Americans celebrating New Year’s on January 1, 1925, were just as excited about their futures as we are today, 100 years later. What was in store a century ago for the year ahead? Find out with this short, fun quiz.
1. On Jan. 3, 1925, a famous figure proclaimed himself a dictator. Who was he?
A: Adolf Hitler
B: Benito Mussolini
C: Josef Stalin
D: Francisco Franco
Answer: B. Having served as prime minister of Italy since 1922, the Fascist Party chief known as “Il Duce” (The Leader) delivered a speech to the Chamber of Deputies where he dropped all pretense of democracy. It is widely viewed as the start of his dictatorship.
2. On Jan. 5, 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross did something no other American woman had ever done. What was it?
A: Elected CEO of a corporation
B: Swam the Mississippi River
C: Became governor of a state
D: Became a U.S. Army general
Answer: C. Ross was inaugurated that day as governor of Wyoming, making her the first female elected state chief executive in the United States. Her husband died in office in 1924, and she won a special election to serve the rest of his term. (Texas’ famous Miriam “Ma” Ferguson also won a special election as governor in 1924 and was inaugurated two weeks later.) Ross went on to serve as director of the U.S. Mint, the first woman to hold that job, too.
3. Dubbed one of several “Trials of the Century,” the Scopes Trial was a national sensation that involved what?
A: A challenge to Prohibition
B: A famous kidnapping
C: A double murder
D: Teaching evolution in public schools
Answer: D. For 11 days in July, teacher John T. Scopes was on trial in Dayton, Tenn., for violating a state law that banned evolution in the classroom. The prosecution team included three-time Democratic nominee for president William Jennings Bryan, and it was the first U.S. trial to be broadcast on national radio. Though Scopes was found guilty, his conviction was later overturned on a technicality.
4. On March 18, 1925, one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history occurred. What was it?
A: The San Francisco Earthquake
B: The Tri-State Tornado
C: The Great Blizzard of ’25
D: The Great New England Hurricane
Answer: B. About 700 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured when a string of powerful tornadoes roared across a 220-mile stretch of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Railroad tracks were ripped from the ground, and debris was blown 50 miles. It remains the deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history.
5. On April 10, 1925, “The Great Gatsby” was published. It is widely considered the quintessential account of the Jazz Age. Who wrote it?
A: Ernest Hemingway
B: William Faulkner
C: F. Scott Fitzgerald
D: Willa Cather
Answer: C. Not only was “The Great Gatsby” Fitzgerald’s masterpiece but it also captured the spirit of many wealthy young people in the post-World War I generation.
6. Another book was published 90 days later. It foretold a far different era that lay ahead. What was it?
A: Brave New World
B: Mein Kampf
C: Things to Come
D: Atlas Shrugged
Answer: B. Adolf Hitler’s manifesto of hate was first printed in Germany on July 18, 1925. It made Hitler wealthy and had sold 5.2 million copies in 11 languages by the time World War II began in 1939. It is still in print.
7. On June 6, 1925, one of the “Big Three” U.S. automakers was founded. It remains a major force in the auto world today. That company was the namesake of which founder?
A: Henry Ford
B: Walter Chrysler
C: Charles Nash
D: Robert E. Olds
Answer: B. The Chrysler Corp.’s founder, Walter Chrysler, was Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1928 and went on to finance the construction of New York City’s Chrysler Building.
8. On Dec. 12, 1925, the very first type of this brand-new business opened that still exists today. What was it?
A: Radio station
B: Fast-food restaurant
C: Motel
D: Laundromat
Answer: C. The Milestone Mo-Tel began operating in San Luis Obispo, Calif. It was the first in the world to target auto travelers.
ABOUT THE WRITER
J. Mark Powell is a novelist, former TV journalist and diehard history buff. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
