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Darwin publishes "The origin of species"
"Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species is published. Darwin argues in his introduction that "the view which most naturalists entertain, and which I formerly entertained — namely, that each species has been independently created — is erroneous."
-npr.org -
Darwin publishes "The desent of man"
Darwin publishes his second book, The Descent of Man. In this work, Darwin directly addresses the debate over the origin of mankind, arguing that "man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits, and an inhabitant of the Old World."
-npr -
Bryan lead the anti-evolution campagn
"Former congressman and ex-Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan becomes a leader in the anti-evolution movement, delivering speeches entitled "The Menace of Darwinism" and "The Bible and its Enemies." Bryan declares in one address that "[i]t is better to trust in the Rock of Ages, than to know the age of the rocks; it is better for one to know that he is close to the Heavenly Father, than to know how far the stars in the heavens are apart."
-npr.org -
Butler act established
The Butler Act is established "That it shall be unlawful for any teacher in any of the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of the State which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, to teach any theory that denies the Story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals." (Butler Act) -
First day of the trial
"July 10, 1925 for the first day of the trial, announcers were ready to send listeners the first live radio broadcast from the trial. Judge Raulston, a conservative Christioan who craved publicity was flanked by two police officers waving huge fans to keep air circulating. The proceedings opened, over Darrow's objections, to a prayer."
-Douglas Linder -
Last day of the trial
"The final day of the trial, the jury returns its guilty verdict after nine minutes of deliberation Scopes is fined $100, which both Bryan and the ACLU offer to pay for him.After the verdict is read, John Scopes delivers his only statement of the trial, declaring his intent "to oppose this law in any way I can. Any other action would be in violation of my ideal of academic freedom — that is, to teach the truth as guaranteed in our constitution, of personal and religious freedom."
-npr.org -
Scopes is found guilty
"The Tennessee Supreme Court rules that the Butler law is constitutional. However, it overturns Scopes' verdict on a technicality, ruling that his fine should have been set by the jury hearing the case instead of by Judge Raulston. The justices declare in their ruling that "[n]othing is to be gained by prolonging the life of this bizarre case."
-npr.org -
Butler act repealed in Tennessee
"Tennessee repeals the Butler Act, the law that banned the teaching of evolution in public schools."
-npr.org -
Bill Nye debates for evolution.
"Bill Nye argues about evolution, a topic that is still controversial to this day. "
-The Young Turks
