elements
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