The first Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop took place in 1907.
The inaugural ceremony happened on December 31, 1907, at One Times Square in New York City. Adolph Ochs, publisher of The New York Times, arranged the event as a dramatic public celebration connected with the newspaper’s headquarters and the newly established name Times Square.
The original ball was made of iron and wood, measured about five feet in diameter, and was illuminated by 100 light bulbs. It was lowered from a flagpole as thousands of spectators watched. The ball-drop idea was influenced by maritime time balls, which were used to signal precise time to ships and observatories.
The ceremony has been interrupted or altered only in exceptional circumstances. Public celebrations were canceled during wartime blackouts in 1942 and 1943, while people gathered privately and observed a moment of silence instead.