William Taft, who had helped refine the U.S. Post Office, was elected president.
Lt. Tom Selfridge of the U.S. Signal Corps became the first person killed in a plane crash, when
Orville Wright's experimental plane lost a propeller over Virginia. Wright was seriously injured.
Popular Vaudeville comedians such as Smith & Dale were finding a new medium for their "schtick" — phonograph recordings.
Victor Herbert's musical Babes In Toyland continued in San Francisco as his Little Nemo opened
in New York.
