New York City's Times Square New Year's Eve celebration first used a lit ball in 1907.
The ball was introduced for the celebration marking the end of 1907 and the beginning of 1908. It replaced earlier fireworks planned by The New York Times for the opening of its new headquarters in Times Square. The newspaper's publisher, Adolph Ochs, wanted a dramatic visual event that could be seen by the crowds below.
The original ball was built from iron and wood, fitted with electric lamps, and lowered from the flagpole atop the Times building. Its descent established the countdown format that later became famous worldwide.
This question is sometimes confused with the year of the first Times Square New Year's Eve gathering or with later redesigns of the ball. The key date is the first use of the illuminated descending ball itself. Wartime blackouts interrupted the tradition in 1942 and 1943, but it resumed afterward.