1925 Fun Facts, Trivia and History
Quick Facts from 1925
- World Changing Event: James Carrier installed an air cooling system in Paramount’s Rivoli Theater in Times Square during a 1925 heatwave.
- World Communications Changing Event: Calvin Coolidge was sworn in for a full term as President of the United States. It was the first inauguration to be broadcast on radio.
- Influential Songs include Sweet Georgia Brown by various artists and Tea For Two by Marion Harris.
- The Movies to Watch include Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, The Unholy Three, Battleship Potemkin, The Big Parade, The Phantom of the Opera, His People, The Lost World and The Gold Rush
- The Most Famous Person in America was probably Charlie Chaplin
- Notable books include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Price of Brownie ‘Gift Box” Camera in 1925: $5.00
- 1 ounce of gold value: $20.67 (same from 1879 to 1932!)
- The Funny Guy was Charlie Chaplin
- The first koalas to live outside of Australia were named Snugglepot and Cuddlepie and arrived at the San Diego Zoo in 1925.
1925 History Rundown:
- January 3 – Mussolini Declared Dictatorship: Benito Mussolini dissolved the Italian parliament and proclaimed himself dictator, taking the title “Il Duce.”
- January 5 – First Female U.S. Governor Inaugurated: Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming was sworn in as the first female governor in the United States.
- January 21 – Albania Became a Republic: Albania declared itself a republic, ending its monarchy.
- February 2 – Serum Run to Nome Completed: Dog sled teams, including the famous lead dog Balto, delivered diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska, inspiring the annual Iditarod race.
- February 21 – The New Yorker Published First Issue: The New Yorker magazine released its inaugural issue, becoming a significant publication in American culture.
- March 18 – Tri-State Tornado Devastated U.S. Midwest: The deadliest tornado in U.S. history struck Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, causing 695 deaths and extensive damage.
- April 10 – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Published: The novel, which would become a classic of American literature, was released to the public.
- April 19 – SS Established in Germany: Heinrich Himmler was appointed leader of the Schutzstaffel (SS), which would become a central organization in Nazi Germany.
- May 5 – Scopes Monkey Trial Began: John T. Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school, leading to a landmark legal case.
- May 30 – Shanghai Massacre Occurred: British police opened fire on Chinese protesters in Shanghai, killing several and intensifying anti-foreign sentiments.
- June 13 – First Public Demonstration of Television: Charles Francis Jenkins publicly demonstrated synchronized transmission of pictures and sound, an early form of television.
- June 26 – Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush Released: The silent film premiered, becoming one of Chaplin’s most celebrated works.
- July 18 – Hitler’s Mein Kampf Published: Adolf Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto was released, outlining his ideology and political plans for Germany.
- August 8 – KKK Demonstrated Political Power in the U.S.: The Ku Klux Klan held a large rally in Washington, D.C., showcasing its influence during this period.
- September 3 – The dirigible USS Shenandoah Crashed: The U.S. Navy airship broke apart in a storm over Ohio, resulting in 14 deaths.
- October 1 – Mount Rushmore Construction Began: Work commenced on the monumental sculpture in South Dakota, featuring the faces of four U.S. presidents.
- October 2 – John Logie Baird’s Television Experiment: Baird successfully transmitted the first television pictures with a greyscale image in London.
- November 28 – Grand Ole Opry Broadcast Debuted: The WSM Barn Dance, later known as the Grand Ole Opry, aired its first show in Nashville, Tennessee.
- December 1 – Locarno Treaties Signed: European nations, including Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, signed agreements aimed at ensuring post-war territorial settlements and promoting peace.
- December 10 – Austen Chamberlain Received Nobel Peace Prize: British Foreign Secretary Austen Chamberlain was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the Locarno Treaties.
- December 17 – Reza Shah Pahlavi Became Shah of Iran: Reza Khan was crowned, establishing the Pahlavi dynasty and initiating significant modernization reforms in Iran.
- December 25 – Mussolini Survived Assassination Attempt: An attempt on Benito Mussolini’s life failed, leading to increased repression in Italy.
- Art Deco Movement Gained Prominence: The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris popularized the Art Deco style, influencing architecture, design, and fashion worldwide.
- Harlem Renaissance Flourished: The cultural, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, New York, reached new heights, celebrating African American cultural expressions.
- Advancements in Quantum Mechanics: Physicists Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli made significant contributions to the development of quantum mechanics, laying the foundation for modern physics.
Top Ten Baby Names of 1925
Mary, Dorothy, Betty, Helen, Margaret, Robert, John, William, James, Charles
US Life Expectancy
(1925) Males: 57.6 years, Females: 60.6 years
The Stars
Josephine Baker, Mary Pickford, Anna May Wong
Miss America
Fay Lanphier (Oakland, CA)
Firsts, Inventions, and Wonders
Sweet Georgia Brown (known as the Globetrotters theme) was written in 1925.
The New Yorker went on sale for the first time (cover date Feb 21, 1925)
The world’s first motel, the Milestone Motel, was built in 1925 by Arthur Heineman in San Luis Obispo, California, due to its being a midpoint between LA and San Francisco, a two-day trip for motorists.
Department Store Sears didn’t have a physical store location for its first 19 years as a retailer. Its first general catalog was published in 1906, and its first store was established in 1925.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published.
The Grand Ole Opry, a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, debuted on November 28, 1925, as a one-hour radio “barn dance” on WSM.
Wheel Gymnastics was presented in Germany.
Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin discovered that hydrogen and helium are the most abundant elements in stars and, therefore, the whole universe.
Walter Percy Chrysler founded Chrysler.
Pete the Bear is Disney’s oldest recurring character; he debuted in the 1925 cartoon Alice Solves the Puzzle.
The Biggest Pop Artists of 1925 include
Gene Austin, Benny Krueger & His Orchestra, The Benson Orchestra of Chicago, Ben Bernie and His Orchestra, Eddie Cantor, Vernon Dalhart, Cliff Edwards, Carl Fenton, and His Orchestra, Ernest Hare, Marion Harris, Lewis James, Al Jolson, Billy Jones, Isham Jones and His Orchestra, Ted Lewis and His Band, Vincent Lopez and His Orchestra, Nick Lucas, John McCormack, Billy Murray, Blossom Seeley, Bessie Smith, Aileen Stanley, Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians, Ted Weems and His Orchestra, Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
Pop Culture Facts & History
The New York Times published an article stating that Crossword Puzzles were a fad people would quickly grow tired of.
IDITAROD – In January 1925, a diphtheria epidemic broke out in Nome, Alaska. Medicine was hundreds of miles away in Anchorage. They gathered 18 teams of dog-sledders to make the 674-mile trek. Gunner Kassan was the final sledder, led by his soon-to-be-famous dog, Balto. The journey is commemorated every year in the Iditarod. Togo, another dog in the run, did more miles than Balto. #unsunghero
Ford introduced its first truck – the Ford Model T Runabout with a Pickup Body.
THE SCOPES TRIAL – John Scopes was a substitute biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, a state that had passed a law banning the teaching of evolution. Mr. Scopes taught it to his class, as it was in the school’s approved textbook like every biology teacher in Tennessee did. He was found guilty and was let off on a technicality.
The Olympic Flag was designed by Pierre de Coubertin (blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field).
The US government has held a stockpile of 1 billion cubic meters of helium in Amarillo, Texas, since 1925. This is due to post-WWI fear that we may run out of helium in case of blimp warfare.
As a joke, recently hired engineers at General Electric were ordered to develop a frosted lightbulb, which they believed impossible. In 1925, newly hired Marvin Pipkin got the assignment and made the first frosted lightbulb.
Nellie Ross was the first US Governor and was inaugurated in Wyoming on Jan 5, 1925. The second female governor, Miriam Ferguson, from Texas, was sworn into office on January 20th.
Until 1925, the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government and did not limit the powers of state or local authorities.
George Bernard Shaw is the only person to win a Nobel Prize AND an Oscar. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 and an Oscar for Pygmalion in 1938.
Wearing a Fez was banned in Turkey, and still is.#fezzesarecool
1925 Astronomy News
The Total Solar Eclipse of 1925 had a path of totality that grazed Manhattan. It was reported that residents below 96th St. could still see part of the Sun, while those above 96th were in total darkness.
The Tri-State Tornado
The Tri-State Tornado was the deadliest in U.S. history, storming through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 and injuring 2,027 people.
The Suicide Poem
On December 28, 1925, Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin was found dead in the Hotel Angleterre in St Petersburg.
His was his final poem, written in his blood because no pen was available.
Goodbye, my friend, goodbye
Farewell, my good friend, farewell.
In my heart, forever, you’ll stay.
May the fated parting foretell
That again we’ll meet up someday.
Let no words, no handshakes ensue,
No saddened brows in remorse, –
To die, in this life, is not new,
And living’s no newer, of course.
До свиданья, друг мой, до свиданья
До свиданья, друг мой, до свиданья.
Милый мой, ты у меня в груди.
Предназначенное расставанье
Обещает встречу впереди.
До свиданья, друг мой, без руки, без слова,
Не грусти и не печаль бровей,-
В этой жизни умирать не ново,
Но и жить, конечно, не новей.
Nobel Prize Winners
Physics -James Franck and Gustav Ludwig Hertz
Chemistry -Richard Adolf Zsigmondy
Physiology or Medicine – not awarded
Literature -George Bernard Shaw
Peace -Austen Chamberlain and Charles Gates Dawes
The 30th Vice President of the USA, Charles Gates Dawes, in addition to his Nobel Peace Prize in 1925, was a self-taught pianist and composer who composed the 1912 hit song Melody in A Major, which was used in Tommy Edwards’ 1958 #1 hit It’s All in the Game.
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1925
Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis
The Carolinian by Rafael Sabatini
The Constant Nymph by Margaret Kennedy
Glorious Apollo by E. Barrington
The Green Hat by Michael Arlen
The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter
The Little French Girl by Anne Douglas Sedgwick
The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley
One Increasing Purpose by A. S. M. Hutchinson
The Perennial Bachelor by Anne Parrish
Soundings by A. Hamilton Gibbs
The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
Sports
World Series Champions: Pittsburg Pirates
Stanley Cup Champs: Victoria Cougars
U.S. Open Golf: W. McFarlane
U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): William (Bill) T. Tilden/ Helen Wills
Wimbledon (Men/Women): Rene Lacoste/Suzanne Lenglen
NCAA Football Champions: Alabama & Dartmouth
Kentucky Derby Winner: Flying Ebony
Boston Marathon Winner: Charles Mellor Time: 2:33:00
More 1925 Facts & History Resources:
Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us)
Broadway Shows that Opened in 1925
1925 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com
Fact Monster
1920s Fads (BabyCenter.com)
1920s, Infoplease.com World History
1925 in Movies (according to IMDB)
Retrowaste Vintage Culture
1920s Slang
Wikipedia 1925