Monday, July 20, 2026

Question: On this day in 1917, a former mayor of which Ohio city presided over the nation’s first World War I draft lottery?

Answer: Newton D. Baker, who served as Cleveland’s mayor before becoming U.S. Secretary of War, launched the lottery on July 20, 1917, by drawing a capsule containing the number 258 from a glass bowl. The drawing began America’s first military draft since the Civil War.