The following events occurred in August 1925:
August 1, 1925 (Saturday) Domingos Leite Pereira became Prime Minister of Portugal for the third time. The Eugene O'Neill play Desire Under the Elms was banned in Britain. Many British seamen began a strike in response to their monthly wages bring cut on this day from £10 to £9. Many who were on land refused to sail out; others at sea stayed wherever they landed, from Australia to New Zealand to South Africa. The Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925 came into effect in the British Mandate for Palestine.Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 147 (September 16, 1925), pp. 460–466 In the U.S., the National Football League (NFL) granted franchises to four new teams for the 1925 season, set to begin on September 20. New teams were granted to the New York Giants (owned by Timothy Mara and Will Gibson); the Detroit (1920s NFL teams)#Detroit Panthers (owned by Jimmy Conzelman; the Providence Steam Rollers (owned by sports editor Charles Coppen; and the Pottsville Maroons (arriving from Pennsylvania's Anthracite League). Each team paid a $2,500 franchise fee. Died: F. R. Japp, 77, Scottish chemist known for discovering the Japp–Klingemann reaction for synthesizing hydrazones and diazonium compounds (b. 1848)
August 2, 1925 (Sunday) The two-day Battle of al-Mazraa began in Syria as 500 Druze and Bedouin horsemen, led by Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, attacked a much larger force of 3,500 French Army of the Levant troops, led by General Roger Michaud. In two days, 601 French troops were killed and 428 wounded. The victory inspired other groups in Syria to revolt. Born: Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentine general, politician, and dictator, served as the President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981, was later convicted for war crimes; in Mercedes, Argentina (d. 2013) Nim Hall, English rugby union player with 17 appearances for the England national team; as Norman Hall, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England (d. 1972)
August 3, 1925 (Monday) The Fascists won local elections in Sicily. Blackshirts were stationed at every voting booth to intimidate. Born: Marv Levy, American professional football coach for the CFL Montreal Alouettes and the NFL Buffalo Bills; as Marvin Levy, in Chicago, United States (alive in 2026) Dom Um Romão, Brazilian jazz drummer; in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 2005) Karel Fiala, Czech operatic tenor and film actor; in Hrušov, Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic) (d. 2020) Died: William Bruce, 61, Australian lawyer and Test cricket batsman; walked into Port Phillip Bay at Elwood, Victoria and drowned himself (b. 1864)
August 4, 1925 (Tuesday) The last U.S. Marines were withdrawn from Nicaragua after a thirteen-year occupation by the U.S. that began during a civil war in 1912. The remaining guard of 129 enlisted men and five officers departed from Corinto on the transport USS Henderson. Hendrikus Colijn became the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, replacing Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, who resigned along with his ministers after the July 1 elections. The Columbian Squires, a youth organization for Catholic boys ranging in age from 10 to 18, was founded by Brother Barnabas McDonald of the Knights of Columbus fraternal service order. Died: Charles W. Clark, 59, American baritone singer; died of a heart attack (b. 1865)
August 5, 1925 (Wednesday) Plaid Cymru, now the leading political party in the UK committed to Welsh independence, was founded in a hotel in the village of Pwllheli, Gwynedd by H. R. Jones, Lewis Valentine and Moses Gruffydd of the Byddin Ymreolwyr Cymru; and Saunders Lewis and Fred Jones of Y Mudiad Cymreig; and D. Edmund Williams. The initial goal of the party was to make Welsh the official language of Wales. Turkey's President Mustafa Kemal divorced his wife of less than two years, Latife Uşaki, after her public efforts to emancipate women and to encourage their independence on choice of clothing. The so-called "Battle of Ammanford" was fought near the town of Ammanford in Wales as police defended a colliery from strikers determined to have a strikebreaking electrician removed. Died: Georges Palante, 62, French philosopher and sociologist (b. 1862) Albert R. Valentien, 63, American painter known for his water colors of flowers; died from angina pectoris (b. 1862) Emily Harris, 87-88, New Zealand painter known for her watercolor flowers (b. 1837)
August 6, 1925 (Thursday) General Grigory Kotovsky of the Soviet Union Red Army, a member of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee in the Ukrainian SSR, was assassinated by a former assistant, Meyer Zayder. Eshugbayi Eleko, most important of the African kings within the British-ruled protectorate of Nigeria as the Oba of Lagos, was removed from his position by the colonial government and deported to Oyo two days later after refusing to vacate the royal household. The Dallas Hilton, the first high-rise hotel to bear the Hilton name, was opened in Dallas, Texas by Conrad Hilton. Born: Eddie Baily, English footballer and member of the England national football team's squad during the 1950 FIFA World Cup; as Edward Baily, in Clapton, London, England (d. 2010) Died: Sir Surendranath Banerjee, 76, Indian independence activist known as "Rashtraguru" ("Teacher of the Nation") and founder of the Indian National Association (b. 1848) Loretta Perfectus Walsh, 29, American sailor and the first active-duty woman to serve in the United States Navy; died of tuberculosis (b. 1896) Samuel Hamilton, 23, Northern Irish footballer for Hull City A.F.C. in the English League; died a few days after his second surgery for a nasal condition (b. 1902)
August 7, 1925 (Friday) The United Kingdom passed the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act, making it illegal to sell peerages or any other honours. Born: M. S. Swaminathan, Indian geneticist and plant breeder known for his leadership in the a "Green Revolution" in working to prevent worldwide famine; as Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, in Kumbakonam, Presidency of Fort St. George, British India (present-day Tamil Nadu state, India) (d. 2023) Julián Orbón, Spanish-born Cuban composer; in Avilés, Spain (d. 1991) Art Laboe, American radio host and radio station owner credited with coining the term "Oldies but Goodies"; as Arthur Egnoian, in Murray, Utah, United States (d. 2022)
August 8, 1925 (Saturday) Approximately 40,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.. A planned ceremony afterwards was cancelled due to heavy rain. Born: Alija Izetbegovic, Bosnian politician, served as the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1990 and 1998 and as the first Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2000; in Bosanski Samac, Kingdom of Serbs, Croates and Slovenes (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 2003)
August 9, 1925 (Sunday) The Kakori train robbery was carried out in British India by Indian independence activists of the Hindustan Republican Association at Kakori, a village near Lucknow. The German Socialist Labour Party of Poland was founded. In British Nigeria, Ibikunle Akitoye, President of the United Native Africa Church (UNA), was installed as the new Oba of Lagos after having been elected by the members of the Lagos Ruling House on June 26. Born: David A. Huffman, American computer scientist known for his development of the algorithms for Huffman coding; in Alliance, Ohio, United States (d. 1999) Robert Heppener, Dutch classical music composer; in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2009) Died: Christian Bartholomae, 70, German linguist, best known as the namesake of Bartholomae's law, a rule of interpretation regarding the Indo-Iranian language family (b. 1855)
August 10, 1925 (Monday) Belgium and the United States opened talks in Washington, D.C. to settle Belgium's war debt. Born: Bohuslav Chňoupek, Slovak politician, served as the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1971 to 1988; in Petržalka, Czechoslovakia (present-day Slovakia) (d. 2004)
August 11, 1925 (Tuesday) French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand met with his British counterpart Austen Chamberlain in London to discuss Germany's proposed security pact. Born Michael Argyle, British social psychologist and author known for The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour; in Nottingham, England (d. 2002) Arlene Dahl, American stage and film actress; in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States (d. 2021) Died: James Douglas Ogilby, 72, Irish-born Australian ichthyologist (b. 1853) Elisabeth Lemke, 76, Prussian German writer (b. 1849)
August 12, 1925 (Wednesday) Germany indicated that the return of at least some of its former colonies would be set as a condition to enter the League of Nations. Born: Norris McWhirter, English writer and twin brother Ross McWhirter, English journalist, co-created The Guinness Book of World Records and co-founders of Guinness World Records; in Winchmore Hill, Essex, England (Norris d. 2004; Ross d. 1975, murdered) Donald Justice, American poet and Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner; in Miami, United States (d. 2004) Died: Severo Fernández, 75, Bolivian lawyer and politician, served as the President of Bolivia from 1896 to 1899 and as president of the National Congress from 1922 until his death (b. 1849) Léon-Gustave Dehon, 82, French Roman Catholic priest, founder and leader of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from 1878 until his death (b. 1843) Volodymyr Samiilenko, 61, Ukrainian poet (b. 1864)
August 13, 1925 (Thursday) George Forbes was elected as the new leader of the New Zealand Liberal Party (NZLP), at the time the minority party, after the resignation of Thomas Wilford. Forbes defeated Thomas Sidey with a majority of the 24 votes cast, though the actual results were not disclosed. Forbes replaced Wilford as the new Leader of the Opposition in advance of the November 4 elections for the New Zealand House of Representatives. Born: José Sazatornil, Spanish actor and comedian, known for La escopeta nacional; in Barcelona, Spain (d. 2015)
August 14, 1925 (Friday)
Invited to the Black Hills region of the U.S. state of South Dakota, sculptor Gutzon Borglum scouted for an alternative location for carving a monument on the side of a mountain. Borglum's first choice had been to carve into "The Needles", but the granite formations were too thin for sculpting. With a view from the top of Harney Peak (now "Black Elk Peak"), Borglum spotted Mount Rushmore, traditionally called by the indigenous Lakota Sioux people Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe ("The Six Grandfathers") and commented "America will march along that skyline." Norway formally annexed the Spitzbergen Islands, as the Spitsbergen Treaty went into effect after being signed on February 9, 1920, and one month after the July 17 passage of the Svalbard Act. Born: Manfred Clynes, Austrian-born American inventor, neurophysiologist, musician and concert pianist; in Vienna, Austria (d. 2020) Rashid Karim, Bangladeshi novelist; in Calcutta, Presidency of Fort William in Bengal, British India (present-day Kolkata, West Bengal, India) (d. 2011) Died: Charles Jacot-Guillarmod, 56, French cartographer who created the first topographical map of Mount Everest (b. 1868)
August 15, 1925 (Saturday) In the U.S., Norman Clyde became the first person to climb to the top of the high Mount Lamarck in California. Born: Mike Connors, American actor and film producer; as Krekor Ohanian, in Fresno, California, United States (d. 2017) Huda Sultan, Egyptian film actress and singer; as Bahiga Abdel'al, in Tanta, Kingdom of Egypt (present-day Egypt) (d. 2006) Stephen de Mowbray, British counterintelligence officer; in Lymington, Hampshire (d. 2016) Ruth Lessing, American professional baseball player in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League who led the league in fielding average (1945), most assists (1946) and games played (1948); in San Antonio, Texas, United States (d. 2000)