Today: Headlines from April 30, 1925
Today 100 Years Ago: April 30 , 1925
Every morning in 2025 we reach for glowing rectangles to skim headlines. A century ago, the world woke to inky newsprint, ticker clatter and the smell of coal smoke. Here’s what dominated front pages on — and just around — 30 April 1925.
1. Berlin Confirms a New President
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At 10 a.m. local time, officials in the Reichstag formally certified Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg as the second President of the Weimar Republic. The final count from the 26 April run-off had dribbled in for days, but 30 April was the moment the result became official — and audible. Church bells rang in Prussian towns; in Berlin, newsboys chanted „Hindenburg gewählt!“ while trams clanged past.
Why it mattered:
- Hindenburg’s military aura reassured monarchists yet unnerved republicans anxious about democracy’s fragility.
- He would later play a pivotal role in appointing Adolf Hitler chancellor (1933), showing how a single election can echo for generations.
2025 lens: In an era of deep-fake campaigns and instant polls, it’s sobering to remember that a 77-year-old war hero, elected by paper ballot, helped set the stage for the 20th century’s darkest decade.
2. Britain Locks Itself Back to Gold
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Just after midnight on 1 May 1925 — barely a day after our headline date — the Bank of England resumed converting pounds into gold bullion. Chancellor Winston Churchill’s decision, announced in his 28 April budget, became operational at that stroke of May-Day. The pound was now fixed to its pre-war gold parity of £1 = $4.86.
Why it mattered:
- The move pleased City financiers but squeezed exporters; deflation followed, wages fell and labour unrest simmered into the 1926 General Strike.
- Britain’s gold gamble lasted only six years; by 1931 the pressure of the Great Depression forced abandonment, realigning global finance.
2025 lens: A century on, the U.K. experiments with a digital pound while crypto assets ebb and flow. The lesson endures: the way a nation pegs (or unpegs) its currency can ripple through every pay packet.
Quick Takeaways for the 21st-Century Reader
- Elections and exchange rates may seem like dry details, yet they steer history’s largest rivers.
- Both stories show how decisions made in late-April 1925 shaped the stormy 1930s; hindsight in 2025 turns today’s headlines into tomorrow’s cautionary tales.
Thanks for time-travelling with me. Check back tomorrow for another century-old scoop!