In 2016 Cubs won the World Series for the first time since 1908. That's 108 years, which was the longest championship drought of any North American sport. It is so long between Cubs championships that the world had seen many significant events and changes within that timeframe. The following list the historical events, discoveries, inventions, achievements, and inaugurations that occurred in chronological order between 1908 and 2016.
- Proton was discovered in 1911.
- Wrigley Field was opened in 1914.
- World War I lasted from 1914–1918.
- Movement of the continents was first proposed in 1915.
- Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was formulated in 1915.
- Cubs began play at Wrigley Field in 1916.
- NHL began play in 1917.
- The Spanish Flu occurred in 1918.
- NFL began play in 1920.
- World Series was broadcast on radio for the first time in 1921.
- The Yankees won their first of 27 World Series championships during the Cubs' championship drought in 1923.
- Edwin Hubble found out that the universe is expanding in 1927 then found the universe's expansion was speeding up in 1998.
- The Big Bang Theory was proposed in 1927.
- Television was invented in 1927.
- The Great Depression lasted from 1929–1939.
- Pluto was discovered in 1930 and then demoted from planetary status in 2006.
- Constellation boundaries were devised in 1930.
- Neutron was discovered in 1932.
- First MLB All-Star Game was played in 1933.
- MLB Hall of Fame began awarding in 1934.
- Little Debbie began production in 1934.
- First element (technetium) was produced artificially in 1937.
- World War II lasted from 1939–1945.
- Nuclear weapon was invented in 1945 and was subsequently used to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
- Cubs made their last World Series appearance in 1945 until they won the championship in 2016.
- Curse of the Billy Goat for the Cubs began in 1945.
- Computer was invented in 1946.
- NBA began play in 1946.
- Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in MLB in 1947.
- The UFO crash took place in Roswell, NM in 1947.
- Lego began producing the familiar plastic building blocks in 1947.
- World Series was broadcast on television for the first time in 1947.
- Rock and roll, the precursor of rock music, was evolved in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
- DNA was discovered in 1953.
- First McDonald's was opened in 1955.
- Movie was broadcast on television for the first time in 1956.
- Sputnik 1 was the first satellite launched into orbit in 1957.
- Video game was invented in 1958.
- The Expansion Era in MLB began in 1961.
- Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space in 1961.
- Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to visit another planet (Venus) in 1962.
- President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
- Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to land on a celestial body (Moon) in 1966.
- First Super Bowl was played in 1967.
- First pulsar was discovered in 1967.
- MLB's Collective Bargaining Agreement was negotiated for the first time in 1968.
- MLB leagues were split into divisions and the League Championship Series before the World Series was first played in 1969.
- Neil Armstrong became the first person to step on another world (Moon) in 1969.
- Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to land on another planet (Venus) in 1970.
- First black hole was found in 1971.
- Cell phone was invented in 1973.
- MLB began granting free agency in 1975.
- First Star Wars movie was released in 1977.
- First ever Mario video game was released in 1983.
- Internet was invented in 1989.
- First extrasolar planet was confirmed in 1992.
- Smartphone was invented in 1992.
- MLB player's strike began in 1994 that would cancel this year's World Series.
- Yahoo! was launched in 1995.
- MLB.com was launched in 1995.
- MLB began awarding Wild Cards and the Division Series began play in 1995.
- Regular season interleague play was introduced in 1997.
- Google was launched in 1998.
- Wikipedia was launched in 2001.
- 9/11 attacks struck in 2001.
- Facebook was launched in 2004.
- Wikia was launched in 2004.
- The Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years in 2004.
- YouTube was launched in 2005.
- The White Sox won their first World Series in 88 years in 2005.
- Twitter was launched in 2006.
- The Great Recession lasted from 2007–2009.
- MLB Network was launched in 2009.
- MLB began awarding the 2nd Wild Cards in 2012 and the institution of the Wild Card Game.
- The 5,125-year cycle on the Mayan Long Count Calendar ended in 2012.
- MLB began utilizing the instant replay beyond just the home run calls in 2014.
The following list the comparisons in the years when the Cubs' championship drought begins and ends.
| 1908 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| # of MLB teams | 16 | 30 |
| # of MLB postseason rounds | 1 | 4 |
| # of inductees in MLB Hall of Fame | 0 | 314 |
| Average MLB ticket price | 25¢ | $44.81 |
| # of U.S. states | 46 | 50 |
| U.S. president | Theodore Roosevelt | Barack Obama |
| U.S. population | 89 million | 324 million |
| U.S. life expectancy | 51 years | 79 years |
| # of sovereign states | 65 | 195 |
| World population | 1.7 billion | 7.4 billion |
| Atmospheric CO2 level | 298 ppm | 403 ppm |
| # of known chemical elements | 85 | 118 |