Evolution Creation Debate

On this day in 1925, John T. Scopes, a Tennessee biology teacher, was tried for violating the Butler Act, a 1925 state law banning the teaching of evolution. This so-called "Monkey Trial" became a flashpoint for debate among religious scholars and scientists as well as the general public. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, though the verdict was later reversed. Despite the outcry stemming from the case, the Butler Act was not repealed until 1967.