The Times Square New Year's Eve ball-drop tradition began in 1907.
The first ball was lowered on December 31, 1907, to welcome 1908. It replaced an earlier fireworks display used by the New York Times to celebrate the opening of its new headquarters in Times Square. The newspaper's owner, Adolph Ochs, wanted a dramatic annual event that could attract crowds without repeating the fireworks.
The original ball was made of wood and iron, decorated with electric lights, and measured about 5 feet (1.5 meters) across. The event was not held in 1942 or 1943 because wartime blackout rules prevented the usual nighttime illumination. In those years, crowds observed midnight with a minute of silence and bells.
The 1907 start is sometimes confused with the first Times Square New Year's celebration, which occurred in 1904. That earlier event marked the Times newspaper's move; the ball itself did not appear until three years later.