On what date did the first official Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop take place?

The first official Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop took place on December 31, 1907.

The event was organized for the New Year celebration at the headquarters of The New York Times, which had moved to the newly developed Times Square area. The ball offered a dramatic way to signal midnight and soon became an annual tradition.

The original ball was made of iron and wood, decorated with electric lights, and measured about five feet in diameter. It weighed roughly 700 pounds. The modern ball is far more technologically advanced, using illuminated crystal panels and computer-controlled lighting.

The ceremony has not occurred every year without interruption: wartime dimouts suspended the public ball drop in 1942 and 1943. In those years, crowds still gathered and observed midnight with silence and church bells.