On July 21, 1925, a verdict of guilty was handed down against John T. Scopes in the now-infamous "Scopes Monkey Trial," held in Dayton, Tennessee. For his transgression, Scopes received a fine of $100 along with additional costs.

What became known as Dayton's "Monkey Trial" stemmed from a legal action brought by the State of Tennessee against John T. Scopes. The charge? He had violated state law — specifically the Tennessee Education Code — by teaching evolution during his time at the Dayton public schools. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court would rule that the conviction of Scopes ran afoul of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

Interesting Facts about July 21, 1925

  • On July 30, 1925 — a date that came to be called "Monkey Trial Day" — the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Dayton v. Scopes.
  • The majority opinion came from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., though it was penned by Harlan Fiske Stone, who served as attorney for President Calvin Coolidge.
  • While the Court struck down Tennessee's ban on teaching evolution as an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of speech and religion, it notably declined to establish a fundamental right to teach evolution.
  • William Jennings Bryan, the two-time Democratic presidential candidate often called "the Great Commoner," championed the case on behalf of the people of Tennessee. (Dayton served as the trial's venue because it was his hometown.)
  • Darrow fully anticipated that a guilty verdict would be delivered and had already prepared to take the matter before the Higher Court on appeal.
  • True to his expectations, the judges rendered a guilty finding and imposed a fine equivalent to about $1300 in current day money.
  • In a later development, the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the statute but ultimately threw out Scope's conviction on complexity.
  • Just five days after the Monkey Trial concluded, Bryan passed away.
  • The Butler Act — widely recognized as the anti-evolution law — remained part of Tennessee's legal code until it was finally nullified in 1967.