The following events occurred in May 1925:
May 1, 1925 (Friday) The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, now the world's largest trade union organization with 134 million members, was founded in Guangzhou in the Republic of China. Cyprus became a British crown colony. "Pink's War", a British aerial bombardment campaign against the rebellious Mahsud tribe in South Waziristan in British India's Punjab Province (now Pakistan), came to an end 53 days after it had been started by RAF Air Commodore Richard Pink on March 9. The Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals ("Manifesto degli intellettuali antifascisti"), written by Benedetto Croce was published in the Rome newspaper il Mondo. The Adonistic Society was founded in Vienna to spread the polytheistic religion of Adonism, which postulates five principal gods. Barcelona Sporting Club (B.S.C.), one of the most successful fútbol teams in Ecuador, was founded by Eutimio Pérez, an immigrant from Spain who had lived in Barcelona. Born: Scott Carpenter, American astronaut, member of the Mercury Seven selected for Project Mercury and was the fourth astronaut to orbit the Earth; as Malcolm Scott Carpenter, in Boulder, Colorado, United States (d. 2013) Gabriele Amorth, Italian Catholic priest and exorcist, co-founder of the International Association of Exorcists; in Modena, Kingdom of Italy (present-day Italy) (d. 2016) Anna May Hutchison, American professional baseball player in the AAGPBL, as a pitcher she had the most games won and innings pitched in the 1947 season; in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1998)
May 2, 1925 (Saturday) Elections were held in Bolivia for the President and for the Chamber of Deputies. The Partido Republicano won all 70 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and Jose Cabino Villeneuva was elected president, receiving almost 85% of the vote against Daniel Salamanca. Although Villanueva was to be inaugurated on August 5, outgoing President Bautista Saavedra, dissatisfied that Gabino would obey his wishes, asked the Bolivian National Congress to postpone the transition to August 25, and then to nullify the results. On September 1, the Congress then voted to annul the election, named Senate President Felipe Segundo Guzmán to serve as acting president, and scheduling new elections for January 10. As grounds, President Saavedra noted that Villanueva had continued to serve as the president's Minister of Public Instruction, violating an 1895 law that required candidates to resign from public office at least six months before an election. It was announced that King Alexander of Yugoslavia had signed a decree to have his brother Prince George interned as mentally incompetent. The city of Bradentown in the U.S. state of Florida, had its name changed to "Bradenton" with the signing of a bill by Governor John W. Martin. The Hull Kingston Rovers defeated the Swinton Lions, 9 to 5, to win the Northern Rugby Football League championship in England. A U.S. Navy seaplane set a new record by staying airborne for 28-and-a-half hours. Kezar Stadium opened in San Francisco. Born: Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director; in Woodbury, New Jersey, United States (d. 2007) Inga Gill, Swedish actress; in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 2000) John Neville, English actor and theater director; as John Reginald Neville, in Willesden, London, England (d. 2011) Died: Johann Palisa, 76, Austrian astronomer (b. 1848) Antun Branko Šimić, 26, Croatian poet; died of tuberculosis (b. 1898)
May 3, 1925 (Sunday) The groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center. President Calvin Coolidge addressed the event, stating, "The Jewish faith is predominantly the faith of liberty." Born: Robert Jonquet, French footballer with 58 caps for the France national team; in Paris, France (d. 2008)
May 4, 1925 (Monday) The Geneva Arms Conference began in Switzerland, seeking an international arms limitation agreement. Swains Island, with an area of 0.94 square miles and a population of about 100 people, was annexed by the U.S. as part of the territory of American Samoa. At the age of 64, coach James Naismith, the Canadian-born inventor of the sport of basketball, became a U.S. citizen 35 years after he had moved to the United States. Born: Maurice R. Greenberg, American business executive; in New York City, United States Olive Osmond, matriarch of the Osmond singing family; as Olive Davis, in Samaria, Idaho, United States (d. 2004)
May 5, 1925 (Tuesday)
In Dayton, Tennessee, Dayton City School biology teacher John T. Scopes was arrested after teaching evolution from a chapter in the textbook Civic Biology, in a violation of a new Tennessee state law. The arrest was carried out by Rhea County Deputy Sheriff S. P. Swafford. Scopes was released on May 9 after a bail bond of $1,000 was posted on his behalf. The General Election Law was passed in Japan. Born: Charles Chaplin Jr., American actor, son of actors Charlie Chaplin and Lita Grey; in Beverly Hills, California, United States (d. 1968)
May 6, 1925 (Wednesday) The government of the Kingdom of Romania passed the "Statute on the organization of the Romanian Orthodox Church", a comprehensive set of regulations for every aspect of the Eastern European nation's official church. The Wilno school massacre occurred in Wilno in Poland (now Vilnius) in Lithuania when a pair of eighth-grade students, Stanislaw Lawrynowicz and Janusz Obrąpalski attacked teachers during final exams. Nine students and the school principal were wounded, and two students and a teacher were killed. Lawrynowicz, who carried a hand grenade as well as a pistol, exploded the grenade during a struggle over his gun, killing himself and two students, Tadeusz Domański and Aleksander Zahorski. Obrapalski shot teacher Jan Jankowski, fatally wounding him, and then killed himself. Baseball player Everett Scott of the New York Yankees, who had a record of 1,307 consecutive games dating back to June 20, 1916, saw his streak come to an end as Yankees manager Miller Huggins benched him. Scott was placed on waivers by Huggins at the end of the month. Scott's record would stand for several more years until being broken by Lou Gehrig. Born: Hédi Temessy, Hungarian actress; as Hedvig Temesi, in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (present-day Hungary) (d. 2001)
May 7, 1925 (Thursday) Glenn Wright, shortstop for baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, became the fifth Major League Baseball player to accomplish the rare unassisted triple play. Wright's feat of causing three outs in a single play occurred in the 9th inning of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Wright caught a line drive hit by Jim Bottomley, reached second base before a Roger Hornsby could arrive from first, and Glenn Wright out as Wright was returning to base. Despite the feat, Wright's Pirates lost to the Cardinals, 10 to 9. The Key Club, a youth organization for the Kiwanis Club, was founded, with the first chapter opening in Sacramento, California. Died: William Hesketh Lever, 73, English industrialist, philanthropist and politician (b. 1851) Doveton Sturdee, 65, British admiral of the Royal Navy (b. 1859)
May 8, 1925 (Friday) The capsizing and sinking of the steamboat M.E. Norman on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee killed 23 passengers and crew, although the death toll would have been higher had it not been for the rescues made by Tom Lee, an African-American riverworker, who came to the aid of survivors using his small motorboat, Zev, to save 32 passengers. Another 20 were able to swim to shore. Macedonian revolutionary Mencha Karnicheva assassinated Bulgarian activist Todor Panitsa, a leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization terrorist group, by shooting him at the Vienna Burgtheater. Karnicheva acted on her own in deciding to get revenge on Panitsa for killing other IMRO officials. The Official Languages Act was passed in South Africa, placing Afrikaans on the same level as English as one of the two official languages of the Union of South Africa. The Act also recognized Afrikaans as a distinct language, rather than as a dialect of Dutch. The Preakness Stakes, now the second jewel of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, was run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore eight days sooner than the Kentucky Derby. Despite the short time between the two races, six of the 12 entrants at the Preakness (Backbone and Almadel, who finished first and second, and Voltaic, Single Foot, Prince of Bourbon and Swope) would run in the Kentucky Derby. Jockey Benny Marinelli, who had won the 1923 Preakness Stakes, was seriously injured in a racing accident at the Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, New York. Marinelli was riding the horse "Upton" when he was thrown from his mount, then struck in the head by another horse. Marinelli surprised doctors 10 days later by recovering consciousness, and returned to horse racing, but was unable to return to his previous success. He would commit suicide two years later. Born: Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzanian politician who served as the second President of Tanzania from 1985 to 1995; in Kivure, Tanganyika Territory (present-day Tanzania) (d. 2024)
May 9, 1925 (Saturday) The Tungus Republic, which had seceded from the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within Russia on July 14, 1924, brought an end to its war against the Soviet Union as the secessionist leader Mikhail Artemyev and his soldiers surrendered in return for amnesty. Artemyev would be permitted freedom until joining another rebel movement in 1927. Recaptured, he would be executed for treason on March 27, 1928. Keats House, which once belonged to the Romantic poet John Keats, was opened to the public. Born: Roy Pritchard, English footballer; in Dawley, Shropshire, England (d. 1993)
May 10, 1925 (Sunday) FC Barcelona beat Arenas Club, 2 to 0 in the 1925 Copa del Rey Final in Spain. William Massey, Prime Minister of New Zealand since 1912, died from cancer. He was succeeded by Francis Bell until his Reform Party could meet to select a new leader. Born: Sugako Hashida, Japanese screenwriter; in Keijyo, Chōsen (present-day Seoul, South Korea) (d. 2021) Rolf Rendtorff, German Biblical scholar; in Preetz, Schleswig-Holstein, Free State of Prussia (present-day Germany) (d. 2014) Died: Alexandru Marghiloman, 70, Romanian politician who served briefly as Prime Minister of Romania for seven months in 1918 (b. 1854)
May 11, 1925 (Monday) The romantic comedy film Eve's Secret was released. Étoile Sportive du Sahel (ESS), one of the most successful teams in Tunisia's premier soccer football league, Ligue 1, was founded in Sousse. Born: Max Morlock, German footballer; as Maximilian Morlock, in Nuremberg, Germany (d. 1994) Died: May King Van Rensselaer, 76, American author and historian who was instrumental in founding the Museum of the City of New York (b. 1848)
May 12, 1925 (Tuesday) Paul von Hindenburg was sworn in for a seven-year term as President of Germany. His inaugural address emphasized the need to place unity and mutual progress ahead of political partisanship. Hindenburg would win an election for a second term at the age of 84 in 1932, and die in office in 1934. In New York City, the Brooklyn Bridge reopened to motor traffic for the first time in almost three years, after having been closed since July 6, 1922 because of problems with two suspension cables. William Jennings Bryan agreed to participate in a trial of John Scopes on the side of the prosecution, ensuring great national interest. American serial killer Martha Wise was convicted of murder after having poisoned 17 members of her family, three of whom died. She was sentenced to life imprisonment. With the exception of three days in 1962 when she had a commutation of her sentence, Mrs. Wise would remain in prison for the rest of her life, dying in 1971. Born: Yogi Berra, American professional baseball player; as Lorenzo Pietro Berra, in St. Louis, Missouri, United States (d. 2015)